Summer is in full swing–hopefully a little sun and a good read are in your future! NCG Book Club members gave us some of their top picks for summer reading. Enjoy!
Myra Bicknell, Director of Operations, Northern California Grantmakers
Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster | “My favorite book from childhood is Daddy Longlegs. And (surprise) it has a philanthropy angle! It follows the protagonist, a young girl named Jerusha "Judy" Abbott, through her college years. She writes letters to her benefactor, a rich man whom she has never seen, and who she calls “Daddy Long-Legs”.
Ruth Brosseau, previously with the California Wellness Foundation and The San Francisco Foundation
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande | “Takes an informed, interesting and personal look at older age and death. It captures some of the major social changes occurring in the way American manage this phase of life.”
Regan Douglass, Communications Officer, College Futures Foundation
Tenth of December by George Saunders | "This collection of short stories from 2014 was named one of the best books of the year by the New York Times, NPR, Kirkus, and more, and was a National Book Award finalist. George Saunders’ work is hard to classify. It’s experimental, breaking and combining genres and juxtaposing “high and low” language…. Highly recommended for those open to genre-bending; even if short stories aren’t normally “your thing,” give it a try!”
Kayla Eichamer, Knowledge & Communications Associate, Northern California Grantmakers
The Circle by Dave Eggers | “One of my new favorites, The Circle is fiction about Mae, just out of college hired at the new San Francisco tech company. It starts out light but is a captivating story about a woman’s ambition and turns into a suspenseful take on social construction of privacy, transparency, and personhood in social networks. Eggers writing really keeps you interested!”
Stan Hutton , Senior Program Officer, Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation
Life Before Man by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood | “The story is about the interconnected relationships of the three characters – two women and one man. I saw it as a coming of age novel for the characters in their 30’s.”
Prudy Kohler,| Principal, ART FOR LUNCH, former Program Officer at the James Irvine Foundation, former Director of Projects at Community Initiatives
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion | “It's a quick read and quite funny… very light and good for a long plane ride or hanging out in some lovely vacation spot.”
Frances Phillips, Program Director Arts & Creative Work Fund, Walter and Elise Haas Fund
The Untouchable by John Banville | “I’ve been holding off on finishing the last 20 pages because I’ve enjoyed that tension so much. Among other pleasures, Banville’s ability to describe his character’s (the art historian’s) deep responses to art is brilliant.”
The NCG Book Club is open to all NCG members! Below are two upcoming features reads.
NCG Book Club | Discussion of The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
NCG Book Club | Discussion of All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr