Book Club

Annie, Between the States by L.M. Elliott is a richly drawn historical novel set during the Civil War, following Annie Sinclair, a young Virginia woman whose family farm sits squarely in the path of both Union and Confederate armies. As the war tears through her home and community, Annie is forced to navigate divided loyalties, loss, and her own evolving sense of justice and identity. Her story unfolds through encounters with soldiers on both sides, a blossoming and complicat

Year of Wonders follows Anna Frith, a young widow and housemaid in the English village of Eyam during 1665-1666. When bubonic plague arrives via infected cloth, the charismatic rector, Michael Mompellion, persuades the villagers to quarantine themselves, preventing the disease from spreading to neighboring towns. This act of collective sacrifice comes at a devastating cost; nearly two-thirds of the village perishes. As social order collapses, Anna witnesses both humanity's wo

For this month’s open selection, I chose The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen, a short story collection that explores the enduring condition of displacement among Vietnamese refugees in America. Rather than offering neat resolutions or triumphant assimilation narratives, Nguyen insists that we see refugees as fully human, acknowledge the complexity of displacement, and confront the discomfort of unresolved trauma and incomplete belonging.  The refugees in these stories survived

When Harper Lee published To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960, America stood at a crossroads. The Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum, yet much of the nation clung to Jim Crow laws and segregationist policies. Lee’s novel, set in 1930s Alabama, held up a mirror to mid-century America. The Corruption of Justice At the heart of To Kill a Mockingbird is a trial everyone knows is rigged. Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman, faces a legal system desi

Hello, Bookworms! The DWCNV Book Club is thrilled to unveil our reading list for the first half of the year! We are diving into history, tackling current events through fiction, and exploring themes of resilience, identity, and justice, all while enjoying some fantastic literary company. We are continuing our flexible schedule, alternating between cozy Sunday afternoons  and stimulating Thursday evenings so that everyone can join the conversation. Please mark your calendars,

Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty (1898-1963), an Irish priest, lived and worked in the neutral-territory Vatican during World War II during the German Occupation of Italy. Known as “The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican” for his efforts, he helped over 6,500 Jews, American and British soldiers escape from the Germans. Joseph O’Connor, inspired by Monsignor Flaherty’s heroic actions, has written a fictionalized version of Flaherty’s story that is part thriller, part mystery, part horr

In 1935, as fascism consolidated power across Europe, Sinclair Lewis published It Can’t Happen Here , a chilling novel about how a folksy, populist demagogue named Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip rises to the American presidency on promises to restore greatness, then systematically dismantles democracy. The Seduction of the Strongman Buzz Windrip doesn’t campaign as a tyrant. He campaigns as a savior. A charismatic senator who understands media spectacle, Windrip blends folksy charm

Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and professor of law at Harvard Law. The U.S. Constitution is among the oldest constitutions in the world but also one of the most difficult to amend. Jill Lepore, Harvard professor of history and law, explains why in We the People , the most original history of the Constitution in decades—and an essential companion to her landmark history of the United States, These Truths . Publis

Twenty years after its publication, Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner  remains startling in its relevance. While the novel tells a deeply personal story of friendship, betrayal, and redemption set against Afghanistan's turbulent history, its core themes of guilt, class division, and the search atonement resonate with uncanny precision across the global human experience. Hosseini's narrative offers unexpected insights into the universal challenges of overcoming moral failure a

Our book club is diving into a powerful lineup of books over the coming months. We have selected four thought-provoking titles that...

Looking for insightful reads that speak to today’s political and social climate? These thought-provoking books explore power, persuasion,...