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Each kit includes 10 copies of a single title. Resources for book discussions may be found at publishers' websites, bound into some editions of the book, or at www.bookreporter.com or www.readinggroupguides.com.

Columbine Cullen, Dave Ten years in the making and a masterpiece of reportage, "Columbine" is an award-winning journalist's definitive account of one of the most shocking massacres in American history, the Columbine High School killings.	Commoner Schwartz, John Burnham In 1959, a young woman marries the Crown Prince of Japan and is controlled at every turn, suffering a nervous breakdown after finally giving birth to a son. Thirty years later, now Empress herself, she plays a crucial role in persuading another young woman to accept the marriage proposal of her son, with tragic consequences.	Confederates in the attic: dispatches from the unfinished Civil War Horwitz, Tony From the first chapter--in which Horwitz details how he was recruited into the world of Civil War reenactors, or "living historians," as they prefer it--the reader is likewise drawn in. But this is not an outsider's tale of strange men and their silly games. It is the work of a skilled journalist looking at how--and why--the War Between the States continues to live in so many issues still with us.
Cottage for Sale Whouley, Kate When Kate Whouley saw the classified ad for an abandoned vacation cottage, she began to dream. Transport the cottage through four Cape Cod towns. Attach it to my three-room house. Create more space for my work and life. Smart, single, and self-employed, Kate was used to fending for herself. But she wasn't prepared for half the surprises, complications, and self-discoveries of her house-moving adventure.	Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter Franklin, Tom "...set in rural Mississippi. In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the county-and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town. More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades" --Publisher description. Download Version	Crow Planet Haupt, Lyanda Lynn Illustrated with lovely b&w woodcuts by Daniel Cautrell, Haupt's book is part memoir, part musing on the challenges, common thinking, and realities of interacting with nature while living in a city. Based on her own study of the crows of Seattle and including many personal anecdotes about her own family, Haupt's text does not answer any questions so much as draw attention to various issues that arise from human's fraught relationship with the natural world. An accessible read, the work concludes with a bibliography, but is not indexed. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Cutting for Stone Verghese, Abraham Focusing on the world of medicine, this epic first novel by well-known doctor/author Verghese follows a man on a mythic quest to find his father. It begins with the dramatic birth of twins slightly joined at the skull, their father serving as surgeon and their mother dying on the table. The horrorstruck father vanishes, and the now separated boys are raised by two Indian doctors living on the grounds of a mission hospital in early 1950s Ethiopia. The boys both gravitate toward medical practice, with Marion the more studious one and Shiva a moody genius and loner.	Dark Places Flynn, Gillian Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in "The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas." As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived-and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who've long forgotten her. The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details-proof they hope may free Ben-Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she'll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she'll admit her testimony wasn't so solid after all. As Libby's search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985.	Daughter of Fortune Allende, Isabel A Chilean orphan raised by a Victorian spinster and her rigid brother, vivacious Eliza Sommers follows her lover to California during the Gold Rush of 1849 to discover a new life of freedom, independence, and a love greater than any ever dreamed.
