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All About Book Club Books: The Toni Morrison Book Club, The Bromance Book Club, The Book Club Cookbook and the Maximum Security Book Club

11 Mar

I love curling up at night with a good book before I fall asleep, but sometimes the best part of reading isn’t about just reading it yourself, but also about the great conversations they spark and the bonding that occurs over the shared experience.  A variety of fiction and nonfiction books have even used book clubs as a source of inspiration.

The Toni Morrison Book Club
by Juda Bennett
Toni Morrison Book Club
This is one of our newest additions to our collection here at HPL and if you are a fan of Toni Morrison, like me, you’ll be interested in checking it out.  This memoir looks at a group of friends who vary in race, sexual orientation, and country of origin, but all share bonds over Morrison’s work.  Controversies spring up, but the book club also becomes a powerful way to not only look at Morrison’s own works, but also the participant’s lives.

The Bromance Book Club
by Lyssa Kay Adams
Bromance Book Club
Looking for something a bit lighter?  Check out this fun ebook from eBCCLS or eLibraryNJ about a baseball player who turns to a romance book club when his own relationship starts to break apart.  Can he use the book groups latest read as a guide to saving his own marriage?

The Book Club Cookbook: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club’s Favorite Books and Authors
by Judy Gelman
Book Club Cook Book
If you are hosting a book club, you may be wondering what to serve your guests?  Look no further than The Book Club Cookbook available from BCCLS libraries.  It includes recipe and discussion ideas for 100 popular book club choices so you can sample a good book and a delicious dish!

The Maximum Security Book Club: Reading Literature in A Men’s Prison
by Mikita Brottman
maximum security book club
In this memoir Mikita Brottman, a scholar, recounts her experience of reading literature with prisoners in a maximum-security jail near Baltimore.  Discussing selections like Macbeth and Heart of Darkness not only gives the book club members new insights, but also changes Brottman’s own experiences of the literary works.  The Maximum Security Book Club provides a unique perspective on both literature and the experience of those incarcerated in our nation’s prisons.  It is available from Hoopla as an ebook and digital audiobook.

Book Club
Book Club
Looking for a fun movie to watch with your book club friends?  Check out the 2018, Book Club starring the stellar cast of Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgeon as four friends who decide to put aside their usual book club fare for the steamy Fifty Shades of Grey.

Looking for a book club?  Well you are in luck.  We have four unique genre book clubs at the Hoboken Library and we are reading some terrific books in the upcoming months.

Our Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion Group picked The Gate to Women’s Country by Sheri S. Tepper for March, which looks at a world where the gender divide has become so great that walls keep them apart; a thought provoking look at a disturbing dystopia.  Come and discuss it with us on Monday, March 23 at 6 PM.

On Tuesday, March 31 at 6:30 PM join us for the first meeting of the Hoboken Public Library’s Romance Book Club! We will be discussing Jennifer Robson’s The Gown.  Read more about the book in our Valentine’s Day blog post.

Our History Book Club will be back on April 6 at 6:30 PM, to read the Pulitzer Prize winning, A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, which looks at the fascinating life of and world of a midwife in 18th Century Maine!  You can borrow the DVD American Experience adaptation or stream it from Kanopy.

On April 14 at 6:30 PM the Mystery Book Club will discuss Eight Perfect Murders by award winning author, Peter Swanson.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Head of Reference

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New Books about Strong Women: New Arrival to Read for Women’s History Month

3 Mar

I took a look at the new arrivals here at the Hoboken Public Library and found some great reads for March when we are celebrating Women’s History Month. If you want to see what else is new at the Hoboken Public Library go to the link here.

Fighting for Space: Two pilots and their Historic Battle for Female Spaceflight
by Amy Shira Teitel
Fighting for Space
In Fighting for Space, learn more about Jackie Cochran and Jerrie Cobb, two female pilots who both longed to become the first woman in space, but were grounded by patriarchal society.  Last year our Science Fiction book discussion group read in April, The Calculating Stars which imagined what it would be like if women had been allowed to become astronauts at an earlier time.  Also check out the terrific Hidden Figures about the female African American mathematicians who were instrumental in the early space program.

The Genius of Women: From Overlooked to Changing the World
by Janice Kaplan
Genius of Women
Kaplan, the bestselling author of The Gratitude Diaries, looks at in The Genius of Women why the impressive work by many women in history has been overlooked.  The work seeks to inspire women of today with how smart women overcame the barriers to their success.

Stop Telling Women to Smile: Stories of Street Harassment and How We’re Taking Back Our Power
by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
Stop Telling to Women to Smile
Tatyana Fazlaizadeh is known for her fabulous looking and provocative street art.  In Stop Telling Women to Smile she features not only her work, but also the stories of the women who experience hostile streets where they live.  I know I have experienced this myself throughout my life and it is nice to see a famous artist drawing attention to this pervasive problem.

This month we are Celebrating Women Artists in our Weekly Wednesday Art Classes at 10 AM and1 PM.  Art teacher Liz Cohen Ndoye will hold a series of four art classes highlighting the work of different women artists. Liz will introduce you to the extraordinary work of Kiki Smith, Judith Scott, Liz Larner, and Latoya Ruby Frazier.

Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words
by Susan Reyburn
Rosa Parks
The Library of Congress for the first time has made available in print the documents from the Parks Collection which includes her notes and manuscripts.  Rosa Parks is often celebrated as a powerful symbol of the civil rights elements, but this book allows the person behind the movement to be recognized in her own right.  It also includes a variety of historic photographs.

We have a special production honoring Rosa Parks for kids in grades 3-8 today (Tuesday, March 3) at 4:30 pm. In A Seat for Rosa, when a child tells his aunt about a bully on his bus, she gives him advice by recounting the tale of Rosa Parks and the events that led to a revolution in racial justice. This poignant production includes many songs of the Civil Rights era and brings this time to life. Through this exploration of that era, students learn how individuals can work together to fight injustice and oppression. First come, first served.  If your children are interested in learning more about Parks we have a variety of children’s books about her including: Who was Rosa Parks? by Yona Zeldis McDonough, I am Rosa Parks by Brad Meltzer, and A Picture book of Rosa Parks by David A. Adler.

Written by Aimee Harris
Head of Reference

 

 

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