2017 brought a sad change to our group. Dear friend and longtime member, Carma Cornell, passed away much too soon. We continue to miss her wit, kindness, frankness, and intellect. Carma was one of a kind. The following is from the book she had selected for the year:
“Change is the nature of nature. For example, stars expand as they grow older. They grow from a star, to a red super-giant, to a supernova. When a massive star explodes at the end of its life, the explosion dispenses different elements-helium, carbon, oxygen, iron, nickel-across the universe, scattering stardust. That stardust now makes up the planets, including ours.”
― Michelle Cuevas, Beyond the Laughing Sky
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
"Alexander Hamilton was one of the most brilliant men of his brilliant time, and one of the most fascinating figures in all of American history. His rocketing life-story is utterly amazing. His importance to the founding of the new nation, and thus to the whole course of American history, can hardly be overstated. This is grand-scale biography at its best—thorough, insightful, consistently fair, and superbly written. It clears away more than a few shop-worn misconceptions about Hamilton, gives credit where credit is due, and is both clear-eyed and understanding about its very human subject. Its numerous portraits of the complex, often conflicting cast of characters are deft and telling. The whole life and times are here in a genuinely great book." —David McCullough
Our group agrees, "... a genuinely great book."
The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Hillbilly Elegy: Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
A passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of poor, white Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for over forty years, has been reported with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J.D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hanging around your neck. (From the back cover)
Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitc
Tomorrow is Now by Eleanor Roosevelt
Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell
Beyond the Laughing Sky by Michelle Cuevas
Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
Desperate to avoid his 100th birthday party, Allan Karlsson climbs out the window of his room at the nursing home and heads to the nearest bus station, intending to travel as far as his pocket money will take him. But a spur-of-the-moment decision to steal a suitcase from a fellow passenger sends Allan on a strange and unforeseen journey involving, among other things, some nasty criminals, a very large pile of cash, and an elephant named Sonya. (Booklist)
Our group enjoyed this rollicking, Forrest Gump-like tale.
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