Author Archives: Mackenzie Marrow

Welcome to November! The holiday season is barreling towards us faster than ever, and somehow we’re already running behind as the New Year creeps in. The holidays and winter in general are notoriously hard on our mental health, leaving many feeling lost and alone. One author I always think of when looking for a story of heart and community, even in the coldest and loneliest days, is Fredrik Backman. Backman is a prolific Swedish author known for his heart-string tugging and bestselling titles such as A Man Called Ove (adapted into a 2022 movie starring Tom Hanks), and Beartown. And today’s Book Club Spotlight features his 2019 book, Anxious People. 

In a small town outside Stockholm, Sweden, eight people viewing an apartment are taken hostage by a bank robbery gone wrong. So wrong, in fact, that the awkward bank robber tried to rob a cashless bank…and then took hostages by accident! Desperately keeping up the charade for the police, the “hostages”, and the would-be thief are stuck in the apartment. Each prospective tenant comes to the table with insecurities, stressors, and fears, but here, they are not alone. During their forced proximity, the group learns, and grows from their new relationships, as their pasts and futures intersect in the strangest of circumstances all the while being surrounded by an increasingly confused police force trying to rescue them. 

A common thread in Backman’s work is the importance of community, whether that is of friends, neighbors, or pure strangers. No matter how fleeting an interaction may be, we are all in this together. The titular anxious people in Anxious People face many issues. The pressure of parenthood, financial struggles, marriage breakdown, and an assortment of other loss of connection to those they love. Book Club Groups will undoubtedly find characters to empathize and sympathize with, maybe even learning something about themselves and their fellow members along the way. There is a sentiment going around that I have been particularly fond of: “It’s everyone’s first time living too”. So this season, be kind, be gentle, and like the characters in Anxious People, allow for mistakes (maybe even holding you hostage by accident if you’re feeling especially generous).

This book covers the topic of mental illness and suicide. If you, or someone you know is struggling- chat, text, or call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at https://988lifeline.org/ or dial 988.

To see more of our titles by Fredrik Backman, visit the link here

If you’re interested in requesting Anxious People for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 7 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Backman, Fredrik. Anxious People. Atira Publishing. 2019

Amy Tan’s debut novel, The Joy Luck Club, drifts between the stories of mothers and daughters like the four winds of mahjong. Originally written as disconnected pieces, Tan evolved her work into a sweeping novel of generations, loss, and perseverance. Today’s Book Club Spotlight is extra special because the author is in Lincoln tonight! “A Conversation with Amy Tan” will be hosted at the Lied Center for Performing Arts for free with an accompanying live-stream at 7:30 pm. Her talk is a part of “The 29th Annual Governor’s Lecture in the Humanities”, hosted by Humanities Nebraska and the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues. Tickets and the live stream can be accessed, here: https://tickets.liedcenter.org/3342. 

The Joy Luck Club, a group of Chinese immigrant women who gather for mahjong and community, grow their lives and families together in 1980s San Francisco. When matriarch Suyuan Woo passes away, her daughter Jing-mei is invited to take her mother’s spot at the table. And there she learns a hidden truth about her mother- she never stopped searching for the children she had to abandon in China decades ago, and only now have they been found. Jing-mei struggles with the loss of her mother, someone she feels as if she hardly knew, and the sudden reunification with her resurrected sisters. And in turn, like Suyuan, each daughter and mother of The Joy Luck Club, have kept themselves secret to their loved ones. Hiding difficult and life-defining events as an act of piety or restraint, that could ultimately grow and foster their fraught relationships. 

The Joy Luck Club, while not an all-encompassing narrative of the Chinese Immigrant experience, shows four distinct paths taken. Suyuan Woo who fled from the war and left behind two children and her past. Lindo Jong, who escaped from a tyrannous marriage, believes in personal strength to her daughter’s detriment. An-mei Hsu, a passive player for most of her life, fears that she has bestowed those characteristics on her daughter. And Ying-ying St. Clair, a woman of means and wealth, is forced into poverty and silence, teaches her daughter to expect the same. All women with stories in equal measure, display their unresolved trauma to their daughters through words and actions, creating an endless cycle that must be broken. Tan’s work is essential to American literature (and media!), earning her the National Humanities Medal for “expanding the American literary canon. By bravely exploring experiences of immigrant families, heritage, memories, and poignant struggles”.  Book Club Groups from High School to Adulthood can discuss her dissection of the immigrant experience, womanhood and perseverance, generational trauma, and what do we share with our loved ones? 

