BOOK SHELF

4th Quarter Reading Selections

Required Selection
Inseparable by Brenda Jackson

Living under Reese Madaris's roof makes LaKenna James the envy of every woman in town. But Reese's offer of a place to stay is strictly platonic--just until Kenna's new condo is completed. He has no idea that his best friend has been attracted to him since college, and Kenna plans to keep it that way.Ever since his cousin Blade got married, Reese has become Houston's most eligible bachelor--and a magnet for gold diggers. Reese turns to his temporary roommate for dating advice, and suddenly sees Kenna for the beautiful, voluptuous woman she is. Though Kenna's afraid to give her heart to the man who could so easily break it, when her life is in jeopardy, she'll discover just how far a Madaris man will go when love is at stake.

Optional Selection

Augusta Nights: The Saga of Armstrong Prentince by David K. Drew II

Senator Armstrong Prentice revels in his supremacy as the most powerful black man in Augusta, Georgia and the Southeast for that matter. His family is revered as well. His three sons all have successful careers; however, his daughter, Tammy, seems to suffer from psychological problems stemming from the aftermath of the murder of her fiancé Anthony Leakes. What worries Senator Prentice is the lack of an heir that meets the stipulations dictated by his ancestors, both black and white, and slave and slavemaster.

 

3rd Quarter Reading Selections

Required Selection

I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson

Delightfully smart and heartbreakingly poignant, Allison Pearson’s smash debut novel has exploded onto bestseller lists as “The national anthem for working mothers.” Hedge-fund manager, wife, and mother of two, Kate Reddy manages to juggle nine currencies in five time zones and keep in step with the Teletubbies. But when she finds herself awake at 1:37 a.m. in a panic over the need to produce a homemade pie for her daughter’s school, she has to admit her life has become unrecognizable. With panache, wisdom, and uproarious wit, I Don’t Know How She Does It brilliantly dramatizes the dilemma of every working mom.

Optional Selection

White Oleander by Janet Fitch

Everywhere hailed as a novel of rare beauty and power, White Oleander tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet imprisoned for murder, and her daughter, Astrid, whose odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes-each its own universe, with its own laws, its own dangers, its own hard lessons to be learned-becomes a redeeming and surprising journey of self-discovery

2nd Quarter 2011 Reading Selections

Required Selection:

Changing the Rules

Sindee Lynn

Sasha Jordan has five simple rules when it comes to men and she's managed to live within them until the morning of her big job interview. That's when she first lays eyes on Dylan Matthews, CFO of the company where she's just been hired. He's everything she's looking for in a man except for one small problem. He violates every one of her rules. Now the rules that were created to keep her from getting hurt could keep her from getting the man of dreams. Dylan Matthews, CFO of Presco Financial, never thought he would find the right woman for him. And being one of Chicago's most eligible bachelors hasn't exactly made it any easier. But from the moment he sees Sasha Jordan rushing towards him he knows there's something about her that he just has to get to know better. Only problem is she's got a rule for everything and wouldn't you know it her number one rule is no dating outside of her race

Optional Selection:

Leslie

By Omar Tyree

The New York Times bestselling novel about a beautiful young woman with a dangerous secret At the historically black Dillard University in the lush city of New Orleans, Leslie Beaudet struggles with a dark secret of power in a world that is pulling her in many different directions. Her friends and family see her in many ways -- from a father's deserving princess to a mother's source of pride and strength, from a caring listener to a motivated student -- but does anyone know the true Leslie? When a series of murders befall her New Orleans community and increasingly points in Leslie's direction, her friends and relatives realize they've never really known her at all. Slowly, this complicated young woman emerges. She is terrified of failure, struggling with family secrets, praying for elusive security, and craving the power to change her fate. Her power was hidden from her until now...and it might be too late to stop her. Omar Tyree delivers another exciting tale filled with irresistible and authentic characters you won't soon forget.

