Sierra Club Diversity Book Club: Surprise! We're reading 2 books!

This month we're going to do something a little different and read TWO books!
Claudia Rankine's, "Citizen: An American Lyric", recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV-everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rankine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship. In essay, image, and poetry, Citizen is a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our contemporary, often named "post-race" society.

Our second book is "She's Not There: A Life In Two Genders", by Jennifer Finney Boylan. This is the story of a person changing genders. By turns hilarious and deeply moving, Jennifer Finney Boylan explores the territory that lies between men and women, examines changing friendships, and rejoices in the redeeming power of family. The book provides a window on the confounding process of accepting our true selves.

Read both books or just read one or the other. We'll talk about both. Bring your thoughts, questions, ideas. All are welcome!

Both books can be found on most book sellers websites, or order from Peace Nook. "Citizen" is available at the public library in audio or print versions. I couldn't find "She's Not There" at the public library.

The meeting will be at the home of Jan Dye, 2222 Bluff Blvd., Columbia MO 65201.