DUE SOUTH by R. Scott Brunner [review]

Non-Fiction/Category: U. S. South

Dean Moore reviews DUE SOUTH: Dispatches from Down Home by R. Scott Brunner (Villard, 1999):

The subtitle to R. Scott Brunner's book is "Dispatches from Down Home." This delightful book is a fast paced collection of fond memories, written by a self-described boy from the South. It recalls the culture of the not-so-long-ago South.

While each chapter is a short 3 or 4 page vignette, it's depth is suprising and informative. The tone is humorous and lighthearted. R. Scott Brunner writes in a style similar to local Memphis columnist and writer Lydel Sims and the more well-known Southern humorist Lewis Grizzard.

If you enjoy books like Chili Dawgs Always Bark at Night by Lewis Grizzard or any of his other titles, you would enjoy Due South.


Dean Moore, Frayser Branch Library

LUCIA, LUCIA by Adriana Trigiani [review]

Fiction/Genre: Mainstream

Wendi Glenn reviews LUCIA, LUCIA by Adriana Trigiani (Random House, 2003):

Kitt Zanetti is a play writer who lives in a New York City apartment building with Lucia Sartori or Aunt Lu as they call her. Aunt Lu is a peculiar woman who walks around wearing a fur. One day over tea, Lucia recounts her life story to Kitt. Kitt finds out that Aunt Lu was once a beautiful seamstress who worked at B. Altman’s department store. She was engaged to be married to Dante DeMartino, but broke off the engagement when she realized that she’d have to give up her career for her family. Later, she meets John Talbot, whom she thinks is the man of her dreams. He gives her a fur coat, the one she still wears, and she makes plans to marry him. He leaves her at the altar and she later finds out he’s a crook. Lucia decides to take a job in California, but is sidelined by her ailing family.

This story contains well developed characters and a detailed setting. The plot is mainly written in flashback. The author transports you to 1950's New York City with her descriptions of fashion and classic Italian cooking. If you like Lucia, Lucia then try the Big Stone Gap trilogy also by Trigiani. Other books that may interest you include Sometimes I Dream in Italian by Rita Ciresi, No Place Like Home by Barbara Samuel, and Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi.


Wendi Glenn, Raleigh Branch Library

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Join The Conversation!

Cordova Book Club
discusses
Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani
Tuesday, August 15, 12:00-2:00 p.m.

Cordova Branch Library
8457 Trinity Rd., Cordova, TN 38018
(901) 754-8443

THE PLEASURE OF MY COMPANY by Steve Martin [review]

Fiction/Genre: Mainstream

Jeanie Condo reviews THE PLEASURE OF MY COMPANY by Steve Martin (Hyperion, 2003):

Daniel Cambridge can tell you what day of the week April the third fell on five years ago or five years from now. Unfortunately, he suffers from a few debilitating symptoms. He cannot step from the curb to the pavement and has to cross the street at scooped out driveways facing each other. He must have exactly 1125 watts lit in his apartment at bed time. Ironically, he enters and wins the Tepperton’s Apple Pie Most Average American contest. The story is about the life of this appealing, quirky guy.


Jeanie Condo, East Shelby Branch Library

Watch for Changes

Starting today, the coverage of the Memphis Reads Blog is expanding.

We will continue to review and discuss books from the Popular Library collection (aka 7-day check-out titles). Staff reviewers will also recommend other titles held by the Memphis Public Library & Information Center.

Memphis Reads was developed as part of the Library program Tell Me About A Book!, which was made possible by a grant from Mid South Reads and The Assisi Foundation. Tell Me About A Book! (June 3 to July 29) was a Summer Reading Club program for Adults to promote book clubs for reading, sharing and lively debate. Now that the program has ended, the blog will remain an active venue for book reviews and discussions.

In the upcoming weeks, watch for other changes including the introduction of new features.

Thank you for your support,

Doris Dixon, co-administrator, Memphis Reads Blog

Interview with Matthew Pearl

Levi Asher interviews Matthew Pearl, author of
THE POE SHADOW and THE DANTE CLUB:

ASHER: You hint at a rivalry between Poe and, if I remember correctly, Longfellow. Can you shed some light about this? Since you portray both very favorably, I wonder where you stand on the matter yourself (whatever exactly the matter is, or was).

