Book Club

Turn of Mind (Paperback)

By Alice Laplante

$15.00

ISBN: 9780802145901

Availability: On Order at the Wholesaler

Published: Grove Press - March 27th, 2012

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When Jennifer’s best friend Amanda is found dead with four of her fingers removed by someone who clearly understands surgery, Jennifer, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in hands, is an obvious suspect. But even Jennifer doesn’t know if she committed the crime because, at age 64, her memories are being consumed by Alzheimer’s. Part murder mystery, part portrayal of the pleasures and pitfalls of lifelong relationships between women, and part window into the condition Jennifer describes as “the death of the mind”, Turn of Mind is a fascinating portrait of the importance of memory in our lives.

PSB Book Club

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures (FSG Classics) (Paperback)

By Anne Fadiman

$16.00

ISBN: 9780374533403

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux - April 24th, 2012

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From the moment of Lia Lee’s birth in a Merced, California hospital, her parents — Hmong refugees from Laos—are confronted by cultural differences. When Lia begins having grand mal seizures, her parents see the condition as an indication of divine spirit having entered their child’s body. Lia’s physicians, however, call the condition severe epilepsy and attempt to coerce the Lees to follow their medical regimen. The clash that follows puts a child at risk and illustrates the difficulties of communication between cultures with firmly held beliefs.

PSB Book Club

How to Breathe Underwater (Vintage Contemporaries) (Paperback)

By Julie Orringer

$15.00

ISBN: 9781400034369

Availability: Available at Wholesaler

Published: Vintage - April 12th, 2005

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The stories in this collection are a handful of literary gems that provide emotionally resonant insight into the obstacles and victories of today’s teenage girls. The challenges the protagonists face range from a mother in the late stages of cancer, to a brother intent on passing his own pain on to his sister, and to a cousin who possesses extraordinary beauty.  While the stories are, at times, intense, they are also deeply honest and hopeful.

Porter Square Book Club

All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Anthony Doerr

$27.00

ISBN: 9781476746586

Availability: Available at Wholesaler

Published: Scribner - May 6th, 2014

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I bypassed this book originally because I have had my fill of World War II books, but decided to read it when I heard the rumor (false), that the author is related to writer Harriet Doerr. I’m glad I changed my mind! All the Light We Cannot See weaves together interesting characters, a captivating plot, beautifully rendered settings, a lyrical writing style and multiple layers of metaphor and meaning into an imminently readable and unforgettable novel.

 

Porter Square Bookstore Book Group