Barron Park Reading Group

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson Non-Fiction suggested by Janet and Lisa We heard an interview with the author on NPR, and this book sounds like a very interesting discussion of racism and structural impediments.Goodreads says: ‘The Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns examines the unspoken caste system […]

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton Fiction suggested by Barbara from Julian Fellowes on Wikipedia “Wharton has created an anti-heroine [who] has no values except ambition, greed and desire, and yet through the miracle of Wharton’s writing, you are on her side. That’s what’s so extraordinary about the book …” from Amazon – […]

Real American: A Memoir by Julie Lythcott-Haims Non-Fiction suggested by Romie from Romie – Julie Lythcott-Haims wrote “How To Raise an Adult”, taught at Stanford, and lives in Barron Park. I know her mother. Maybe she’d be willing to join us for discussion. from Amazon – A fearless memoir in which the author pulls no […]

The Giver of Stars: A Novel by JoJo Moyes Fiction suggested by Patti From Patti  “very strong female character” “historical fiction about the women’s packhorse library service in backwoods Kentucky in the 1940s (part of the Public Works Program).” From Amazon – Based on a true story, these heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or […]

Ribbons of Scarlet by Quinn Dray Kamoie Knight Perinot Webb Pataki Fiction suggested by Terry Currently reading a rather interestingly collated historical fiction of the French Revolution from the perspective of several women involved. More than six Historical Fiction women authors each researched the life of and then penned a first-person narrative of an actual, […]

How Much of These Hills is Gold: A Novel by C. Pam Zhang Fiction suggested by Sharon Historical fiction set in the California gold rush. The prose is just spectacular. From Amazon – Newly orphaned Chinese-American children siblings Lucy and Sam are suddenly alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of […]

Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels Fiction suggested by Romie from Amazon – In 1940 a boy bursts from the mud of a war-torn Polish city, where he has buried himself to hide from the soldiers who murdered his family. He is only seven years old. And although by all rights he should have shared the […]

The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon Meacham non-fiction suggested by Janet from Amazon/publishers description – Our current climate of partisan fury is not new, and in The Soul of America Meacham shows us how what Abraham Lincoln called the “better angels of our nature” have repeatedly won the day. […]

Watershed by Mark Barr Fiction suggested by Barbara From Amazon: Amidst construction of a federal dam in rural Tennessee, Nathan, an engineer hiding from his past, meets Claire, a small-town housewife struggling to find her footing in the newly-electrified, job-hungry, post-Depression South. As Nathan wrestles with the burdens of a secret guilt and tangled love, […]

We made the rare decision to not meet this month, because we were too caught up in watching the vice-presidential debate on our regular meeting night. We pushed out all our book selections for a month.