PEARL: Poe accused Longfellow of plagiarism. It became something of a sensation in the literary world because of the fight that followed. This was more or less a publicity stunt, though it got such negative publicity it backfired on Poe, as with most business decisions. Longfellow stayed out of it, for the most part, but his friends fought back against Poe. The fight was a stand-in for many other things, including Boston's rivalry with New York.

Another point of interest: was Poe as self-destructive as his legend suggests?

Kathy Reichs' BREAK NO BONES

Forensic Anthropologist Temperance Brennan returns in BREAK NO BONES by Kathy Reichs (Scribner, 2006).

Description courtesy of BookLetters: Summoned to South Carolina to fill in for a negligent colleague, Tempe is stuck teaching a lackluster archaeology field school in the ruins of a Native American burial ground on the Charleston shore. But when Tempe stumbles upon a fresh skeleton among the ancient bones, her old friend Emma Rousseau, the local coroner, persuades her to stay on and help with the investigation. When Emma reveals a disturbing secret, it becomes more important than ever for Tempe to help her friend close the case.


If you enjoy Kathy Reich’s Tempe Brennan novels, reconstruct the clues along with these other forensic scientists:

Jessica Coran (by author Robert W. Walker)
Eve Duncan (a forensic sculptor--by Iris Johansen)
Gideon Oliver (by Aaron Elkins)
Elizabeth MacPerson (by Sharyn McCrumb)

Explore:

To follow Tempe’s excavations on the small screen, tune into Bones on Fox-TV.

In an interview for the HBO documentary "Autopsy," Reichs reveals how she became a forensic anthropologist and shares details about her work: "I'm usually brought into cases by medical examiners and coroners, or law enforcement agencies, or occasionally by private parties. And it's cases in which the body is compromised. It's mummified. It's burned, decomposed. It's dismembered. It's putrefied. It's just a torso out of the river. It's just a skeleton. So the normal autopsy is having problems"

Mary Kay Anderson of Spokane County (Wa.) District Library offers these suggestions for readers interested in forensic anthropology.

DANSE MACABRE by Laurell K. Hamilton

Beth reviews DANSE MACABRE (Berkley Books, 2006):

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!

Laurell K. Hamilton whetted my appetite for her “Anita Blake” series again with a paperback entitled Micah, after Anita’s wereleopard lover. In this paperback we delve deeper into Anita’s growing powers and her relationship with Micah. Anita, filling in for a colleague, heads to Philadelphia to raise a federal witness for testimony. This trip offers her and Micah some much needed time alone. Anita is happy to have him along, “until he mentioned that this will be our first time alone together. No Master Vampire. No Alpha Werewolf. Just me and Micah. And all my fears and doubts..."

Micah finishes with a thread dangling, a thread that led me to her recently released hardback, Danse Macabre. In this, the 14th novel of the vampire series, Anita discovers she might be pregnant. Due to the ardeur*, she requires multiple partners...totaling six potential fathers. On top of this stress, Anita and Jean-Claude, Master Vampire of the City, are proud to be the host city of the vampiric ballet troupe and the gathering of the North American vampire Masters of the City. Anita must struggle through the evening with possible new pomme de sang* at every turn, vampire politics and wondering how a baby could fit into her federal marshal/raising the dead lifestyle.

The Anita Blake series was a favorite of mine (and also several of my friends) until recently. We read the first several novels with great interest; now her readership is down to only me out of our group. I recommended Micah wholeheartedly to them (and her other devoted fans). It has everything we had come to expect: vampires, murder, raising of the dead and just a little sex for spice. However Danse Macabre relied more on the ardeur* and its effects on Anita than on plot. Sure we get to learn how she is growing and maturing as a person. We learn that she does choose her lovers carefully and deeply cares for them all. We see that even though she has several strains of lycanthropy* running through her veins, she is a human woman at heart—with fears like us: fears of pregnancy, of intimacy, of herself. However I was left missing the chase, the vampire raising...the very essence of Anita Blake, vampire hunter and executioner.

