St. Kate's Book Club

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About the Book Club - 2006-2009

Who? All students, faculty, and staff are welcome to join, regardless of major or department. Alumnae are also welcome to participate, although the Library is only providing copies of the books to current students/faculty/staff.

What? Each semester we will read one book and meet with other readers to discuss.

Where? Meetings will be held in the Library's Quiet Study (room 127).

When? The Book Club meeting will be held midway through the semester during the Thursday free period. Additional meetings may be added as needed.

How? Sign up for the Book Club and check out a copy of the book by contacting librarian Anika Fajardo (alfajardo@stkate.edu or x8739) or stop by the Circulation Desk in the Library.

I loved a book you featured last year. How can I get a copy? If you see a title you are interested in past book clubs, you can always check out a copy of the book. In addition, check the shelves in the Quiet Study to see if there's a copy.

Are you on Facebook? Why, yes, we are. Check out the Facebook group: St. Kate's Book Club

For Fall 2009: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

This stunning graphic novel (comic book) is the personal memoir of Satrapi's experiences as a child during the Islamic Revolution in Iran during the early 1980s. Told with sparse words and stark black and white drawings, the story unfolds with a realism that captures the reader.

Persepolis was made into an animated film by Satrapi in 2007, which is available at the Media desk in the St. Paul Library.

Sign up to be in the Book Club! Multiple copies of the book now here!

About Marjane Satrapi: Satrapi born in 1969 in Iran. She currently lives in Paris and her illustrations appear in various publications. The sequel to Persepolis, Persepolis 2, was published in 2003.

Find this title at the St. Kate's Library: PN6747.S245 P4713 2003 (Juvenile collection)

Now a major motion picture, The Secret Life of Bees is about race, mothers and daughters, and about life. Sue Monk Kidd's first novel, this book was a New York Times bestseller and has been published worldwide.

About Sue Monk Kidd: Born in Geogia, Kidd worked as a nurse and studied religion and theology. Her first two books were spiritual writings including Dance of the Dissident Daughter. Her latest novel is The Mermaid Chair.

Find this title at the St. Kate's Library (St. Paul): PS3611.I44 S38 2002

Sign up to be in the Book Club! Stop by the Library to check out a copy of the book.

When will we be meeting?

The next meeting will be Thursday, February 12, 2009 at Noon.

Contact Anika Fajardo (x8730/alfajardo@stkate.edu) with any questions.

Fall 2008: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Now a major motion picture, Jhumpa Lahiri's novel, The Namesake, follows an immigrant Indian family from their migration to America to the Americanization of their children.

About Jhumpa Lahiri: Lahiri won a Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for her collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies. Born in England, she now lives in New York.

Find this title at the St. Kate's (St. Paul) Library: PS3562.A316 N36 2003

When will we be meeting?

Thursday, Oct. 2 @ noon-1:15 in the Library Room 127. Bring your lunch. Beverages provided.

If you liked The Namesake, here are a few more to try...

Desirable Daughters by Bharati Mukherjee PR9499.3.M77 D47 2002
Tree Bride by Bharati Mukherjee PR9499.3.M77 T74 2004
All for Love by Ved Mehta PR9499.3.M425 Z464 2001
Love in a Dead Language by Lee Siegel PS3569.I377 L68 1999
Passage to India by E.M. Forster PR6011.O58 P3 1984
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri PS3562.A316 N36 2003
Brick Lane by Monica Ali PR6101.L45 B75 2003

Spring 2008: Four Souls by Louise Erdrich

A plot of revenge brings Fleur Pilager--the Ojibwe mystic featured in other Erdrich novels--to the Minneapolis mansion of John Mauser. Told from the perspective of tribal leader Nanapush and a white woman, Polly Elizabeth, Four Souls follows Fleur through her demise and final triumph. This novel is a sequel to Tracks (1988) but can be enjoyed on its own. Read the book and join us at our next discussion!

Find the book at the St. Kate's Library: PS3555.R42 F68 2005

About the author: Louise Erdrich has chronicled the fictional lives of Ojibwe in the Midwest since her first novel, Love Medicine. A Minnesota native, Erdrich has written dozens of critically acclaimed novels filled with Native American lore and mysticism and her unforgettably beautiful writing. She is also the author of several children's books and poetry. Erdrich has been called the most important Native American writer.

Spring Book Club Meeting Date:

• Thursday, March 6, 2008 @ noon-1:15 in the Quiet Study in the Library

Fall 2007: My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman

Frederica Hatch is the de facto mascot after being raised by her professor parents in the dorm of a small women's college. What was once quiet academic life soon takes a turn for the dramatic with the hiring of Laura Lee French---wannabe Rockette and ex-wife of Frederica's quite, unassuming father---as the new (single) dorm mother. Secrets, scandals, and snowstorms ensue.

Find this title at the St. Kate's library: PS3562.I577 M9 2007

About the author: Elinor Lipman has been called a modern-day Jane Austen. Known for her witty stories of manners and misunderstandings, her gentle romances, and endearing -- but flawed -- main characters, Lipman has written over a half dozen novels. Several have been optioned for film and one is currently in production starring Helen Hunt.

Book Club Meeting Date Please join us at one of the following meetings for book discussion and treats:

Thursday, November 1 @ noon-1:15 pm

OR

Monday, October 29 @ 6pm-7:15 pm

Winter Semester 2007: On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Two households, both alike in dignity, star in Zadie Smith's latest novel, On Beauty. The maginificently disfuntional and bi-racial Bellsey family (mother and father Howard and Kiki and children Jerome, Zora, and Levi) share a love/hate relationship with the black British Kipps family (parents Montegue or Monty and Carlene and children, among them the beautiful Victoria). The story weaves in and out among these characters as they navigate marriage and infidelity, death and illness, academia and scholarship. The novel touches on issues of race, culture, social class, and, of course, beauty.

Experience the lives of these two families as they collide in a Boston-area college town by reading the St. Kate's Book Club's selection for Spring 2007.

About the Author:

Critically acclaimed novelist Zadie Smith is from London, born to an English father and Jamaican mother. Her first novel, White Teeth, won numerous awards and has been translated into over twenty languages. On Beauty is her third novel.

Find this title at the St. Kate's library PR6069.M59 O58 2005 

Book Club Meeting Date: Thursday, March 1, 2007 noon-1:30 Rescheduled for March 8, 2007 due to weather conditions.

Fall Semester 2006: Welcome to my Planet: Where English is Sometimes Spoken by Shannon Olson

About the Author:

Shannon Olson is a native of Chaska, MN, and teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Minnesota. Her debut novel tells the story of the fictional Shannon Olson who is trying to find her way in the world as a twenty-something. Children of God Go Bowling is the sequel to the first novel.

Find this title at the St. Kate's library PS3565.L838 W4 2000

Book Club Meeting Date: October 12, 2006 noon-1:30