Title: Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and RedemptionAuthor: Bryan StevensonPage Count: 349 pagesGenre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Call-to-ActionTone: Inspiring, Explanatory, Sympathetic Summary:The founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama recounts his experiences as a lawyer working to assist those desperately in need, reflecting on his pursuit of the ideal of compassion in American justice. SPOILER WARNING:These book discussion…
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Book Discussion Questions: Liar Temptress Soldier Spy by Karen Abbott
Title: Liar Temptress Soldier Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil WarAuthor: Karen AbbottPage Count: 513 pagesGenre: Nonfiction, History, Collective BiographiesTone: Dramatic, Richly Detailed, Compelling Summary:One of the most fascinating yet little-known aspects of the Civil War is illuminated in the stories of four courageous women -- a socialite, a farm girl, an abolitionist, and a widow --…
Book Discussion Questions: Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
Title: Beautiful RuinsAuthor: Jess WalterPage Count: 337 pagesGenre: FictionTone: Romantic, Dazzling Summary:From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together…
Book Discussion Questions: Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
Title: Destiny of the RepublicAuthor: Candice MillardPage Count: 339 pagesGenre: Biography, NonfictionTone: Detailed, Compelling Summary:James A. Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired reformist congressman. Nominated for president against his will,…
Book Discussion Questions: The Circle by Dave Eggers
Title: The CircleAuthor: Dave EggersPage Count: 491 pagesGenre: Fiction, FuturisticTone: Thought-Provoking, Witty, Quick Summary:When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world’s most powerful internet company, she feels she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users’ personal emails, social media, banking,…
Book Discussion Questions: Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
Title: Where'd You Go BernadetteAuthor: Maria SemplePage Count: 330 pagesGenre: Humorous FictionTone: Offbeat, Exuberant Summary:Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.…
Book Discussion Questions: Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clarke Newell
Title: Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American FortuneAuthor: Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, JR.Page Count: 456 pagesGenre: Nonfiction, BiographiesTone: Suspenseful, Extravagant Summary:When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bill Dedman noticed a property listing for a grand estate that had been unoccupied for nearly sixty years, he stumbled…
Book Discussion Questions: The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Title: The Round HouseAuthor: Louise ErdrichPage Count: 321 pagesGenre: Coming of Age Stories, Literary FictionTone: Reflective, Moving, Bleak Summary from publisher:One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface because Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to…
Book Discussion Questions: Quiet by Susan Cain
Title: QuietAuthor: Susan CainPage Count: 352 pagesGenre: Non-FictionTone: Thought-provoking, Reflective, Accessible Summary from publisher:Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so. Taking the reader on a journey from Dale Carnegie’s birthplace to Harvard Business School, from…
Book Discussion Questions: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Title: Orphan TrainAuthor: Christina Baker KlinePage Count: 278 pagesGenre: Historical FictionTone: Thoughtful, Poignant, Sobering Summary from publisher:Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to “aging out” out of the foster care system. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse... As…