If you’re interested in requesting The Joy Luck Club for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 14 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Ballantine Books. 1989

A man of many passions, from music, art, to class consciousness, and social theory, Ralph Waldo Ellison (named after the leader of the Transcendentalist movement), is best known for his contributions to the American literary canon. His sharp satirical works and his contemporary exploration of the varied lives of African Americans pre-Civil Rights earned his place as the first African-American to win the National Book Award for Fiction for his 1952 novel, Invisible Man.

When we meet our narrator, the eponymous Invisible Man, he is living in an abandoned basement of a whites-only apartment in New York City. He reassures us that this is no hovel, as it glows with a thousand lights of promise (and siphoned electricity). Before he was in this shelter, he lived a life full of promise. As a young man, his academic prowess awarded him a chance to speak in front of the town’s white elites. But instead of a simple speech, he is forced into a blinded battle royale with other Black youth; and only once he is debased and beaten bloodless is he allowed to speak. As his life’s journey takes him from his home in the south to New York City, he is struck by how this promised land holds the same prejudices and obstacles to self-actualization. As a disillusioned young man stuck in the perpetual cycle of fighting for liberation, he must put on a respectable front to exist in a world that is systemically works against him. 

Not to be confused with the science fiction book of the same name- the invisibility in Ellison’s Invisible Man, is theoretical and social, rather than a physical condition. His unnamed narrator, a bright young Black man in the Jim Crow South, has a promising future that depends on him making himself inoffensive, and inconsequential to the white men who hold power over him. It’s also important to remember that these Black men who had to be “invisible” to the white society, were absolutely not invisible to the women and children in their lives. As we discussed in The Bluest Eye, Pecola Breedlove’s situation is informed by those around her and their treatment by society. Invisible Man was a large influence on Morrison’s work- acting as a conversation point to where she would take those deemed “invisible” and show them in the light that their contemporaries would have seen them. Here, her perspective is just as valuable as Ellison’s.

Invisible Man, while an important piece of American literature, is not an easy read. Taught in AP Literature courses and College-Level Classes, this book demands dissection and close reading. When working with your class, or dedicated Book Club Group, I highly recommend taking advantage of the Cliffs Notes. (Did you know that the founder, Clifton Hillegass, was a lifelong Nebraskan?) Study tools, like Cliffs Notes, are a great accessible tool for modern readers who might lack context for classic literature, and content thoughtful analysis that assists, not hinder the reading experience. 

If you’re interested in requesting Invisible Man for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 10 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. Random House. 1952

It’s no secret that here at the Book Club Spotlight, we adore Toni Morrison. After visiting her novel Sula two years ago- we’re back and reading her debut novel The Bluest Eye. Before her writing career, Morrison was a senior editor at Random House and amplified Black authors, like the incomparable Angela Davis during her tenure. The first Black woman recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Morrison’s lyrical novels explore what it is like physically and emotionally to exist in a world that does its best to harm you through race, gender, and class. The Bluest Eye was born out of her need to express the realities of racism and its effects on the most vulnerable- young Black girls. 

The marigolds must grow, and Pecola Breedlove is pregnant. The marigolds must grow, and eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove is pregnant by her father. The marigolds never came, and Pecola Breedlove’s baby has died. Before the marigolds, and before her baby dies, Pecola yearns for one thing more than anything else in the world. To have beautiful blue eyes. To have beautiful blue eyes to keep her safe from the world. Eyes as blue as the blonde-haired baby doll that Claudia MacTeer despises. Claudia MacTeer despises the blue-eyed, blond-haired baby doll because others say she must love it. And she has not yet learned to hate her eyes. Who taught Pecola Breedlove to?

