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Last Year Was a Great Year!

The UD Book Club begins the 2013/2014 academic year!
- June - Naked by David Sedaris
- August - Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
- September - Laura by Vera Caspary
- October - Fahrenheit by Ray Bradbury
- November - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- February - The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
- March - Portobello by Ruth Rendell
- April - The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
Last Year's Picks!
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The Leftovers by Tom PerrottaISBN: 9780312358341
Publication Date: 2011
What if—whoosh, right now, with no explanation—a number of us simply vanished? Would some of us collapse? Would others of us go on, one foot in front of the other, as we did before the world turned upside down? That’s what the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, who lost many of their neighbors, friends and lovers in the event known as the Sudden Departure, have to figure out.
Our April selection.
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Portobello by Ruth RendellISBN: 9781439148518
Publication Date: 2010
Ruth Rendell is widely considered to be crime fiction's reigning queen, with a remarkable career spanning more than forty years. Now, in Portobello, she delivers a captivating and intricate tale that weaves together the troubled lives of several people in the gentrified neighborhood of London's Notting Hill. Walking to the shops one day, fifty-year-old Eugene Wren discovers an envelope on the street bulging with cash. A man plagued by a shameful addiction-and his own good intentions-Wren hatches a plan to find the money's rightful owner.
Our March selection.
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The Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsCall Number: HV 5132 .W35 2005
ISBN: 9781439156964
Publication Date: 2005
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home. What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms. For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story.
Our February selection.
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The Book Thief by Markus ZusakISBN: 9780375931000
Publication Date: 2006
The extraordinary #1 "New York Times" bestseller that will be in movie theaters on November 15, 2013, Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist-books.
Our November selection.
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Fahrenheit 451 by Ray BradburyCall Number: PS 3503 .R167 F4 2012
ISBN: 9781451673265
Publication Date: 2012
Ray Bradbury's internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future. Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.
Our October selection.
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Laura by Vera Caspary; A B Emrys (Afterword by)ISBN: 9781558615052
Publication Date: 2005
Vera Caspary's equally haunting novel is remarkable for its stylish, hardboiled writing, its electrifying plot twists, and its darkly complex characters-including a woman who stands as the ultimate femme fatale.
Our September selection.
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Assassination Vacation by Sarah VowellISBN: 0743260031
Publication Date: 2005-03-29
"From Buffalo to Alaska, Washington to the Dry Tortugas, Sarah Vowell visits locations immortalized and influenced by the spilling of politically important blood, reporting as she goes with her trademark blend of wisecracking humor, remarkable honesty, and thought-provoking criticism.
Our August selection.
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Naked by David Sedaris; Geoffrey Koske (Editor)ISBN: 0316779490
Publication Date: 1997-03-01
In Naked, David Sedaris's message alternately rendered in Fakespeare, Italian, Spanish, and pidgin Greek is the same: pay attention to me. Whether he's taking to the road with a thieving quadriplegic, sorting out the fancy from the extra-fancy in a bleak fruit-packing factory, or celebrating Christmas in the company of a recently paroled prostitute, this collection of memoirs creates a wickedly incisive portrait of an all-too-familiar world.
Our June selection.