BookPeople is thrilled to host nearly staff-run a dozen book clubs every month. All but one of the clubs meets right here in the store. Following are this week’s discussions. We hope you find one that fits your favorite genre! All BookPeople book club meetings are free and open to the public. Book club picks are 10% off for those who attend the meeting. Just let your cashier know you’re buying it for a book club!
Stand Up Sit Down Book Club – Monday, February 23 at 7pm
I Know I Am But What Are You by Samantha Bee
Critics have called her “sweet, adorable, and vicious.” But there is so much more to be said about Samantha Bee. For one, she’s Canadian. Whatever that means. And now, she opens up for the very first time about her checkered Canadian past. Whether detailing the creepiness that ensues when strangers assume that your mom is your lesbian lover, or recalling her girlhood crush on Jesus (who looked like Kris Kristofferson and sang like Kenny Loggins), Samantha turns the spotlight on her own imperfect yet highly entertaining life as relentlessly as she skewers hapless interview subjects on The Daily Show. She shares her unique point of view on a variety of subjects as wide ranging as her deep affinity for old people, to her hatred of hot ham. It’s all here, in irresistible prose that will leave you in stitches and eager for more.
Hard Word Book Club – Wednesday, February 25 at 7pm
Trouble In The Heartland by Joe Clifford
Like some born killers, this pairing of crime stories and the songs of Bruce Springsteen is a natural one.
Each of the accomplished authors in this unique anthology chose a Springsteen title as a starting point, and in the criminally inclined spirit of the Boss, drove headlong to wherever that inspiration called. The destinations are as wildly diverse and far-reaching as the songs that influenced them. Some arrive at hope and redemption; others end up smoking in a ditch. One thing’s for sure: you sign up for this ride, and Trouble in the Heartland will transport you somewhere unforgettable.
Happy Hour Book Club at Opa’s – Thursday, February 26 at 5:30pm
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
Demick brings to life what it means to be living under the most repressive totalitarian regime today—an Orwellian world that is by choice not connected to the Internet, where displays of affection are punished, informants are rewarded, and an offhand remark can send a person to the gulag for life. Demick takes us deep inside the country, beyond the reach of government censors, and through meticulous and sensitive reporting we see her subjects fall in love, raise families, nurture ambitions, and struggle for survival. One by one, we witness their profound, life-altering disillusionment with the government and their realization that, rather than providing them with lives of abundance, their country has betrayed them.
New & Noteworthy Book Club – Thursday, February 26 at 7pm
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
“A majestic tale encompassing the entire breath of human experience – from heights of passion and depths of despair; a truly engrossing and unforgettable tome from a master storyteller. Flanagan has the ability to give life to his characters that resonate with every reader: from the horrors of a POW camp in Burma; from the perspectives of the Japanese soldiers and prison guards; from the survivors of the camp and their inability to relate to the real world; from a man who is trying to find out who and what he really is in relation to his fellow man, family, lovers and country, this book reminds us that great literature touches and moves us in unexpected ways.” –Raul
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