The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World by Marie Favereau Non-Fiction suggested by Shirley from Amazon – An epic history of the Mongols. Conquerors and also city builders, diplomats, and supple economic thinkers who constructed one of the most influential empires in history. Their accomplishments extended far beyond war.Favereau takes us inside one of […]
Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson Fiction suggested by Terry I think it would be fun to discuss this book about two women who take over a “narrow boat” on the canals in the UK. They are strangers who by chance meet a third woman who needs help getting the boat to a destination while she […]
Segu by Maryse Condé Fiction suggested by Janet Set in an 18th century African kingdom and based on actual events, examines the cultural transformations brought about by the rise of Islam coming from the east and the slave trade coming from the west. From Amazon – Segu follows the life of Dousika Traore, the king’s most […]
The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis Non-Fiction suggested by Barbara from Amazon – A true thriller that pits a band of medical visionaries against the wall of ignorance that was the official response of the Trump administration to the outbreak of COVID-19. The President insisted there was nothing to worry about. from an […]
Exit West: A Novel by Mohsin Hamid Fiction suggested by Janet from Amazon – When Nadia and Saeed fall in love in a distant unnamed city, they are just like any other young couple. But soon bullets begin to fly, fighter jets streak the sky, and curfews fall. As the spell of violence spreads, they […]
Frog: A Novel by Mo Yan Fiction suggested by Zhenhua from Amazon – A sweeping history of modern China through the lens of the nation’s one-child policy and a midwife who enforces the policy. Desperate families, illegal surrogates, abortion, guilt. In 2012, the Nobel committee confirmed Mo Yan’s position as one of the greatest and […]
The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason Fiction suggested by Romie WWI historical fiction. From the ballrooms of Vienna to an Eastern Front battlefield hospital, a story of war and medicine, of family, finding love, of mistakes and opportunities to atone. from Amazon — Vienna, 1914. Lucius is a twenty-two-year-old medical student when World War I […]
Into the Magic Shop by Stanford Neurosurgeon James Doty Memoir suggested by Romie Growing up in the high desert of California, Jim Doty was poor, with an alcoholic father and a mother chronically depressed and paralyzed by a stroke. Today he is the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford […]
The Girl with the Louding Voice: A Novel by Abi Daré Fiction suggested by Patti From Patti “very strong female character” “set in modern-day Nigeria, and it tells the story of a girl from a small, poverty-stricken village. Her father sells her into an awful marriage because he needs money, but the marriage doesn’t last long; and she […]
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 […]