Bookies Book Group | AAUW Fort Bend County (TX) Branch

Cannery Row (classic cover)

Upcoming book: Jan 6 – Cannery Row by John Steinbeck – Discussion Questions

Fort Bend AAUW Bookies invites all of its members and any guests to join us in a discussion our chosen books. We meet via Zoom on the first Monday of the month at 7 p.m. Invitations with the zoom link are sent out the week before the meeting. If you want to join us or did not receive a zoom link, please let Betsy Nock know at eanock@granitewave.com

Bookies has a “no guilt” policy. We all understand that things come up that sometimes make it difficult for the chosen book to remain unread, or partially read. We hope that you will attend our zooms regardless of whether you have read the book or not.

This year’s Discussion “Questions” will have a new format. You might want to look at the Discussion Questions and chose one that you would like to discuss at our meeting, or you may choose another way to start or continue our book discussion.

As usual, thank you for participating in Bookies. It is our hope that among these new books, you will find books that you enjoy that you would not have chosen to read.

Thank you to all who voted THIS year and to Judy Cenkus, Jane Stilley and Barbara Pickthall who helped Betsy Nock plan the year.

Thanks also to Amy Bice who graciously added her time and effort to be sure that Bookies continued on through the pandemic and beyond! Special thanks to our very longtime Bookies Convenor, Gwen Crockett, and our more recent organizer, Judy Cenkus.

HERE is a list of additional books that have been recommended by Bookies members just in case you run out of reading material.

“…if you don’t know the exact moment when the lights will go out, you might as well read until they do.”— Clive James

2024 and into 2025 Featured books:

Jan 8, 2024 – The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett – Discussion Questions
Feb 5 – The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead – Discussion Questio
Mar 4 – Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will To Survive by Stephanie Land – DiscussionQuestions
Apr 1 – Horse by Geraldine Brooks – Discussion Questions
May 6 – BACK – Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer – Discussion Questions
DROPPED – Burning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces by Margaret Atwood – (dropped due to low availability from Fort Bend Library, may reappear later)
Jun 3 – The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore
Jul 1 – Class by Stephanie Land
Aug 5 – The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman
Sep 2 – Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
Oct 7 – Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Nov 4 – Rough Sleepers by Tracey Kidder
Dec 2, 2024 – Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Jan 2025 – Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
Feb 2025 – Trailed: One Woman’s Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Mystery by Kathryn Miles
Mar – Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Apr – Poverty in America by Mathew Desmond
May – Tom Lake by Anne Patchett
Jun – Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Jul – The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abe Dare

2023 books:

Jan 8, 2023 – Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Discussion Questions
Feb 6 2023 – How The Word is Passed by Clint Smith Discussion Questions
Mar 6 – Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin Discussion Questions
Apr 3 – The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles Discussion Questions
May 1 – Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman, poetry with emphasis on her poem The HIll We Climb which she read at the Biden Inauguration – Discussion Questions

Jun 5 – Betty Ford: First Lady, Women’s Advocate, Survivor, Trail Blazer by Lisa McCubbin Hill – Discussion Questions
Jul 3 – cancelled & moved to August due to book availability
Aug 7 – West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge – Discussion Questions
DROPPED – Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer – DiscussionQuestions
Sep 4/11 – The Color Purple by Alice Walker – Discussion Questions
Oct 2 – Dinners with Ruth by Nina Totenberg – Discussion Questions
Nov 6 – The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson – Discussion Questions
Dec 4 – Gender Queer: Memoir by Maia Kohabe – Discussion Questions

2022 books:

Jan 3, 2022 – Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-Up by Leslie M.M. Blume Discussion Questions. For extra credit or better understanding, also read John Hershey’s Hiroshima
Feb 7, 2022 – Hamnet by Maggie O’ Farrell Discussion Questions
Mar 7 – The Splendid and The Vile by Erik Larson Discussion Questions
Apr 4 – Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro Reading Group Guide
May 2 – The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
June 6 – Nature’s Best Hope by Doug Tallamy Discussion Questions
July 4 or 11 – Bring your own book
Aug 1 – The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion Discussion Questions
Sep 5 – Maus (and Other BANNED books) by Art Spiegelman – Discussion Questions for Challenged and Banned Books and Bookies Banned Book mtg
Oct 3 – Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton – Discussion Questions
Nov 7 – Cokie: A Life Well Lived by Steven V. Roberts Discussion Questions
Dec 5 – Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe by Douglas Adams Discussion Questions
March 31, 2023 – Reading Between the Wines in support of Literacy

