DPL - Good Chair, Great Books

Welcome to Good Chair, Great Books, Deschutes Public Library’s monthly book club. Discussion groups are held monthly throughout the county, and all are welcome to attend.

To see the schedules for individual branches, please click on the links below:

All five libraries will be reading Rules of Civility in April as part of the A Novel Idea programming.

The book list for 2012 includes:


	Slaughterhouse-five, or, The children's crusade : a duty-dance with death Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes 'unstuck in time' after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden.

	The big burn : Teddy Roosevelt and the fire that saved America Egan, Timothy. Narrates the struggles of the overmatched rangers against the implacable fire of August, 1910, and Teddy Roosevelt's pioneering conservation efforts that helped turn public opinion permanently in favor of the forests, though it changed the mission of the forest service with consequences felt in the fires of today.

	March : a novel Brooks, Geraldine. As the North reels under a series of unexpected defeats during the dark first year of the war, one man leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs. Riveting and elegant as it is meticulously researched, March is an extraordinary novel woven out of the lore of American history.

	Infidel Hirsi Ali, Ayaan, 1969- Ultimately a celebration of triumph over adversity, Hirsi Ali's story tells how a bright little girl evolved out of dutiful obedience to become an outspoken, pioneering freedom fighter. As Western governments struggle to balance democratic ideals with religious pressures, no story could be timelier or more significant.--From publisher description.

	Lean on Pete : a novel Vlautin, Willy. Fifteen-year-old Charley Thompson has been pretty much on his own as the son of a single father working in warehouses across the Pacific Northwest. When tragic events leave him homeless weeks after their move to Portland, Oregon, Charley seeks refuge in the tack room of a run-down horse track. Charley's only comforts are his friendship with a failing racehorse named Lean on Pete and a photograph of his only known relative.

	The picture of Dorian Gray Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900. When Dorian Gray has his portrait painted, he is captivated by his own beauty. He wishes to stay forever young, and pledges his very soul to keep his good looks. Set in fin-de-siecle London, the novel traces a path from the studio of painter Basil Hallward to the opium dens of the East End. As Dorian's slide into crime and cruelty progresses he stays magically youthful, while his beautiful portrait changes, revealing the hideous corruption of moral decay.

	The hunger games Collins, Suzanne. In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.

	The sparrow Russell, Mary Doria, 1950- The sole survivor of a crew sent to explore a new planet, Jesuit priest Emilio Sandoz discovers an alien civilization that raises questions about the very essence of humanity, an encounter that leads Sandoz to a public inquisition and the destruction of his faith.

	A passage to India Forster, E. M. (Edward Morgan), 1879-1970. Among the greatest novels of the twentieth century and the basis for director David Lean’s Academy Award–winning film,A Passage to India unravels the growing racial tension between Indians, uneasy at best with colonial power, and the British, largely ignorant and dismissive of the society they're infiltrating.

	The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Shaffer, Mary Ann. In 1946, as London emerges from the shadow of World War II, author Juliet Ashton is having a terrible time finding inspiration for her next book. Then she receives a letter from Guernsey Island, and learns of a unique book club formed on the spur of the moment as an alibi to protect its members from arrest by the occupying Germans during the war. Captivated, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds there will change her life forever.

	The sun also rises Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961. First published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises stands is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows them from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates--P. [4] of cover.

	Shanghai girls : a novel See, Lisa. Two sisters leave Shanghai to find new lives in 1930s Los Angeles in this adventure.

	Cry, the beloved country Paton, Alan.

	Peace like a river Enger, Leif. Eleven-year-old Reuben shares the story of how his father, trying to raise his sons alone in 1960s Minnesota, takes their family on a quest to find Reuben's older brother, who has been charged with murder.

	The old man and the sea Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961. Santiago is a Cuban fisherman who encounters a giant marlin in the Gulf Stream and the battle for his catch becomes one of survival against a band of marauding sharks.

	Snow flower and the secret fan : a novel See, Lisa. In nineteenth century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, or "old same," in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The two women exchange messages written on silk fans and handkerchieves using nu shu, a unique language that women created in order to communicate in secret, sharing their experiences, but when a misunderstanding arises, their friendship threatens to tear apart.

	Secrets of Eden : a novel Bohjalian, Christopher A. After the murder of Alice Hayward and the suicide of her husband, Reverend Stephen Drew flees the pulpit and is saved from despair only by a meeting with Heather Laurent, the author of wildly successful, inspirational books about angels. Heather, identifying deeply with Alice's daughter, Katie, mentors the young girl but soon suspects that Alice's husband may not have killed himself ... and that Alice had secrets only her minister knew.