San Antonio Book Lovers Club

We will meet at the Bombay Bicycle Club on the Back Patio
In case of inclement weather we will meet at Black Potion

February Book Club Discussion:
Demon Copperhead

Random.org - selected #267 (of 397)
Suggested by Becky W & Stacey

"Anyone will tell you the born of this world are marked from the get-out, win or lose."

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens' anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can't imagine leaving behind.

Please post your suggestions for future discussions. You can also send me a private message.

Selections will be from books published Feb 2024 or earlier.

This month's choice may not be of interest to you but get a book you'd like to read and discuss on the list!

Check out our list here:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/bookshelf/1183399-san-antonio-book-lovers-club

We will meet at the Bombay Bicycle Club on the Back Patio
In case of inclement weather we will meet at Black Potion

March Book Club Discussion:

# The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Random.org - selected #205 (of 404)
Suggested by Heather H.

Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that 'The Devil in the White City' is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor.

Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison.

The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims.

Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing. - John Moe

Please post your suggestions for future discussions. You can also send me a private message.

Selections will be from books published Mar 2024 or earlier.

This month's choice may not be of interest to you but get a book you'd like to read and discuss on the list!

Check out our list here:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/bookshelf/1183399-san-antonio-book-lovers-club