Volume 5, Issue 5 SYOSSET PUBLIC LIBRARY 225 South Oyster Bay Road, Syosset NY 11791 October 2016 The Book Club Insider Inside This Issue: —Newport, Rhode Monthly Newsletter Island: America’s Society Capital Newport, Rhode Island: America’s Society Capital —Celebrate Reading A glorious Labor Day weekend spent in historic Newport, Rhode Island piqued my interest in the Group Month with an Vanderbilt family and the Gilded Age. Upon my return, I was curious to see what books Syosset Oprah Selection Public Library had on its shelves regarding these topics. Here are a few titles I discovered that your book club may enjoy:

—New to Book Club In a Bag The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son Talk about Life, Love and Loss by Anderson Cooper A charming, intimate and fascinating collection of correspondence between broadcaster and #1 New

York Times bestselling author Anderson Cooper and his mother, the celebrated Gloria Vanderbilt. To register your book club

and receive this newsletter straight into your inbox, The World of Gloria Vanderbilt by Wendy Goodman contact any Gloria Vanderbilt brought the Vanderbilt name out of the Gilded Age and into the Digital Age, rein- venting herself over and over along the way. Hers is a story of charisma, glamour, and heartbreak- Readers’ Services Librarian ing loss. The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin Upcoming Events Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beauti- For Readers ful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilt’s', suddenly finds herself, the Duchess of Wareham, married. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she Evening Book Discussion must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage. -Orphan #8 by Kim van Alkemade on Tues Oct The Gods of Newport by John Jakes 18, 2016 at 7:30 PM Determined to secure entry into the elite social circles of late nineteenth-century Rhode Island, Sam Afternoon Book Driver enlists the help of a pair of social gadflies but finds his efforts complicated by his daughter's Discussion romance with an impoverished young Irishman. -The Japanese Lover by Murder at the Breakers (book one of A Gilded Newport Mystery series) by Alyssa Maxwell Isabel Allende on Tues During Newport, Rhode Island's heyday, a lavish affair at the Vanderbilt's mansion, the Breakers, Oct 25, 2016 at 1:30 PM turns into a murder scene when a dead body falls from a balcony, and Emma Cross, half-Vanderbilt and half-commoner, must get to the bottom of things when her brother is accused of a crime.

If your Book Club would Newport by Jill Morrow like to recommend a book Following in the steps of Beatriz Williams and Amor Towles, this richly atmospheric, spellbinding to our readers, novel transports readers to the dazzling, glamorous world of Newport during the Roaring Twenties please send us an email at and to a mansion filled with secrets as a debonair lawyer must separate truth from deception. New- Readersservices port vividly brings to life the glitzy era of the 1920s.

@syossetlibrary.org The Geometry of Sisters by Luanne Rice and we will share it in In the halls of Newport Academy, a unique private school that has attracted generations of rebels, a future newsletter. outcasts, and visionaries, a poignant and unforgettable lesson in the eternal truths of sisterhood is about to begin for Maggie Shaw, her fourteen-year-old daughter Beck, and her sixteen-year-old son www.syossetlibrary.org Travis.

The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles A gripping, groundbreaking biography of the combative man whose genius and force of will creat- ed modern capitalism. We see Vanderbilt help to launch the transportation revolution, propel the Gold Rush, reshape Manhattan, and invent the modern corporation. -Lisa Jones, Readers’ Services Librarian The Book Club Insider

October 2016 Page 2 Celebrate Reading Group Month With an Oprah Selection October is National Reading Group Month, and it is an exciting time to celebrate book clubs. This year it is even more special as Oprah has selected two great books for her popular book group. While you are waiting for The Un- derground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and Love Warrior: A Memoir by Glennon Doyle Melton, your book club may want to check out one of Oprah’s past selections. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Oprah’s 2008 Pick) A tale reminiscent of Hamlet that also celebrates the alliance between humans and dogs follows speech- disabled Wisconsin youth Edgar, who bonds with three yearling canines and struggles to prove that his sinister uncle is responsible for his father’s death. Say You’re One of Them by Uwen Akpan (Oprah’s 2009 Pick) A collection of tales about modern African children in crisis includes “An Ex-Mas Feast,” in which an eight -year-old child shares in his family’s sacrifices to obtain enough food and enable his education. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (Oprah’s 2010 Pick) The idyllic lives of civic-minded environmentalists Patty and Walter Berglund come into question when their son moves in with aggressive Republican neighbors, green lawyer Walter takes a job with Big Coal, and go-getter Patty becomes increasingly unstable and enraged.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis (Oprah’s 2012 Pick) Traces the story of Great Migration-era mother Hattie Shepherd, who in spite of poverty and a dysfunc- tional husband uses love and Southern remedies to raise nine children and prepare them for the realities of a harsh world. Ruby by Cynthia Bond (Oprah’s 2015 Pick) Loving the beautiful but damaged Ruby all of his life, Ephraim is torn between his dutiful sister and a chance for a life with Ruby when the latter returns to their small East Texas home and confronts the dark forces that traumatized her early years. -Jean Simpson, Readers’ Services Librarian

New to Book Club in a Bag The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen 2016 Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction

A profound, startling, and beautifully crafted debut novel, The Sympathizer is the story of a man of two minds, someone whose political beliefs clash with his individual loyalties. It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be given passage aboard the last flights out of the country. The general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, unaware that one among their number, the captain, is secretly observ- ing and reporting on the group to a higher-up in the Viet Cong. The Sympathizer is the story of this captain: a man brought up by an absent French father and a poor Vietnamese mother, a man who went to university in America, but returned to Vietnam to fight for the Communist cause. A gripping spy novel, an astute exploration of extreme politics, and a moving love story, The Sympathizer explores a life between two worlds and examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today.

Let us provide everything you need for a successful book discussion. We can supply you with 10 copies of the book and a discussion bind- er. The binder contains discussion questions, biographical information and critical material.

Please contact Readers’ Services, 921-7161, ext 239 to reserve a book for your Book Club. -Evelyn Hershkowitz, Readers’ Services Librarian