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*Glossary:
ardeur: translates to "heat": The arduer is a need to feed from lust. It's a hunger that can never be satiated, but after a fashion, it can be controlled. The only way it can be fed is through sexual energy. It does not necessarily need to be intercourse, and blood can be involved, but the main component is lust.
pomme de sang: translates to apple of blood: individuals who are considered willing food for the vampires.
lycanthropy: Lycanthropes are preternatural creatures with the ability to change their shape.
Information courtesy of Halo Productions.


Beth, Highland Branch Library

Latest News in Barry Bonds Investigation

From Yahoo News:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Prosecutors said on Thursday [7/20] they would not seek indictments immediately, including a possible one involving San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, in their probe into steroids use by professional athletes....Bonds' lawyer, Mike Rains, had told Reuters it was possible the baseball superstar could face criminal charges that he had lied to a federal grand jury about steroid use.

For an in-depth look at the scandal surrounding Barry Bonds' alleged use of steroids, check out GAME OF SHADOWS: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroid Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams.

The San Francisco Chronicle website includes full coverage of Fainaru-Wada and Williams' BALCO Investigation.

Irène Némirovsky's SUITE FRANÇAISE

Perhaps you've heard about SUITE FRANÇAISE by Irène Némirovsky. Living in Nazi-occupied Paris, the author planned to write five novellas inspired by the chaos that surrounded her. She ultimately completed two of the five before her arrest in July 1942. She later died in Auschwitz. Her daughters discovered the novellas sixty years after they were written. Starting today, copies of Suite Française are available for check-out from your branch's Popular Library (aka the "7-day" books).

From BOOKLETTERS (the Library's e-mail newsletter featuring periodic updates about must-read titles): Suite Francaise is an "extraordinary novel of life under Nazi occupation . . . . Subtle, often fiercely ironic, and deeply compassionate, Suite Francaise is both a piercing record of its time and a brilliant, profoundly moving work of art."

Reviews: Christian Science Monitor: "French critics hailed "Suite Française" as a masterpiece when it was first published there in 2004. They weren't exaggerating. The writing is accomplished, the plotting sure, and the fact that Némirovsky could write about events like the fall of Paris with such assurance and irony just weeks after they occurred is nothing short of astonishing. In her notes on the novels to come, the titles of Parts 4 and 5 are written with question marks - underscoring the fact that Némirovsky, and the rest of the world, still had no idea how the war would turn out. Of the two novellas, the first, "Storm in June," is the more impressive. It opens with an air raid, as the residents of Paris realize that there is no stopping the Nazis and simultaneously decide to hit the road. As E.L. Doctorow did last year in "The March," Némirovsky conjures up the confusion of the mass exodus by having the narrative jump from character to character."

Guardian Unlimited (UK). NPR. NPR (2). Twinsburg (Ohio) Public Library's book review blog.

TWELVE SHARP by Janet Evanovich

Beth reviews TWELVE SHARP by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin's Press, 2006):

This Thursday several bins of summer's bestsellers arrived with shiny, new covers. Like many people, I hungrily wait for new books to arrive. I want, no need, to read the next in a favorite series or find a new author thanks to the shiny jacket, "Popular Library" sticker and some great cover art. I spotted TWELVE SHARP by Janet Evanovich and checked it out from my "home" branch (so that Highland Branch customers would have a chance to get their hands on a copy) and finished it that night. Now I am on to other new books—some series and some not—but already wondering "When is her next one due out?"

Stephanie Plum is back at it again. She, along with her outrageous sidekick Lula, are catching (some) bad guys and needing help with others. Ranger, the man in black, and Joe, the honest cop, work hand-in-hand to help Stephanie out of some tough scrapes with a stranger that appears to be stalking Stephanie. This stranger turns out to be a woman--a woman whose secrets turn both Stephanie and Ranger’s life upside down. Then the stranger is murdered right outside the bail bondsman agency and Stephanie begins to hunt down not a skip but a murderer. And ends up fighting for her life.

