Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Anyone who despairs of the individual’s power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built 55 schools—especially for girls—that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth.
Link to book's website:
http://www.threecupsoftea.com/Intro.php
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/glass_castle1.asp
In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/glass_castle1.asp
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Runaway by Alice Munro
Alice Munro is widely considered to be one of the world's premier short story writers. The stories in this book take place throughout Canada and focus on human relationships looked at through the lens of daily life, featuring women and men drifting in and out of each other’s orbits, pulled by forces they often don't understand.
Link to reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/140004281X/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Alice Munro is widely considered to be one of the world's premier short story writers. The stories in this book take place throughout Canada and focus on human relationships looked at through the lens of daily life, featuring women and men drifting in and out of each other’s orbits, pulled by forces they often don't understand.
Link to reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/140004281X/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Friday, November 9, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The Painted House by John Grisham
With A Painted House, John Grisham strikes out in a different
direction than his typical legal thriller. As the author is quick to
note, this novel includes "not a single lawyer, dead or alive."
Instead, Grisham has delivered a quieter, more contemplative
story, set in rural Arkansas in 1952.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/painted_house1.asp
With A Painted House, John Grisham strikes out in a different
direction than his typical legal thriller. As the author is quick to
note, this novel includes "not a single lawyer, dead or alive."
Instead, Grisham has delivered a quieter, more contemplative
story, set in rural Arkansas in 1952.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/painted_house1.asp
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
This stunning novel begins on a winter night in 1964, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome. For motives he tells himself are good, he makes a split-second decision that will haunt all their lives forever.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/memory_keepers_daughter1.asp
This stunning novel begins on a winter night in 1964, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome. For motives he tells himself are good, he makes a split-second decision that will haunt all their lives forever.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/memory_keepers_daughter1.asp
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Dial M: the Murder of Carol Thompson by William Swanson
Veteran Minneapolis journalist William Swanson writes a
compelling book about the brutal 1963 murder of a local housewife, a case that attracted international attention.
Link to reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0873515870/ref=dp_proddesc_0/002-6682929-9311204?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Veteran Minneapolis journalist William Swanson writes a
compelling book about the brutal 1963 murder of a local housewife, a case that attracted international attention.
Link to reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0873515870/ref=dp_proddesc_0/002-6682929-9311204?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
The Human Stain by Philip Roth
The Human Stain provides one of the most provocative explorations of race and rage in American literature. It is 1998, and in a small New England town an aging classics professor is forced to retire when his colleagues decree that he is a racist.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_H/human_stain1.asp
The Human Stain provides one of the most provocative explorations of race and rage in American literature. It is 1998, and in a small New England town an aging classics professor is forced to retire when his colleagues decree that he is a racist.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_H/human_stain1.asp
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Godless by Pete Hautman
Fed up with his parents’ boring old religion, agnostic-going-on-atheist Jason Bock invents a new god—the town’s water tower. Pete Hautman has written a compelling novel about the power of religion over those who believe…and those who don’t.
Link to Pete Hautman's website:
http://www.petehautman.com/godless.html
Fed up with his parents’ boring old religion, agnostic-going-on-atheist Jason Bock invents a new god—the town’s water tower. Pete Hautman has written a compelling novel about the power of religion over those who believe…and those who don’t.
Link to Pete Hautman's website:
http://www.petehautman.com/godless.html
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Things They Carried is a collection of 22 interrelated short fictional episodes about Vietnam by Tim O’Brien, a Minnesota native. A finalist for both the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, this book is also the 2007 selection for the St. Paul Reads Citywide Book Club.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_T/things_they_carried1.asp
The Things They Carried is a collection of 22 interrelated short fictional episodes about Vietnam by Tim O’Brien, a Minnesota native. A finalist for both the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, this book is also the 2007 selection for the St. Paul Reads Citywide Book Club.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_T/things_they_carried1.asp
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Charming Billy by Alice McDermott
Alice McDermott, who won the National Book Award for this work, masterfully weaves a subtle but tenacious web of relationships to explore the devastation of alcoholism, the loss of innocence, the daily practice of love, and the redeeming unity of family and friendship.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_C/charming_billy1.asp
Alice McDermott, who won the National Book Award for this work, masterfully weaves a subtle but tenacious web of relationships to explore the devastation of alcoholism, the loss of innocence, the daily practice of love, and the redeeming unity of family and friendship.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_C/charming_billy1.asp
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Thriller writer John Connolly turns from criminal fears to primal fears in this enchanting novel about a 12-year-old English boy who is thrust into a realm where eternal stories and fairy tales assume an often gruesome reality. Books are the magic that speak to David, whose mother has died at the start of WWII after a long debilitating illness.
Link to John Connolly's website:
http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/novels_lost.html
Thriller writer John Connolly turns from criminal fears to primal fears in this enchanting novel about a 12-year-old English boy who is thrust into a realm where eternal stories and fairy tales assume an often gruesome reality. Books are the magic that speak to David, whose mother has died at the start of WWII after a long debilitating illness.
Link to John Connolly's website:
http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/novels_lost.html
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
After the loss of his entire family, Smithy, a 279-pound,
hard-drinking, chain-smoking, 43-year-old misfit who works in a
G.I. Joe factory putting arms and legs on action heroes , embarks
on a transcontinental bicycle trip to recover his sister's body and rediscover what it means to live.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/memory_of_running1.asp
After the loss of his entire family, Smithy, a 279-pound,
hard-drinking, chain-smoking, 43-year-old misfit who works in a
G.I. Joe factory putting arms and legs on action heroes , embarks
on a transcontinental bicycle trip to recover his sister's body and rediscover what it means to live.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/memory_of_running1.asp
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The Summer of Ordinary Ways by Nicole Lea Helget
In this first book by Minnesota author Nicole Lea Helget, the tough shell of family life is broken open to reveal a girlhood both tragic and lovely, with all its hidden violence, all its secret beauty.
