Discussion of the 2012 Selection: TBA

2012 Selection

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
Aside from the fact of Garfield's presidency - and that he was assassinated - I can't say I knew much about the man before reading this book. After reading it, I'm hungry for more Garfield biographies - and other books by Candice Millard. Much like Erik Larson in Devil in the White City (great book), Millard builds suspense for the reader - even though we know the ending already. She goes back and forth between the lives of James A. Garfield and Garfield's mad assassin, Charles Guiteau. She also weaves in relevant historical tidbits from the lives of scientist Joseph Lister and inventor Alexander Graham Bell, whose discoveries could have increased the chance of Garfield's survival. Moreover, I loved reading Millard's descriptions of 1880 Washington D.C.. In weak moments, it's easy to succumb to the idea that things used to be great - and things have been declining ever since. And then you read that in 1880, the Washington monument stood half-built for over 15 years and that the White House was leaking, rotting and infested with rats. You read about the extreme corruption of Roscoe Conkling, Garfield's political enemy. It's enough to snap you out of cynicism and back to reality. Thoroughly interesting, this would make a great book club choice. ∆

Discussion of 2012 Finalists: Tuesday, June 19th @ 7pm
Join us for coffee, cookies, Italian sodas & wonderful conversation about this year's Final Three. Whether or not you've read the books, come chat about them - and past One Book One Lincoln reads with us. It's always a good time!

2012 Finalists

The Tower, The Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart
Balthazar Jones is a Beefeater (tour guide) in The Tower of London. His wife, Hebe, works at London Underground's Lost Property Office, along with chubby Valerie Jones. This delightful novel is full of eccentricities - the collection of small bottles of rainwater that Balthazar keeps, the magician's box and other oddities at the Lost Property Office, and Mrs. Cook, the Jones' 120 year-old pet tortoise. When Balthazar is asked to create a menagerie at the Tower for exotic animals gifted to the Queen, the level of eccentricity goes up several notches. In all, this is a novel about what is lost and what is found: safe codes, tomato plants, Mrs. Cook, confidence and love. The Denver Post best describes this book, saying it's "feather-light without being feather-brained." It's a great summer read. ∆

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
Aside from the fact of Garfield's presidency - and that he was assassinated - I can't say I knew much about the man before reading this book. After reading it, I'm hungry for more Garfield biographies - and other books by Candice Millard. Much like Erik Larson in Devil in the White City (great book), Millard builds suspense for the reader - even though we know the ending already. She goes back and forth between the lives of James A. Garfield and Garfield's mad assassin, Charles Guiteau. She also weaves in relevant historical tidbits from the lives of scientist Joseph Lister and inventor Alexander Graham Bell, whose discoveries could have increased the chance of Garfield's survival. Moreover, I loved reading Millard's descriptions of 1880 Washington D.C.. In weak moments, it's easy to succumb to the idea that things used to be great - and things have been declining ever since. And then you read that in 1880, the Washington monument stood half-built for over 15 years and that the White House was leaking, rotting and infested with rats. You read about the extreme corruption of Roscoe Conkling, Garfield's political enemy. It's enough to snap you out of cynicism and back to reality. Thoroughly interesting, this would make a great book club choice. ∆

The Submission by Amy Waldman
Now that a decade has gone by, we're starting to see more fiction take on the subject matter of 9/11. In this novel, a selection committee is tasked with choosing a design for the 9/11 memorial in New York City. The committee members are thrown for a loop when the architect who submitted the chosen design turns out to be a Muslim named Mohammed. Debate about whether to accept the design is ongoing when the media breaks the story and the public clamor begins. This is a smart book with lots to talk about: the purpose of art/memorials, prejudice, religion, national identity, the role of the media, societal expectations - and above all, ambition. Waldman's well-drawn complex characters keep a human face on all of it. This book is sure to inspire lively discussions at book clubs. ∆

2011 Selection

2011 Finalists

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
This book focuses on two people, Leo Gursky and Alma Singer. Leo escaped the SS, immigrated to New York and is an old man who fears dying without being noticed. Alma is a 15 year-old who lost her father to pancreatic cancer. She attempts to console the depression of her widowed mother and works to understand and protect her younger brother, Bird. They are great characters, full of yearning that makes this a funny, poignant and quirky book. When the Treat Goddess book club visited our store, they all gushed about this novel as one of their favorite selections! ∆

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
Zeitoun is a true story about a man in New Orleans in the tragic days following Hurricane Katrina. We were all shocked by the images we saw on the news - but I had no idea of the full dimensions of this catastrophe until I read this book. It's a page-turner of narrative non-fiction and fans of John Krakauer and Sebastian Junger will devour it - but it's a must read for everyone. You'll be amazed at what you learned happened right here in America. ∆

2010 Selection

I Am A Man: Chief Standing Bear's Journey for Justice by Joseph Starita
In 1877, the Ponca tribe was forcibly removed from the Niobrara Valley in Nebraska to the plains of Oklahoma. The journey south has been described as a Trail of Tears. Thomas Henry Tibbles, an ex-preacher and editor, filed a writ of habeas corpus on Standing Bear's behalf, saying there was no reason the Ponca should be deprived of their property. In 1879, Standing Bear stood in a courtroom in Omaha, Nebraska and demanded that the U.S. government recognize him as a person. This forced the United States to decide whether, as in the case of recently emancipated Black slaves, Native Americans were persons entitled to equal protection under U.S. Law. Joseph Starita is the author of The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge and he's a terrific writer. This is a poignant, dramatic story - NOT a dry history book!

