Book
Discussions Led by Stacey
Fiction | Nonfiction
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
In this witty,
timeless comedy of manners, the charming Bennet sisters seek the perfect
husband. A sprightly commentary on society and marriage in Regency England. The
One Book, One Batavia 2013 selection.
(Classic; Romance)
The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter
When Charles Baxter wanders to a park during a sleepless
night, he encounters a neighbor who tells him the first of several tales of
love that interweave to create this luminous novel.
(Literary Fiction)
The Particular Sadness of
Lemon Cake by
Aimee Bender
As a child,
Rose discovers she can taste the emotions of the person who cooked the food she
eats—which often discloses people’s secrets. She narrates this story about her
unusual family and their unexpected talents. This lyrical novel, infused with
magical realism, captures the sweet and sour flavor of family life.
(Literary
Fiction; Magical Realism)
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
When the queen of England discovers the delights of
reading books, her advisers worry—and with good cause: her ideas and behavior
are changing… dramatically. This novel is a paean to the joys of reading.
(General Fiction)
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Dana, a 26-year-old
African-American woman living in the 1970s, is transported back to the
antebellum South, where she experiences life in slavery. While she is able to
return to her real life in 1976, periodically she is called back to the past to
protect the young man who will become her own ancestor. A thought-provoking
novel by an author who was awarded a Macarthur “genius” grant.
(Time Travel)
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
When the Sisters brothers—professional hit men in the old
West—agree to do “one last job,” things go horribly awry. Funny and irreverent
and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. (How often does that happen with a Western?)
(Western; Mystery; Noir; Historical Fiction)
Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr
In this lyrical novel, a retired American couple
moves to a Mexican village to re-open an old copper mine. This quiet,
character-driven story brings to life many of the town’s residents, who are
perplexed by the strange ways of their new neighbors.
(Literary Fiction)
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
In this classic mystery, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
take a case involving a mysterious death and a terrible family legend about a
ghostly hound on the menacing moor. The One Book, One Batavia 2016 selection.
(Mystery; Classic)
LaRose by Louise Erdrich
A
somber, lyrical novel about a man who honors his family’s Ojibwe
traditions by giving his young son to his neighbors after accidentally
killing their child in a hunting accident. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction.
(Literary Fiction; Complex)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
In this poignant and complex story, a precocious 9-year-old
boy narrates his quest to find the lock for a key left behind by his father,
who died in the World Trade Center attack.
(Literary Fiction; Bittersweet; Quirky; Multiple Narrators)
Safe from the Sea by Peter Geye
After years of estrangement, Noah visits his stoic father, a shipwreck
survivor, near the end of his life. A somber, hushed story of a father and son,
set on Minnesota’s north shore.
(Literary Fiction)
Disobedience by Jane Hamilton
Narrated with pitch-perfect sarcasm and sadness by the teenage son who
discovers his mother’s affair, this is the absorbing, bittersweet story of a
family silently ruptured by infidelity—even as the pre-teen daughter and her
father joyfully pursue their passion for Civil War reenactment.
(Literary Fiction)
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
In this subdued, introspective novel, Stevens—the
consummate butler for all his adult life—embarks on a rare vacation. During his
drive, he finds himself reflecting on his many years of unfailing service to
Lord Darlington – and wondering at his own ability look past the terrible truth
about the man he served.
(Literary Fiction)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
by Shirley Jackson
The very strange Blackwoods—18-year-old Mary Katherine
(who narrates the story), her sister Constance, and their uncle Julian—live in
seclusion in their family mansion, scorned by the townspeople who fear them
following a horrific event. A creepy contemporary classic.
(Classic; Psychological Suspense)
The Report by Jessica Francis Kane
A quietly dramatic novel that imagines the cause of a real-life
disaster in London, in which people were crushed and killed while trying to
enter a Tube station for safety during the Blitz. Sad and thought-provoking.
(Historical Fiction)
The Solace of Leaving Early by Haven
Kimmel
In this compassionate, witty novel, Langston abandons
graduate school and returns to her small Midwestern town, where she meets the
unusual new minister and two troubled, orphaned girls.
(General Fiction)
Folly by Laurie R. King
Rae, a woman who has suffered personal tragedy and
teetered on the brink of mental instability, moves to a remote island to
restore a peculiar, ruined house she inherited from her great-uncle. Rae
believes she is alone on the island, but increasingly she feels as if she is
being watched. As odd, menacing incidents begin to take place, she wonders if
the danger is real or if it is only her imagination. A smart, intriguing,
psychological novel.