Link to reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0873515439/ref=dp_proddesc_0/002-6682929-9311204?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
In this first book by Minnesota author Nicole Lea Helget, the tough shell of family life is broken open to reveal a girlhood both tragic and lovely, with all its hidden violence, all its secret beauty.
Link to reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0873515439/ref=dp_proddesc_0/002-6682929-9311204?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
With an intensely observant eye, a rigorous regard for period detail, and assured, elegant prose, Brooks re-creates a year in the life of a remote British village decimated by the bubonic plague.
Link to Geraldine Brooks's website:
http://www.geraldinebrooks.com/
With an intensely observant eye, a rigorous regard for period detail, and assured, elegant prose, Brooks re-creates a year in the life of a remote British village decimated by the bubonic plague.
Link to Geraldine Brooks's website:
http://www.geraldinebrooks.com/
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
In his trademark warm and witty prose, Hornby follows four depressed people from their aborted suicide attempts on New Year’s Eve through the surprising developments that occur over the following three months.
Link to Nick Hornby's website:
http://www.nickhornby.net/
In his trademark warm and witty prose, Hornby follows four depressed people from their aborted suicide attempts on New Year’s Eve through the surprising developments that occur over the following three months.
Link to Nick Hornby's website:
http://www.nickhornby.net/
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
An inspired blend of memoir and literary criticism, Reading Lolita in Tehran is a moving testament to the power of art and its ability to change and improve people's lives.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/reading_lolita_in_tehran1.asp
An inspired blend of memoir and literary criticism, Reading Lolita in Tehran is a moving testament to the power of art and its ability to change and improve people's lives.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/reading_lolita_in_tehran1.asp
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Saturday by Ian McEwan
In his triumphant new novel, Ian McEwan, the bestselling author of Atonement, follows an ordinary man through a Saturday whose high promise gradually turns nightmarish.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/saturday1.asp
In his triumphant new novel, Ian McEwan, the bestselling author of Atonement, follows an ordinary man through a Saturday whose high promise gradually turns nightmarish.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/saturday1.asp
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
This book is a memoir of the author’s husband’s sudden death, their only child’s serious illness, and Didion’s efforts to make sense of a time when nothing made sense.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/year_of_magical_thinking1.asp
This book is a memoir of the author’s husband’s sudden death, their only child’s serious illness, and Didion’s efforts to make sense of a time when nothing made sense.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/year_of_magical_thinking1.asp
Wednesday, August 9, 2006
The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich
Local author Louise Erdrich's 10th novel won the 2006 Minnesota Book Award in the Novel and Short Story category. Haunted and haunting, the story navigates smoothly back and forth across the border that separates the living from the dead.
Link to reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0060515104/ref=dp_proddesc_0/002-6682929-9311204?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Local author Louise Erdrich's 10th novel won the 2006 Minnesota Book Award in the Novel and Short Story category. Haunted and haunting, the story navigates smoothly back and forth across the border that separates the living from the dead.
Link to reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0060515104/ref=dp_proddesc_0/002-6682929-9311204?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
In this poignant, quirky, and tender book, Oskar Schell, a nine-year-old amateur inventor, jewelry designer, astrophysicist, tambourine player, and pacifist, has a mission to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11.
Link to reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0618711651/ref=dp_proddesc_0/002-6682929-9311204?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
In this poignant, quirky, and tender book, Oskar Schell, a nine-year-old amateur inventor, jewelry designer, astrophysicist, tambourine player, and pacifist, has a mission to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11.
Link to reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0618711651/ref=dp_proddesc_0/002-6682929-9311204?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
In his debut novel, Khaled Hosseini manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/kite_runner1.asp
In his debut novel, Khaled Hosseini manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/kite_runner1.asp
Wednesday, May 12, 2006
Errands by Judith Guest
In Errands, a selection of both the Literary Guild and the Doubleday Book Club, local author Judith Guest writes the story of a young father dying, leaving his wife and three children to struggle to live on without him.
Link to Judith Guest's website:
http://www.judithguest.com/errands.htm
In Errands, a selection of both the Literary Guild and the Doubleday Book Club, local author Judith Guest writes the story of a young father dying, leaving his wife and three children to struggle to live on without him.
Link to Judith Guest's website:
http://www.judithguest.com/errands.htm
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian
The eighth novel by Chris Bohjalian, author of Midwives, a 1998 Oprah Book Club selection, is a family saga that is timely in its examination of some of the most important issues of our era, and timeless in its exploration of the strange and unexpected places where we find love.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/before_you_know_kindness1.asp
The eighth novel by Chris Bohjalian, author of Midwives, a 1998 Oprah Book Club selection, is a family saga that is timely in its examination of some of the most important issues of our era, and timeless in its exploration of the strange and unexpected places where we find love.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/before_you_know_kindness1.asp
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
The Dive From Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer
Ann Packer's 1993 Alex Award winning first novel is a sensitive exploration of the line between selfishness and self preservation.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/dive_from_clausens_pier1.asp
Ann Packer's 1993 Alex Award winning first novel is a sensitive exploration of the line between selfishness and self preservation.
Link to reading group guide and discussion questions:
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/dive_from_clausens_pier1.asp
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