Before We Visit the Goddess
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Before We Visit the Goddess may be the closest thing to a perfect novel I’ve ever read. It covers 57 years, 2 countries/cultures, and 3 strong heroines in well-written prose of 208 pages. That’s right, 208. The story begins with Sabitri writing a letter to her granddaughter, Tara. Sabitri lives in India, Tara in the United States and the two have never met in person. Sabitri received a phone call from her daughter, Bela (Tara’s mother) that Tara was planning to quit school and Sabitri wants to convince Tara to not quit. From there, we are transported to different sections of each of these women’s lives. As a young woman, Sabitri is able to attend school due to the impetuous decision of a wealthy woman to take Sabitri into her home, but when Sabitri makes an unforgiveable mistake, her luck changes. Years later, Sabitri’s daughter Bela flees India for the United States and finds herself in a strange country with a husband who can be cruel and conniving. By the time Bela’s daughter Tara enters the world, the ways of India are unknown to Tara, but the struggles of youth and family are ever present. Along the way, we meet all kinds of men and women in the lives of Sabitri, Bela, and Tara. Some awful, some wonderful. This is a story of family, friendship, redemption, and of course, a little bit of food. It’s what I call a “complete” story, meaning it covers a lot of ground and comes full circle without tying up every end. I finished this book on my birthday. I recommend you also celebrate my birthday by getting your own copy and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. J I highly recommend it. If you’re a reader who likes to connect with the author, you can find Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni on Twitter: @cdivakaruni

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital
by Sheri Fink

Fink, who is both a physician and a reporter, reconstructs five days at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans during the chaos of Hurricane Katrina. She examines what happened in those days as a hospital fighting for its life engaged in the most terrifying form of health care rationing. She exposes the hidden dilemmas of end-of-life care and reveals just how ill-prepared we are in America for the impact of large-scale disasters, and how we can do better. The book is well-written, well-researched, and eye-opening.
Here’s the video of Jon Stewart’s interview with Sheri Fink.

We’re reading this non-fiction Hurricane Katrina book for the Current Events book group. I encourage you to join us. We’re meeting on a new day & time (3rd Saturday of the month at 5:00). Men and women are welcome.

Disrupt Aging
by Jo Ann Jenkins

My husband recently retired and has begun a new stage of life. We’ve both been involved in reflection on quality of life issues and the startling realization that somehow we’ve aged! Disrupt Aging came at a good time for us. It discusses ways to celebrate aging and to continue to be active and healthy. Jenkins focus on the areas of health, money, and self, and offers many creative suggestions in a positive tone. There haven’t been good models of aging well in my family or my husband’s, so the book is particularly helpful to us.

H is for Hawk
by Helen MacDonald

In April, Jen and I attended a reading at the Loft in Minneapolis by Helen MacDonald, the author of H is for Hawk.  The book recounts MacDonald’s grief after her father’s sudden and unexpected death. Her journey took an unusual form:  an experienced falconer, she acquired a goshawk, a bird which is particularly difficult to train.MacDonald weaves together the training of the bird, Mabel, with reflections about her father, muses on the natural world, and a parallel experience writer T.H. White had in trying to train a goshawk.The book is not light reading, but is powerful. I’m glad to say that MacDonald has a lively sense of humor and is very personable!

Minnesota booksellers with Helen MacDonald, who is third from the right.

A Spool of Blue Thread
by Anne Tyler

When I have trouble getting to sleep, one of my strategies is to mentally walk through houses which have been important to me, especially my childhood home. I was reminded of that while reading A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler’s latest book, which was recently released in paperback. The home in which four generations of Whitshanks have lived plays an important role in the book. I’m a fan of Tyler’s—I love her careful, loving observations of quirky characters.

Fireproof Home for the Bride
by Amy Scheibe

This is another book recently out in paperback. The settings of this book, nearby rural Moorhead and Fargo, are of particular interest in this coming-of-age story. Emmy Nelson grew up in a hard, cold, rural, Lutheran world of strict parents, strict milking times, and strict morals. It’s just before the cultural shifts of the 60’s, and Emmy doesn't see that she has any say in her life, any choices at all. Events push her to strike out on her own and create an independent life for herself. Although some of her choices disappoint me, she is a woman of her time. Several local book groups have chosen this book, and I think it will lead to thoughtful discussion.

Locally Laid
by Lucie B. Amundsen

If you, like me, are an armchair "back to the land" type of person, Locally Laid will quickly dispel any romantic notions you might have about making a living as a farmer.
What Locally Laid does serve up is an honest and funny chronicle about one northern Minnesota family's ups and downs as they have navigated making a living in the business of egg production.  It seems to me that the Amundsens have taken the "road less traveled" in many of their farming practices and lifestyle choices.  The learning curve has been steep, but they have persevered.  I want to cheer them on, wish them well, and highly recommend that you read Locally Laid.

Editor’s note: Lucie Amundsen will be with us for Author Fest on June 18.

Under the Same Sky: From Starvation in North Korea to Salvation in America
by Joseph Kim with Stephan Talty

Very few of us know what day to day life is like in North Korea. Joseph Kim tells his remarkable story: the time of the great famine, losing his family, a miraculous escape to China and finally a chance to come to America. He wasn't even sure he wanted to come as he'd always been taught the "big-eyed" people were his enemies. Under the Same Sky is an unforgettable story of suffering and freedom.

The Golden Son
by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

This is the enthralling fictional story of Anil, who is born in India and comes to America to train as a doctor. It's also the story of his childhood friend, Leena. We learn much about Indian traditions and culture and also what it's like to live in the U.S. as an outsider. The struggle for Anil and Leena to find their heart's desire leaves one wondering right to the end if all will come out well. I think this book deserves 5 stars!

Just Mercy
by Bryan Stevenson

What an eye-opener this book is!  It will make you cry, feel hopeless, become angry and at the end feel very encouraged that “Just Mercy” will prevail in America. Bryan Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. His people work without charge to review cases on death row.  He has argued in front of the U.S. Supreme court to get children off of death row (yes there were many) and also to revoke their life sentences.  He challenges bias against the poor and the people of color. I would like to see book clubs across our nation read and discuss this book.

The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty
by Amanda Filipacchi

Think "Sex in the City" on steroids. Five friends in New York meet frequently and struggle with their individual careers and relationships. However, this story has absurd overtones and becomes downright surreal. It includes the weirdest dinner party I've ever read about, which is very funny. The ending is quite satisfying. This is an easy read, but the story has a good moral.
  

Duplicate Keys
by Jane Smiley

This is a much darker take on a group of friends in New York. It's a murder mystery, but the mystery is secondary to the exploration of the characters of the group: the two murdered, the young woman who discovers their bodies, and the rest of her friends, all of whom have duplicate keys to the victims' apartment. It's a page-turner.

The Burning Room
by Michael Connelly

Detective Hieronymus Bosch is a great character, and his years of experience in the LAPD flavor everything in Connelly's well-plotted story. Bosch takes on a young woman as partner, and hopes to train her in his last year before he'll be forced to retire. I hoped when I read that that when he does, he'll continue somehow to inspire Connelly to write more Bosch novels!

The Whistling Season
by Ivan Doig

The narrator of The Whistling Season, Paul, is looking back on his days on a homestead in Marias Coulee, Montana. It was the early 20th century, and he attended a one room school house. When a new housekeeper and a new schoolteacher arrived from across the country, life got pretty interesting in Marias Coulee. Though those days may seem long gone, The Whistling Season makes you feel connected to these characters and their lives, and the days of homesteads and one room school houses don’t feel so distant after all.