What good literature can do and does do . . . is touch the human soul. – Karen Swallow Prior, The Atlantic, 2013

The St. Paul’s Touching the Soul Book Group is open to everyone. We generally meet twice a month, Sundays, 11:45, in St. Paul’s Conference Room. You can also participate via Zoom if you let us know in advance. Please register (by emailing nancyeday@gmail.com) so we can send you updates, discussion questions, and time changes.

October - Between Two Moons by Aisha Abdel Gawad - https://shorturl.at/fiCRV

“Heartfelt. Moving. Powerful. Between Two Moons is a gorgeously written and profoundly intimate debut. Aisha Abdel Gawad follows an Egyptian family in New York as they struggle to navigate the immigrant experience, powerfully depicting the struggle to remain themselves and the pressure to assimilate, the emotional trauma, uncertainty, displacement, and culture shock. An urgent and unflinching story that deeply challenges and changes you. We need voices like those of Aisha Abdel Gawad. — Etaf Rum, author of New York Times bestseller A Woman Is No Man

“Between Two Moons is a fearless and unflinchingly honest debut. With dangerous accuracy, Aisha Abdel Gawad depicts a particular kind of immigrant existence, that of an Egyptian family in New York struggling with myriad fault lines, both generational and experiential. The small details throughout this story—from the mechanics of prayer-time ablution to the subtleties of Egyptian-accented English—are spot-on. More than anything, Between Two Moons is a story about the place so many Arabs in this part of the world have been forced to inhabit in the post-911 age: that malicious, disorienting chasm between the hope of being seen and the fear of being watched.” — Omar El Akkad, author of What Strange Paradise and American War

November - The Sea by John Banville - https://shorturl.at/pHSU1

Discussion: November 19

Winner of the Booker Prize

An “extraordinary meditation on mortality, grief, death, childhood and memory" (USA Today)

“Remarkable. . . . The power and strangeness and piercing beauty of [The Sea is] a wonder.” —The Washington Post

“A gem. . . . [The sea] is a presence on every page, its ceaseless undulations echoing constantly in the cadences of the prose. This novel shouldn’t simply be read. It needs to be heard, for its sound is intoxicating. . . . A winning work of art.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

December - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Discussion: December 10 - A short, familiar, but deeply moving story of redemption. For this session, seeing a good movie or theater version works in lieu of reading the book! (We recommend actually reading it . . . )

January - Trust by Hernan Diaz - https://shorturl.at/amxTZ

Discussions: January 14 and 28

“A rip-roaring, razor-sharp dissection of capitalism, class, greed, and the meaning of money itself that also manages to be a dazzling feat of storytelling on its own terms… Important and timely. But the uniquely brilliant way in which Diaz tells that story, as meticulously researched as it is narratively exhilarating, makes it a novel not just for the present age but for the ages.” — Vogue

“A multifaceted saga of class, wealth, and mythmaking that should resonate with today’s capitalism-questioning readers.” — The Philadelphia Inquirer

February – Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann - https://shorturl.at/abuPS

Discussions: February 11 and 25

“A masterful work of literary journalism crafted with the urgency of a mystery.” – The Boston Globe

From “one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today.” – New York Magazine

March - The Reason You’re Alive by Matthew Quick - https://shorturl.at/cCMSY

“A book of unexpected turns, a fun ad funny narrative intermixed with many dark plot lines, The Reason You're Alive is a poignant work and a must-read this summer.” – Zeynep Sen, New York Journal of Books

“The Reason You’re Alive is fundamentally about the power to forgive both yourself and others.... Quick forces both readers and characters to reexamine their first impressions through his narrator.... In classic Quick fashion, the novel is full of intriguing supporting characters.” — AV Club

April - The Book of Charlie by David von Drehl - https://shorturl.at/LMY57 - All-campus read!

The author will be with us on a date to be determined to discuss this engaging book. If there is interest, we'll meet following Sunday at 11:45 to discuss among ourselves.

"As is true of Charlie himself, this book is not just about goodness but grit, not just kindness but courage. It is also a shining example of the magic that can happen when a master storyteller finds a subject that has hidden within it a million tantalizing opportunities to learn, to question, and to grow. To say that The Book of Charlie is inspiring is a vast understatement. I am a better person for having read it." – Candice Millard, author of River of Gods

"In every era, an author writes a genuinely original, formula-shattering book. Von Drehle has done this in The Book of Charlie, a serious history of the last 100 years. Charlie is told through the personal story of one man, finding joy and what matters." – Bob Woodward

May: The Measure by Nikki Erlick https://shorturl.at/bjqHP

Discussions: May 12 & 26

"A story of love and hope as interweaving characters display: how all moments, big and small, can measure a life. If you want joy, love, romance, and hope—read with us."

— Jenna Bush Hager