Descendants, The Hemmings, Kaui Hart Narrated in a bold, fearless, hilarious voice and set against the lush, panoramic backdrop of Hawaii, The Descendants is a stunning debut novel about an unconventional family forced to come together and re-create its own legacy...Before honoring Joanie's living will, [her husband] Matt must gather her friends and family to say their final goodbyes, a difficult situation made worse by the sudden discovery that there is one person who hasn't been told: the man with whom Joanie had been having an affair, quite possibly the one man she ever truly loved. Forced to examine what he owes not only to the living but to the dead, Matt takes to the road with his daughters to find his wife's lover, a memorable journey that leads to both painful revelations and unforeseen humor and growth.	Destiny of the Republic Millard, Candice A narrative account of the twentieth president's political career offers insight into his background as a scholar and Civil War hero, his battles against the corrupt establishment, and Alexander Graham Bell's failed attempt to save him from an assassin'sbullet.	Devil in the White City Larson, Erik The true stories of two men are intertwined in Larson's tale set in the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Larson is a Washington author. Download Version
Dharma Bums Kerouac, Jack One of the best and most popular of Kerouac's autobiographical novels, The Dharma Bums is based on experiences the writer had during the mid-1950s while living in California, after he'd become interested in Buddhism's spiritual mode of understanding. One of the book's main characters, Japhy Ryder, is based on the real poet Gary Snyder, who was a close friend and whose interest in Buddhism influenced Kerouac. Download Version	Diary of a Bad Year Coetzee, J. M. Diary of a Bad Year takes on the world of politics and explores the role of the writer in our times with an extraordinary moral compass. At the center of the book is Senor C, an aging author who has been asked to write his thoughts on the state of the world. These thoughts, called "Strong Opinions," address a wide range of subjects. Meanwhile, someone new enters the writer's life - Anya, the beautiful young woman he hires to type his manuscript. The relationship that develops between Senor C and Anya has a profound effect on both of them.	Don't Kill the Birthday Girl Beasley, Sandra A beautifully written and darkly funny journey through the world of the allergic. Like twelve million other Americans, Sandra Beasley suffers from food allergies. Her allergies--severe and lifelong--include dairy, egg, soy, beef, shrimp, pine nuts, cucumbers, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango, macadamias, pistachios, cashews, swordfish, and mustard. Add to that mold, dust, grass and tree pollen, cigarette smoke, dogs, rabbits, horses, and wool, and it's no wonder Sandra felt she had to live her life as "Allergy Girl."...With candor, wit, and a journalist's curiosity, Sandra draws on her own experiences while covering the scientific, cultural, and sociological terrain of allergies...From the Hardcover edition.
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood Fuller, Alexandra This is a riveting memoir of a white African girl's childhood in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) during the civil war and unrest of the 1970s.	Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff Mahoney, Rosemary Documents the author's danger-ridden voyage by seven-foot skiff down the Egyptian Nile, an endeavor that is challenged by civil unrest, local disapproval about women traveling alone, wild animals, harsh climate, and the unlikely assistance of a kind Muslim sailor.	Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance Obama, Barack In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father— a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man— has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey— first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother’ s family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father’ s life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance. Download Version
Dreams of Joy See, Lisa A continuation of "Shanghai Girls" finds a devastated Joy fleeing to China to search for her real father while her mother, Pearl, desperately pursues her, a dual quest marked by their encounters with the nation's intolerant Communist culture.	Dressmaker, The Alcott, Kate A spirited woman survives the sinking of the Titanic only to find herself embroiled in the tumultuous aftermath of that great tragedy. Tess is one of the last people to escape into a lifeboat. When an enterprising reporter turns her employer, Lady Duff Gordon, into an object of scorn, Tess is torn between loyalty and the truth.	Driving Mr. Albert Paterniti, Michael Follow the adventures of an unlikely threesome; a freelance writer, an elderly pathologist, and Albert Einstein's brain; on a cross-country trip.
Eating Animals Foer, Jonathan Safran Brilliantly synthesizing philosophy, literature, science, memoir and his own detective work, "Eating Animals" explores the many fictions we use to justify our eating habits--from folklore to pop culture to family traditions and national myth--and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting.	Emily, Alone O'Nan, Stewart Newly independent widow Emily Maxwell dreams of visits by grandchildren and mourns changes in her quiet Pittsburgh neighborhood before realizing an inner strength to pursue developing opportunities.	Emperor of All Maladies, The Mukherjee, Siddhartha A magnificently written "biography" of cancer--from its origins to the epic battle to cure, control, and conquer it.