2010 Finalists

Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris
This mystery is set in Saudi Arabia. Nouf, the sixteen year-old daughter of a wealthy family, is found dead in the desert just days before her wedding. This shock is magnified with the discovery that she was also pregnant. Although the family does not want to pursue a public investigation, Nouf's brother has asked Nayir al-Sharqi to investigate privately. More than a formulaic private eye story transported to the desert, this well-written novel explores Muslim culture and women's role in Muslim society. The investigation is complicated by the constrictions held firmly in place by Muslim culture - for instance, it is forbidden for Nayir to speak directly to women.  His attempt to understand what happened to Nouf takes him on a personal journey that leads him to consider his own beliefs. This is a literary page-turner!  ∆

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
Renee is the stereotypical concierge of a Parisian hotel. She is overweight, grumpy and fades into the background of the hotel, unnoticed by the guests until they need something - which is exactly how Renee prefers it. Renee actually has deep interests in art, philosophy and Japanese culture and spends some of her time musing humorously about the vacuous lives of the guests. Paloma is a hotel guest - an acute, sensitive girl who philosophically journals about the world's absurdity and plans to end her life on her upcoming 13th birthday. Kakuro Ozu moves into the hotel. He is wealthy, courteous and perceptive and finds a way into Renee and Paloma's secret lives. What he discovers is at times funny, at times, heart wrenching. These are characters to fall in love with. ∆

The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle
This is a high-impact novel that contrasts the lives of two couples: Candido & America Rincon, illegal immigrants from Mexico and Delaney & Kyra Mossbacher, well-intentioned liberals enjoying a comfortable myopia.  The Rincons live in a makeshift camp at the bottom of a canyon. Candido makes the long walk to the Labor Exchange before dawn each day in effort to ward off starvation and perhaps, save enough for an apartment. The Mossbachers live in Arroyo Blanco Estates. Delaney serves his step-son a macrobiotic breakfast while Kyra heads off to her high-powered real estate job. T.C. Boyle is a fantastic writer and the book is full of nuance (unlike this condensed review). Although the novel was written in the 1980's, it remains extremely relevant today - particularly in light of recent legislation in Arizona. I feel like a better person for having read it.  ∆

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
In this fictional work based on real people, we discover Mamah Borthwick, a bright woman struggling with the social conventions of the early 1900's.  She meets Frank Lloyd Wright when she and her husband commission him to design a house for them. The affair that she and Frank pursue is not only physical but intellectual. Mamah recognizes him for the genius he is and feels revitalized around him. Her struggles with the roles of intellectual, mother, wife, lover and muse are central to the book. She and Frank are plagued by scandal - Horan actually takes passages directly from newspapers that reported the affair. The conflict with societal expectations brings the moral questions involved sharply into focus. We watch Mamah attempt to live an authentic life that feels true to her. However, no one is flawless, least of all, Frank. Loving Frank had its costs. The ending of this book took my breath away. ∆

2009 Selection

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Set in Sarajevo 1996, the story follows Hanna Heath, a 30-year-old Aussie who has been hired to perform an exacting task under the watchful eyes of bank security guards, Bosnian police officers, two United Nations peacekeepers and an official UN observer. She is about to examine a precious 15th- century codex, the Sarajevo Haggadah.
(I really enjoyed People of the Book. The Sarajevo Haggadah is real, but very little is known about its history. From a basic framework, Brooks creates a rich, fictional history of the book that spans The Inquisition, World War II and the turbulence of Sarajevo in the 1990's. People repeatedly risk their own safety in order to protect the book - and the story is full of mystery and drama. Discussions at local bookstores and libraries promise to be interesting - there's a lot to talk about!)

2009 Finalists

The Color of Water by James McBride
This compelling story focuses on the author's mother, Ruth McBride Jordan, the two good men she married, and the 12 good children she raised. Jordan battled not only racism but also poverty to raise her children and, despite being sorely tested, never wavered.  ∆
 

What is the What by Dave Eggers
Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee of the Sudanese civil war, tells the story of his years in flight. Escaping from his village during a massacre in the mid-1980s, Deng becomes one of the so-called Lost Boys. Eventually he is resettled in the United States with thousands of other young Sudanese men, and a very different struggle begins. ∆

Widow of the South by Robert Hicks
Based on true events, this historical novel follows the saga of Carrie McGavock, a lonely Confederate wife who finds purpose transforming her Tennessee plantation into a hospital and cemetery during the Civil War. ∆
 

River of Doubt by Candice Millard
After narrowly losing the 1912 presidential election to Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt  embarked on a harrowing journey along an unknown tributary of the Amazon River...the River of Doubt. ∆