BECOMING by MICHELLE OBAMA
Memoir / Autobiography

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.

MEETING: Monday, January 28, 2019
7-9PM EST

BLACKOUT: REMEMBERING THE THINGS I DRANK TO FORGET by SARAH HEPOLA
Memoir

TRIGGER WARNING: This book contains stories of alcohol abuse.

A memoir of unblinking honesty and poignant, laugh-out-loud humor, Blackout is the story of a woman stumbling into a new kind of adventure--the sober life she never wanted. Shining a light into her blackouts, she discovers the person she buried, as well as the confidence, intimacy, and creativity she once believed came only from a bottle. Her tale will resonate with anyone who has been forced to reinvent or struggled in the face of necessary change. It's about giving up the thing you cherish most--but getting yourself back in return.

MEETING: Monday, March 25, 2019
7-9PM EST

LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by CELESTE NG
Novel

When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town — and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides.  Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs. Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood — and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.

MEETING: Monday, May 20, 2019
7-9PM EST

A WOMAN LOOKING AT MEN LOOKING AT WOMEN by SIRI HUSTVEDT
Short stories

“A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women” examines particular artworks but also human perception itself, including the biases that influence how we judge art, literature, and the world. Picasso, de Kooning, Louise Bourgeois, Anselm Kiefer, Susan Sontag, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Karl Ove Knausgaard all come under Hustvedt’s intense scrutiny. “The Delusions of Certainty” exposes how the age-old, unresolved mind-body problem has shaped and often distorted and confused contemporary thought in neuroscience, psychiatry, genetics, artificial intelligence, and evolutionary psychology. “What Are We? Lectures on the Human Condition” includes a powerful reading of Kierkegaard, a trenchant analysis of suicide, and penetrating reflections on the mysteries of hysteria, synesthesia, memory and space, and the philosophical dilemmas of fiction.

MEETING: Monday, September 30, 2019
7-9PM EST

With a love for people and great coffee, Social Grounds Coffee Company is a Veteran-owned and operated roastery located in the Historic Springfield district of Jacksonville, FL. Portions from each SGCC purchase help support the City of Jacksonville Service Providers to employ and empower homeless Veterans and help the less fortunate right here in our local community.

Thanks so much to Jason and the team at Social Grounds for being our book club hosts here in JAX and providing a safe, supportive and (and always caffeinated) space for us to conduct our quarterly chapter meetings. Follow them on Instagram @socialgroundscoffee.