Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series: Two Years and Still Going

Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series

The Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series is not necessarily about urban themes or urban people (although often this is the case,) but is named "urban" because the Wilson Library is an urban library and many of us live in urban locations. For clarity, the books we read are not urban literature or "street lit." Most of the books we choose are non-fiction, although we have read two novels: Ben Winter's Underground Airlines and Paul Beatty's The Sellout. We normally choose books that have to do with African American History and Social Justice Issues. Many of our sons, grandsons, nephews, and friends have fallen through the cracks of the education system or have had experiences with over-zealous police officers. Many of us have friends or family members who have had experiences in the criminal justice system. All of us, as citizens have a stake in the political atmosphere in our country.

The overriding reason we're in this book discussion group is because we love to read. In the past, most of us have gobbled up any book on the bestsellers lists, whether they had any bearing on our lives or not. (And to be honest, I still sneak in some bestselling fiction in between and am sure that the rest of the group does as well.) In addition to being book-lovers, most of us are seeking a way to make a meaningful contribution to our communities. Meeting every six weeks or so to discuss a thought-provoking book is the beginning of community building.

From Nov. 2015 to the present, The Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Group is still going strong.

Sometimes there's four of us. Sometimes there's thirteen of us.

The next book discussion will be Saturday, January 6, 2018 at noon. The book is They Can't Kill us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement by Wesley Lowery

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Don't Cry for Me by Daniel Black

The author, Dr. Daniel Black, said “ T his book is what most of us in many ways would hope that our parents would do one day. And that is to give us their hearts, share with us their story . This is the story of a man named Jacob Swinton who is on his death bed, and he is writing a series of letters. It’s the epistolary form . The l etters are to his estranged gay son named Isaac. The Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series continued July 13 th , 2024 , where we discussed this amazing book. Before this meeting, the group listened to a YouTub e video of an interview with Dr. Black that had been recorded earlier this year. This video can be found by searching All CT Reads 2024 Dr. Daniel Black on Yo u Tube. Wendy started us out, saying, “ I listened to it on audiobook, and Dr. Black read it. I really liked that because it brought it to life. The downside was places where I thought he captured something about his own experience or love, and I wish I had it on a ...

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Thirteen of us met on August 24 th to discuss James McBride’s acclaimed 2023 novel, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store , winner of the 2023 Kirkus Prize for Fiction. McBride has said that his motivation for writing this book stems from his time working summers at a camp for differently abled children. He said the nugget for The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store was the story of Dodo and Monkey pants. Bonnie quickly interjected that the theme about the Blacks and the Jews is the one that jumped out at her more. Marian said she agreed with Bonnie here, especially since page one of the novel is about the interview the police had with Malachi about the mezuzah they found with the body at the bottom of the well. There was a lot of discussion about how the mezuzah ended up with the body. Robin offered that Moshe had made it as a gift for Malachi. Malachi refused it and insisted that Moshe give it to his wife Chona. Doc Roberts had snatched it from around Cho...

In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas 2023

Book Discussion of In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas Thirteen of us met on Saturday Oct. 5 th to discuss Kai Thomas’s In the Upper Country , his debut novel. The story begins with an elderly woman who has escaped slavey from the US, and is now in Canada, shoots a slavecatcher who has tracked her there. A much younger woman, a jou rnalist name Lensinda is assigned the task of interviewing the old woman, who is now in jail. When Lensinda asks the woman for her story, the woman responds by saying, “A tale for a tale.” Thus, Lensinda is required to tell a story to receive the old woman’s story. This starts a reciprocal arrangement of storytelling over the interviews. Kai Thomas, author Wendy started us out saying, “I have to say I loved listening to it, but I also think that if I had read it, I may have absorbed more. I thought the language was just exquisite . I also kept feeling that each story I would lose track of sometimes, bu t I stopped worryin...

Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series

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