July Not Fiction Book Discussion

Join us for a virtual discussion of our July title, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe, continuing our look at the genre of true crime as a platform for bearing witness with another example of narrative nonfiction journalism at its best. "O land of password, handgrip, wink and nod," Seamus Heaney wrote in a poem about the Troubles called Whatever You Say, Say Nothing. In 1972, Jean McConville, mother of ten, became one of the "Disappeared" during the violent guerrilla war in Northern Ireland. Keefe uses McConville's story as a lens to focus on the unresolved tensions, silences, and betrayals of this conflict and its lasting effects today.

When? Tuesday, July 7, at 6:30 p.m.

Where? On the CCPL Discord Server
Discord is an application used for chatting on your computer or smartphone. Chats can be done through typing on your keyboard or smartphone or through the audio features of your computer or smartphone. If you wish to participate in the CCPL online book clubs via Discord, you will need to create a free Discord account if you do not already have one, and you will need a code/link to join the CCPL Book Talk Server. You can find step-by-step instructions and the code/link here on CCPL's website: https://www.ccpl.org/book-clubs-adults.

Readalikes: If you enjoyed June's selection . . .

If you enjoyed Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America by Eliza Griswold, then you might also like these books and films--and art!--recommended by our discussion group members:

• The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization by Vince Beiser
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
• Green Power, the mural by Shepard Fairey on the College Lodge at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC
• Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
• Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
• Erin Brockovich, the film written by Susannah Grant and directed by Steven Soderbergh
• The Pelican Brief, the novel by John Grisham, and the film directed by Alan J. Pakula

June Not Fiction Book Discussion

Join us for a virtual discussion of our June title, Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America by Eliza Griswold. "At heart a David-and-Goliath story fit for the movies" (Joann Wypijewski, The New York Times Book Review), Amity and Prosperity draws on seven years of immersive reporting to tell the story of Stacey Haney, a struggling single mom who becomes a renegade environmental and social justice activist during the fracking boom in Pennsylvania.

When? Tuesday, June 2, at 6:30 p.m.

Where? On the CCPL Discord Server
Discord is an application used for chatting on your computer or smartphone. Chats can be done through typing on your keyboard or smartphone or through the audio features of your computer or smartphone. If you wish to participate in the CCPL online book clubs via Discord, you will need to create a free Discord account if you do not already have one, and you will need a code/link to join the CCPL Book Talk Server. You can find step-by-step instructions and the code/link here on CCPL's website: https://www.ccpl.org/book-clubs-adults.

Readalikes: If you enjoyed April and May's selections . . .

If you enjoyed I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara and Furious Hours by Casey Cep, then you might also enjoy these other true-crime books, all available in CCPL's digital collections:

• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
• Helter Skelter: The Shocking Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
• Columbine by David Cullen
• Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World's Most Famous Detective Writer by Margalit Fox
• Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
• The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham
• The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson
• Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
• Beneath a Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race, and Justice Lost and Found by Gilbert King
• Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker
• Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
• The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm
• The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan Orlean
• The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
• Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin by Hampton Sides
• Son of a Gun: A Memoir by Justin St. Germain

The Not Fiction Book Discussion is Going Virtual!

Join us for a virtual discussion of our April and May titles, I'll Be Gone In The Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara and Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep, both compelling true crime stories, and both moving portraits of writers in pursuit of the truth.

When: Tuesday, May 5, at 6:30 p.m.

Where: On the CCPL Discord Server:

Discord is an application used for chatting on your computer or smartphone. Chats can be done through typing on your keyboard or smartphone or through the audio features of your computer or smartphone. If you wish to participate in the CCPL online book clubs via Discord, you will need to create a free Discord account if you do not already have one, and you will need a code/link to join the CCPL Book Talk Server. You can find step-by-step instructions and the code/link here on CCPL's website: https://www.ccpl.org/book-clubs-adults. 

Readalikes: If you enjoyed March's selection

If you enjoyed She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, then you might also like this work on the same topic, one reporter's investigation of the sexual harassment accusations against Harvey Weinstein, suggested by our discussion group members:

 Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow

You might also enjoy the work about investigative journalism to which She Said has been frequently compared by critics:

All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

March 19 Not Fiction Book Discussion Cancelled due to Coronavirus COVID 19 Precautions

Charleston County Public Library is implementing coronavirus COVID 19 precautions. Effective on Friday, March 13, all public bookmobile and outreach services will be suspended to possibly resume on Saturday, March 28. CCPL will also be suspending all public programs as well as events and gatherings held in booked rooms, effective Monday, March 16 to possibly resume on Saturday, March 28.

Even though we will not be meeting in person for the March Not Fiction Book Discussion, you can share your thoughts about She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey here on the blog. 

I will post about the Not Fiction Book Discussions for March and April as we have more information. Please check our website, www.ccpl.org, for updated information about other program cancellations. 

Be well!