Linda Sullivan, our Book Whisperer, mixes it up once again with her recommendations: The Book Club Hotel and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, from captivating romance novel to challenging non-fiction novel, respectively.
Of Linda’s first recommendation, The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan, she says:
“Three college best friends have an annual Book Club getaway, and this year Erika has chosen the most unlikely Maple Sugar Inn. Why? That is a mystery to be solved when you read it, but … hint, hint: the innkeeper is a widow with a precocious 5-year-old daughter. The point of view switches among the visiting friends and the innkeeper. All four are in a period of transition, and I promise the reader will identify with at least one.”
Linda relates most to character Anna. … Who will you relate to in this heartfelt Christmas romance story?
Remember Sarah Morgan from a previous recommendation, Snowed in for Winter. She is a former nurse turned writer who has written more than 80 romance novels and lives in England with her husband and two sons.
Now Linda’s second recommendation for this week isn’t a Christmas feel-good story but we urge it to be a must read, or as Linda puts it, “a challenge to yourself and your way of thinking.”
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson is based on a supposition that race in America is a caste system like those in India and Nazi Germany.
Isabel Wilkerson is an American journalist and the first woman of African-American heritage to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism. She is a native of Washington, D.C., and a graduate of Howard University.
Linda says on reading this book, “For years, I’ve firmly believed the root problem in America is poverty, but after reading Wilkerson’s Caste, I’ve realized there’s an even deeper problem. The caste system.” Wilkerson is a journalist, so her writing style is engaging and easy to read. She’s a gifted storyteller, and for me, that’s very important when reading non-fiction.
“The book is divided into seven sections, and she compares America, Nazi Germany and India. You may say, ‘NO way!’ I’ll argue with you and say, ‘Oh, yes, my friend.’ This is a book you’ll want to discuss with someone. Luckily, I read it with seven friends, and we’ve discussed one section every other week. Buy this one because you’ll want to mark in it.
Remember: Knox County Online Library to search for Linda’s recommendations each week.
Don’t forget Reader Trip 2024 with Book Whisperer on the Danube: see story Reader Trip 2024 Story.