Book Club, Contemporary, Fiction

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Another old book club selection from December, not my pick, but one I think I'm glad I'm read. I don't know. Two months later and I still can't decide how I feel about it. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:Louise Erdrich's latest novel, The Sentence, asks what we owe to the living, the dead, to the reader… Continue reading The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Book Club, Nonfiction, STEM

Fuzz by Mary Roach

When Nature Breaks the Law It's another Mary Roach book! I do love her insatiable curiosity and I was delighted when another book club member recommended this book for book club. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:What's to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years… Continue reading Fuzz by Mary Roach

Book Club, Fiction, Historical

Circe by Madeline Miller

I am, admittedly, very late to the Madeline Miller party. Which is incredibly embarrassing, given the chance that I had to be early. As part of the latest round of book club selections, this is one that has been sitting on my shelf as an ARC from late 2017, a signed ARC no less, that… Continue reading Circe by Madeline Miller

Book Club, History, Nonfiction

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell

It's another Bridge Street Book Club book! Our meeting was small but we covered a great deal in our discussion! Synopsis From the publisher marketing:Of all the countries the United States invaded or colonized in 1898, Sarah Vowell considers the story of the Americanization of Hawaii to be the most intriguing. From the arrival of… Continue reading Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell

Book Club, Fiction, Mystery

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

Book club is back! We have a new name, again, but now that I have a new bookstore to work at, I’m hoping this one will be the one to stick. We’ve had some major shuffling in the last two and a half years - countless virtual meetings, a false start in July, and now… Continue reading The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

Book Club, History, Nonfiction, Sociology, STEM

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham

The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster As a book club, we are fascinated by science history and radioactivity it seems. Once I watched the HBO show Chernobyl, it rekindled my interest in the disaster. We had two Chernobyl books to choose from, and while I wanted to read Svetlana Alexievich's oral history,… Continue reading Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham

Book Club, History, Nonfiction

Black Flags, Blue Waters by Eric Jay Dolin

The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates As a well known lover of pirates, this book had been on my TBR for quite some time. When Nonfiction Book Club was disappointed by the lack of pirateyness in The Last Pirate of New York, I suggested we read this real pirate book! Synopsis From the… Continue reading Black Flags, Blue Waters by Eric Jay Dolin

Book Club, History, Nonfiction, STEM

The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean

And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements This was one of my selections for Nonfiction Book Club! Continuing on my obsession with radiation and chemistry, it was a most enthralling read. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes… Continue reading The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean

Biography, Book Club, History, Nonfiction, STEM, True Crime

American Sherlock by Kate Winkler Dawson

Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI When a member of Nonfiction Book Club put this book forth for voting I admittedly did not want it to get voted through to an actual selection. When it was, I dreaded reading it, but was quite pleasantly surprised. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:Berkeley, California, 1933. In… Continue reading American Sherlock by Kate Winkler Dawson

Biography, Book Club, History, Nonfiction, Sociology, True Crime

The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Another Nonfiction Book Club selection! This one was a highly anticipated read for many of our members. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:Five devastating human stories and a dark and moving portrait of Victorian London—the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper.… Continue reading The Five by Hallie Rubenhold