This Stephanie Plum novel is more suspenseful and less humorous than the previous ones. Sure there are the usual trying times at the Plum household with her grandmother (who takes her antics on the road not only to the funeral home but beyond!), but something was missing from this novel. For starters Stephanie begins and ends the novel driving the same mini Cooper! We also discover that Ranger is more "human" than we have been led to believe in the previous eleven novels. Ranger and Joe begin to almost blend into one character (except for those too-close-for-comfort moments involving Stephanie and both men). The new (and lovable) characters seem to add depth to this series…but in all honesty, I read this series not for its suspense but for its laughs. And this one just fell a belly laugh short. Here’s hoping Janet Evanovich finds the groove that made her a favorite!


Beth, Highland Branch Library

THE MEMPHIS READS QUESTION--7/13/06

Memphis Reads' regulars know that reviewer Beth uses cover art to help her pick the best books to read. Whether browsing the shelves of the Highland Branch Library for a good weekend-read or looking for something to help pass the time at the doctor's office, she loves thrillers and their eye-catching covers. Beth poses the latest Memphis Reads Question and looks forward to reading your comments:

It is common knowledge that many people are visual learners. Stores display items to be visually appealing. This concept is applied to book covers as well.

What books have the most appealing covers?


Points you might wish to consider:

• What type of cover art (photographs, landscapes, graphics, etc.) appeals to you?
• Is there something you are specifically drawn to in cover art?
• In my review of KILLER DREAMS, I admitted that "the cover art scared me." Which book covers have you found unappealing?
• Perhaps you're not able to recall particular book covers at the moment. The next time you visit the library, please take a moment to consider a few covers. For your convenience, a link to this post will be clearly visible on the blog's sidebar.

• This website offers some suggestions: http://covers.fwis.com/

Remember: there's no "right" way to answer a Memphis Reads Question. They're designed to get conversations started. Have fun and check back often--we will post some of your favorite covers below.

Beth, Highland Branch Library

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It's never too late to comment on a previous Memphis Reads Question:
What Characters Have Been Unforgettable?
What Makes A Book Unputdownable?

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Here are some of your favorites:

MARLEY AND ME by John Grogan

This selection was recently a Popular Library ("7-day") book. The reviewer wanted to make sure you did not miss this noteworthy title. You can now check it out for 21 days!

Jessie G. Marshall reviews MARLEY AND ME: Life and Love with The World's Worst Dog (Morrow, 2005):

When newly-weds John and Jenny Grogan decide to purchase Marley, a Labrador retriever puppy, their heretofore peaceful life changes forever. Marley makes each day exciting for the Grogans by devouring various inedible items such as bath towels, socks, and even a gold necklace. He flunks out of obedience school, drags a table to which he is tethered through a crowd of diners on a restaurant patio, and suffers destructive panic attacks whenever there is a thunder storm. On the other hand, Marley provides loving comfort to Jenny after her miscarriage, is a gentle playmate for the Grogan children, and becomes the loyal protector of a neighbor who has been stabbed by an intruder. Throughout the book, the reader alternately laughs and cries but can not help but identify with the Grogan family and the impact that owning and loving this unpredictable, hyperactive dog has on their lives.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT!: Marley & Me is humorous, heart-warming, emotionally appealing and conversational in tone. This endearing portrait of the relationship between pets and their families contains much action, well-developed characters, and a bittersweet but hopeful ending.

You might also like James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small; Jon Katz’s The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: an Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me; and Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson’s Tails from the Bark Side.


Jessie G. Marshall, Business and Science Department

MAYFLOWER by Nathaniel Philbrick

Maya Berry reviews MAYFLOWER: A STORY OF COMMUNITY, COURAGE, AND WAR by Nathaniel Philbrick (Viking, 2006):

In some instances, the truth surrounding historical events has been entwined with myths to make the event more comfortable or interesting for present generations. While the First Thanksgiving was a true historical event, the harsh realities facing both the Pilgrims and the Native Americans and their future relationship are never really discussed.

Philbrick's book brings to life the people that shaped the course of America and the events that took place before, during, and after the Mayflower landed in Plymouth. Some of the events he describes are, quite frankly, amazing and make you wonder how the Pilgrims were able to survive when the odds were so clearly stacked against them. Some of the events he describes are terrifying and heartbreaking, such as King Phillip's War.

To the best of my knowledge, Philbrick is not providing any groundbreaking scholarship on this subject, but this is not your average history book. This is a very readable, extremely interesting account of the voyage of the Mayflower and its effects upon America. If you like drama and history, you will find it in this book.

