<![CDATA[Clarkston Independence District Library - Previous Book Discussions Since 2006]]>

<![CDATA[Clarkston Independence District Library - Previous Book Discussions Since 2006]]>Sun, 27 Jul 2025 05:17:15 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Book Group Members are Reading & Recommending.....]]>Thu, 09 Jan 2020 18:01:07 GMThttps://cidlreadandconnect.weebly.com/previous-book-discussions-since-2006/book-group-members-are-reading-recommending3784465

It's that time again to share what book group members are reading and recommending. It's winter and a good excuse to curl up with a book. Grab a sweater, surround yourself with a warm blanket and a mug of warmth. Let it rage and storm outside, or just be bitterly cold, as I am content with a book of my choosing..............
Here are some suggestions for your reading pleasure.

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (1899)
The Ghost and Mrs Muir by R.A. Dick (1945)
The Summer Cottage by Viola Shipman (2019)
A Bitter Feast: a novel by Deborah Crombie (2019)
A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas (1952)
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: a therapist, her therapist and our lives revealed by Lori Gottlieb (2019)
Leaving Buddha: A Tibetan Monk's Encounter with the Living God by Tenzin Lankpa (2019)
Rules for Visiting: A Novel by Jessica Francis Kline (2015)
Red at the Bone: A Novel by Jacqueline Woodson (2019)
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
The Lilac Girls: A Novel by Marth Hall Kelly (2017)
The Great Alone: A Novel by Kristen Hannah (2019)
A Woman of No Importance{ the untold story of the American Spy who helped win World War II by Sonia Purnell (2019)
The Honeymoon by James Patterson (2005)
The Mosquito: a human history of our deadliest predator by Timothy C. Winegard (2019)
The Second Mrs Hockaday: a novel by Susan Rivers (2017)
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson (2015)
Wench: a novel by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (2011)
Magpie Murders: a novel by Anthony Horowitz (2018)
Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick (2017)
What are you reading and recommending?

]]><![CDATA[Book Group Members are Reading and Recommending....]]>Thu, 07 Nov 2019 18:40:47 GMThttps://cidlreadandconnect.weebly.com/previous-book-discussions-since-2006/book-group-members-are-reading-and-recommending6553622

Hello Fall! Temperatures drop and my reading life retreats to the indoors. Hello hot tea, hello cozy blanket, hello book! Are you looking for a good book?
Read on for suggestions from our book group membership:

"Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover and Me" by Adrienne Brodeur (2019) Memoir
"Evvie Drake Starts Over: A Novel" by Lind Holmes (2019)
"The Bookish Life of Nina Hill" by Abbi Waxman (2019)
"Circe" by Madeline Miller (2018) Mythology, Fiction
"Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence " by Bill O'Reilly (2017) Nonfiction
"The Silent Patient" by Alex Michaelides (2019) Fiction
"The Last Midwife" by Sandra Dallas (2015) Fiction
"Before You Know Kindness" by Chris Bohjalian (2004)
"Midwives by Chris Bohjalian (1998) Fiction
"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak (2005) Fiction
"Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli (2019) Retelling of the classic American road trip.
"The Polar Bear Expedition: The Heroes of Americas Forgotten Invasion of Russia 1918-1919" by James Carl Nelson (2019) Nonfiction
"Alone in Antarctica: The First Woman to Ski solo Across the Southern Ice " by Felicity Aston (2014) Nonfiction
"Finding my Voice" by Diane Rehm (1999) Nonfiction
"The Ghost Ships of Archangel: The Artic Voyage that Defied the Nazis" by William Geroux (2019) Nonfiction
"The Sand Pebbles" by Richard McKenna (1962) Fiction
"The Zookeeper's Wife" by Diane Ackerman (2007) Nonfiction
"The Library Book" by Susan Orlean (2018) Nonfiction
"Portrait of Myself" by Margaret Bourke-White (1963) Nonfiction
What are you reading and recommending?

]]><![CDATA[Book Group Members are Reading and Recommending....]]>Thu, 03 Oct 2019 18:30:50 GMThttps://cidlreadandconnect.weebly.com/previous-book-discussions-since-2006/book-group-members-are-reading-and-recommending2780142

Summer is behind us but the oh the books that stay on in our memory. Looking for that next great read? Here are some suggestions from book group members....

