TABLES OF CONTENT READING LIST
Select one of these great books if you plan to participate in the book discussion.
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann
This International Booker Prize shortlisted historical novel is based on the life of director G.W. Pabst. He escaped to Hollywood during the rise of the Nazis only to return to Austria as World War II broke out. Unable to leave, he is pressured to make propaganda films by the Third Reich. The book examines themes of artistic compromise, moral ambiguity and complicity as Pabst attempts to balance his artistic vision with the demands placed by a totalitarian regime. Please note a number of books share the title “The Director.” Please be sure to select the novel written by Daniel Kehlmann.
Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green
This highly engaging and accessible book gives a history of tuberculosis and public perception of the disease throughout time. While in the global north tuberculosis is largely a disease of the past, in the global south it continues to be a deadly and persistent infectious disease. Green, the author of The Fault in Our Stars and board member of Partners In Health, argues that global health inequities and political and economic hurdles prevent delivery of known cures to those in need.
Kin by Tayari Jones
From the author of the celebrated An American Marriage comes the tale of the lifelong friendship of two motherless girls growing up in the 1950s Jim Crow South. One girl follows a path to college and a life of affluence. The other searches for the mother who abandoned her in infancy. The book explores themes of motherhood, chosen family, class and race.
A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst
This narrative nonfiction book tells the gripping story of a British couple who survived 118 days adrift in the Pacific after their boat sank. Facing starvation and exhaustion in a small raft, the couple tries to stay alive and get along. The book details their relationship, decision to sail the world in 1972 and agonizing struggle to survive, and explores themes of love, obsession and the endurance of their marriage.
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
In this heartwarming tale, a kind stranger arrives in a small Southern town and begins to buy portraits of local residents. He gives the portraits to the subjects in exchange for their life stories, sparking healing and connection in the community. Each chapter focuses on the story of one subject, and explores themes of generosity, being seen, loneliness and faith.
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
In his best book since Atonement, McEwan sets his story 100 years in the future in a Britain transformed by rising seas and the early 21st century’s failure to adequately address climate change. The novel tells the story of a literary historian’s search for a legendary lost poem from 2014. In the process, he uncovers a secret love, a crime, and probes the unreliability of memory and history.
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
The debut novel of Tabor alumna Caro Claire Burke examines the chasm between the digital and real lives of a conservative “tradwife” vlogger. To her millions of social media followers, she lives an idyllic life on an organic farm in Idaho with her cowboy husband and perfect kids. The truth is much darker.