Read part of the first chapter of this book.


Maya Berry, Parkway Village Branch Library

AFTER by Marita Golden

NPR's Michele Norris talks with Marita Golden about her latest novel, AFTER. It explores the emotional consequences for police officer Carson Blake after he mistakenly kills an unarmed young man.

10 Greatest Books About Rock & Roll

At earvolution.com David Schultz lists The Ten Greatest Books About Rock And Roll.

What do you think of his selections?


Chronicles: Volume 1 - Bob Dylan (2004)

*FM: The Rise And Fall Of Rock Radio - Richard Neer (2001)

The Commitments - Roddy Doyle (1987)

The Mansion On The Hill: Dylan, Young, Geffen and Springsteen and the Head-On Collision Of Rock and Commerce - Fred Goodman (1997)

Death Of A Rebel: The Phil Ochs Story - Marc Eliot (1989)


The Ground Beneath Her Feet - Salman Rushdie (1999)

*Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey In Rural North Dakota - Chuck Klosterman (2001)

Psychotic Reactions And Carburetor Dung - Lester Bangs (1988)

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test - Tom Wolfe (1968)


Parental Advisory: Music Censorship In America - Eric Nuzum (2001)


*Not currently held by Memphis Public Library & Information Center

STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS by Daniel Gilbert

Pamela McFarland recommends STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS by Daniel Gilbert (Knopf, 2006):

Daniel Gilbert is a psychology professor at Harvard, and Stumbling on Happiness is like the best, most interesting college class you ever took, with the funniest, smartest teacher. It’s all about the way our brains work, and how, often, we haven’t the least conscious clue about how our brains are perceiving, predicting, and remembering.

Pamela McFarland, Raleigh Branch Library

Other reviewers agree:

"In a book that is as deep as it is delightful, Daniel Gilbert reveals the powerful and often surprising connections between our experience of happiness and how we think about the future. Drawing on cutting edge psychological research and his own sharp insights into everyday events, Gilbert manages to have considerable fun while expertly illuminating some of the most profound mysteries of the human mind. I confidently predict that your future will be happier if you read this pathbreaking volume." —Daniel L. Schacter, author of The Seven Sins of Memory

"This is a brilliant book, a useful book, and a book that could quite possibly change the way you look at just about everything. And as a bonus, Gilbert writes like a cross between Malcolm Gladwell [Blink] and David Sedaris." —Seth Godin, author of All Marketers Are Liars

Harper Lee's Letter to Oprah

A letter from Harper Lee, the reclusive author of To Kill A Mockingbird appears in the July issue of O: The Oprah Magazine, pp. 151-2. She shares her memories of reading and laments that while growing up she failed realize how fortunate she was to have access to books. Lee asserts her preference for books over "instant information." "Can you imagine curling up in bed to read a computer?" she asks.

Read Kam McHugh's review of MOCKINGBIRD: A Portrait of Harper Lee (Henry Holt, 2006).

A PIECE OF CAKE by Cupcake Brown

Doris Dixon reviews A PIECE OF CAKE: A Memoir by Cupcake Brown (Crown, 2006).

Don’t miss this fast-paced, inspiring memoir about recovery from addiction!

Cupcake never shies away from a fight. So if you know what’s good for you, you will never call her La'Vette. That is the name preferred by her biological father, Mr. Burns. She despises him.

Cupcake had thought that “Daddy” (Tim Long) was her father. Then Mr. Burns showed up after her mother’s death seeking custody of Cupcake and her brother. Since Daddy is not their legal guardian, the judge has no choice but to turn the siblings over to Mr. Burns. But he is only interested in their insurance settlement and leaves them with Diane, a brutal woman who hoodwinks caseworkers into believing that she is a loving foster mother.

Eleven-year-old Cupcake is beaten by Diane and raped by her nephew. She turns to alcohol and drugs to alleviate the pain. Over the years, she runs away often, hitchhiking, sleeping in parks, and turning tricks to survive. Each time the authorities eventually return her to Diane. Following one attempted escape, Cupcake lives with a family in South Central Los Angeles. There she gets involved with the Eight-Tray Gangster Crips. Despite their sometimes violent criminal behavior, the Gangsters offer Cupcake friendship and emotional support.

