The book club met again last Thursday, and the conversation and book suggestions did not disappoint!
We started with a highly recommended self-help book, from someone who doesn’t like self-help books:

Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

Some memoir/historical non-fiction was next with Gutenberg’s Fingerprint by Merilyn Simonds.

Then fiction – the weird, creepy kind, with Slade House by David Mitchell, and the kind that hooks you with the first sentence – Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta.

Back to non-fiction with Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, that two people in our group brought to talk about! (We’re not that big a group..) which led to mention of Days of Destruction / Days of Revolt by Chris Hedges.

Two health related non-fiction titles were discussed – When the Body Says No: The Hidden Costs of Stress by Gabor Mate and The Cancer Chronicles by George Johnson and a business title – The Four : The Hidden DNA of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google by Scott Galloway

Lastly – the aspirational, or “I want to read” title – Seven Fallen Feathers : Racism, Death and Hard Truths in a Northern City by Tanya Talaga.

Mark your calendars because we are meeting again on Thursday, May 3^rd at 12:30 at the black couches on the main floor of the Burnaby Campus Library. All faculty, staff and students are welcome!

 

Another book club meeting, some more great discussions about books.

We started with books about conversations:

• Crucial Conversations : Tools for Talking When the Stakes are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny and Al Switzer
• Fierce Conversations : Achieving Success at Work & in Life, One Conversation at a Time / Susan Scott
• Difficult Conversations (HBR 20 Minute Manager Series)
• Conflict is Not Abuse : Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility, and the Duty of Repair by Sarah Schulman **note, this title was highly recommended by a few people; as well as the author’s other books

And moved on to historical fiction:

• The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
• The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

February was Black History Month, and some books about race were next:

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele
• Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

Then a variety of non-fiction:

• The Last Gang in Town: The Epic Story of the Vancouver Police versus the Clark Park Gang by Aaron Chapman
• Spitfire: Portrait of a Legend by Leo McKinstry
• The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

More fiction came next:

• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

An autobiography:

• The Confessions: St. Augustine

More fiction:

• The Marianne Trilogy by Sheri S. Tepper
• Also by Sheri S. Tepper:
  • Grass
  • Raisin Seed
  • The Gate to Women’s Country

Some author recommendations – if you like Sheri S. Tepper you might also like books by:

• Octavia Butler
• Ursula K. Le Guin

Then non-fiction again:

• Industries of the Future by Alec Ross
• The New Geography of Jobs by Enrico Morretti

And we finished with a group favourite:

• My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Last, but not least, a recommendation about a new mobile bookstore in the Lower Mainland:

• Iron Dog Books

We are meeting again on April 5^th at the couches on the main floor of the Burnaby Campus Library.

All faculty, staff and students are welcome to join us!