Join us on Oct 12th at Mugs Charlotte

Chapter Members, join us LIVE for our
GREAT GROUP READS BOOKCLUB MEETUP

Tuesday, October 12th, 7:00pm
Mugs Coffee, 5126 Park Rd, Charlotte

 

Please rsvp if you wish to attend or vote on books.

RSVP HERE

Join us in picking our book club choices for December 2021 to September 2022. GGR Chair Kristen Knox will give an informative run-down of the newest Great Group reads list, which will be the basis of all titles for the calendar. We’ll decide what books to read and when.

 

WHAT IS GREAT GROUP READS?
Great Group Reads (GGR) is an initiative started by WNBA National in 2009. Books chosen are a resource for book clubs, reading groups, bookstores and libraries.

Titles for GGR are selected on the basis of their appeal to reading groups for whom they are certain to open up lively conversations about an array of timely and provocative topics. The GGR Selection Committee focuses attention on under-represented books from independent presses and mid- list releases from larger houses. 


WHEN DOES THE CHARLOTTE CHAPTER BOOKCLUB MEET?

After books are selected and assigned, the WNBA-Charlotte’s Bookclub will meet the first Tuesday of every month, from November to September. Meetups will be from 7-8:30pm at Mugs Coffee Shop. Should there be a need to, for social distancing purposes, meet ups will be virtual on Zoom and chapter members will know in advance. Titles are picked and scheduled at the October 12th meetup. The list and schedule distributed to members asap.

 

WHAT ARE THE 2021 TITLES?
There were 20 titles selected, in the genres of fiction, short stories and memoir (we will choose to read to).

After Francesco by Brian Malloy (John Scognamiglio Books, HC) LGBT, Contemporary Fiction, Own Voices, AIDS Epidemic

All Sorrows Can Be Borne by Autumn Stephens (Rare Bird Books, HC) Saga, Coming-of-Age, Family Life

All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks (Grove Press, TP) Memoir, LGBT, Aids Epidemic, Personal Activism

The Baddest Girl on the Planet by Heather Frese (Blair, HC) Southern Fiction, Small Town/Rural Fiction

A Girl is a Body of Water by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (Tin House Books, TP) Coming-of-Age, Japanese History, Historical Fiction

Hell of a Book by Jason Mott (Dutton, HC) African-American Literary Fiction, Southern U.S.

Mona at Sea by Elizabeth Gonzalez James (Santa Fe Writer’s Project, TP) Coming of Age, Latinx

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai (Algonquin, TP) Coming of Age,Vietnamese, Cultural Heritage

No Hiding in Boise by Kim Hooper (Keylight Books, TP) Literary, Psychological

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot: A Novel by Marianne Cronin (Harper Perennial, TP) Friendship, Women’s Fiction

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslian Charles (Atria, HC) Historical [WWII] Fiction, Women’s Fiction

The Parted Earth by Anjali Enjeti (Hub City Press, HC) Literary, Asian-American, Cultural Heritage

The Portrait: A Novel by Ilaria Bernardini (Pegasus Books, HC) Women’s Fiction, Family Life

The Prince of Mournful Thoughts and Other Stories by Caroline Kim (U. Of Pittsburgh Press, HC) Asian-American, Short Story Collection

A Recipe for Daphne by Nektaria Anastasiadou (Hoopoe, TP) Cultural Heritage, Women’s Fiction

The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson (Milkweed Editions, TP) Native American History, Aboriginal History, Nature & the Environment

The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia (Dundurn Group, TP) Literary, Women’s Fiction, Cultural Heritage

The Third Mrs. Galway by Deirdre Sinnott (Kaylie Jones Books, HC) Hist. Fiction, Civil War Era, Women’s Fiction

When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson (Kensington, TP) Biographical Fiction, Middle Eastern

Why Birds Sing by Nina Berkhout (ECW Press, TP) Family Life, Women’s Fiction

 

I LOVE READING! HOW DO I FIND OUT ABOUT JOINING THE COMMITTEE? Contact GGR Chair Kristen Knox, at KKnox.NatlReadingGrpMonth@gmail.com  *Note, you must be a full-paid up Member to serve.

National Poetry Month: Crow’s Feet by Nicole C. Ayers

For National Poetry Month 2020, we present the poetry and prose from our Members.

 

Crow’s Feet

by Nicole C. Ayers

(Illustration by Mica Gadhia)

 

Thank you for reflecting my life’s joys to the world. I love the idea that my smiles and laughter create creases that hold happiness in my eyes so I may “see” it. Some people call you laugh lines, and while I like that too, I like crow’s feet more. Crows are so intelligent, and they love shiny treasures. I like thinking I’m wise enough to find my treasure in joy. Love, ME

 

 

Dear Crow’s Feet

 

Nicole’s Love Notes collection is a trio of essays, inspirational prose, and a guided journal for the reader. They include Love Notes to My Body, Love Letters to My Body: Writing My Way to (Self-), and Writing Your Way to (Self-)Love: A Guided Journal To Help You Love Your Body, One Part at a Time. Visit her at www.nicolecayers.com And follow Mica on Twitter @MicaGadhia

Join us March 9th for our Spring “Meet the Authors” Evening

park road books picJoin us for our
Spring Meet the Authors Evening
Monday, March 9th, 7:00 – 8:30 PM
at 
Park Road Books
4139 Park Rd, Charlotte

Join us for an evening of conversation with three prominent, southern-based authors, invited by the chapter.

(Author Bios & Book Summaries, click here)

 

Abigail DeWitt, author of News of Our Loved Ones (Harper Perennial TP)

 

 

 

 

 

Donna Everhart, author of The Moonshiners Daughter (Kensington, TP)

 

 

 

 

 

 Susan Beckham Zurenda, author of Bells for Eli (Mercer University Press HC)

 

 

Each will speak briefly about their new novels, then give opportunity for one-on-one questions and discussion.

We’ll have wine, refreshments, and a chance to mingle with the authors as well! For more info or questions, contact Susan Walker, susan.walker.books@gmail.com