2021 Featured books:

- Jan 7, 2021 – The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates Discussion Questions
- Feb 1 – Moloka’i by Alan Brennert Discussion Questions
- Mar 1 – Lab Girl by Hope Jahren Discussion Questions Hope Jahren Website
- Apr 5 – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Discussion Questions
- May 3 – Oil and Marble by Stephanie Storey Discussion Questions
- June 7 – The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott Discussion Questions
- July 5 – What Are You Reading? share by all….Thanks to Judy’s capture, here is a list of our July ZOOM “sharing of bedside (or wherever) books” – Bookies July Sharing results
- Aug 2 – Any book of poetry that includes selections of The Song of Hiawatha and other poems of Longfellow by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Discussion Question Hiawatha
- Sep 6 – Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon Discussion Questions
- Oct 4 – Giver of the Stars by Jojo Moyes Discussion Questions
- Nov 1 – East of Eden by John Steinbeck Discussion Questions
- Dec 6 – The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan Discussion Questions

2020 Featured books:

Jan 6, 2020 – Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate Discussion Questions
Feb 3 – God Save Texas by Lawrence Wright Discussion Questions created by our own snowbird, Betsy
Mar 2 – The Sea by John Banville Discussion Questions
Apr 6- BYOB (Bring Your Own Book)
May 4 – It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis Discussion Questions
Jun 1 – Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Jul 6 – Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz Discussion Questions
Aug 3 – Educated by Tara Westover Discussion Questions
Sep 7 – There There by Tommy Orange Discussion Questions
Oct 5 – WHAT TO READ NEXT?? Bring suggestions
Nov 2 – Carnegie’s Maid by Heather Terrell Discussion Questions
Dec 7 – The Lost Husband by Kathrine Center – new pass Discussion Questions

2019 Featured books:

Jan 7 2019 – The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick Discussion Questions
Feb 4 – The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers Discussion Questions
Mar 4 – Evicted by Matthew Desmond Discussion Questions —AMAZING piece of research!!
Apr 1 – Heating and Cooling by Beth Ann Frennely Discussion Questions
May 6 – The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida 616.85 HIG 2013 Discussion Questions for The Reason I Jump
June 3 – Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Discussion Questions
July 1- Book planning session—July 1 – We gathered suggestions for the books for the coming year!! Our leader Gwen Crockett assisted by Snow Bird Betsy compiled the votes and published results below and above in 2020.
August 5 – Born a Crime by Trevor Noah Discussion Questions If you only do ONE book as an audiobook, THIS should be the one. Read by the author himself.
Sept 9 (n.b., 2nd Monday) – Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens Discussion Questions
Oct 7 – Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb Discussion Questions
Nov 4 – American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt by Karen Harper Discussion Questions
Dec 2 – Barbara Jordan: American Hero by Mary Beth Rogers Discussion Questions

2018 Featured books:

Jan. 2, 2018 – Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida author wiki & Discussion Questions (gathered by our Snow Bird member)
Feb. 5 – Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly Discussion Questions [510.92 LEE 2016]
Mar. 5 – Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple LitLovers summary
Apr 2 – The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede Discussion Questions assembled by our Snow Bird member, Betsy.
May 7 – News of the World by Paulette Giles Discussion Questions Author website & blog
June 4 – Forged in Crisis by Nancy Koehr Discussion Questions
July 2 – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman Discussion Questions
Aug 6 – The Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantú Discussion Questons for The Line Becomes a River Background information gathered by Betsy: U.S immigration before 1965 – Key facts about US Immigration Policies and proposed changes
Sep 3 – The Other Einstein by Maria Benedict Discussion Questions
Oct 1 – Leonardo da Vinci, Part 1 – Chapters 1 – 16 by Walter Isaacson Discussion Questions gathered by Betsy
Nov 5 – Leonardo da Vinci, Part 2 – Chapters 17 – 33 by Walter Isaacson Discussion Topics YOU must bring a question–a good one was, “Can creativity be taught/ learned?“
Dec 3 – Dead Lemons by Finn Bell – E-book only–you must buy and download. Plan for the author to SKYPE/FACEBOOK in (from New Zealand) Discussion Topics to jog your thoughts

2017 Featured books:

Jan. 2, 2017 – The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George LitLovers synopis & questions, Author Website
Feb 6, 2017 – Hero of the Empire by Candice Millard Discussion Questions Author Website
Mar 6, 2017 – The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Discussion Questions Wikipedia
April 3 – Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Author Interview Discussion Questions
May 1 – Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West & Back (950.72 NIM 2015) by Janice P. Nimura Discussion Questions – watch an interchange WITH the author!! & on YOUTUBE
June 5 – A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin Discussion Questions
July 3 – a book by Lilas Taha Bitter Almonds or Shadows of Damascus – author-led discussion–Was WONDERFUL and touching
August 7 – One Summer, America 1927 by Bill Bryson Discussion [973.915 BRY 2013]
Sept. 4 – NO BOOKIES Maria Semple book moved to March 2018
Oct. 2 – My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsberg Discussion Questions [347.7326 GIN 2016] 400 pp.
Nov. 6 – Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole Discussion Questions
Dec. 4 – Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig author website & discussion points

