I was an English major way back when. We’d read an assigned book for class then prod and poke it every which way. What I knew about the book after just reading it was completely different from what I knew about it after dissecting plot, character, point of view, setting — all the things that professors like to examine. I don’t know that I want to go that far with my reading these days.
Mostly I want a good read that lingers for a while afterward. But the best is finding a book that captivates my imagination and demands to be discussed — not necessarily for its literary elements but for the story itself. That’s where a book club comes in. Knox County Public Library has a lot of book clubs open to everyone, and summer is the perfect time to try one out.
Here are some options:
June 2 | 6:00 | Farragut Book Club | Farragut Branch Library | Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
About the book: Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds and soil. She tells about her childhood in rural Minnesota with an uncompromising mother and a father who encouraged hours of play in his classroom’s labs; about how she found a sanctuary in science, and the disappointments, triumphs and exhilarating discoveries of scientific work. Yet at the core of this book is the story of a relationship Jahren forged with Bill, who becomes her lab partner and best friend. Their sometimes rogue adventures in science take them over the Atlantic to the ever-light skies of the North Pole and to tropical Hawaii, where she and her lab currently make their home.
June 9 | 6:30 | All Over the Page | Lawson McGhee Library | Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange facilitated by Paige Travis
About the book: Colorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion prison castle, where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture and identity. A generation later, Star’s son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father’s jailer. Under Pratt’s harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines.
June 16 | 6:00 | Evening Reads | Bearden Branch Library | Life of Pi by Yann Martel
About the book: Pi Patel, having spent an idyllic childhood in Pondicherry, India, as the son of a zookeeper, sets off with his family at the age of 16 to start anew in Canada, but his life takes a marvelous turn when their ship sinks in the Pacific, leaving him adrift on a raft with a 450-pound Bengal tiger for company.
June 17 | 6:00 | Pop Culture Book Club | Bearden Branch Library | Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
About the book: With an ailing family to support, Evie Sage’s employment status isn’t just important, it’s vital. So, when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer — naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental and undeniably hot boss. But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat … and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain — and his entire nefarious empire — out.
June 30 | 6:00 | Monday Night Book Club | Fountain City Branch Library | The Last Ranger by Peter Heller
About the book: Officer Ren Hopper is a ranger with the National Park Service, tasked with duties both mundane and thrilling: breaking up campgrounds, saving clueless tourists from moose attacks and attempting to broker an uneasy peace between the wealthy vacationers who tromp through the park with cameras and the residents of hardscrabble Cooke City who want to carve out a meaningful living. When Ren, hiking through the backcountry on his day off, encounters a big man with a dog and a gun chasing a small black bear up a hill, his hackles are raised. But what begins as an investigation into the background of a local poacher soon opens into something far murkier: a shattered windshield, a series of red ribbons tied to traps, the discovery of a frightening conspiracy and a story of heroism gone awry.
We also have a lot of book clubs with no required reading. Show up and discuss your latest read. You’ll pick up some good suggestions along the way. Happy reading!
Mary Pom Claiborne is assistant director for marketing, communications and development for Knox County Public Library.
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