Book Chat Bags
If you are starting a new book discussion group or have a current group and are in search for new titles, check out Missoula Public Library’s Book Chat Bags.
Available Book Chat Bag Titles
Out of Egypt by Andre Aciman
Aciman’s memoir chronicles the experience of his Jewish-Turkish-Italian family in Alexandria, Egypt, from their turn of the century arrival, to their flight to Paris three generations later.
Flight by Sherman Alexie
Fifteen-year-old Zits is out for revenge. An abused foster child whose father never claimed him, Zits attempts to take out his anger and pain on a group of innocent bystanders, but is catapulted into a series of time-traveling adventures instead.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The first of Angelou’s six-volume memoirs, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings chronicles Maya’s childhood from a terrible experience that left her mute for five years through her coming of age, work as the first black female street car conductor in San Francisco, struggle for civil rights and up to the birth of her son.
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
Three unsolved cases fall into the lap of private eye Jackson Brody, an ex-cop who empathizes with his clients as he mourns the break up of his marriage and separation from his daughter.
Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy
A sufferer of chronic insomnia, Bostonian Julian West enlists the help of a hypnotist to help him get some rest. However, West awakes to find that he is no longer in the Boston of 1887, but that of the year 2000. Bellamy’s novel became the second American novel to sell over a million copies.
Mr. Sammler’s Planet by Saul Bellows
Mr. Sammler is an elderly holocaust survivor living in New York in the 1960s. Blind in one eye, he internally critiques modern culture and the changing world he observes around him.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
In this true crime classic, Berendt observes the eccentricities of life in Savannah, Georgia, while investigating antique dealer Jim Williams’ shooting of his sometimes lover Danny Hansford.
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
A judge attempting peaceful retirement in a Himalayan village must share his home with his newly orphaned granddaughter. Their cook is concerned for his son, an illegal alien living in New York City and all three must brace themselves as political unrest takes over the region
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
In this memoir, Didion reflects on her 40 year marriage and describes on how she survived the year after her husband of died of a heart attack while their daughter was in a coma.
This House of Sky by Ivan Doig
Ivan Doig’s memoir about growing up in rural Montana was a finalist for the National Book Award and was chosen as the 2006 One Book Montana selection by the Montana Center for the Book and the Montana Humanities Council.
The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
John Steinbeck’s classic novel The Grapes of Wrath chronicles the American flight from the great dust bowl of the 1930s, but what happened to the people who stayed behind? Egan traveled the Dust Bowl region, collecting oral histories to discover why people chose to stay and what happened to those that did.
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
In the aftermath of a painful divorce, Gilbert sets out on a year of travel, spending four months in three countries with the goal of exploring pleasure and devotion, while discovering herself along the way.
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
In this book, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Goodwin investigates Abraham Lincoln and the leading members of his cabinet, providing fresh insights into the famed president’s personality and politics.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Mary Boleyn is sent to the court of Henry VIII at the age of fourteen help her ambitious family. Mary is successful and attracts the attention of the king. When the king’s favor begins to be bestowed on her sister Anne, Mary must choose whether or not to step aside.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
At ninety, or perhaps ninety-three, Jacob Jankowski drifts in and out of memories of the circus where he served as a veterinarian, fell in love with a married woman and bonded with an elephant named Rosie.
When Madeline was Young by Jane Hamilton
In this novel, by award-winning author of The Book of Ruth and A Map of the World, young and beautiful Madeline suffers a head injury that leaves her with the mental capabilities of a child. Her husband and his second wife care for her as their daughter, even as they raise children of their own.
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises follows a group of American and English expatriates, members of the Lost Generation in the post-World War I era, on a journey from Paris to Pamplona for the July fiesta and bullfight.
Lost in Translation by Eva Hoffman
At the age of 13, Hoffman emigrated with her parents from Poland to Canada. Hoffman describes the immigrant experience and the trials of living in a foreign culture.
No! I Don’t Want to Join a Book Club by Virginia Ironside
Nearing her sixtieth year, Marie Sharp decides to begin a diary. She is perfectly content remembering the excitement of her youth and doesn’t need exotic vacations or book clubs to pass the time. However, a new grandchild and the reawakening of an old romance may mean the excitement is far from over.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
In this twist on the traditional Dracula story, a young girl discovers a mysterious book from her father’s past. The book holds clues connecting the disappearance of a professor with Dracula, but before the girl’s father can explain, he too vanishes.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Larson’s account of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 focuses on the fair’s ambitious architect, Daniel H. Burnham, and Henry H. Holmes, the serial killer who used the fair ensnare his many victims.
The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin
A brilliant physicist named Shevek attempts to reunite the future societies of Anarres and Urras. Each civilization has long considered itself to be the Good Place, mistrusting and despising the other.