2016 Featured books:

Jan.4, 2016 – The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. Lit Lover Site: Author Bio, Reading Guide, Summary
Feb.1 – Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon Discussion Questions Romantic Outlaws by Charlotte Gordon – Behind The Scenes
Mar.7 – The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, Publisher Reading Guide
Apr.4 – Dear Committee Member by Julie Schumacher Questions for Dear Committee Member assembled by our snow bird member Betsy Nock.
May.2 – The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay, Lit Lover Reading Guide
Jun.6 – The Arc of the Swallow by Sissel-Jo Gazan The Arc of the Swallow Discussion Questions assembled by our snow bird member Betsy Nock.
Jul.11 – 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann, Publisher Reading Guide
Aug.1 – Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee, Lit Lovers Discussion Questions
Sep.5 – The New Neighbor by Leah Stewart, Publisher Reading Group Guide
Oct.3 – Elephant Company by Vicki Croke, Author Website, THE ELEPHANT COMPANY Discussion Questions assembled by our snow bird member Betsy Nock
Nov.7 – The Rubiayat of Omar Kyyham translated by Edward Fitzgerald
Dec.5 – Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, Publisher Reading Group Guide

2015 Featured books:

Jan. 5 – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion Publisher Guide & Author Interview, LitLovers synopsis & more questions
Feb. 2 – The Spy Who Loved: The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville by Clare Mulley LitLovers Readers Guide
March 2 – The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
April 6 – Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid by Nikki Giovanni
May 4 – My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
June 1 – Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
July 6– The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: A Novel by Gabriellle Zevin
Aug. 3 – Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande Discussion Questions assembled by snow bird member, Betsy Nock.
Sept. 7 – Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline—Author Site information and questions; Lit Lovers Book Group Questions
Oct. 3 – The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code by Margalit Fox. Discussion Questions assembled by snow bird member, Betsy Nock.
Nov. 2 – Sold by Patricia McCormick—publisher site questions; Author Site background information
Dec 7 – One Plus One by Jojo Mayes—A Conversation with JOJO MOYES from publisher site

2014 Selections

Mar 3 – Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë, Guide
Apr 7 – Mr Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan Guide – excellent discussion, guided by some questions right from Robin Sloan that day!! Author’s Wonderful Website FESTINA LENTE! (meaning here)
May 5 – When My Brother Was An Aztec by Natalie Diaz Revi ew and NPR Intervie w On Poetry Foundation site: Bio and more… From SHMOOP How to Read a Poem
Jun 2 – Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese Guid e, Author Biography
Jul 7 – The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown, GUIDE, Author Site
Aug 4 – A Higher Call by Adam Makos
Sep 11 – I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (Author), Christina Lamb (Contributor) – Reading Guide from LitLovers
Oct 6 – The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton LitLovers Guide
Nov 3 – Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Brunt Publisher Guide
Dec 1 – Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple Author Q&A LitLovers Guide

2013 Selections

Dec 3, 2012 – The Buddha in the Attic – Julie Otsuka, Guide, Author Site
Jan 7, 2013 – The Christmas Cantata – Mark Schweizer, General Questions
Feb 4 – Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President – Candice Millard, Guide
February 8, 2013 – Book & Author Dinner w/AAUW Educator of Year, Sam Needham – benefits Fort Bend Literacy
Mar 4 – You Know When the Men Are Gone – Siobhan Fallon, Guide
Apr 1 – Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts – Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson, Guide
May 7 – The Dinosaur Feather – Sissel-Jo Gazan, Guide
Jun 4 – Margaret Sanger: A Life of Passion – Jean Baker, Guide
Jul 1 – Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Harriet Beecher Stowe, Guide
Aug 6 – The Casual Vacancy – J.K. Rowling, Guide
Sep 2 – I’ll Have What She’s Having—Mapping Social Behavior – R A Bentley, M. Earls, M J O’Brian, Guide
Oct 8 – The Language of Flowers – Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Guide
Nov 5 – The Giver – Lois Lowry, Guide
Dec 2, 2013 – Death Comes to Pemberley – P D James, Guide
Jan 6, 2014 – The Light Between Oceans – M L Stedman, Guide
Feb 3, 2014 – A Reliable Wife – Robert Goolrick, Guide

The more you read, the more you know
The more you know, the smarter you grow
The smarter you are, the stronger your voice
Whether speaking your mind
or making your choice. …seen on a T-shirt

AAUW Adelante Book of the Month Club