Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

Mary Anning, young, poor with little formal education, has a knack for finding "curies" in the cliffs of Lyme Regis in southwest England.  Elizabeth Philpot, educated and living on family wealth, is one of three sisters forced to leave the social circles of London for spinsterhood and the intellectual isolation of Lyme Regis.  These two women turn the scientific and religious world on its head in the early 1800's with their discoveries of fossils in the cliffs.  Before Darwin introduced the concept of evolution, they challenged creation theory by introducing the fossilized remains of creatures that no longer existed.  If God created everything, why would some of those creations disappear?  What did the world where these remarkable creatures existed look like? How remarkable that these "unremarkable" women would make such remarkable discoveries and raise such remarkable questions. Remarkable.

The Secret Gift by Ted Gup

I wanted to love this book more.  I found it fascinating, then inspiring, then tedious, then depressing.  I wish it had worked in the opposite order.  The author was presented with a family suitcase full of 1933 newspaper clippings and letters from people in Canton, Ohio written to a mysterious B. Verdot.  In the midst of the Depression, Verdot placed an ad in the paper offering to send $10 to 70 people who would send a letter of request.  It turns out that Verdot was Gup's grandfather whose identity had remained secret until Gup began the research for his book.  Woven amongst the stories of the people who received these gifts so long ago is the story of Grandfather Stone who began life as a Ukrainian Jew named Finklestein and became the wealthy owner of a clothing store in Canton, Ohio.  Even though the Depression and nasty family members all but eliminated his wealth, he still felt compelled to help.  In the end his gift bought shoes or coal or small gifts for Christmas.  In most cases the effects of the Depression lasted far into the future - for Canton as well as its citizens.  I was glad I read it and it inspired great experience sharing discussion in my book group but I am left with an unclear "so what do I do now" feeling.

Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales

The subtitle is "Who Lives, Who Dies and Why" and I was expecting something much more internal and mystical.  There are many interesting stories of people who have taken great risks or who have been thrown into life threatening situations.  Some survived by their wits and some by amazing luck. There is much about brain theory - why we do what we do - dumb or smart.  The idea of the struggle between our rational and emotion voices is not new to anyone who has watched a child grow up.  Mostly I enjoyed thinking about a time in my life when adventure seemed the only valid point - ah youth.

Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin

Elderly Park So-Nyo disappears in the subway of Seoul, Korea.  As the family struggles to find her, we learn of their story through the voices of her daughter, her son, her husband and finally So-Nyo herself.  It is a story of regrets, words unsaid, disappointments, betrayals, and misunderstandings and love unnoticed.  It gives one pause and reason to question just how well we know the people we think we know so well.

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

Six voices tell this story of post WWII Jim Crow South. Two soldiers, one black, one white, return from the war changed by having served in Europe. They have seen a life that could be and have little tolerance for the culture waiting for them in this small town. Jamie is the brother of the land owner of a piece of land that is often cut off from the town by flooding rivers. Ronsel is the son of one of the sharecroppers helping to work that land. Insights into the sharecropper relationship may be a new to the reader but the disastrous consequences of the friendship between the two men is unfortunately all too familiar. Given recent events, one wonders we will forever be trapped by our racist past.

The Air Between Us by Deborah Johnson

Dr. Cooper Connelly and Dr. Reese Jackson are both doctors in Revere, Mississippi - one is white, one is black. One works in the top floors of the Doctor's hospital and one serves clients from the back door. But this is post Brown v the Board of Education and changes are on the way. When a 10 year old black child drives a white man suffering from mysterious gun shot wounds to the hospital, there are more questions to be answered than which door is the right one to use. There is reason to feel good about events in the end but a lot of secrets to unravel first. Start your discussion with Connelly's words on page 155 about "the air between us".

The 10th Parallel by Eliza Griswold

Griswold, journalist and daughter of a progressive Episcopal bishop, explores life along the geographical dividing line between Muslim and Christian cultures in Nigeria, eastern Africa and Indonesia. Densely packed with historical information and current interviews with both jihadists and missionaries, this book provides insight into the economic and political effects of religion in these regions. The awareness of how little we know about the history of the conflict and the futility of the current competition for the "souls" of the people dying in this numbers game is crazy making. Can anything good (schools, medical care...) done in the name of any religion be done in a way that does not alter a culture in such a way as to create conflict? What do you know about the current 10/40 missionary plan? So many questions. So few good answers.

The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch

Thirteen year old Mile O'Malley is fascinated by the life he finds on the shores of Puget Sound. His life away from the water is not so beautiful. In this coming of age novel full of the angst of first love and the disappointment with the adult world, an important discovery puts Mile in the crazy spin of a media circus.  Although naive in the ways of the competitive adult world, he remains the most grounded of all.  This is an allegorical story that speaks to readers of all ages.