Read with the AAUW Kingston Book Club, 2011/12

Kingston AAUW BOOK CLUB: Reading List for Sept 2011 to June 2012

Photo by OxMatheus, CC, some rights reserved

Sept. 20 Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow

...a small but sweeping masterpiece about the infamous New York hermits, the Collyer brother’s. Doctorow's achievement is in not undermining the dignity of two brothers who share a lush landscape built on imagination and incapacities.

Oct. 18 Muriel's War: An American Heiress in the Nazi Resistance by Sheila Isenberg

An American heiress turned resistance hero, Muriel Gardiner saved countless Jews and anti-fascists, providing shelter and documents ensuring their escape.

Nov. 15 The Covenant by Naomi Ragen

When Elise and Jon moved into their home in Maaleh Sara, Judea, they didn't realize that they would soon be considered 'illegal occupiers". One day the unthinkable happens: Jon and the couple's young daughter, Ilana, are taken hostage.

Dec. (same day as holiday party) Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Simonson tells the tale of Maj. Ernest Pettigrew, an honor-bound Englishman and widower, and the very embodiment of duty and pride. This is a vastly enjoyable traipse through the English countryside and the long-held traditions of the British aristocracy.

Jan. 17 Crossing to Safetv by Wallace Stegner

Two couples meet during the Depression years in Madison, Wis., and become devoted friends despite vast differences in upbringing and social status...Charity is one of the most vivid characters in fiction...arrogant, kindhearted, enthusiastic, stalwart and brave.

Feb.21 Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

This novel spans the life of Aminata Diallo, born in Bayo, West Africa, in 1745. Kidnapped at the age of 11 by British slavers, Aminata does what she can to free herself and others from slavery, including learning to read and teaching others to.

March 20 The Diaries of Sofia Tolstoy edited by Cathy Porter

Sofia was 19 and innocent when her new husband, Leo Tolstoy, 34, handed her his sexually candid diary. Smart and determined, she took refuge in her own diary, chronicling her daunting life as the wife of the self-absorbed genius.

April 17 When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

...tells one Japanese American family's story of internment in a Utah enemy alien camp during World War II. This novel is written in deceptively tranquil prose, a distillation of injustice, anger, and poetry.

May 15 Olive Kittredge by Elizabeth Strout

Thirteen li{ked tales present a heart-wrenching, penetrating portrait of ordinary coastal Mainers living lives of quiet grief intermingled with flashes of human connection.

June 19 Shannon by Frank Delaney

Delaney's novel follows an American priest as he travels along Ireland’s Shannon River in search of his family roofs, and while it's peace he seeks, trouble finds him.

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