About the Book Club | Books We've Read
Sunday, July 10th, 10:30 a.m. on Zoom
We will be joined by award-winning author Peter Orner. If you don't have a copy of his second novel, Love and Shame and Love, let me know and I'll make sure to get you a copy from the library. We also have copies of his first book, Esther Stories.
Love and Shame and Love by Peter Orner
Alexander Popper can't stop remembering. Four years old when his father tossed him into Lake Michigan, he was told, Sink or swim, kid. In his mind, he's still bobbing in that frigid water. The rest of this novel's vivid cast of characters also struggle to remain afloat: Popper's mother, stymied by an unhappy marriage, seeks solace in the relentless energy of Chicago; his brother, Leo, shadow boss of the family, retreats into books; paternal grandparents, Seymour and Bernice, once high fliers, now mourn for long lost days; his father, a lawyer and would-be politician obsessed with his own success, fails to see that the family is falling apart; and his college girlfriend, the fiercely independent Kat, wrestles with impossible choices.
Please come to the next meeting even if you haven't read any of his books -- and tell your friends. Let's show our support for authors who are willing to talk (at no charge) to Book Clubs! Read more about Peter here.
Meeting ID: 919 999 6085 | no Passcode
About the Book Club:
Book Club monthly meetings are open to all who are interested (even if they haven't read the book!). Our books represent a variety of genres, all with a connection to Jewish history or culture. We have copies of the monthly selection to loan. Email the librarian: to arrange pickup.
There is no charge for the Book Club, thanks to our generous donors. Donate to the Braun Library Fund.
Books we've read:
2022
Stations West by Allison Amend
Heights by Joshua Henkin
The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris
Jerome Robbins: A Life in Dance (Jewish Lives) by Wendy Lesser
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2021
Jerome Robbins: A Life in Dance (Jewish Lives) - Wendy Lesser
The Marrying of Chani Kaufman - Eve Harris
Morningside Heights - Joshua Henkin
The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies - Jason Fagone
The Boston Girl - Anita Diamant
Louis Rose, San Diego's First Jewish Settler and Entrepreneur - Don Harrison
Cry of the Peacock - Gina Nahai
By Fire, By Water - Mitchell James Kaplan
Beauty Queen of Jerusalem - Sarit Yishai-Levi
The Yid: A Novel - Paul Goldberg
Three Floors Up - Eshkol Nevo
Visible City - Tova Mirvis
The History of Love - Nicole Krauss
2020
The Worlds We Think We Know - Dalia Rosenfeld
The Ghost of Hannah Mendes — Naomi Ragen
A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka: A Memoir — Lev Golinkin
The Color of Water — James McBride
The Hotel Neversink — Adam O’Fallon Price
People of the Book — Geraldine Brooks
Everything is Illuminated: A Novel — Jonathan Safran Foer
Drawing in the Dust — Zoe Klein
A Bend in the Stars — Rachel Barenbaum
The Muralist: A novel — B.A. Shapiro
2019
The Secret Chord — Geraldine Brooks
Moonglow — Michael Chabon
Naamah — Sarah Blake
Bee Season — Myla Goldberg
A Marriage of Opposites — Alice Hoffman
A Pigeon and a Boy — Meir Shalev
A Tale of Love and Darkness — Amos Oz
The Golem and the Jinni — Helene Wecker
The River Midnight — Lilian Nattel
I am Forbidden — Anouk Markovits
Mr. Mani — Abraham B. Yehoshua,
Ritual Bath — Faye Kellerman
2018
Waking Lions — Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
The Chosen — Chaim Potok
American Pastoral — Philip Roth
Bread Givers — Anzia Yezierska
Einstein and the Rabbi — Naomi Levy
The Best Place on Earth, — Ayelet Tsabari
The Weight of Ink — Rachel Kadish