June 2022: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

 Kevira's book book for June 2022 is "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI" by David Grann. *Note we moved this from May to June.

 

ABOUT THE BOOK
 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER   -  NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST  -  AMAZON EDITORS' PICK FOR THE BEST BOOK OF 2017 

"Disturbing and riveting...It will sear your soul." —Dave Eggers, New York Times Book Review

Shelf Awareness’s Best Book of 2017

Named a best book of the year by Wall Street Journal, GQ, Time, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly, NPR's Maureen Corrigan, NPR's "On Point", Vogue.com, Smithsonian, Cosmopolitan, Seattle Times, Bloomberg, Library Journal, Paste, Book Browse

From New Yorker staff writer David Grann, #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Lost City of Z, a twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history
       
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.
      Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. Her relatives were shot and poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more members of the tribe began to die under mysterious circumstances.
      In this last remnant of the Wild West—where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes like Al Spencer, the “Phantom Terror,” roamed—many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll climbed to more than twenty-four, the FBI took up the case. It was one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations and the bureau badly bungled the case. In desperation, the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only American Indian agents in the bureau. The agents infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest techniques of detection.  Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history. 
      In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. Based on years of research and startling new evidence, the book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. But more than that, it is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward American Indians that allowed the murderers to operate with impunity for so long. Killers of the Flower Moon is utterly compelling, but also emotionally devastating.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 DAVID GRANN is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine. He is the author of "The Lost City of Z" and a National Book Award finalist for "Killers of the Flower Moon," both of which were chosen as one of the best books of their respective years by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications. He is also the author of "The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession" and "Old Man and the Gun: And other Tales of True Crime." Several of his stories, including "The Lost City of Z" and "Old Man and the Gun," have been adapted into major motion pictures. And his work has garnered several honors for outstanding nonfiction, including a George Polk Award, an Edgar Award, and a Spur Award.

March 2022: The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger

 Julie has picked "The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger" by Suzanne Fortin for use to read in March. She found it on the Goodreads Kindle version for $1.99.

ABOUT THE BOOK

'This story has great depths of emotion, highs and lows, and I found it utterly gripping!' Christina Courtenay

'A deeply moving story of love in all its forms – I adored it' Mandy Baggot

The secrets of the past won't remain hidden forever...

Arthur Pettinger's memory isn't what it used to be. He can't always remember the names of his grandchildren, where he lives or which way round his slippers go. He does remember Maryse though, a woman he hasn't seen for decades, but whose face he will never forget.

When Arthur's granddaughter, Maddy, moves in along with her daughter Esther, it's her first step towards pulling her life back together. But when Esther makes a video with Arthur, the hunt for the mysterious Maryse goes viral.

There's only one person who can help Maddy track down this woman – the one that got away, Joe. Their quest takes them to France, and into the heart of the French Resistance.

When the only way to move forwards is to look back, will this family finally be able to?

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

https://suefortin.com/about/

Suzanne writes historical fiction, predominently dual timeline and set in France. Her books feature courageous women in extraordinary circumstances with love and family at the heart of all the stories.

​Suzanne was a bookworm as a child and this naturally progressed to wanting to write her own stories. It wasn’t until she was on maternity leave with his fourth child, that she thought it was now or never and finally managed to write a complete novel. Having joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association under their New Writers’ Scheme, writing then as Sue Fortin, she sent her manuscript off for a critique.

After another year of working on the novel, Suzanne self-published United States of Love – a contemporary romance. This was then picked up by a traditional publisher, HarperCollins and under their imprint HarperImpulse (now One More Chapter) this book was republished. Writing as Sue Fortin, another seven books in the romantic suspense genre were published with HarperCollins.

More recently, Sue has moved to writing historical fiction and publishes under the name of Suzanne Fortin, with her debut in this genre, The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger released in early 2021 with Head of Zeus imprint, Aria Fiction.

​A self-confessed Francophile, Suzanne has a home in the Morbihan region of France and visits as often as she can with her husband and family. The region has been a huge inspiration for Suzanne’s books and is often the backdrop to her writing.

