June 2023
RCBC June 2023 Meeting Notes
Books Discussed (Click on the titles below to link to our Cardinal website.)
Selected Poetry of Ogden Nash by Ogden Nash
- The jester of poets. Not all are good. Some are great. Plenty to choose from. Worth the reading trip!
Barabara Bush by Barbara Bush
- A first-person account of a private life lived by a very public figure. Throughout the book, we come to know many other famous political figures, all through the lens of Ms. Bush.
Bess W. Truman by Margaret Truman
- A daughter’s take on her mother’s life. An intimate portrait of the Truman family, and a rare look inside the life of a private lady who helped shape her husband’s political career, and therefore a nation.
Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher
- A novel narrated via letters of recommendation written by a curmudgeonly professor who takes out his passive-aggressive distemper on the folks who ask for his help. Read between the lines on this one!
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
- A dystopian tale of injustice and persecution inflicted upon Chinese-Americans by an authoritarian government, and a society all too willing to comply. Also a story of the unbreakable bond between a mother and her son. Moving and powerful. A Reese’s Book Club pick.
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- A novel about the pressures of professional sports and the cost of relentless ambition. The novel outlines the comeback career of a champion tennis star coached by her father. Complicated interpersonal dynamics abound for sure!
Big Trouble on Sullivan’s Island by Susan Boyer
- A light, fun read centered around a vegan gumshoe detective investigating a murder in Charleston, SC. Ms. Boyer was one of the author’s selected for the Hart's Grocery Author Series (co-sponsored by Ashe County Public Library and the Old Orchard Creek General Store in Lansing, NC) during Summer 2023.
The Stable Boy of Auschwitz by Henry Oster and Dexter Ford
- A heartrending memoir of a child’s desperate attempt to survive the Holocaust by making himself indispensable to the enemy.
At Midnight: Fifteen beloved fairy tales reimagined by Dahlia Adler
- A collection of new takes on old fairy tales written by contemporary YA authors. Creative reimaginings! The original tales are included in the volume for reference and comparison.
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
- True story about the brutal murders of members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma during the 1920s. Lethal greed is the culprit. The book was made into a Cannes Movie Festival selection starring Robert DeNiro. Apple TV+ is slated to release the film on their streaming platform sometime in October 2023.
Fever by Mary Beth Keane
- A well researched, fictional account of the life of Typhoid Mary. An interesting fictional retelling of the choices made by a complicated figure in American history. Both a sympathetic and critical portrayal.
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
- A Vickie’s Book Club pick that tells the story of a young Jewish woman’s secreted, yet dangerous, fight to resist German control and her brave attempt to save the identities of hundreds of Jewish children smuggled outside of Nazi territory.
Breathless by David Quamann
- A National Book Award finalist. A nonfiction account of the race to save the world from COVID-19. A well researched and unflinching report. The author was featured on the podcast “This Week in Virology”.
Joan is Okay by Weike Wang
- A novel about a strong-willed Chinese American ICU physician balancing reuniting with her very traditional Chinese mother from overseas just as the COVID pandemic hits. The book touches on the difficulties of being a woman in a man’s field during a period of Chinese distrust. Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal.