The Bookish Sort Book Club meets the first Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the Hawthorne Branch Meeting Room. Join us for lively discussions of fiction and nonfiction titles selected by participants in this vibrant, member-led group!
The Bookish Sort Book Club met on December 5, 4:30-5:45 PM at the Hawthorne branch library.
Ginger Blinn selected Lillian Smith’s retrospective, Memory of a Large Christmas (1962), and marked sections that were read by the group. Ginger Blinn decorated that table with a lovely table cloth, chocolates, and ambrosia (It was fit for the gods!). The passages prompted us to share memories of some Christmas traditions in our own families. Ginger’s research included a trip to Lillian’s hometown where no one knew her name and where there were none of her books in their library. Smith, born in Jasper, FL, in 1897 (d 1966), is described by Wikipedia as:
"a white woman who openly embraced controversial positions on matters of race and gender equality. She was a southern liberal who was unafraid to criticize segregation and to work toward the dismantling of Jim Crow laws at a time when such actions virtually guaranteed social ostracism."
Her novel, Strange Fruit (1944), and her non-fiction essays, Killers of the Dream, were both best sellers on controversial topics. We recommend exploring these and other works by the author.
Upcoming Meetings:
Thursday, Jan. 2 at 4:30 p.m. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Thursday, Feb. 6 at 4:30 p.m. Reader's choice of a poem to share
Thursday, Mar. 6 at 4:30 p.m. One hundred years of solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Here are some links to discover new titles and authors.
LibraryThing: Catalog your books online A community of 2,800,000 book lovers. LibraryThing connects you to people who read what you do. LibraryThing is an app and website for cataloging your books and getting recommendations and has been a social cataloging site for book lovers since 2005.
NPR: Books We Love Great reads thoughtfully curated by NPR. What would you like to read? Mix and match the filters below and the years above to explore more than 3,200 recommendations from NPR staff and trusted critics.
Send Sofia (seury@aclib.us) any news or announcements you would like to see added to this blog.
- 2013
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2013 Date Title Author September 5 The Yearling Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings October 4 South Moon Under Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings November 7 The Last Runaway Tracy Chavelier December 5 Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston
- 2014
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2014 Date Title Author January 2 Housekeeping: A Novel Marilynne Robinson February 6 The Occupation of Eliza Goode Shelley Fraser Mickle March 6 Gone Girl Gillian Flynn April 3 Killing Mister Watson Peter Matthiessen May 1 Queen of October Shelley Fraser Mickle June 5 The Elegance of the Hedgehog Muriel Barbary July 3 People of the Book: A Novel Geraldine Brooks August 7 The Professor and the Madman Simon Winchester September 4 Artifacts Mary Anna Evans October 2 Devil in the White City Erik Larson November 6 Women of the Silk Gail Tsukiyama December 4 The Boys in the Boat Daniel James Brown
- 2015
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2015 Date Title Author January 8 The Monuments Men Robert M. Edsel February 5 South of Broad Pat Conroy March 5 The Hunting Dogs John Horst April 2 The Bookman's Tale: A Novel of Obsession Charlie Lovett May 7 Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Stout June 4 Middlesex: A Novel Jeffrey Eugenides July 9 The Goldfinch Donna Tartt August 6 The Girl on the Train Paula Hawkins September 3 Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot October 1 Isaac's Storm Erik Larson November 5 Literary Potluck December 3 The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace Jeff Hobbs
- 2016
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2016 Date Title Author January 7 The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry Gabrille Zevin February 4 All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr March 3 To Kill a Mockingbird/Go Set a Watchman Harper Lee April 7 The Shipping News Annie Proulx May 5 Tracks Robyn Davidson June 2 The Razor's Edge W. Somerset Maugham July 7 Water for Elephants Sara Guren August 4 Still Life Louise Penny October 19 And The Good News Is Dana Perino November 3 Literary Potluck December 1 The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus Jacques Cousteau and Susan Schiefelbein
- 2017
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2017 Date Title Author January 5 Major Pettigrew's Last Stand Helen Simonson February 2 Cross Creek Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings March 2 Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck April 6 The Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen May 4 Life of Pi Yann Martel June 1 Little Paris Bookshop Nina George July 6 Lab Girl Hope Jahern August 3 Summer Edith Wharton September 7 *cancelled due to Hurricane Irma* October 5 The Whip Karen Kondazian November 2 Literary Potluck & Choosing Book Club Name, The Bookish Sort Book Club December 7 The Dark Flood Rise Margaret Drabble
- 2018
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2018 Date Title Author January 4 The Widow Fiona Barton February 1 *no meeting* March 1 A Man Called Ove: A Novel Fredrick Backman April 5 H is for Hawk Helen MacDonald May 3 Our Souls at Night Kent Haruf June 7 The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood July 5 The Sellout Paul Beatty August 2 The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple Jeff Guinn September 6 Philomena: A Mother, Her Son, and A Fifty-Year Search Martin Sixsmith October 4 My Cousin Rachael Daphne du Maurier November 1 Literary Potluck December 6 Plainsong Kent Haruf
- 2019
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2019 Date Title Author January 3 The Bite of History Caroline Anaya February 7 Barracoon Zora Neale Hurston March 7 Why I Live at the P. O. [group read] Eudora Welty April 4 American Philosophy: A Love Story John Kaag May 2 Princess Ruth: Love and Tragedy in Hawaii Jo Ann Lordahl June 6 Gentleman from Moscow Amor Towles July 11 Varina Charles Frazier August 1 The Book Thief Richard Flanagan September 5 *cancelled due to Hurricane Dorian* October 3 Poetry - each member brought a poem to share November 7 Literary Potluck December 5 A Christmas Memory [group read] Truman Capote
- 2020
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2020 Date Title Author January 2 Joy School Elizabeth Berg February 6 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owen March 5 House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros April 2 *COVID-19 Closure* June 4 State of Wonder (via Zoom) Ann Patchett July 2 Beekeeper of Aleppo: A Novel (via Zoom) Christy Lefteri August 7 Angela's Ashes (Zoom) Frank McCourt September 3 News of the World (Zoom) Paulette Jiles October 1 Underground Railroad (Zoom) Colson Whitehead November 5 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Zoom) Maya Angelou December 3 A Child's Christmas in Wales (Zoom) Dylan Thomas
- 2021
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2021 Date Title Author January 7 Zoo Station (Zoom) David Downing February 4 The Cellist of Sarajevo (Zoom) Steven Gaolway March 4 A Promised Land (Zoom) Barack Obama April 1 Guests on Earth (Zoom) Lee Smith May 6 A Long Way from Chicago (Zoom) Richard Peck June 3 The Great Alone (Zoom) Kristin Hannah July 1 The Indigo Girl (Zoom) Natasha Boyd August 5 The Overstory: A Novel (Zoom) Richard Powers September 2 The Snow Child (Zoom) Eowyn Ivey October 7 The Vanishing Half (Zoom) Brit Bennett November 4 The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek (Zoom) Kim Richardson December 2 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Zoom) Barbara Robinson
- 2022
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2022 Date Title Author January 2 Klara and the Sun (Zoom) Kazuo Ishiguro February 3 The Nightingale (Zoom) Kristin Hannah March 3 Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight (Zoom) Alexandra Fuller April 7 The Warmth of Other Suns (Zoom) Isabelle Wilkerson May 5 The Madness of Crowds (resuming in-person meetings) Louise Penny June 2 The Lincoln Highway Amor Towles July 7 Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21st Century Jessica Bruder, Karen White, et al. August 4 Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Barbara Ehrenreich September 1 The Midnight Library: A Novel Matt Haig October 6 American Dirt Jeanine Cummins November 3 The Liar's Dictionary Eley Williams December 1 Memory of a Large Christmas Lillian Smith
- 2023
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2023 Date Title Author January 5 Bewilderment Richard Powers February 2 Silent Spring Rachael Carson March 2 Ecology of a Cracker Childhood Janisse Ray May 4 Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie June 1 Strength in What Remains Tracy Kidder July 6 Remarkably Bright Creatures Shelby Van Pelt August 3 The Testaments Margaret Atwood September 7 Meeting Cancelled October 5 Booth Karen Joy Fowler November 2 Hidden Figures Margot Lee Shetterly December 7 A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens
- 2024
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2024 Date Title Author January 4 A Woman of No Importance Sonia Purnell February 1 Participant's choice of books Sue Grafton March 7 The Secret Lives of Sunflowers Marta Molnar April 4 Island of the Lost: An Extraordinary Story of Survival at the Edge of the World Joan Druett May 2 Lay that Trumpet in Our Hands Susan Carol McCarthy June 6 The Razor's Edge Somerset Maugham July 11 Meeting Cancelled August 1 Participant's choice of books Mark Twain September 5 438 days: an extraordinary true story of survival at sea Jonathan Franklin October 3 Life of Pi Yann Martel November 7 All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake Tiya Miles December 5 Holiday Selection
- 2025
Hawthorne Book Club Selections for 2025 Date Title Author January 2 The Giver of Stars Jojo Moyes February 6 Poem Selection March 6 100 Years of Solitude Gabriel García Márquez April 3 May 1
Interested in other book clubs? The Alachua County Library District has several. You can find more information on our Book Clubs page.