End of Illness, The Agus, David Can we live robustly until our last breath? Do we have to suffer from debilitating conditions and sickness? Is it possible to add more vibrant years to our lives? In The End of Illness , David B. Agus, MD, one of the world's leading cancer doctors, researchers, and technology innovators, tackles these fundamental questions, challenging long-held wisdoms and dismantling misperceptions about what "health" means. With a blend of storytelling, landmark research, and provocative ideas on health, Dr. Agus presents an eye-opening picture of the human body and all of the ways it works--and fails--showing us how a new perspective on our individual health will allow each of us to achieve that often elusive but now reachable goal of a long, vigorous life. When Dr. Agus decided to pursue a career in oncology, many of his mentors questioned his choice. Why, they asked, would a promising young doctor want to enter a field known for its inescapably grim outcomes? But it was precisely the lack of progress that inspired Dr. Agus to join the war on cancer. He moved away from the modern methods of the medical establishment, which aim to reduce our afflictions to a single point. Instead, as he does in this book, Dr. Agus argues for the adoption of a systemic view--a way of honoring our bodies as complex, whole systems. This outlook informs how we can avoid all illnesses--not just cancer. Dr. Agus empowers us to take charge of our individual health in personal, customized ways we could not have imagined before...	Escape Jessop, Carolyn and Palmer, Laura At eighteen, Carolyn Jessop was coerced into a plural marriage to a man thirty-two years her senior. Her story exposes the physical and psychological abuse she lived with as a member of an ultra-fundamentalist American religious sect and her courageous flight to freedom with her eight children.	Evolution of Bruno Littlemore, The Hale, Benjamin Bruno Littlemore, the world's first chimpanzee with the ability to speak, tells the story of primatologist Lydia Littlemore's efforts to educate him; his untimely outbursts, which ultimately cost Lydia her job; and the unforgettable road trip that follows.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Foer, Jonathan Safran Meet Oskar Schell, an inventor, Francophile, tambourine player, Shakespearean actor, jeweler, and pacifist. He is nine years old. And he is on an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York. His mission is to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11.	Eyre Affair Fforde, Jasper Welcome to a surreal version of Great Britain, circa 1985, where time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem, militant Baconians heckle performances of Hamlet, and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection, until someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature. Download Version	Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury, Ray A totalitarian regime has ordered all books to be destroyed, but one of the book burners suddenly realizes their merit. This classic science fiction novel explores questions of intellectual freedom. Download Version
Faith Haigh, Jennifer Sheila McGann is estranged from her complicated family. But when her older brother Art, pastor of a large suburban parish, finds himself at the center of a scandal, Sheila returns to Boston, ready to fight for him. Her strict mother lives in a state of angry denial; her younger brother Mike has already convicted his brother in his heart. But most disturbing of all is Art himself, who persistently dodges Sheila's questions and refuses to defend himself.	Faithful Place French, Tana Detective Frank Mackey finds himself straight back in the dark tangle of relationships he left behind twenty-two years ago when the suitcase belonging to his first love, Rosie Daly, shows up behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place. The hotly anticipated third novel of the Dublin murder squad.	Farm City: the Education of an Urban Farmer Carpenter, Novella An unforgettably charming memoir, full of hilarious moments, facinating farmer's tips, and a great deal of heart, Farm City offers a beautiful meditation on what we give up to live the way we do today.
Father of the Rain King, Lily "Gardiner Amory is a New England WASP who is beginning to feel the cracks in his empire. Nixon is about to be impeached, his wife is leaving him, and his worldview is rapidly becoming outdated. His daughter, Daley, has spent the first eleven years of her life carefully negotiating her parents' conflicting worlds: the liberal, socially committed realm of her mother and the conservative, decadent, liquor-soaked life of her father. As she grows into adulthood, Daley rejects the narrow world that nourished her father's fears and prejudices, and embarks on her own separate life, until he hits rock bottom"--Dust jacket flap.	Fine Balance Mistry, Rohinton With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism, of India. The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers--a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village--will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.	Finkler Question, The Jascobson, Howard ...Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular former BBC radio producer, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer, and television personality, are old school friends...Dining together one night at Sevcik's apartment--the two Jewish widowers and the unmarried Gentile, Treslove--the men share a sweetly painful evening, reminiscing on a time before they had loved and lost, before they had prized anything greatly enough to fear the loss of it. But as Treslove makes his way home, he is attacked and mugged outside a violin dealer's window. Treslove is convinced the crime was a misdirected act of anti-Semitism, and in its aftermath, his whole sense of self will ineluctably change.
