The following books have been selected for discussion in 2023:
January (1-26-23): Simon the Fiddler, Paulette Jiles (ZOOM Book Club meeting)
In 1865 Simon Boudlin finds himself conscripted, however belatedly, into the Confederate Army. Luckily his talent with a fiddle gets him a comparatively easy position in a regimental band. He encounters an indentured girl from Ireland, whom he vows to find after the surrender. Fiction, 341 pages.
February (2-23-23): Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us about Wisdom, Persistence, and Strength, Kat Armas (In-person and ZOOM meeting)
Combining personal storytelling with biblical reflection, Cuban American writer Kat Armas tells the story of unnamed and overlooked theologians—mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and daughters—whose sacred wisdom teaches us something unique about spirituality and God. Nonfiction, 189 pages.
March (3-23-23): Patron Saints of Nothing, Randy Ribay ( ZOOM Book Club meeting)
A Filipino-American teenager in his senior year travels to the Philippines to find out what happened when the cousin he’d been corresponding with was murdered as part of President Duterte’s war on drugs. Patron Saints of Nothing is a page-turning portrayal of the struggle to reconcile faith, family, and immigrant identity. Young-adult fiction, 323 pages.
April (4-27-23): The Plateau, Margaret Paxson
During World War II, French villagers offered safe harbor to countless strangers as they fled for their lives. The same place offers refuge to migrants today. Why? Anthropologist Maggie Paxson arrives on the Plateau to explore this phenomenon: What are the traits that make a group choose selflessness? Nonfiction, 358 pages.
May (5-25-23): The Seed Keeper, Diane Wilson (Minneapolis Institute of Art Book Tour)
The complex story of Rosalie Iron Wing and her search for connection to her family, her people, and the land. Wilson offers finely wrought descriptions of the natural world, as the voice of the Dakota people’s seeds provides connective threads to the stories of Rosalie’s people. Fiction, 400 pages.
June (6-22-23): Miss Benson’s Beetle, Rachel Joyce
In 1950 middle-aged Marjory Benson leaves her job as a British home-ec teacher to go look for the golden beetle of New Caledonia. She ends up with an unlikely travel companion in young free-spirit Enid. Fiction, 352 pages.
July (7-27-23): The Violin Conspiracy, Brendan Slocumb
Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream to become a world-class professional violinist, which seems within reach when he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius—until on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition the violin is stolen, and a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Fiction, 352 pages.
August (8-24-23): Talking to Strangers, Malcolm Gladwell
Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don’t know. And because we don’t know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world. Nonfiction, 416 pages.
September (9-28-23): Driftless, David Rhodes
Home to a few hundred people yet absent from state maps, Words, Wisconsin, comes richly to life by way of an extraordinary cast of characters. At once intimate and funny, wise and generous, Driftless is an unforgettable story of contemporary life in rural America. Fiction, 429 pages.
October (10-26-23): We Crossed a Bridge and it Trembled, Wendy Pearlman
Based on interviews with hundreds of displaced Syrians conducted over four years across the Middle East and Europe—a breathtaking mosaic of first-hand testimonials from the frontlines. Together, they cohere into an unforgettable chronicle that is not only a testament to the power of storytelling but to the strength of those who face darkness with hope, courage, and moral conviction. Nonfiction, 290 pages.
November: This month will be skipped.
December (12-7-23): The Happy Prince, by Oscar Wilde (choose books for 2024)
Timeless tale about friendship, compassion, and the transforming power of selfless love. Fiction, 48 pages.
The NHLC Book Club meets monthly on the fourth Thursday at 7:00 pm in the church Courtyard, unless otherwise noted above. In warmer months, the group may meet outside in members’ backyards. Everyone is invited to read the books and join the discussion!
