September #CannonBookClub is here. Discussion posts are live!
- The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
- Deerskin by Robin McKinley
- Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
- Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
Book Club Details
Continuing our feel-good goals with #CannonBookClub in 2021 we’ve landed on Fairy Tales and Adaptations as our theme for our September meeting. With that in mind our Book Club team has decided on a shortlist of four books to choose from, highlighting different genres and original tales.
September 17-18, 2021 Book Choices
Select one, some or all of the books below. (Descriptions from Bookshop.org; links to original fairytales at Gutenberg.org) You can select the original, the adaptation, or both. Choose from:
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wilderness, and in the long nights, Vasilisa and her siblings love to gather by the fire to listen to their nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, Vasya loves the story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon. Wise Russians fear him, for he claims unwary souls, and they honor the spirits that protect their homes from evil. Then Vasya’s widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow. Fiercely devout, Vasya’s stepmother forbids her family from honoring their household spirits, but Vasya fears what this may bring. And indeed, misfortune begins to stalk the village. But Vasya’s stepmother only grows harsher, determined to remake the village to her liking and to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for marriage or a convent. As the village’s defenses weaken and evil from the forest creeps nearer, Vasilisa must call upon dangerous gifts she has long concealed–to protect her family from a threat sprung to life from her nurse’s most frightening tales. (Rumplestiltskin by Grimm Bros.)
Deerskin by Robin McKinley
The only daughter of a beloved king and queen, Princess Lissar has grown up in the shadow of her parent’s infinite adoration for each other–an infatuation so great that it could only be broken by the queen’s unexpected passing. As Lissar reaches womanhood, it becomes clear to everyone in the kingdom that she has inherited her late mother’s breathtaking beauty. But on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Lissar’s exquisite looks become a curse… Betrayed and abused, Lissar is forced to flee her home to escape her father’s madness. With her loyal dog Ash at her side, Lissar finds refuge in the mountains where she has the chance to heal and start anew. And as she unlocks a door to a world of magic, Lissar finds the key to her survival and begins an adventure beyond her wildest dreams. (Donkeyskin by Charles Perrault)
Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
Ever since her best friend Anna died, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. Hiding her talents, mourning her loss, drowning in her guilt. Then a girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears on the shore, and the two girls catch the eyes of two charming princes. Suddenly Evie feels like she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after. But magic isn’t kind, and her new friend harbors secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad–or on two legs–without Evie’s help. And when Evie reaches deep into the power of her magic to save her friend’s humanity–and her prince’s heart–she discovers, too late, what she’s bargained away. (The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen)
Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker shields his clients–dissidents, outlaws, Islamists, and other watched groups–from surveillance and tries to stay out of trouble. He goes by Alif–the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and a convenient handle to hide behind. The aristocratic woman Alif loves has jilted him for a prince chosen by her parents, and his computer has just been breached by the state’s electronic security force, putting his clients and his own neck on the line. Then it turns out his lover’s new fiancé is the “Hand of God,” as they call the head of state security, and his henchmen come after Alif, driving him underground. When Alif discovers The Thousand and One Days, the secret book of the jinn, which both he and the Hand suspect may unleash a new level of information technology, the stakes are raised and Alif must struggle for life or death, aided by forces seen and unseen. (Story of the Jinn, Arabian Nights.)
Discussion Dates
Choose one, choose four, read the originals, or just the above adaptations. We’ll look forward to seeing you to chat here September 17-18, 2021 with another Zoom discussion scheduled for the 18th at 7pm.
