Nevermore: Secret Sisters, Invisible Man, At Risk, You Never Forget Your First

 

Reported by Garry

 

We had a great mix of historical fiction, thrillers, fantasy and non-fiction brought to the table and Zoom screen this week!

Secret Sisters by Joy Callaway is a fictionalized look at the founding of the first sororities in the United States. In 1881 Illinois, sophomore Beth Carrington is the sole female student in the physician program. Determined to start a fraternity for women, Beth faces withering sexism from both her fellow students and the college itself. Turning to the head of the most powerful fraternity on campus, Beth puts her career and that of others on the line in order to get the recognition and standing taken for granted by the male-oriented fraternities. Our reader thought that this captivating story about trail-blazing women was very well written and informative, and she highly recommends it. 

 

Our next reader took on Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Set in 1927 and first published in 1952, this book addresses many of the racial issues faced by African Americans in the early part of the 20^th century, and is now widely recognized as an American classic and one of the most influential novels of the past century. The story revolves around an unnamed Black man who recounts his life in both the South and in Harlem, and the struggle for Black identity, autonomy and equality. Our reader was impressed and touched by this novel and states that even though it is 70 years old, many of the themes and struggles in it are still relevant today.

At Risk by Alice Hoffman tells the story of Amanda, an 11-year-old girl who contracts HIV from a blood transfusion. Written in 1988, before the time of the drugs that can keep HIV in check, this novel portrays the fear and resulting hostility from Amanda’s small town community when her illness becomes public. Our reader praised Hoffman’s elegant prose, and stated that that even though HIV/AIDS is viewed much differently now, fear, grief and ignorance are universal emotions and so this book remains relevant today.

 

You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe is an irreverent but extremely well researched look at the life and times of George Washington. Our reader said that this book is not only extremely funny, but that it takes George Washington off of the pedestal that he so often fought against, and re-casts him as a real-life person whose life happened to be world-changing. She noted that this book provides great historical information without being dry and clinical – quite the opposite as it made her laugh out loud multiple times.

 

Also mentioned:

Dog On It by Spencer Quinn

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Dante’s Equation by Jane Jensen

The Border of Paradise by Esmé Weijun Wang

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer

Wildland by Rebecca Hodge

Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson

The Removed by Brandon Hobson

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Mama’s Last Hug by Frans De Waal

Radar Girls by Sara Ackerman

Subtle Acts of Exclusion by Tiffany Jana and Michael Baran

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2019 edited by Sy Montgomery

Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-Up and the Reporter Who Revealed it to the World by Leslie M.M. Blume

Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service by Carol Leonnig

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg

Tapestry of Fortunes by Elizabeth Berg

When I Fell from the Sky by Juliane Koepcke

How to Raise an Elephant by Alexander McCall Smith

Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni by Mary Smith

Nevermore: Jeffrey Epstein, Falter, Ona Judge, Kamala Harris, Ken Follett, Curious Charms

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore sometimes (but not always) follows the news headlines, and this was the case today with our first reader describing her initial impressions of the James Patterson book Filthy Rich: A Powerful Billionaire, the Sex Scandal that Undid Him, and All the Justice that Money Can Buy: The Shocking True Story of Jeffrey Epstein. Convicted in 2008 for soliciting an underage girl for prostitution, Epstein served a short sentence and during that term was given liberal work release privileges thanks to a high powered attorney. Patterson (and co-authors John Connolly with Tim Malloy) published this volume in 2016 about how justice really is differently served for the elite versus the common criminal.

Next up: Bill McKibben’s book Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? Speaking about climate change, genetic engineering and other global challenges of the 21^st century, McKibben paints a pretty grim picture of the outlook of the human race. Our reader appreciated the straightforwardness of the issues discussed, and was particularly touched by the quote, “Even, especially, in its twilight, the human game is graceful and compelling.”

Another reader was fascinated by Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar. While President George Washington was serving in the nation’s temporary capital in Philadelphia, he attempted to maintain his household standards by bringing along nine slaves. However, Pennsylvania law said that slaves must be set free after living there for than six months. Washington swapped out his slaves often in order to avoid losing his “property,” but young woman Ona Judge chose to run away to New Hampshire. Martha Washington was particularly fond of Ona’s services, leading to an extensive manhunt and court proceedings in an attempt to retrieve her. But as the title says, Ona was never caught.

Another timely book, The Truths We Hold by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris was enjoyed by another book club member. Our reader said that although she has mixed feelings about the political strategies Harris is taking, she is nevertheless impressed with her accomplishments and her policies.