Sargent's Women: Four Lives Behind the Canvas by Donna M. Lucey
Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong by Paul A. Offit, M.D.
A Better Man: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Suzannah Calahan
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window & Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
The Kommadant's Girl by Pam Jenoff
Man of the Year by Caroline Louise Walker
The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne
The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille
The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubois III
The Loon Feather by Lola Fuller (1940). Indiana girl growing up on Mackinac Island.
Runaway Jury by John Grisham. (The trial of the Tobacco industry.)
The Tatooist of Auschwitz: A Novel by Heather Morris
What are you reading and recommending........

]]><![CDATA[Ponder this....]]>Tue, 01 Oct 2019 21:39:21 GMThttps://cidlreadandconnect.weebly.com/previous-book-discussions-since-2006/ponder-this

"If you don't have wrinkles on your forehead,
the books your're reading
aren't making you think enough.'
-Mohammed Belhaj

]]><![CDATA[We begin again with Radium Girls.....]]>Tue, 24 Sep 2019 21:24:29 GMThttps://cidlreadandconnect.weebly.com/previous-book-discussions-since-2006/we-begin-again-with-radium-girls

Summer is but a fleeting memory as we enter the autumn season. September turns into October and book group resumes once again. On Thursday we discuss our first selection of
this reading year: Radium Girls: the Dark Story of America's shining Women by Kate Moore.

The author's description of her book in less than 50 words:
"An amazing story about real women who stood up and fought for justice. Their strength,
sacrifice and courage deserve to be remembered. Part scientific mystery, part horror story and
part courtroom drama, this is a piece of history that will break your heart but somehow lift your
spirit."

NPR Interview:
"The Radium Girls spares us nothing of their suffering; though at times the foreshadowing
reads more like a true-crime story. Moore is intent on making the reader viscerally
understand the pain in which these young women were living, and through which they had
to fight in order to get their problems recognized...The story of real women at the mercy of
businesses who see them only as a potential risk to the bottom line is haunting precisely
because of how little has changed, the glowing ghosts of the radium girls haunt us still."

Come join us on Thursday, October 3 from 10 - 11 AM. Enjoy a cup of coffee, a morning
treat and a discussion to make you think.....

]]><![CDATA[Hello Summer!]]>Tue, 18 Jun 2019 21:26:41 GMThttps://cidlreadandconnect.weebly.com/previous-book-discussions-since-2006/hello-summer

Summer. Finally, summer...
The last book discussion finished and before me endless choices for that next great read.
Will it be armchair traveling or an entertaining beach read or a mystery.....It will most likely
include a nonfiction title. At home patient books are sitting there, which one will I spend time
with? Too soon summer will end and October will herald our next discussion year.
(October 3: Radium Girls by Kate Moore).

I will be around the library less this month and next, enjoying beautiful Michigan up close
and personal; thus, this blog is on hiatus. Please return to this site in September!
Until then, I wish for you a safe, stimulating, sun filled summer; and, may you fall
in love with another book, perhaps a new author or series this summer......
Read! Read!! Read!!!

]]><![CDATA[Introducing our 2019-2020 Book Discussion Line-up]]>Thu, 16 May 2019 18:55:19 GMThttps://cidlreadandconnect.weebly.com/previous-book-discussions-since-2006/introducing-our-2019-2020-book-discussion-line-up

The voting results are in and I am happy to present our book discussion line-up for 2019--2020:

October 3, 2019 Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women - Kate Moore

November 7 The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
November 14: The Picture of Dorian Gray (Movie & Discussion)

*December 12 Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens

*January 9, 2020 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Karen Honeyman

February 6 Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Marie O'Connor
February 13 Woman in Gold (Movie & Discussion)

March 5 The Woman in the Window - A.J. Finn

April 2 The Wife - Meg Wolitzer
April 9 The Wife (Movie & Discussion)

May 7 What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, & Hope in an American City - Mona Hanna-Attisha

June 4 Forever Friday - Timothy Lewis

* Book group meets the 1st Thursday of the month in the Community Room, 10 - 11:30 AM. EXCEPT for the December & January Discussion (2nd Thursday of the Month)

]]><![CDATA[Book Group Members are Reading and Recommending....]]>Thu, 16 May 2019 18:05:41 GMThttps://cidlreadandconnect.weebly.com/previous-book-discussions-since-2006/book-group-members-are-reading-and-recommending3457168

The weather turns away from winter cold and into spring but yet we read. Maybe less, but
yes, the lure of the book is always there.......
Our book group members are suggesting:

The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring (2007) by Richard Preston. Fascinating accounts of climbing the giant Redwood trees and what wonders they are....
Daisy Jones and the Six (2019) by Taylor Jenkins Reid. A fiction book, think Fleetwood Mac and the girl singer. Reese Witherspoon has optioned the book for a movie.
Notes from a Public Typewriter (2018) by Michael Gustafson. The owner of Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor shares thoughts and experiences of running a bookstore along with the notes typed by customers on the typewriter in the store. Read this!!! Then plan a day trip to Ann Arbor to visit the store. Purchase a book - support our independent bookstores.
The Marsh King's Daughter (2017) by Karen Dionne. Takes place in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. A psychological thriller - full of suspense and mystery
The Alice Network (2017) by Kate Quinn. Historical Fiction - Espionage - Female spies - WWI Fiction
The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee (2014) by Marja Mills. Harper Lee was a very private individual who only published one book in her lifetime - but what a book!
Leadership: in Turbulent Times (2018) - Doris Kearns Goodwin. An examination of 4 presidents and their leadership during 4 crisis.
- Abraham Lincoln & the Emancipation Proclamation
- Theodore Roosevelt & the Coal Strike
- Franklin Roosevelt & the first 100 days of the Great Depression
- Lyndon Johnson & the Civil Rights Act
The Radium Girls: the Dark Story of America's Shining Women (2017) by Kate Moore. We will be discussing this book on October 3rd in book group. Come join us!

]]><![CDATA[Most Popular Book Group Kits at CIDL]]>Thu, 02 May 2019 14:26:04 GMThttps://cidlreadandconnect.weebly.com/previous-book-discussions-since-2006/most-popular-book-group-kits-at-cidl

Reading illuminates our world. Reading fiction enhances our empathy toward others. A recent
study at the University of Toronto finds that "fiction engages readers in characters, scenes,
and cultures outside their ordinary experience, leading to a deeper understanding of other
people." According to the author of the study and professor emeritus Keith Oatly: "Reading
fiction lets us do that better."

We are social beings and isn't it wonderful that book groups exist to bring us together to
explore other ideas, connections, insights, enlarging our world view. Perhaps you are a member
of a book group at the library, or thru work, church, neighborhood.... Perhaps you are thinking
of organizing a book group. Did you know that the library offers nearly 100 book discussion kits?
Ten books come in a tote, along with a discussion guide.

For a complete list of available Book Club in a Bag by Title:
cidlibrary.org/images/Adult/BookLists/BookClubBagList-July2018.pdf

Here at the Clarkston Independence District Library, the most checked out Book
Club in a Bag discussion kits since 2016 are:

The Little Paris Bookshop - 11x
The Midwife of Hope River - 9x
A Man Called Ove - 9x
The Dinner - 7x
The Miniaturist - 7x
The Nightingale - 7x
The Storied Life of A J. Firkry - 7x
Educated: a Memoir - 6x
Before We Were Yours - 6x
The Light Between Oceans - 6x
Swimming Lessons - 6x

In the spring, ten book group kits are retired and 10 new ones are added. We try to
keep our discussion kits updated.
Read! Read!! Read!!!

]]><![CDATA[Killers of the Flower Moon - Our Next Discussion Book]]>Tue, 23 Apr 2019 20:20:16 GMThttps://cidlreadandconnect.weebly.com/previous-book-discussions-since-2006/killers-of-the-flower-moon-our-next-discussion-book

Osage Indian Sisters,
Minnie, Anna,
and Mollie Burkhart
(Left to right)

On May 9th we discuss our nonfiction book of the year: Killers of the Flower Moon - The Osage
Murders & the Birth of the FBI. The author David Grann is a staff writer at The New Yorker
and is best known for his book The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon.

School Library Journal Review:
"In 1920s Oklahoma, many members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation were dying
untimely and suspicious deaths. The widespread crimes against the Osage and the
inability to identify those responsible led to the establishment of what is now known
as the FBI. Grann, author of the best-selling The Lost City of Z, makes a complex web
of violence and deception easy to follow by keeping the focus on one Osage woman,
Mollie Burkhart, whose family members were murdered one by one. The gripping title
uncovers a baffling level of corruption. The author points his investigative lens at the
perpetrators of the murders, reveals, cover-ups by authorities all the way up to the
national level, and illustrates that the deception continued almost a century later. There
are plenty of curriculum connections: Native American and Osage tribal history,
economics, law enforcement, and journalism...."

Killers of the Flower Moon is being turned into a movie (release date: end of 2019 or
2020) with director Martin Scorsese, and staring Leonardo DiCaprio. In an interview,
Scorsese stated:
"When I read David Grann's book, I immediately started to seeing it -- the people,
the settings, the action --- and I knew that I had to make it into a movie"

Read the book. Come join the discussion. Share your thoughts and insights.

Gathering at the White House -- Osage representatives with President Coolidge in 1924.

]]>