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

First Monday each month, 7 pm., for 15 years at Borders Books, The Fountains, now again in member’s homes, as the first 20 or so years.

Upcoming book: December 3 – Dead Lemons by Finn Bell of New Zealand 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

The books for the coming year are CHOSEN!! Our leader Gwen Crockett assisted by Snow Bird Betsy compiled all the votes. The current book is featured above; the balance appear below; discussion questions posted for most, coming SOON for a few. Note change to January 2019 book selection from original list.

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

2018-2019 Featured books:

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
Jan 7 2019 – The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick Discussion Questions <<<note changed book from original list
Feb 4 2019 – The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers Discussion Questions
Mar 4 – Evicted by Matthew Desmond Discussion Questions
Apr 1 – Heating and Cooling by Beth Ann Frennely Discussion Questions
May 6 – The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida Discussion Questions
June 3 – Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles 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?“

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

We have our list for 2017 thanks to HARD WORK by our beloved Bookies Convenor Gwen Crockett and our discussion questions are gathered together by snow bird member, Betsy Nock with acknowledgements for her multiple sources.

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