Manchester City Library

Here is the list of books that the Brown Bag Book Club will be reading this year. This book discussion group meets om the last Tuesday of the month from 12:15 – 1:30 pm in the Hunt Room. Bring your lunch – Dessert is on us!

September 24: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman Eleanor’s life could be described as predictable until she meets Raymond from IT, described as bumbling and unhygienic. The unlikely pair save an elderly man who has fallen on the sidewalk. The three become friends and through their friendship manage to rescue each other. But in the end it is Raymond’s big heart that helps Eleanor find her way. Read it and find out how.    (Good Reads)

October 29: Kookooland, a Memoir, by Gloria Norris The One Book, One Manchester selection “… Written on the edge of a knife blade. Chilling, intensely moving and darkly funny. It cuts to the heart and soul of a troubled American family and announces a startlingly original voice.” Simon & Schuster

November 26: Nora Webster, by Colm Toibin Widowed in her forties, with four children and not enough money, Nora has lost the love of her life, Maurice, the man who rescued her from the stifling world to which she was born. Now she fears she may be sucked back into it.  (Simon & Schuster)

December 31: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott The story of four devoted sisters, loosely based on the life of the author. Follow the sisters from innocent adolescence to sage adulthood with all the joy and sorrow of life in between. Nominated as a best-loved novel by the Great American Read on PBS.

January 28: The Song of Achilles, a Novel, by Madeline Miller If your copy of the Illiad has been gathering dust since high school, this book is a different twist on an old story. Prince Patroclus is exiled to the court of King Peleus where he meets the King’s son, Achilles. The two boys become friends. As they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper. Told against the backdrop of the Trojan War.  (Good Reads)

February 25: The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump, by Andrew G.  McCabe The mission of the FBI is to “…protect and defend the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats, to uphold and enforce the criminal laws of the United States. . .”  www.justice.gov/jmd/orgnization-mission-and-functions-manual-federal-bureau-investigation   The Threat tells what the FBI is, how it works, and why it will endure as an institution of integrity that protects America.

March 31: Killers of the flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann After being squeezed off nearly 400 million acres in Kansas in the early nineteenth century, the Osage settled in what became Oklahoma. A provision that “oil, gas coal and other minerals” would be owned by the tribe made the Osage very rich. However, between 1920 and 1924   mysterious illnesses followed by shooting deaths went unsolved by local law enforcement.   The case finally was solved through the intervention of a nascent FBI.   (New York Times)

April 28: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones   Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are settling in to their life together when Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years in prison for a crime Celestial knows he did not commit. “A moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African American couple.”      (Barack Obama)

May 26: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah Trevor Noah was born to a white Swiss father and a black African mother at a time when their union was a criminal act. Trevor was kept indoors during his earliest years to hide him from a government that could steal him away. A series of essays chronicles his and his mother’s lives through a damaged world in a dangerous time.   (Good Reads)

June 30: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith   Dreaming big dreams in the land of opportunity is at the heart of this coming of age story set in Brooklyn in the early 1900’s. The Nolans are an immigrant family making their uncertain way. Their struggles and triumphs come alive through Francie, the resourceful and determined daughter, as she grows into womanhood.

Everyone is welcome to join the book club, whether it is for the whole year or for one or two meetings. For more information please call the Information Desk at 624-6550 ext. 3320. See you at the book discussion!