Update! The April Adult Book Club meeting is being pushed forward a week and will be held on Friday, April 16, 2021 from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
And the change in date is due to the fact that I’m getting my second COVID shot on Friday, April 9, which is the original date of the April book club meeting, and as I know a number of people have experienced distracting symptoms after getting the second shot – I thought I’d reschedule the meeting, so I don’t find I need to cancel at the last moment!
As a reminder, the April book club read is The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
If you have previously registered for an SSCL Adult Book Club meeting you’ll get an email with the link today (3/23) and a reminder email including the same link on Monday, April 5.
If you’ve just discovered this blog and would like to register for the April SSCL Adult Book Club, here is the link, which will direct you to the registration page on the Southeast Steuben County Library website:
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I know moving the April meeting forward a week, will leave us less time before the May 14 Adult Book Club meeting; however, the May read, The Boy In The Field by Margot Livesey is relatively short – just 272 pages – so I’m sure we can all read that title in the three weeks in between meetings.
And as usual, if you find you can’t get a copy of the book club selection of the month, let me know and I’ll make sure you get a copy.
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And here are the Cliff Notes Takes on the February & March reads!
Cliff Notes Take on the February Read:
The February SSL Adult Book Club Selection was Ruth Ware’s One By One. The book is an intriguing thriller set at an isolated French chalet. As the story opens readers meet the two chalet staff members, Erin and Danny, who are getting ready to host the staff of an app company called Snoops The app allows music fans to listen, in real time, to whatever music other Snoop members, both famous and non-famous, are listening to in real time. The Snoops staff includes stockholders Eva, Topher, Rik & Liz and several support staff. Just after the Snoop crew arrives for their business vacation, Eva holds a meeting and announces that they have a buy-out offer that she is eager to accept; not all stockholders wish to sell the company and some, including Topher, are outraged that Eva has been in negotiation for a buy-out without telling the other stockholders. As the story progresses Eva suffers a suspicious “accident,” an avalanche partially buries the chalet leaving group stranded together and cut off from the rest of the world; and as murder ensues, readers discover that not all characters are quite who they seem to be.
The consensus of book club members was that One By One was an interesting thriller, with compelling characters and a story reminiscent of the works of Agatha Christie.
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Cliff Notes Take of the March Read:
The March SSCL Adult Book Club read was Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar.
Ayad Akhtar book is fiction, on the real-life experiences of Ayad, a first generation American and his family. In the book, the main character is also called Ayad Akhtar, and he is the only child of Pakistani immigrants Sikander and Fatima Akhtar. The book explores the world-view of Ayad who is American born and his Pakistani born parents, Sikander and Fatima; interspersing experiences the trio has had during their lives and as they traverse the discriminatory climate in the U.S. Readers learn that Akhtar’s mother Fatima, despite always longing to return to Pakistan to live, experienced the horrors of war at a young age, and that Akhta’s father, who during the story works as both as an academic and a practicing cardiologist, meets a fictional Donald Trump when that character is suffering from cardiac issues, and that despite experiencing discrimination as an immigrant, Sikander supports Donald Trump through all the years insisting that he is a good man and even voting or him; this despite evidence that indicates that the fictional Donald Trump is a racist.
The experiences of the main character, Ayad, are also relayed including how his college studies, particularly under his favorite Professor Mary Maroni have influenced his life and how his worldview has changed over time. There are also stories of how Ayed, an American citizen, must deal with discrimination, including an incident, in the aftermath of 9/11, when Ayed’s car breaks down and encounters a bigoted white police officer and his car-repair shop owning uncle who cheats Ayed by charging him an exorbitant amount to fix his car simply because both the nephew and uncle do not like that Ayed’s family comes from Pakistan.
Home Elegies is an enlightening read that follows several immigrant characters and one first-generation American, Ayed, who when asked while giving a Q&A following an academic lecture, near the end of the book, that if he thinks it is so difficult to live in America – then why does he stay? And he sums up a main theme of the book with his reply “I’m here because I was born and raised here. This is where I’ve lived my whole life. For better, for worse– and it’s always been a bit of both– I don’t want to be anywhere else. I’ve never even thought about it, America is my home.”
The book club members agreed Homeland Elegies is an excellent read. Highly recommend.
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Have a great day everyone,
Linda
SSCL Book Club for Adults 