Flight of Gemma Hardy, The Livesey, Margo Overcoming a life of hardship and loneliness, Gemma Hardy, a brilliant and determined young woman, accepts a position as an au pair on the remote Orkney Islands where she faces her biggest challenge yet.	Flower Confidential Stewart, Amy Award-winning author Amy Stewart takes readers on an around-the-world, behind-the-scenes look at the flower industry and how it has sought—for better or worse—to achieve perfection. She tracks down the hybridizers, geneticists, farmers, and florists working to invent, manufacture, and sell flowers that are bigger, brighter, and sturdier than anything nature can provide. At every turn she discovers the startling intersection of nature and technology, of sentiment and commerce.	Forgotten Garden, The Morton, Kate A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book -- a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and with very little to go on, "Nell" sets out on a journey to England to try to trace her story, to fi nd her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell's death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled.
Garlic and Sapphires Reichl, Ruth. This delicious new volume of Ruth Reichl's acclaimed memoirs recounts her "adventures in deception," as she goes undercover in the world's finest restaurants.	Gate at the Stairs, A Moore, Lorrie "... As the United States begins gearing up for war in the Middle East, twenty-year-old Tassie Keltjin, the Midwestern daughter of a gentleman hill farmer--his 'Keltjin potatoes' are justifiably famous--has come to a university town as a college student, her brain on fire with Chaucer, Sylvia Plath, Simone de Beauvoir. Between semesters, she takes a job as a part-time nanny. The family she works for seems both mysterious and glamorous to her, and although Tassie had once found children boring, she comes to care for, and to protect, their newly adopted little girl as her own. As the year unfolds and she is drawn deeper into each of these lives, her own life back home becomes ever more alien to her: her parents are frailer; her brother, aimless and lost in high school, contemplates joining the military. Tassie finds herself becoming more and more the stranger she felt herself to be, and as life and love unravel dramatically, even shockingly, she is forever changed ..."--Publisher description.	Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire Foreman, Amanda This wonderfully readable biography provides a dramatic portrait of the colorful life of eighteenth-century British aristocrat Lady Georgiana Spencer, her roles as a society and political hostess, and her disastrous and profligate private life.
Girl in Translation Kwok, Jean Introducing a fresh, exciting Chinese-American voice, an inspiring debut about an immigrant girl forced to choose between two worlds and two futures. When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life-like the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family's future resting on her shoulders, or her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition-Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles.	Girl Who Fell from the Sky Durrow, Heidi This debut novel tells the story of Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I. who becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy. With her strict African American grandmother as her new guardian, Rachel moves to a mostly black community, where her light brown skin, blue eyes, and beauty bring mixed attention her way. Growing up in the 1980s, she learns to swallow her overwhelming grief and confronts her identity as a biracial young woman in a world that wants to see her as either black or white. In the tradition of Jamaica Kincaid's Annie John and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, here is a portrait of a young girl--and society's ideas of race, class, and beauty. It is a winner of the Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice.	Girl's Guide to Homelessness, The Karp, Brianna Karp delivers a heartwrenching and darkly funny memoir about her experience becoming homeless after losing her corporate job in the Great Recession.
Girls Lansens, Lori In this novel, readers come to know Rose and Ruby, 29-year-old conjoined twins. When one of the girls decides to write her autobiography, the distinct personalities of the two emerge to reveal their contradictory longing for independence and their unwavering togetherness.	Girls from Ames: a Story of Women and a Forty-year Friendship Zaslow, Jeffrey An inspiring story of 11 girls from Ames, Iowa, and the 10 women they became. A moving demonstration of how female friendships can shape every aspect of women's lives.	Glass Castle: A Memoir Walls, Jeannette The second child of a scholarly, alcoholic father and an eccentric artist mother discusses her family's nomadic upbringing from the Arizona desert, to Las Vegas, to an Appalachian mining town, during which her siblings and she fended for themselves while their parents outmaneuvered bill collectors and the authorities.