After getting hit in a drive-by shooting, Cupcake strikes a bargain with God. If she survives her injuries, she will give up gangbanging forever. God keeps His word and Cupcake eventually leaves the gang. But she remains alienated from God, blaming Him for her mother’s death and for not stopping Diane’s abuse.

With the help of Daddy and her mother's brother, Cupcake successfully petitions to be an emancipated adult. For the next decade, she continues to abuse drugs and alcohol; party; fight; sleep around; turn the occasional trick; and commit petty crimes. Her ability to land and keep a job (she always quits before being fired) convinces her that she is not a “dope fiend.” It is only after planning her own death (she tries to contract AIDS!) that Cupcake becomes desperate enough to seek God's help again. Through a difficult and painful recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, she finds faith, love, friendship and self-acceptance. She is now a successful attorney living in San Francisco.

Why you'll love it: A Piece of Cake is 1/3 urban "drama," 1/3 coming-of-age story, and 1/3 recovery memoir


Doris Dixon, Raleigh Branch Library

KILLER DREAMS by Iris Johansen

Beth reviews KILLER DREAMS by Iris Johansen (Bantam, 2006).

I’ll tell you the truth, I wasn’t keen on reading this one. The cover art scared me. "So why did I pick it up," you may be asking yourself. Well I was leaving work and remembered I had a doctor’s appointment—and everyone knows you need a book for the waiting room. I have no interest in how the 2004 Presidential Election turned out according to an ancient Newsweek—so I started browsing the Popular Library Titles. Most of the thrillers/suspense authors I adore were all checked out, so I bit the bullet and checked out Killer Dreams. It was great! I finished the novel in no time (and ignored the house chores that were on my “to do” list!).

The Boogey Man does exist for some people.

Sophie Dunston, a sleep therapist and researcher, specializes in life-threatening night terrors. A drug, REM-4, was created by Sophie to help insomniacs, but her former employer, Sanborne, discovered its other uses. REM-4 turns normal people into killers. These killers will haunt not only her dreams, but her life. And the first killer will be her father.

Sophie must destroy all traces of REM-4 and the man who has used it for evil purposes. She teams up with Matt Royd, a man who will stop at nothing to see Sanborne dead. No one can stand in his way—and he’ll use everything in his power to get Sanborne, including using Sophie as bait. Sophie must trust Royd with everything she has, including her son, because she is out of options. And the Boogey Man in her dreams is closer than she ever imagined.

A wonderful book full of suspense, friendship and romance. A great read for thriller lovers!


Beth, Highland Branch Library

Book Club Spotlight--Renaissance Men's Book Club

The Memphis Reads Blog began as a part of TELL ME ABOUT A BOOK!--a Library program that promotes book clubs. Periodically, information about Library-sponsored book clubs will be posted under the heading "Book Club Spotlight."

Renaissance Men's Book Club
North Branch Library

1192 Vollintine, Memphis, TN 38107

Telephone: (901) 276-6631

e-mail: Johnnie Mosley

Meetings: 3rd Saturdays

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North Branch Library sponsors two book discussion groups for Adults, the Women's Book Club and The Renaissance Men's Book Club. The men's group was established in 2003; its motto is "Real Men Read." Johnnie Mosley, book club moderator, offers an inside look at the group below.


1. When does your club meet?

We meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month. Although we schedule our meetings to last for two hours, we have had meetings to last up to 4 hours. There have been times when we have had to continue our conversations by telephone or over a game of pool after the library closed. Our meetings are very lively and entertaining. We have some of the smartest guys.

2. How many members do you have?

We have 25 members ranging from ages 21 to 60+. Our members are from various professions including a network administrator, an employee with Juvenile Court, teachers, ministers, bus drivers, store clerks, singers and motivational speakers. I am the only librarian.

In terms of married vs. single men, I would say the number is split down the middle.



We have had a number of special guests in person and by telephone:

• Parry Brown (The Shirt Off His Back),
• Travis Hunter (The Hearts of Men),
• Dwight Fryer (The Legend of Quito Road),
• Phyllis Dixon (Forty Acres),
• Charlotte Harris (A Happy Life), and
• Kimberla Lawson Roby (Too Much of A Good Thing).