1st Quarter 2011 Reading Selections

                                                                                                    

Required Selection:

Something Red

Jennifer Gilmore

The Goldsteins may look like your typical Carter-era suburban D.C. couple saddled with familiar bourgeois problems: rebellious children, troublesome in-laws, infidelity, and general middle-aged angst. But don't be deceived—as the Goldsteins are—by appearances. Jennifer Gilmore's Something Red is ambitious and provocative, more Molotov cocktail than standard-issue domestic drama, raising profound questions about loyalty, independence, love of family and of country. Set in 1979 and '80, when hostage-taking, grain embargoes, and Olympic boycotting have displaced '60s-style idealism, the story centers on one disillusioned optimist, Dennis Goldstein, who now makes trade deals in Russia for the Department of Agriculture. Dennis may still listen to folk music, but he's also not above chatting occasionally with the CIA; he's forever "haunted by the man he might have been." His wife, Sharon, "embarrassed" that she never acted on her own liberal ideals, cooks obsessively and looks for guidance in an EST-like empowerment group. Son Ben finds his passion in drugs and the Grateful Dead, while slam-dancing daughter Vanessa tries to deny herself all sensual pleasure. Gilmore depicts the sometimes paranoid, sometimes exhilarating zeitgeist of the era in every evocative detail of food and music, but even more astonishing is the uncanny way she captures family in all its messy complexity. Looking at her Russian doll collection, Vanessa wonders whether they "constituted one doll or if they were really 12 different dolls, with separate selves and souls." As intimate secrets meet national events and the comic tragedy unfolds, Dennis faces an inevitable truth—that whatever we feel about our parents' achievements or failures, "we are all living down or living up to a legacy."





4th Quarter Reading Selections

Required Book:

Getting to Happy

Terry McMillian

Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale was more than just a bestselling novel-its publication was a watershed moment in literary history. McMillan's sassy and vibrant story about four African American women struggling to find love and their place in the world touched a cultural nerve, inspired a blockbuster film, and generated a devoted audience.

Now, McMillan revisits Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, and Robin fifteen years later. Each is at her own midlife crossroads: Savannah has awakened to the fact that she's made too many concessions in her marriage, and decides to face life single again-at fifty-one. Bernadine has watched her megadivorce settlement dwindle, been swindled by her husband number two, and conned herself into thinking that a few pills will help distract her from her pain. Robin has an all-American case of shopaholism, while the big dream of her life-to wear a wedding dress- has gone unrealized. And for years, Gloria has taken happiness and security for granted. But being at the wrong place at the wrong time can change everything. All four are learning to heal past hurts and to reclaim their joy and their dreams; but they return to us full of spirit, sass, and faith in one another. They've exhaled: now they are learning to breathe.

                                                                 

3rd Quarter Reading Selections

Required Book:

Up To No Good

Carl Weber

There's always a man around the corner, and church trustee James Black should know--he's usually that very man. The "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Something on the Side" introduces a deliciously dysfunctional family in this new page-turning novel filled with intrigue, sex, and surprises. Annotation: The Black family has a few issues to work out. The father, James, is finally ready to put his player days behind him and settle down, but his lover is the same age as his daughter, Jamie, who has problems of her own, as she tries to discover the mystery woman who has been stalking her man. Meanwhile, James's son Darnel catches his fiance in bed with his best friend, Omar, and he finds himself in jail after exacting a brutal vengeance. This is only the beginning of the soap opera, as the family fights to stick together through a series of unbelievable twists and turns, both in the streets and between the sheets.

Optional Selection:

Obsessed

Devon Scott

In this sensual, unforgettable novel, a husband and wife face the worst crisis of their marriage-and learn that no matter what twists life throws at you, holding on to the one you love is the only way to survive- After five fulfilling years of marriage, Michael and Kennedy are the envy of their tight circle of friends. Michael is even more passionate about his stunning, successful wife than he was when they first met, and he is everything Kennedy has ever wanted in a man. Life is going pretty well. But everything changes when the couple starts getting mysterious phone calls and threatening emails. Michael and Kennedy are being stalked-and the stress has their once rock-solid marriage unraveling. Who could want to hurt Michael and Kennedy? Plenty of people, it seems. For the couple is hiding an intimate secret few people know about-and when it-s revealed, nothing will ever be the same.

FYI-the "click to look inside" feature is not available on this webpage. Please visit Amazon.com to use this feature.