The Bluest Eye is a harrowing journey of young Pecola Breedlove as the systems and people around her fail time and time again. It is a story long taught in literature classes around the country to educate readers on empathy, internalized racism, the importance of community, and the consequences of unchecked hatred and abuse towards the other as perpetuated by the “Master Narrative”. Like most of Morrison’s novels, The Bluest Eye can be read in an afternoon on one’s own. However, the subject matter and encouragement to dig deep into one’s internal predilections and biases let it thrive under discussions by literary-focused classrooms and Book Club Groups. In the Afterword (included in all of our copies), Morrison discusses how the intimate and cruel nature of the story is critical to sharing these taboo “cultural secrets”, and to put the story in the hands of the victims was a radical act of release and exposure. 

“I wanted the narrator’s presence of voice to take the hand of the reader to say “You know this is going to be terrible, but don’t worry it’s already happened. I have been there and we can get through it together and it’s going to be fine.

• Toni Morrison on difficult narratives in an 1988 Interview with Mavis Nicholson

With its dark, yet revealing subject matter, it is no surprise that The Bluest Eye has long been a victim of book banning, and was the 7th most challenged book of 2023. For resources on how to fight book bans and prepare for 2024’s Banned Books Week (Sept 22-28), visit BannedBooksWeek.org.

If you’re interested in requesting The Bluest Eye for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 15 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Morrison, Tony. The Bluest Eye. Vintage Books. 1970

For this week’s Book Club Spotlight, we are visiting a favorite of mine since I was nine years old, and when my roommate saw the book on our table she ran to grab her own copy- excited to revisit the world herself. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall immediately draws the reader in with a gorgeous cover; and its pastoral setting is like falling into the world of The Secret Garden. The Penderwick sisters, with their charming wit and a tendency for mischief rivaling the March sisters, culminate in a timeless story that spans five books. Following “a family that believes in truth and honor, yet can’t seem to stay out of trouble” [x], this modern classic has been translated into 30 languages and most deservedly won the 2005 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Mr. Penderwick, a mild-mannered botanist who frequently speaks in Latin to his four young daughters, has booked the clan a summer getaway to a cozy cabin in rural Massachusetts. After getting lost, the Penderwick sisters, Rosalind (12), Skye (11), Jane (10), and Batty (4), discover their small cottage is nestled in a grand estate named Arundel. The rambunctious children are told to behave as the owner, the stuffy Mrs. Tifton, doesn’t take kindly to ruckus. But soon, they are out on an adventure of a lifetime- braving bulls, hiding in the expansive gardens, and enlisting Mrs. Tifton’s son, Jeffery, in their daring escapades.

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy is a delight that enchants 19 years later. It’s not a tale of growing up but of the present. The responsibilities of an elder sister, young courage, individuality, and the unbreakable family bond. Birdsall revels in character and atmosphere, letting the sisters take her wherever they want to go next. Perfect for a book group of young readers wanting to hold onto the last bit of summer or adults who still feel the magic of inhibition and promise.  

“There is no better feeling than being 10 years old and feeling represented, accepted, and like someone out there knows you are much more mature than the world thinks you are. Even when the Penderwick books end, I can find the same happiness knowing there will always be 10 year olds in the world who want to feel those same things, and the Penderwicks will always be there for them, just as they were for me.”

— Delaney Plant

If you’re interested in requesting The Penderwicks for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 11 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks. Random House. 2005

Son of immigrant doctors from India, Dr. Atul Gawande’s first introduction to the elderly was his grandfather who lived on his own land surrounded by family and riding horses until he passed at 110 years old. It was a communal end of life that is not familiar in the United States, where aging and death are taboo topics. There is a shame in needing help, and the sacrifice of freedom that it often brings. Interspersed with personal stories of his ailing father, friends, and patients, Being Mortal takes the reader through the medical side of caring for those at the end of their lives, and how often the goals of treatment can outweigh the wishes of the dying. Through his years of practice, Dr. Gawande began to ask himself difficult questions concerning his very field. When does prolonging life through technology and medicine begin to harm the patient? Comparing notes and practices between nursing homes, assisted living, hospice, and independent communities, he found that when people are given a chance at informed and substantive comfort for end-of-life care, they not only experience less suffering but they live longer. Dr. Gawande argues for giving the patient a “reason to live”, even if they know it’s their last days. Interventions simple as a garden or a pet can evoke powerful changes in how we exit our lives fulfilled. 