Turning to fiction, another reader claimed that her light reading was the 900+ page paperback The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Set in the 12^th century, Follett’s saga follows a huge cast of characters through many years. Our reader said that she really enjoyed it and was pleased to have made it all the way through. At that point, another book club member pointed out that there are two more books in this, the Kingsbridge, series: World Without End and A Column of Fire.

Another bit of light reading was found in The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick. Arthur is a widower who on the first anniversary of his wife’s death finds a charm bracelet among Miriam’s jewelry. Nothing unusual, except that he’s never seen it before. Arthur sets out on a journey to discover from where each charm came, and what they meant to his wife. Our reader found this to be a very good story and highly recommends it.

Nevermore: Middleman, Dogs, George Washington, Bachelor Girl, Gone in the Dark

Reported by Ambrea 

Nevermore started their meeting off with The Middleman by Olen Steinhauer.  Special Agent Rachel Proulx works for the FBI and, during her most recent case, she’s tasked with investigating the “Massive Brigade.”  Composed primarily of people who believe change isn’t coming fast enough to America, the Massive Brigade is a mystery—are they a protest organization, a political movement, or, worse, a terrorist group?  Rachel is set to find out and what she discovers about the Massive Brigade and its charismatic leader, Martin Bishop, will shake the country to its foundations.  Our reader thought The Middleman was an odd novel.  She said it reads like an action movie:  fast paced, thrilling, full of plot twists and double agents.  It wasn’t quite her cup of tea, but she found she couldn’t stop reading it.  Although she wouldn’t call The Middleman “amazing,” she did say it was compelling enough to grab her attention and keep her coming back to find out more.

Next, Nevermore checked out What the Dog Knows:  Scent, Science, and the Amazing Ways Dogs Perceive the World by Cat Warren, a university professor, journalist, and dog owner.  In What the Dog Knows, Warren explores the lives of “working dogs [which are trained] to find missing people, detect drugs and bombs, pinpoint unmarked graves of Civil War soldiers, and even find drowning victims more than two hundred feet below the surface of a lake.”  More importantly, she offers a glimpse at the science that makes “working dogs” so capable and the incredible training they undergo.  Our reader found Warren’s book to be very interesting.  It offers a lot of different stories about different working dogs, and she makes the science interesting without being boring.  She highly recommended What the Dogs Knows to her fellow pet lovers.

Switching gears from canine cuties, Nevermore took a look at our first president with Washington:  A Life by Ron Chernow.  In Washington, Chernow delves deep into the life of America’s first president and traces his exploits from his adventurous youth in the colonies to the tumultuous first years of the fledgling republic.  Our reader, who had already explored Alexander Hamilton, was very excited to pick up Washington.  “[It’s] so easy to read and so entertaining,” she said of Chernow’s writing; however, she did notice a significant difference between the works of Hamilton and Washington.  “In Alexander Hamilton, Chernow is very generous of Hamilton’s faults.  With Washington,” she noted, “not so much.”  Despite these differences, she’s curious to see how Chernow will handle Hamilton and Washington crossings.  She highly recommended it to her fellow readers, especially those who were already enchanted with Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton.

Next, Nevermore read The Bachelor Girl by Kim van Alkemade.  Helen Winthrope is a young, struggling actress, who finds herself under the care of Colonel Jacob Ruppert, an eccentric millionaire, and Albert Kramer, Colonel Ruppert’s secretary.  They have an odd relationship, but, even so, Helen finds herself embracing her role as a “bachelor girl”—a woman working and living on her own terms.  But not all is smooth sailing for Helen, especially as dark secrets come to light about both Colonel Ruppert and Albert.  Our reader picked up van Alkemade’s novel, because she originally enjoyed reading Orphan #8; however, when she picked up The Bachelor Girl, she discovered this novel was very different from what she expected—but in a very good way!  She said The Bachelor Girl was an enjoyable novel.  “The details are compelling, not lurid...and the ending was a complete surprise,” she told nevermore, and she rated it very highly overall.

Last, but certainly not least, Nevermore took a crack at a brand-new true crime book:  I’ll Be Gone in the Dark:  One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara.  In McNamara’s book, she explores the case of the Golden State Killer.  Accused of more than fifty assaults and ten murders, the Golden State Killer of Northern California was an elusive mystery for over a decade before he simply disappeared.  Thirty years later, McNamara dug up the case and started her own search.  Our reader picked up I’ll Be Gone in the Dark after hearing rave reviews for it and he said, after reading it completely, he can highly recommend it.  Atmospheric and compelling, alternately enchanting and chilling, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is really interesting book that’s made all the more captivating by the fact that the Golden State Killer was caught shortly after its publication.  Our reader gave it rave reviews and passed it along to the next person in line.