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Inspired by the courtship of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s own parents, Love in the Time of Cholera follows Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza from the moment Florentino first declares his love for Fermina, through her marriage to another man, until the day, fifty years later, that Florentino can declare his love for Fermina again.
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
McEwan’s 11th novel begins in 1962 on the wedding night of Florence, a musician, and her new husband Edward. As both fight to suppress their fears about the wedding night in an age of innocence prior to the sexual revolution, a misunderstanding leads to disastrous consequences.
Saturday by Ian McEwan
Neurosurgeon Henry Perowne is an ordinary man, content with his life and loving family. His Saturday begins with plans of squash games and family dinners, plans that are put aside when a confrontation at a post-9/11 anti-war protest changes his life forever.
The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer
Long before it legally served me, the bar saved me.” In this memoir chronicling his coming of age and path to self discovery, Moehringer recounts his search for a father figure, his experiences with heartache and disillusionment, and the bar that was his refuge through it all.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
In 1993, Mortenson took shelter in a Pakistan village after a failed mountaineering expedition. Mortenson promised to build a school in return for the villagers’ kindness, an effort that has turned into the Central Asia Institute and built over fifty schools in the region to date.
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
When rules at the University of Tehran became too restrictive, English professor Azar Nafisi decides to hold secret classes on Western literature for seven women in her home.
Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky
Intended to be a set of five novels describing life under Nazi occupation in France, Suite Française consists of the two novels Jewish author Nemirovsky was able to write before being deported to Auschwitz. The novels remained hidden for sixty-four years before being rediscovered and published.
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Anna was conceived as a genetic match for her older sister in order to help in her sister’s fight against leukemia. After years of blood transfusions and surgeries, Anna decides to stand up for her own interests, taking action that could tear her family apart.
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
Pretty, popular, and in love, high school freshman Trixie Stone has everything going for her until an act of violence turns her life upside down, changing her perceptions of herself and her father, whom she idolized, forever.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
In this bestseller, Michael Pollan poses the question: What should we have for dinner? The result is an investigation of industrial and organic food chains in the United States and an exploration of the impact of our food choices.
The Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen
In a witty, journalistic style, Quammen chronicles twenty-one years of Darwin’s life, from the day Darwin returned from his Beagle voyage to the day he unleashed his theory of evolution upon the world. The author investigates why it took Darwin twenty-one years to publish his theory.
Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez by Richard Rodriguez
In this memoir, Rodriguez discusses his coming of age as a Mexican-American and the experience of being a “minority student,” from the day he entered school knowing only 50 words of English, through the completion of his M.A. at Columbia University.
Blindness by Jose Saramago
In this book by Nobel Prize-winning author Saramago, a city is struck by a plague of “white blindness.” When authorities send the blind to an old mental hospital, a criminal takes control, raping the women and stealing food. One lone woman bears witness, faking blindness in order to try to help the others around her.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
This graphic novel is Satrapi’s memoir about growing up during the Islamic Revolution. The novel follows Satrapi from age 10 to age 14, documenting everyday life in Tehran and her family’s personal struggles.
The Centaur in the Garden by Moacyr Scliar
On his 38th birthday, So Paulo Guedali Tartakovsky reflects upon his life as a half-horse, half-human, describing his family’s flight from Russia to Brazil, his unusual birth, the experience of being raised as a Jew, his troublesome young adulthood, and the day he finally meets his centauress.
Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan
When eleven Americans travel to Burma on an art expedition, they do not expect that a Christmas morning tour will leave them trapped in the jungle. Tan’s book is based on the real-life disappearance of American tourists in Myanmar.
Revolutionary Characters by Gordon S. Wood
In a series of essays focusing on eight men who would come to be known as the Founding Fathers, Wood investigates the lives of Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson, among others. Wood attempts to discover what made these men great and to what extent character was a driving force in their lasting legacy.
More Titles Coming Soon!
What is a Book Chat Bag?
A Book Chat Bag is a canvas bag filled with at least 10 copies of one title and a discussion guide with book reviews, author information, discussion questions and additional tips and resources for book groups.
How do I reserve a Book Chat Bag?
Choose a title from our list of available Book Chat Bags. Send one member of your book group to the Reference Desk at Missoula Public Library (301 E. Main St.) or call 721-2665 and ask for the Reference Desk to reserve your title. Book Chat Bags must be picked up and returned directly to the Reference Desk and can only be checked out to one person in the group.
How long can I keep a Book Chat Bag?
Book Chat Bags may be checked out for a period of 4 weeks and can be renewed once for an additional 4 weeks as long as there is no waiting list for that title. Renewals can be made by stopping by or calling the Reference Desk (721-2665) or online through your personal iBistro account.
How can my book discussion group help?
Your can share your reading interests with other local book groups and help the library build its Book Chat Bag collection by donating paperback copies of books your book group has read. Please mention that that your donation is for the Book Chat Bags when you drop the books off at the library.
Book Chat Bags are sponsored by the Friends of the Library.