Reading

Join us for a discussion of ***Thick: And Other Essays* by Tressie McMillan Cottom** Here's the summary: Tressie McMillan Cottom, the writer, professor, and acclaimed author of Lower Ed, now brilliantly shifts gears from running regression analyses on college data to unleashing another identity: a purveyor of wit, wisdom—and of course Black Twitter snark—about all that is right and much that is so very wrong about this thing we call society. In the bestselling tradition of bell hooks and Roxane Gay, McMillan Cottom’s freshman collection illuminates a particular trait of her tribe: being thick. In form, and in substance. This bold compendium, likely to find its place on shelves alongside Lindy West, Rebecca Solnit, and Maggie Nelson, dissects everything from beauty to Obama to pumpkin spice lattes. Yet Thick will also fill a void on those very shelves: a modern black American female voice waxing poetic on self and society, serving up a healthy portion of clever prose and southern aphorisms in a style uniquely her own. McMillan Cottom has crafted a black woman’s cultural bible, as she mines for meaning in places many of us miss and reveals precisely how—when you’re in the thick of it—the political, the social, and the personal are almost always one and the same. **Let’s meet at Caboose Commons in Fairfax to enjoy some good discussion and meet new friends.**

North Bethesda Fiction Readers, put a hold on this page-turner NOW if you get your books from a public library. This is another work of historical fiction for us. In it, Lawhon "creates a stirring portrait of a real-life heroine." You can read the entire Kirkus Review [here](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ariel-lawhon/the-frozen-river/). We will meet in the common area of a condominium association called The Gallery at White Flint: 11710 Old Georgetown Rd. The organizer will greet everyone at the entrance. If the seating at the fireplace across from the entrance is not appealing, we will convene in the organizer's home. The concierge will not likely be of much help, so if you are running late, please let the organizer know. There is metered parking across the street. There is ample parking at the Randolph Shopping Center, nearby: 12255 Nebel Street, Rockville.

Let's read another intriguing novel: *Apples Never Fall* by Liane Moriarty. [Kirkus](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/liane-moriarty/apples-never-fall-moriarty/) review sums it up as "Funny, sad, astute, occasionally creepy, and slyly irresistible." We will meet by the fireplace in the common area of a condominium association called the Gallery at White Flint. I will send more specific information about a day or two before we meet. The concierge *may* not be helpful. There is metered parking across the street. It can get crowded so you may want to consider parking in the commercial parking lot in front of [MOM's Organic Market](https://momsorganicmarket.com/rockville/) off Nebel St. Alternatively, take the subway. The Gallery at White Flint is in easy walking distance from the [North Bethesda Metro](https://www.wmata.com/rider-guide/stations/north-bethesda.cfm) (formerly White Flint Metro).