​Suzanne was born in Hertfordshire but had a nomadic childhood, moving often with her family, before eventually settling in West Sussex.

​Married with four children and two grandchildren – when not behind the keyboard, Suzanne likes to spend her time with them, enjoying both the coast and the South Downs, between which they are nestled.

​A keen amateur photographer, Suzanne’s favourite place to hang out on social media is Instagram.

 

 

February 2022: Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

 Andrea has picked "Trail of Lightning" by Rebecca Roanhorse for our February 2022 book.

ABOUT THE BOOK

One of the Time 100 Best Fantasy Books Of All Time

2019 LOCUS AWARD WINNER, BEST FIRST NOVEL

2019 HUGO AWARD FINALIST, BEST NOVEL

Nebula Award Finalist for Best Novel

One of Bustle’s Top 20 “landmark sci-fi and fantasy novels” of the decade

“Someone please cancel Supernatural already and give us at least five seasons of this badass Indigenous monster-hunter and her silver-tongued sidekick.” —The New York Times

“An excitingly novel tale.” —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse and Midnight Crossroads series

“Fun, terrifying, hilarious, and brilliant.” —Daniel José Older, New York Times bestselling author of Shadowshaper and Star Wars: Last Shot

“A powerful and fiercely personal journey through a compelling postapocalyptic landscape.” —Kate Elliott, New York Times bestselling author of Court of Fives and Black Wolves

While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters—and it is up to one young woman to unravel the mysteries of the past before they destroy the future.

Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unraveling clues from ancient legends, trading favors with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.

As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive.

Welcome to the Sixth World.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rebecca Roanhorse is the New York Times bestselling author of Trail of Lightning, Storm of Locusts, Black Sun, and Star Wars: Resistance Reborn. She has won the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards for her fiction, and was the recipient of the 2018 Astounding Award for Best New Writer. The next book in her Between Earth and Sky series, Fevered Star, is out in April 2022. She lives in New Mexico with her family.

April 2022: The Queen of Tuesdays

 Susan's book pick is The Queen of Tuesdays: A Lucille Ball Story by Darin Strauss.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lucille Ball, Hollywood’s first true media mogul, stars in this “bold” (The Boston Globe), “boisterous novel” (The New Yorker) with a thrilling love story at its heart—from the award-winning, bestselling author of Chang & Eng and Half a Life

A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • “A gorgeous, Technicolor take on America in the middle of the twentieth century.”—Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Nickel Boys

This indelible romance begins with a daring conceit—that the author’s grandfather may have had an affair with Lucille Ball. Strauss offers a fresh view of a celebrity America loved more than any other.

Lucille Ball—the most powerful woman in the history of Hollywood—was part of America’s first high-profile interracial marriage. She owned more movie sets than did any movie studio. She more or less single-handedly created the modern TV business. And yet Lucille’s off-camera life was in disarray. While acting out a happy marriage for millions, she suffered in private. Her partner couldn’t stay faithful. She struggled to balance her fame with the demands of being a mother, a creative genius, an entrepreneur, and, most of all, a symbol.

The Queen of Tuesday—Strauss’s follow-up to Half a Life, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award—mixes fact and fiction, memoir and novel, to imagine the provocative story of a woman we thought we knew.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darin Strauss is the bestselling author of several books. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in fiction writing and numerous other awards, Strauss has seen his work translated into fourteen languages and published in more than twenty countries. He is a clinical associate professor of writing at New York University, and he lives with his wife and children in Brooklyn.

January 2022: The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

 Cass has picked The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow for our first book of 2022. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

“[A] breathless telling of a tale we’ve never heard before. Haunting and lovely, pitch-perfect, this book could not be more timely.”

—Barbara Kingsolver

A timely and moving bicultural coming-of-age tale about the daughter of a Danish immigrant and a black G.I. that is now a New York Times Bestseller and already a book club favorite.

A beauty with light brown skin and blue eyes, 11-year-old Rachel attracts much attention in her new home. The world wants to see her as either black or white, but that’s not how she sees herself.

