Hawthorne Bookish Sort Book Club

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Hawthorne Bookish Sort Book Club illustration with steaming coffee in a mug with an open book in the background

The Bookish Sort Book Club meets the first Thursday of each month at 4:30 p.m. in the Hawthorne Branch Meeting Room. Join us for lively discussions of fiction and nonfiction titles selected by participants in this vibrant, member-led group!

At our March 2 meeting, eight of us discussed Ecology of a Cracker Childhood by Janisse Ray with Anne leading the discussion. We began by viewing an online video: "Remnants of a Forest" (1996, a 27-minute video about the longleaf pine in Georgia). Many thanks to Librarian, Guylene Resue, for setting up the equipment for us on a very busy day. Everyone gave the book "Five Stars" except Anne, who was somewhat put off by the alternating chapter format treating the author's discussion of her childhood and family with the description of the importance of the longleaf habitat and its destruction. We all agreed that both were interesting subjects and well done by the author. Anne distributed copies of recipes from Grandmama Beulah. Of course, as usual, we shared our own childhood experiences and compared them to Ray's.

We will be skipping April's meeting and pushing the reading schedule by a month*.

Upcoming Meetings:

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Midnight's Children book cover by Salman Rushdie

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, Thursday, May 4*

“Saleem Sinai is born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the very moment of India’s independence. Greeted by fireworks displays, cheering crowds, and Prime Minister Nehru himself, Saleem grows up to learn the ominous consequences of this coincidence. His every act is mirrored and magnified in events that sway the course of national affairs; his health and well-being are inextricably bound to those of his nation; his life is inseparable, at times indistinguishable, from the history of his country. Perhaps most remarkable are the telepathic powers linking him with India’s 1,000 other “midnight’s children,” all born in that initial hour and endowed with magical gifts.

This novel is at once a fascinating family saga and an astonishing evocation of a vast land and its people–a brilliant incarnation of the universal human comedy. Twenty-five years after its publication, Midnight’ s Children stands apart as both an epochal work of fiction and a brilliant performance by one of the great literary voices of our time.” GoodReads

 

•    Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder, June 1

 

News/Announcements:

*A change of schedule for the Bookish Sort Book Club at the Hawthorne Branch Library. We usually meet on the first Thursday of the month at 4:30 PM. We will skip the April meeting and continue the reading list on May 4 with Midnight’s Children. I understand that some of us are still on a waiting list for the book, and that it is lengthy. This will allow us time to be prepared for a discussion in May. Additionally, Ginger has a conflict with the April date that cannot be avoided. As you will remember, she is quite excited about leading this discussion.

Send Guylene (gresue@aclib.usany news or announcements you would like to see added to this blog.

Want to see what we’ve been reading? Check out our group’s reading history list from when we started in September 2013:

2013
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2013
Date Title Author
September 5 The Yearling Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
October 4 South Moon Under Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
November 7 The Last Runaway Tracy Chavelier
December 5 Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston

                          

 2014
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2014
Date Title Author
January 2 Housekeeping: A Novel Marilynne Robinson
February 6 The Occupation of Eliza Goode Shelley Fraser Mickle
March 6 Gone Girl Gillian Flynn
April 3 Killing Mister Watson Peter Matthiessen
May 1 Queen of October Shelley Fraser Mickle
June 5 The Elegance of the Hedgehog Muriel Barbary
July 3 People of the Book: A Novel Geraldine Brooks
August 7 The Professor and the Madman Simon Winchester
September 4 Artifacts Mary Anna Evans
October 2 Devil in the White City Erik Larson
November 6 Women of the Silk Gail Tsukiyama
December 4 The Boys in the Boat Daniel James Brown

 

2015

 

Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2015
Date Title Author
January 8 The Monuments Men Robert M. Edsel
February 5 South of Broad Pat Conroy
March 5 The Hunting Dogs John Horst
April 2 The Bookman's Tale: A Novel of Obsession Charlie Lovett
May 7 Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Stout
June 4 Middlesex: A Novel Jeffrey Eugenides
July 9 The Goldfinch Donna Tartt
August 6 The Girl on the Train Paula Hawkins
September 3 Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot
October 1 Isaac's Storm Erik Larson
November 5 Literary Potluck  
December 3 The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace Jeff Hobbs

 

2016
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2016
Date Title Author
January 7 The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry Gabrille Zevin
February 4 All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr
March 3 To Kill a Mockingbird/Go Set a Watchman Harper Lee
April 7 The Shipping News Annie Proulx
May 5 Tracks Robyn Davidson
June 2 The Razor's Edge W. Somerset Maugham
July 7 Water for Elephants Sara Guren
August 4 Still Life Louise Penny
October 19 And The Good News Is Dana Perino
November 3 Literary Potluck  
December 1 The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus Jacques Cousteau and Susan Schiefelbein
     