(Psychological Suspense)
Mystic River by
Dennis Lehane
Three men, who were childhood friends until a terrible
event ruptured their lives, live on the south side of Boston where they grew
up. When one man's daughter is murdered, his old friend, now a police
detective, is assigned to the case and must investigate their other
childhood friend. A bleak, suspenseful psychological thriller by an
award-winning mystery author.
(Psychological Suspense)
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
Each person who visits Claudia Hampton at her deathbed
reveals another aspect of this flawed, yet fascinating, woman’s life. This
quiet, nostalgic Booker Prize winner raises questions about the complexity of
human relationships and memory.
(Literary Fiction)
The Giver by Lois Lowry
This Newbery Medal-winning novel initially appears to depict an ideal
futuristic society. Then twelve-year-old Jonas receives his life’s assignment
as the Receiver of Memory. His daily meetings with the Giver, who conveys
memories of life before the establishment of their regimented society, gradually
lead Jonas to question their way of life. A thought-provoking novel about
freedom, community, family, and love. The One Book, One Batavia 2006 selection.
(Children’s Fiction; Dystopian Fiction)
She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb
A haunting, homespun, literary mystery set on the lovingly
evoked Appalachian Trail, where modern-day travelers encounter the ghost of a
young woman who was kidnapped in 1779.
(Mystery)
While I Was Gone by Sue Miller
In this spellbinding novel, a woman is torn between her
love for her husband and a growing obsession with a man who reappears many
years after she knew him during a secret phase in her past.
(General Fiction)
Anagrams by Lorrie Moore
In this complex, inventive, and surprising novel, the
characters’ identities change with every twist of the plot.
(Literary Fiction)
In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien
Did he kill her, or didn’t he? In this complex, layered,
disturbing novel, a politician and his wife escape to the woods to recover,
after a horrific secret from his past is uncovered. A master magician who had
managed to make his past vanish, he is suspected of murder when his wife
disappears.
(Literary Fiction; Psychological Suspense)
The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst
When Octavia
learns that her estranged son has been arrested for murder, she abandons the
manuscript of her latest book to reconcile with him. Their story is interspersed with fragments
of Octavia’s books, with both their original and revised endings. Complex,
layered, and emotionally charged.
(Literary Fiction)
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
This lyrical, award-winning novel features an
international cast of well-drawn characters and a riveting plot. When
guerrillas take hostages at an embassy party in an unnamed South American
country, the following months of captivity result in some surprising
relationships.
(Literary Fiction)
True Grit: A Novel by Charles Portis
In this rip-roaring adventure story, a no-nonsense teenage girl hires a
tough U.S. marshal to help avenge the death of her father. Even if you
don’t like Westerns, this novel’s sparkling, wry humor and
engaging dialogue just might win you over.
(Western; Historical Fiction;
Plainspoken; Unsentimental; Suspenseful)
Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen
Meghan
Fitzmaurice is the successful host of a morning talk show, who seems to have it
all—until she makes a terrible gaffe on national television. Her sister Bridget
narrates this witty tale of two flawed sisters undergoing dramatic personal
changes.
(General Fiction)
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
Many of us have learned about
the Civil War through history books, but this heroic and character-driven novel
presents the Battle of Gettysburg through the compelling personalities of the
men who fought there. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. The One Book, One Batavia
2009 selection.
(Historical Fiction)
Larry’s Party by Carol Shields
Larry Weller is an ordinary guy whose life, to his
surprise, twists and turns like the garden mazes he designs. In this quietly
triumphant novel, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carol Shields gives us a
sympathetic portrait of a Baby Boomer adjusting to society’s changing
expectations of men.
(General Fiction)
Strange Fits of Passion by Anita Shreve
A gripping novel about a woman who escapes her abusive
husband and arrives in a small coastal town in Maine, along with her infant
daughter. Just as she begins to make a new life for herself, she is forced to
make a terrible choice.
(Psychological Suspsense)
An Unfinished Life by Mark Spragg
A heartbreaking, yet heartwarming, novel about family and courage. When
a young widow seeks refuge in her Wyoming hometown, the welcome she receives
from her father-in-law Einar is decidedly cold. Meanwhile, her young daughter
becomes fast friends with Einar’s old friend, a man wounded by a bear attack.
This novel’s seemingly simple prose brings the characters to life.
(General Fiction)
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
In this
suspenseful and intricately plotted novel, sixth grader Miranda finds herself
in the midst of a mysterious situation involving secret notes and time travel.
The 2010 Newbery Medal winner. Not just for kids.
(Children’s
Fiction; Time Travel)
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Through a warmly humorous, yet sad, story that alternates
between the near future and the 14th century’s outbreak of the
bubonic plague, Willis weaves the importance of human relationships and the
successes and limitations of science. This time travel novel won all three
major science fiction awards (Hugo, Nebula, and Locus). The One Book, One
Batavia 2008 selection.
