The group is open to all AAUW members who enjoy reading and discussing books. New members are always welcome.
The meetings are usually held year round on the third Tuesday of each month, from 1-3 pm, in the Community Room of the Kingston Library.
Fall 2007 Books
September 18: Paradise Alley by Kevin Baker -- The story of the draft riots in 1863 New York City
October 16: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson -- a Kansas family history of the fight between abolitionists and slave holders.November 13th: Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi -- the fictional account of a dwarf living in Germany between the World Wars
Summer 2007 Books
June: Nana by Emile Zola, the story of Nana, a prostitute, and how family alcoholism can turn into a propensity for vice.
July: Last Man Out by Melissa Fay Greene, author of Praying for Sheetrock. A true story of a coal mining disaster in Nova Scotia.
August: Slaughterhouse Five the late Kurt Vonnegut's anti-war novel
We've had a great year of discussions, but my favorite book was "No Ordinary Time" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It gives a full picture of FDR and Eleanor through WW II. One of Goodwin's main theses was that Franklin used Eleanor's liberal agenda to keep the Left on board (because they knew she had his ear), at the same time he could tell his Right-wing constituents that the "Missus" had pushed him into this or that action. It was a fascinating study of a thoroughly effective presidency, and we all agreed we were happy to have read it.
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