The Library Foundation’s Board of Directors are ambassadors in the community, provide guidance and counsel to our staff and help to secure philanthropic support to meet the pressing and innovative needs of the Library. And unsurprisingly, they read. A lot.
At our first board meeting of 2021, each member shared a title (or two) they hope to read this year:
Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson
Board Chair Jennifer Green and Library CEO Lee Keesler are both reading this adult title for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s Community Read in March.
Interior Chinatown, by Charles Yu
Selena Giovanelli is reading this National Book Award winner about pop culture, race, immigration, assimilation, and the roles we’re expected to play.
Tomorrow’s Bread, by Anna Jean Mayhew
Sally Robinson is enjoying this story of urban renewal and its effect on a family living in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte. She especially appreciates the book’s maps and references to real places.
A Promised Land, by Barack Obama
Alessandro Morante and Linda Lockman-Brooks are both reading this one. Linda is listening to the audiobook version, and finding it both soothing and an interesting perspective after recently finishing Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming.
Big Lies in a Small Town, by Diane Chamberlain
Linda Lockman-Brooks escapes into this novel about a decades-old mystery set in Edenton, North Carolina.
The Evening and the Morning, by Ken Follett
Gene Cochrane has picked up this new prequel to the Pillars of the Earth, set in England in the Middle Ages.
Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson
Several board members, including Gene Cochrane and Liz Winer, mentioned this book, an exploration of racism in the United States as an aspect of a caste system.
Jack, by Marilynne Robinson
Liz Winer is also reading this historical novel about an interracial, star-crossed romance set in the mythical world of Gilead, Iowa.
The Body: A Guide for Occupants, by Bill Bryson
Jennifer DeWitt recommends this head-to-toe tour of the human body, a Queens Learning Society featured title.
The Righteous Mind, by Jonathon Haidt
Hannah Terrell is reading this book by a moral psychologist, who looks through the lens of moral frameworks to understand why our society is so polarized.
Unapologetically Ambitious, by Shellye Archambeau
Barb Ellis is reading this memoir by a close friend and former CEO of a technology firm about her leadership journey.
Canal House Cooking, by Melissa Hamilton
This series of rare (and readable!) cookbooks, shared by a friend, provide Holly Welch Stubbing a delicious diversion during the pandemic.
The Hundred Story Home, by Kathy Izard
Lauren Woodruff is reading the story of the inspiration for Moore Place, which provides housing for Charlotte’s homeless.
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, by Emmanuel Acho
Florence Kim recommends this book, from a former NFL player who takes on the questions many are afraid to ask, but we all need to hear.
The Chicken Runs at Midnight, by Tom Friend
Crawford Pounds is reading this true, inspirational story of sports, faith and fatherhood.
Better Luck Next Time, by Julia Claiborne Johnson
Ann Caulkins rarely reads novels, but this one – set at a Reno divorce ranch in the 1930’s – is a perfect escape into imagination.
