You don't want to miss this!
NVJH Literacy Team Summer Books Clubs
Let's face it... You miss your work friends over the summer.
- Book clubs are hosted by BLT members.
- You can choose to attend any number of book clubs; you're not committed to all of them.
- They are fun and you'll end up reading great books you may not have chosen on your own!
(Pssst... sometimes you don't get the entire book read in time. That's okay! Go to the book club anyway!)
Sign up for summer book clubs now!
Beneath a Meth Moon by Jacqueline Woodson
Hosted by Jack Nilles
"Laurel Daneau has moved on to a new life, in a new town, but inside she's still reeling from the loss of her beloved mother and grandmother after Hurricane Katrina washed away their home. Laurel's new life is going well, with a new best friend, a place on the cheerleading squad and T-Boom, co-captain of the basketball team, for a boyfriend. Yet Laurel is haunted by voices and memories from her past.
When T-Boom introduces Laurel to meth, she immediately falls under its spell, loving the way it erases, even if only briefly, her past. But as she becomes alienated from her friends and family, she becomes a shell of her former self, and longs to be whole again."
Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013, 06:00 PM
Grumpy's Bar & Grill, 1111 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
Hosted by Laurie Ganser
"At Westish College, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league until a routine throw goes disastrously off course. In the aftermath of his error, the fates of five people are upended. Henry's fight against self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz realizes he has guided Henry's career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight returns to Westish after escaping an ill-fated marriage, determined to start a new life.
As the season counts down to its climactic final game, these five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets. Written with boundless intelligence and filled with the tenderness of youth, ""The Art of Fielding is mere baseball fiction the way Moby Dick is just a fish story"" (Nicholas Dawidoff). It is an expansive, warmhearted novel about ambition and its limits, about family and friendship and love, and about commitment--to oneself and to others."
Tuesday, Jul 9, 2013, 11:00 AM
Common Roots Cafe, 2558 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis
Outcasts United by Warren St. John
Hosted by Eric Holmlund
Outcasts United is the story of a refugee soccer team, a remarkable woman coach and a small southern town turned upside down by the process of refugee resettlement.
It's a tale about resilience, the power of one person to make a difference and the daunting challenge of creating community in a place where people seem to have little in common.
Over 40 colleges and universities have selected Outcasts United as their required read for incoming freshmen, and the book has been selected by numerous state and city-wide common reading programs.
Saturday, Jul 13, 2013, 01:00 PM
Maple Tavern, 9375 Deerwood Lane North, Maple Grove
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Thirty years after women became 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, men still hold the vast majority of leadership positions in government and industry. This means that women’s voices are still not heard equally in the decisions that most affect our lives. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg examines why women’s progress in achieving leadership roles has stalled, explains the root causes, and offers compelling, commonsense solutions that can empower women to achieve their full potential.
Sandberg is the chief operating officer of Facebook and is ranked on Fortune’s list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business and as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2010, she gave an electrifying TEDTalk in which she described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which became a phenomenon and has been viewed more than two million times, encouraged women to “sit at the table,” seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto.
In Lean In, Sandberg digs deeper into these issues, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to cut through the layers of ambiguity and bias surrounding the lives and choices of working women. She recounts her own decisions, mistakes, and daily struggles to make the right choices for herself, her career, and her family. She provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career, urging women to set boundaries and to abandon the myth of “having it all.” She describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment and demonstrates how men can benefit by supporting women in the workplace and at home.
Written with both humor and wisdom, Sandberg’s book is an inspiring call to action and a blueprint for individual growth. Lean In is destined to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can.
Tuesday, Jul 16, 2013, 01:30 PM
Billy's On Grand, 857 Grand Avenue, Saint Paul
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Hosted by Jessica Crooker
Marriage can be a real killer.
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013, 06:00 PM
Jessica's Home, E. 4th Street and Jackson Street, Downtown St. Paul
Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain by Eric Jensen and Carole Snider
Hosted by John Groenke
**This book will be provided to you by John Groenke!**
Powerful research-based strategies to turn around struggling adolescent students
The achievement gap is widening and more teens than ever are struggling in school. The latest research shows not only that brains can change, but that teachers and other providers have the power to boost students' effort, focus, attitude, and even IQs. In this book bestselling author Eric Jensen and co-author Carole Snider offer teacher-friendly strategies to ensure that all students graduate, become lifelong learners, and ultimately be successful in school and life. Drawing on cutting-edge science, this breakthrough book reveals core tools to increase student effort, build attitudes, and improve behaviors.
•Practical, teacher-tested, and research-supported strategies that will empower educators to make lasting and rapid changes
•Powerful academic evidence showing that every teacher can make a significant—and lasting—difference in student effort, behavior, attitude, and achievement
•Specific tools for making and managing the student's goal-seeking process and helping to develop a winner's mindset
From the very first chapter, educators will learn how to help their struggling students become excited, lifelong learners. Eric Jensen is a noted authority on brain-based learning and student engagement. Carole Snider is an expert in both adolescent success and adult learning.
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