3. Which books have been club favorites?

Favorites:

• In My Father's House by Ernest Gaines
  
• Second Sunday by Michele Andrea Bowen
  
• Fed Up With The Fanny by Franklin White
  
• Manchild In The Promised Land by Claude Brown
  
• A Happy Life by Charlotte Harris
  
• The Haunting of Hip Hop by Bertice Berry and
  
• Donald Goines' Books

These books were our favorites because they generated the most heated discussions, which our members love. We love to discuss issues such as family, manhood, love, relationships, civil rights, church, and history--all topics covered by these books. We continue to recommend that others read these books and we refer to these titles during other discussions.

Books not well received by the Renaissance Men's Book Club:
Mama Cracks A Mask of Innocence by Nora DeLoach
Mama Stands Accused by Nora DeLoach

These books were mysteries, which we like in general, but the plots of these particular books were too elementary. We were able to solve the crimes before we got to the end. As a result, we spent our meeting time blasting the books and we promised not to read any of the "Mama Series" by Nora DeLoach again.

4. When and why was your book club established?

We celebrated three years in June 2006. Our book club was formed after a male library customer attended the North Library Book Club, which at the time was composed only of women. Although he was comfortable there, the women thought it was strange to have a man at what they felt was their "home away from home."

Ms. Inger Upchurch, North Branch Manager, came up with the great idea of forming a men's book club. An organizational meeting was held in May 2003 and the following month the men discussed The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson.

In the past three years, we have been featured in Memphis Magazine and honored by the Memphis City Council at a standing-room only event at City Hall. A local radio station (WDIA) has made it a point to inform its audience about the books we read. Today, we are one of the most popular book clubs in the city.

We have a joint meeting with the North Branch Women's Book Club on a quarterly basis. We love meeting with the women. Although the guys are still loud and vocal, they behave like gentlemen, which I tease them about. But I am proud of the fact that the men treat the women with such dignity and respect. The Renaissance Men's Book Club is a prime example that chivalry is not dead.

The Renaissance Men's Book Club has played a major role in organizing the annual Real Men Conference at the North Branch for the past three years. Inspired by Ms. Upchurch's Annual Women's Empowerment Conference, the men's conference offers men from around the city the chance to gather and discuss issues important to them. The conference features workshops and great speakers. We have had three successful and inspiring conferences.

5. You read Walter Mosley's Bad Boy Brawley Brown for June. What will you discuss next?

Trouble Man by Travis Hunter. This book is a follow-up to The Hearts of Men. Some of the characters in this book are the same, but they are older. This book also deals with complex issues in the lives of African-American men. Although Travis' books are fiction, he makes it a point to deal with real life issues.

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Thank you to Johnnie Mosley and

Members of The Renaissance Men's Book Club

Book Clubs @ Your Library, July 2006

The Memphis Public Library & Information Center sponsors book clubs for a variety of reader interests. Here's a list of the titles that will be discussed in July. For a book club's contact information, click the link for that branch or call (901) 415-2700.

Book Lover's Book Club

East Shelby
Tuesday, July 18, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Book selection: A Good Year by Peter Mayle [description]

Central Daytime Book Club

Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
Wednesday, July 5, 10:30 a.m.-Noon
Book Selection: Mary, Mary by James Patterson [description]

Central Readers' Club for Men and Women

Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
Monday, July 17, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Book selection: 1984 by George Orwell [description]

Cordova Book Club

Cordova
Tuesday, July 18, 12:00-2:00 p.m.
Book selection: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith [description]

Gaston Park Book Club

Gaston Park
Saturday, July 22, 3:00-4:00 p.m.
Book selection: Dancing in the Dark by Mary Jane Clark [description]

North Women’s Book Club

North
Saturday, July 22, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Book Selection: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston [description]

Renaissance Men's Book Club

North
Saturday, July 15, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Book Selection: Trouble Man by Travis Hunter [description]

Second Saturdays Book Club

Highland
Saturday, July 8, 1:30-3:00 p.m.
Book selection: The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans [description]

Whitehaven 4th Monday Book Club

Whitehaven
Monday, July 24, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Book selection: Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell [description]