(Time Travel)
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The Good Food Revolution by Will Allen
When Will Allen developed an urban farm in Milwaukee, he
addressed several issues in one fell swoop: the urban food desert, public
health, racism, and unemployment. Inspiring and informative. The One Book, One
Batavia 2014 selection.
(Memoir)
Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom
In this inspiring, heartfelt memoir, a young Ethiopian-Eritrean man
describes his family’s arrival in the United States as refugees, their
struggles to adjust to a new life in Wheaton, IL, and his own motivation to
succeed that led to his graduation from Harvard. The One Book, One Batavia 2004
selection.
(Memoir)
Poetry 180: A Turning Back to
Poetry selected by Billy Collins
During his tenure as Poet
Laureate of the United States, Billy Collins selected these short, clear poems
for a project called Poetry 180, in which poems could be read aloud at high
schools—just for the joy of hearing a poem each day. The One Book, One
Batavia 2011 selection.
(Poetry)
Hiroshima by John Hersey
This understated, yet devastating, nonfiction account by
journalist John Hersey tells the stories of six survivors of the atomic bomb
dropped on Hiroshima.
(History)
Born Survivors:
Three Young Mothers and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage, Defiance, and
Hope by Wendy Holden
A moving book that tells the compelling true story of three
women who hid their pregnancies, gave birth in a Nazi concentration camp, and
survived along with their infants. The One Book, One Batavia 2017 selection.
(Nonfiction; History; Intense; Haunting; Descriptive)
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba
In this inspiring memoir about perseverance and self-sufficiency, a
teenager teaches himself to build a windmill to provide electricity to
his small African village. A story of youthful exuberance, a love of
learning, and hope in grim circumstances. The One Book, One Batavia 2018 selection.
(Coming-of-age stories; Memoir)
There Are No Children Here:
The Story of Two Boys Growing up in the Other America by Alex Kotlowitz
This
bleak, powerful, true story describes two years in the lives of two boys
growing up in Chicago’s Henry Horner Homes, where they live amidst poverty and
violence. The One Book, One Batavia 2007 selection.
(Society)
Shadow Divers: The True
Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last
Mysteries of World War II by
Robert Kurson
The exciting, fast-moving, true adventure story of scuba divers’ 1991
discovery of a sunken German submarine off the New Jersey coast, and the years
they spent unraveling the unidentified U-boat’s mysteries.
(True Adventure)
The Devil in the White City:
Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
This engrossing book interweaves the fascinating story of
the building of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago with the
creepy true tale of serial killer Dr. H.H. Holmes. The story alternates between
the architects’ challenges and the murderer’s plotting, and the suspense
builds…
(True Crime; History)
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
Written in 1955, this classic account of the sinking of
the Titanic on April 15, 1912, remains one of the most popular books about the
disaster. Walter Lord’s clear, concise storytelling allows present-day readers
to feel the immediacy of the events of that terrible night 100 years ago. The
One Book, One Batavia 2012 selection.
(History)
West with the Night by Beryl Markham
In this lyrical memoir, Markham vividly evokes her
adventures as a groundbreaking pilot and horse trainer in Kenya in the early 20th
century.
(Memoir; True Adventure)
Playing with the Enemy by Gary W. Moore
As a teenager, Gene Moore was recruited by the Brooklyn
Dodgers—but World War II interrupted his plans. In this heartfelt true story, Gary
Moore describes his father’s unique experience in the Navy, playing baseball
and guarding secret German prisoners, as well the challenges he faced during
the war’s aftermath. The One Book, One Batavia 2010 selection.
(History; Sports)
Mayflower: A Story of
Courage, Community, and War by
Nathaniel Philbrick
While the basic story of the
Pilgrims is widely known, the events of the five decades after their arrival at
Plymouth are surprisingly unfamiliar, fascinating, and relevant today. In vivid
detail, Nathaniel Philbrick brings to life the legendary and less well-known
Pilgrims and Native Americans who forged a relationship that eventually was
destroyed by war.
(History)
Hunger of Memory: The
Education of Richard Rodriguez: An Autobiography by Richard Rodriguez
In this memoir of his school years, Rodriguez writes
beautifully, movingly, and provocatively about his love of learning, the
loneliness of achieving an educational level far beyond that of his immigrant
parents, and his perceptions of speaking English at school and Spanish at home.
(Memoir)
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for
Lincoln's Killer by
James L. Swanson
This riveting account of the search for John Wilkes Booth is
unexpectedly suspenseful, given that we know the outcome of the chase.
Swanson’s detailed narrative puts the reader on the scene, amidst the killers,
conspirators, cavalry, and detectives. The One Book, One Batavia 2015 selection.
(True Crime; History)
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