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:
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.us) any 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.