Join The Gilmore Book Club!

May 25, 2021

june - august 2021 the gilmore book club

Looking for something to do this summer? Want to join a community of readers who love music just as much as you do? Join The Gilmore Book Club – sign up today!

Our club will meet virtually over Google Meet every other Wednesday night at 7 PM, beginning June 16. The link for the Meet and discussion questions will be sent to the provided email address the week of as well as the day before. Over the summer, we will read three books. Read them all or join in for just one. Learn more about our picks below!

Need help finding the books? Check out our local partners! Kalamazoo residents can find books at the Kalamazoo Public Library and at This is A Bookstore & Bookbug, while Battle Creek residents can find them at the Willard Library as well as at This is A Bookstore & Bookbug. This is A Bookstore & Bookbug shoppers will receive 10% off one book and 15% off when purchasing all three!

 

During the month of June, we will read…
Every Note Played by Lisa Genova

Every Note Played

About the Book
“An accomplished concert pianist, Richard received standing ovations from audiences all over the world in awe of his rare combination of emotional resonance and flawless technique. Every finger of his hands was a finely calibrated instrument, dancing across the keys and striking each note with exacting precision. That was eight months ago. Richard now has ALS, and his entire right arm is paralyzed. His fingers are impotent, still, devoid of possibility. The loss of his hand feels like a death, a loss of true love, a divorce—his divorce. He knows his left arm will go next.

Poignant and powerful, Every Note Played is a masterful exploration of redemption and what it means to find peace inside of forgiveness.”

We will discuss Chapters 1-16 on Wednesday, June 16 at 7 PM ET and Chapters 17 – End on Wednesday, June 30 at 7 PM ET.

 

During the month of July, we will read…
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin D.G. Kelley

About the Book
Thelonious Monk is the critically acclaimed, gripping saga of an artist’s struggle to “make it” without compromising his musical vision. It is a story that, like its subject, reflects the tidal ebbs and flows of American history in the twentieth century. To his fans, he was the ultimate hipster; to his detractors, he was temperamental, eccentric, taciturn, or childlike. His angular melodies and dissonant harmonies shook the jazz world to its foundations, ushering in the birth of “bebop” and establishing Monk as one of America’s greatest com­posers. Elegantly written and rich with humor and pathos, Thelonious Monk is the definitive work on modern jazz’s most original composer.”

We will discuss Chapters 1-17 on Wednesday, July 14 at 7 PM ET and Chapters 18 – End on Wednesday, July 28 at 7 PM ET.

 

During the month of August, we will read…
Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro

About the Book
“From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and author of the Booker Prize–winning novel
The Remains of the Day comes an inspired sequence of stories as affecting as it is beautiful.  

With the clarity and precision that have become his trademarks, Kazuo Ishiguro interlocks five short pieces of fiction to create a world that resonates with emotion, heartbreak, and humor. Here is a fragile, once famous singer, turning his back on the one thing he loves; a music junky with little else to offer his friends but opinion; a songwriter who inadvertently breaks up a marriage; a jazz musician who thinks the answer to his career lies in changing his physical appearance; and a young cellist whose tutor has devised a remarkable way to foster his talent. For each, music is a central part of their lives and, in one way or another, delivers them to an epiphany.”

We will discuss Story 1: Crooner through Story 3: Malvern Hills on Wednesday, August 11 at 7 PM ET and Story 4: Nocturne through Story 5: Cellists on Wednesday, August 25 at 7 PM ET.

 

Sign up today to join our book club – Happy reading!
Have any questions? Email our Digital Media Coordinator, Abigail at [email protected].

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