2017
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2017
Date Title Author
January 5 Major Pettigrew's Last Stand Helen Simonson
February 2 Cross Creek Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
March 2 Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
April 6 The Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen
May 4 Life of Pi Yann Martel
June 1 Little Paris Bookshop Nina George
July 6 Lab Girl Hope Jahern
August 3 Summer Edith Wharton
September 7 *cancelled due to Hurricane Irma*  
October 5 The Whip Karen Kondazian
November 2 Literary Potluck & Choosing Book Club Name, The Bookish Sort Book Club  
December 7 The Dark Flood Rise Margaret Drabble

 

2018
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2018
Date Title Author
January 4 The Widow Fiona Barton
February 1 *no meeting*  
March 1 A Man Called Ove: A Novel Fredrick Backman
April 5 H is for Hawk Helen MacDonald
May 3 Our Souls at Night Kent Haruf
June 7 The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood
July 5 The Sellout Paul Beatty
August 2 The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple Jeff Guinn
September 6 Philomena: A Mother, Her Son, and A Fifty-Year Search Martin Sixsmith
October 4 My Cousin Rachael Daphne du Maurier
November 1 Literary Potluck  
December 6 Plainsong Kent Haruf

 

2019
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2019
Date Title Author
January 3 The Bite of History Caroline Anaya 
February 7 Barracoon Zora Neale Hurston
March 7 Why I Live at the P. O. [group read] Eudora Welty
April 4 American Philosophy: A Love Story John Kaag
May 2 Princess Ruth: Love and Tragedy in Hawaii Jo Ann Lordahl
June 6  Gentleman from Moscow Amor Towles
July 11 Varina Charles Frazier
August 1 The Book Thief Richard Flanagan
September 5  *cancelled due to Hurricane Dorian*  
October 3 Poetry - each member brought a poem to share  
November 7 Literary Potluck  
December 5 A Christmas Memory [group read] Truman Capote

 

2020
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2020
Date Title Author
January 2 Joy School Elizabeth Berg
February 6 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owen
March 5 House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros
April 2 *COVID-19 Closure*  
June 4 State of Wonder (via Zoom) Ann Patchett
July 2 Beekeeper of Aleppo: A Novel (via Zoom) Christy Lefteri
August 7 Angela's Ashes (Zoom) Frank McCourt
September 3 News of the World (Zoom) Paulette Jiles
October 1 Underground Railroad (Zoom) Colson Whitehead
November 5 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Zoom) Maya Angelou
December 3 A Child's Christmas in Wales (Zoom) Dylan Thomas
     

 

2021
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2021
Date Title Author
January 7 Zoo Station (Zoom) David Downing
February 4 The Cellist of Sarajevo (Zoom) Steven Gaolway
March 4 A Promised Land (Zoom) Barack Obama
April 1 Guests on Earth (Zoom) Lee Smith
May 6 A Long Way from Chicago (Zoom) Richard Peck
June 3 The Great Alone (Zoom) Kristin Hannah
July 1 The Indigo Girl (Zoom) Natasha Boyd
August 5 The Overstory: A Novel (Zoom) Richard Powers
September 2 The Snow Child (Zoom) Eowyn Ivey
October 7 The Vanishing Half (Zoom) Brit Bennett
November 4 The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek (Zoom) Kim Richardson
December 2 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Zoom) Barbara Robinson

 

2022
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2022
Date Title Author
January 2 Klara and the Sun (Zoom) Kazuo Ishiguro
February 3 The Nightingale (Zoom) Kristin Hannah
March 3 Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight (Zoom) Alexandra Fuller
April 7 The Warmth of Other Suns (Zoom) Isabelle Wilkerson
May 5 The Madness of Crowds (resuming in-person meetings) Louise Penny
June 2 The Lincoln Highway Amor Towles
July 7 Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21st Century Jessica Bruder, Karen White, et al.
August 4 Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Barbara Ehrenreich
September 1 The Midnight Library: A Novel Matt Haig
October 6 American Dirt Jeanine Cummins
November 3 The Liar's Dictionary Eley Williams
December 1 Memory of a Large Christmas Lillian Smith
 

 

2023
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2023
Date Title Author
January 5 Bewilderment Richard Powers
February 2 Silent Spring Rachael Carson
March 2 Ecology of a Cracker Childhood Janisse Ray
May 4 Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie
June 1 Strength in What Remains Tracy Kidder
July 6    
August 3    
September 7    
October 5    
November 2    
December 7    
 

 

Interested in other book clubs? The Alachua County Library District has several. You can find more information on our Book Clubs page.

By GuyleneR on March 23, 2023