Meanwhile, a mystery unfolds, revealing the terrible truth about Rachel’s last morning on a Chicago rooftop. Interwoven with her voice are those of Jamie, a neighborhood boy who witnessed the events, and Laronne, a friend of Rachel’s mother.

Inspired by a true story of a mother’s twisted love, The Girl Who Fell From the Sky reveals an unfathomable past and explores issues of identity at a time when many people are asking “Must race confine us and define us?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Heidi W. Durrow is the New York Times best-selling author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky (Algonquin Books), which received writer Barbara Kingsolver’s PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, and is a book club favorite. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky has been hailed as one of the Best Novels of 2010 by the Washington Post, a Top 10 Book of 2010 by The Oregonian, and named a Top 10 Debut of 2010 by Booklist.

Ebony Magazine named Heidi as one of its Power 100 Leaders of 2010 along with writers Edwidge Danticat and Malcolm Gladwell. Heidi was nominated for an 2011 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Debut.

Heidi—the first-generation in her family to attend college—is a graduate of Stanford University, Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism and Yale Law School. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Heidi has worked as a corporate attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and as a Life Skills trainer to professional athletes of the National Football League and National Basketball Association.

She was the founder and producer of the now defunct Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival, but now heads the Mixed Remixed Festival, an annual free public event, that celebrates stories of the Mixed race and multiracial experience through films, books and performance. She is an award-winning podcaster and currently the host of a new audio and video podcast called The Mixed Experience.

Heidi is also a highly acclaimed and sought-after public speaker who has spoken at Brown, Exeter, Yale Law School and many other universities nationwide. She has also been a featured speaker at Sundance and other popular festivals, conferences and high schools on creativity, women’s empowerment, and multicultural and multiracial issues. She has been featured as a leading expert on multiracial and multicultural issues and identity by the NBC Nightly News,the New York Times, CNN, National Public Radio, the BBC, Ebony Magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle. She has served as an occasional contributor to National Public Radio and blogs for the Huffington Post.

Heidi W. Durrow is available for speaking engagements and is widely considered an expert on issues about mixed-race and multiracial identity and experience as well as writing.

 

December 2021: No book, just party

 Bring on the sock exchange!

November 2021: Dear Committee Members by Juile Schumacher

 Becky picked Dear Committee Members by Juile Schumacher for us to read in November. It's a funny one - especially for us English majors!!

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Best Book of the Year:  NPR and Boston Globe

Finally a novel that puts the "pissed" back into "epistolary."

Jason Fitger is a beleaguered professor of creative writing and literature at Payne University, a small and not very distinguished liberal arts college in the midwest. His department is facing draconian cuts and squalid quarters, while one floor above them the Economics Department is getting lavishly remodeled offices. His once-promising writing career is in the doldrums, as is his romantic life, in part as the result of his unwise use of his private affairs for his novels. His star (he thinks) student can't catch a break with his brilliant (he thinks) work Accountant in a Bordello, based on Melville's Bartleby. In short, his life is a tale of woe, and the vehicle this droll and inventive novel uses to tell that tale is a series of hilarious letters of recommendation that Fitger is endlessly called upon by his students and colleagues to produce, each one of which is a small masterpiece of high dudgeon, low spirits, and passive-aggressive strategies. We recommend Dear Committee Members to you in the strongest possible terms.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julie Schumacher grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and graduated from Oberlin College and Cornell University.

Her first published story, “Reunion,” written to fulfill an undergraduate writing assignment (“tell a family tale”) was reprinted in The Best American Short Stories 1983. Subsequent stories and essays were published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, MS, The Chronicle for Higher Education, Prize Stories: The O.Henry Awards , and other venues.

Her first novel, The Body Is Water , was published by Soho Press in 1995 and was an ALA Notable Book of the Year and a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Schumacher’s other books include the national best-seller, Dear Committee Members (winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor); The Shakespeare Requirement , Doodling for Academics (a satirical coloring book); and five novels for younger readers.

Schumacher lives in St. Paul and is a Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota, where she teaches in the Creative Writing Program and the Department of English. She has won multiple teaching awards and has been recognized as a “Scholar of the College.”

From https://julieschumacher.com