With The Americans with Disabilities Act, turning 34 this year, we must reconcile that how we care for our aging/ end-of-life population is a disability issue at its core. One of Being Mortal’s biggest talking points focuses on the loss of independence that comes with nursing homes and hospice care. Residents lose what little control over their schedule that they had when put into these systems. In a quality of life assessment by The Down Syndrome Educational Trust, people with Down Syndrome or other intellectual disabilities, aged 45 and above, “expressed a desire to be allowed to go to bed when they wanted to”. Our care homes are consistently taking away the agency of the elderly and disabled. There’s a saying that everyone will eventually become disabled, it’s not a matter of if, but when. And with 71.5 million baby boomers reaching 65 by 2030 [X], we will need more robust services to care for a larger aging population than we have ever had. Are we ready for that? And are these 71.5 million people and their families prepared for the difficult decision of end-of-life care? 

Being Mortal may not seem like the most chipper choice for a Book Club Group but with our rapidly aging population, there is a lot to be gained from community insights on how we want to be treated at our most vulnerable and in turn it will expand our understanding of each other.

If you’re interested in requesting Being Mortal for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 17 copies, 2 Audio CDs, and 1 Large Print available. (A librarian must request items) Gawande, Atul. Being Mortal. Picador. 2017

Welcome to the 50th Book Club Spotlight! This project is a labor of love and curiosity, and I hope it has provided a solid resource for readers these past 2 years. 🙂 

I know what you’re thinking- here at The Book Club Spotlight, we pride ourselves on always being on theme. So why, in spring, are we talking about Dracula? While spooky stories never go out of season, now is the best time to start your reading journey into the world of Dracula. Published in 1897 by Bram Stoker, the epistolary novel is composed of diary entries, letters, newspaper clippings, and transcripts. According to these, the chronological period of Dracula takes place from the beginning of May until early November, meaning one can easily read along day by day and experience the story in real time! So, I invite you to “come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring”.

On the 3rd of May, Jonathan Harker, a solicitor from Exeter, is well on his way to visit a client in Transylvania. This will be the most important deal of his short career, and he is eagerly awaiting the meeting. Little does he know that his client has something more in mind than a simple real estate agreement. As time passes and Jonathan doesn’t return from his trip, his fiancée, the savvy Mina, notices her dear friend Lucy Westenra is beginning to act strange. She experiences bouts of sleepwalking and anemia while large bats stalk the premises. Enlisting the help of Lucy’s own fiancé Arthur Holmwood, psychiatrist for the insane Dr. Seward, Texan cowboy Quincy Morris, and renowned physician Abraham Van Helsing, Mina must go to the ends of the earth and humanity to save those she loves from the fabled Vampire Count Dracula. 

It is a delight reading the origin of such an iconic figure. As the story progresses, the characters learn in real time what we, as an audience already know. What a vampire is, how to ward them off, and of course, that the Count is one himself. Stoker’s Dracula is many things- For a modern audience, it’s an allegory for xenophobia and how fear and distrust can lead to ultimate ends. For Stoker’s generation, the foreigners were the enemy that we must distrust for our safety. But as we read it through a modern lens, we can discuss the difference in moralities, racism, ableism, sexism, and the blatant misunderstanding of blood transfusion. Book Groups, teenaged and up, can enjoy and experience this classic work of fiction.   

If you or your group are interested in reading Dracula in its “true order” of events, I recommend reading through Dracula Daily.  Having its first run in 2020, Dracula Daily emails each chapter of the novel as it happens in real-time. The project has been likened to an online book club, as every year, readers on social media join together to discuss the latest events in the novel, and the experience has improved my own reading and analysis skills. Dracula Daily has even published its own physical version of the novel, with the story in chronological order, including snippets, jokes, and even drawings from book club members as they read along with you. There is much to learn from Dracula each year as we sit down to hear from our good friend Jonathan Harker.   

If you’re interested in requesting Dracula for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 11 copies available. (A librarian must request items)

Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Norton. 1987.