Whatcha Readin': Flashlights & Firelight Book Club

Do you love to read and discuss books, but struggle to leave your comfy home in order to do so?

I sure do. I have the best snacks here, a cozy blankie if I get a chill, and I never have to worry that I forgot my pen. In an effort to bring book club to you, Thompson Falls Public Library and I have teamed up with The Sanders County Ledger and this column, to bring you Flashlights & Firelight Online Book Club: free, monthly, and fun! Check out my quick review of our first book below as well as details for joining us later this month.*

In August, I read 13 books, eight of which were four stars are more (I also started, but did not finish, three books). Here they are, in no particular order:

*The Measure by Nikki Erlick is a fast-paced, contemporary, speculative fiction written from the perspectives of eight different people in New York after mysterious boxes containing strings of different lengths appear at the doorstep of every person 22 or older one night all across the globe.

When it’s determined the strings determine the length of each person’s life, fascinating things begin to occur. A psychological and sociological look at empathy, judgment, and the meaning of life. In conjunction with The Sanders County Ledger and Thompson Falls Public Library, Flashlights & Firelight Online Book Club has picked this book for September and we’ll be discussing it on September 18, 2024 at 6 p.m. MT. (For the free Zoom link, please visit: http://www.sundaydutro.com/events or the new online community calendar: http://www.sanderscounty365.com.)

Braving the Wilderness by Brene´ Brown is a medium-paced psychology book that’s inspiring and fascinating. Brown’s idea is that people have become so disconnected from one another, so hung up on labels for ourselves and each other, that we cease to find our commonalities and that is why we suffer from loneliness, depression, and a lack of community, even in a room full of our supposed peers.

Burn It Down by Lilly Dancyger is a challenging collection of essays about how women express, or don’t, their anger. What happens when we’re not allowed to express our emotions? When we are no longer sure what emotion we’re feeling because certain ones are not allowed?

The Hero of This Book by Elizabeth McCracken is a literary fiction book that’s actually a memoir. The emotionally reflective story of the author’s relationship with her mother, it’s a beautiful and humorous, medium-paced book about grief and mother-daughter relationships.

Heavy by Kiese Laymon is a medium-paced memoir about growing up overweight as a black man in the south and the legacy that follows. A beautiful and raw look at secrets and power, it deservedly won the Andrew Carnegie Medal.

Hourglass by Dani Shapiro is an emotional and reflective memoir about marriage, love, and identity. A look at how marriage changes over time and what keeps it strong despite the things that try to tear it apart.

North of Normal by Cea Sunrise Person is a fast-paced coming-of-age memoir about a woman raised outside societal norms on a hippie commune by a fifteen-year-old mother. This book seems to divide people: they love it or hate it. I loved it.

Writing Hard Stories by Melanie Brooks is a nonfiction book of essays about writing. The author/curator visited with eighteen memoirists to discuss how they were able to write the hard things, what kept them honest, what kept them going, and what unexpected gems they learned along the way.

Lastly, these are books that haven’t warranted four or more stars, in my opinion, but my 5-year-old and 8-year-old love them: BeastQuest by Adam Blade (a pen name that covers the contributions of multiple ghost writers). Each series of six books follows the hero, Tom, as he defeats six different beasts. They’re adventurous but I find them redundant and a bit stumbly to read aloud. But whatever gets kids’ reading is cool, so I’m sharing!

I’m currently at various stages of reading:

-The Women by Hilton Als

-Holly by Stephen King

Are you as excited about Flashlights & Firelight Online Book Club as I am? I sure hope so! Can’t wait to hear what you all think of our first book later this month. We have the next six months all booked out (pun intended) and will update the Events page each month so you can always see three months’ worth of books at a time. I love reader comments and interaction, please drop me a line and let me know Whatcha Readin’?

Sunday Dutro is an avid reader and eBook convert living in Thompson Falls with her beautiful family and an enormous “to be read” pile. Reach her at [email protected].