In a recent Nevermore meeting, our readers broached a variety of
subjects—James A. Garfield, introverts, photography, and presidential campaigns—and
even investigated some new fiction with Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman and Gone
Girl by Gillian Flynn.
First,
our readers jumped back into Gone Girl. After Amy Dunne disappears from her home in
North Carthage, Missouri, her husband, Nick, is put under close scrutiny as the
media and the police start to dig into his life to find out whether he really
is a killer. Filled with suspense and
mystery—and, more importantly, sociopaths (a favorite subject for our Nevermore
readers)—Gone Girl was definitely a
treat for our latest reader. According
to her it was “wonderful, a great book.”
Next,
our readers looked at Into the Kill
Zone: A Cop’s Eye View of Deadly Force
by David Klinger. As a former police
officer and a university professor, Klinger has interviewed dozens of officers
who have used deadly force in criminal encounters. He presents an in-depth look at the way
officers are trained, the conditions they face and the violence they experience
on the job, and the effects of deadly force in the lives of American police
officers. For our Nevermore reader, who
has friends working on the police force, Into
the Kill Zone was an excellent depiction of on-the-job hazards that police
officers face every single day.
Our
reader also discussed Destiny of the
Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine,
and the Murder of a President by Candice Miller. James Garfield was born into poverty, but he
became a scholar, a Civil War hero, a renowned congressman, and a presidential
candidate; however, after four months in office, an assassination attempt and
botched medical treatment resulted in his death. Our Nevermore reader said Destiny of a Republic was “a fabulous
book”—and what made the novel even more fascinating were the interviews with
the author on CSPAN. Miller explores all
the different facets of Garfield’s presidency and demise: his administration, his assassin, and his
doctors.
Continuing
the exploration of the American presidency, one of our readers discussed Believer:
My Forty Years in Politics by David Axelrod. Axelrod, a journalist and political strategist,
has spent years in politics and cultivated a twenty-year friendship with
President Barack Obama, even contributing to his elections in 2008 and
2012. His memoir provides an in-depth
look at politics and presidential campaigns.
Although our Nevermore reader had only read two-thirds of the memoir so
far, she thought it was an intriguing book.
“It’s fascinating to realize what goes into a presidential campaign,
[specifically] Obama’s first presidential campaign,” she said.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t
Stop Talking by Susan Cain followed. Cain, a corporate lawyer, explores the
qualities of introverts and extroverts throughout the world, exploring the
repression of introversion in the United States—how extroverts are rewarded
more readily in society and the workplace—and nature versus nurture in the
development of introverts. Cain makes a
very careful, very accurate depiction of information and possesses a
textbook-like depth, presenting facts with clarity and accumulating knowledge
which our Nevermore reader found absolutely fascinating.
Additionally,
our readers looked at a brand new book to the library: Go Set
a Watchman by Harper Lee. Continuing
from Lee’s original classic, Go Set a
Watchman follows the return of Jean Louise Finch (Scout) to Maycomb County
from New York and chronicles her emotional turmoil as she’s confronted by
changes in her hometown that changes how she sees everything and
everyone—including her father, Atticus.
For our Nevermore readers, Lee’s new novel seemed typical of any book done
in the south during this time; however, it was definitely a shock to see
Atticus in a brand new light, because, like Scout, our readers were given a new
perspective on Atticus Finch, “[he] was letting you reduce him to the status of
a human being.”
