LibGuides: Book Club in a Box: Brackett Library's Book Club

May's Selection

Join us on Thursday, May 9, at 3:00 p.m. to discuss Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. We will meet in the "pole barn" next to the historic Laura (Riding) Jackson House on IRSC's Mueller Campus. The Laura (Riding) Jackson house and pole barn are just south of the Brackett Library, still on the same campus. If you would like to check out a library copy of the print book, they are available at the first-floor desk in the Brackett Library.

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
ISBN: 9780063250833
Publication Date: 2023-05-16
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "Hard to put down, harder to forget." -- Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling author White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences... Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn't write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American--in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R.F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel. Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena's a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I. So what if June edits Athena's novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song--complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn't this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That's what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree. But June can't get away from Athena's shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June's (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves. With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang's novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.

Yellowface Discussion Questions
Discussion questions from Book Club Chat https://bookclubchat.com/books/book-club-questions-for-yellowface-by-r-f-kuang/

Summer 2024 Brackett Book Club Selections

The upcoming titles for the Summer 2024 book club meetings are listed below. Please note that we take a break and do not meet in August.

We meet in the Laura (Riding) Jackson pole barn between the Brackett Library and the D Building on IRSC's Mueller Campus. Our rain plan is to meet inside the Brackett Library. Look for a sign in the lobby with the room number in the event of rain. Email Angie at asardon@irsc.edu with questions or comments. We would love for you to join us!

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
ISBN: 9780063250833
Publication Date: 2023-05-16
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "Hard to put down, harder to forget." -- Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling author White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences... Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn't write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American--in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R.F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel. Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena's a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I. So what if June edits Athena's novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song--complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn't this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That's what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree. But June can't get away from Athena's shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June's (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves. With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang's novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
ISBN: 9780063251922
Publication Date: 2022-10-18
WINNER OF THE 2023 PULITZER PRIZE * WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION A New York Times "Ten Best Books of 2022" * An Oprah's Book Club Selection * An Instant New York Times Bestseller * An Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller * A #1 Washington Post Bestseller "Demon is a voice for the ages--akin to Huck Finn or Holden Caulfield--only even more resilient." --Beth Macy, author of Dopesick "May be the best novel of 2022. . . . Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, this is the story of an irrepressible boy nobody wants, but readers will love." (Ron Charles, Washington Post) From the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees, a brilliant novel that enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero's unforgettable journey to maturity Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities. Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens' anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can't imagine leaving behind.
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
ISBN: 9780061950728
Publication Date: 2017-01-10
Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood and adolescence of hard labor and servitude As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was one such child, sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future a world away. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine, the memories of her upbringing rendered a hazy blur. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past. Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer knows that a community-service position helping an elderly widow clean out her attic is the only thing keeping her out of juvenile hall. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren't as different as they appear. A Penobscot Indian who has spent her youth in and out of foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past. Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful tale of upheaval and resilience, second chances, and unexpected friendship.
Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins
ISBN: 9781416571261
Publication Date: 2022-08-02
A National Bestseller A New Yorker Best Book of 2022 Fifteen years after the publication of Evidence of Things Unseen, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist Marianne Wiggins returns with a novel destined to be an American classic: a sweeping masterwork set during World War II about the meaning of family and the limitations of the American Dream. Rockwell "Rocky" Rhodes has spent years fiercely protecting his California ranch from the LA Water Corporation. It is here where he and his beloved wife Lou raised their twins, Sunny and Stryker, and it is here where Rocky has mourned Lou in the years since her death. As Sunny and Stryker reach the cusp of adulthood, the country teeters on the brink of war. Stryker decides to join the fight, deploying to Pearl Harbor not long before the bombs strike. Soon, Rocky and his family find themselves facing yet another incomprehensible tragedy. Rocky is determined to protect his remaining family and the land where they've loved and lost so much. But when the government decides to build a Japanese-American internment camp next to the ranch, Rocky realizes that the land faces even bigger threats than the LA watermen he's battled for years. Complicating matters is the fact that the idealistic Department of the Interior man assigned to build the camp, who only begins to understand the horror of his task after it may be too late, becomes infatuated with Sunny and entangled with the Rhodes family. Properties of Thirst is a novel that is both universal and intimate. It is the story of a changing American landscape and an examination of one of the darkest periods in this country's past, told through the stories of the individual loves and losses that weave together to form the fabric of our shared history. Ultimately, it is an unflinching distillation of our nation's essence--and a celebration of the bonds of love and family that persist against all odds.

Books at the Brackett Library, Mueller Campus

Books at the Brackett Library are organized in the Indian River County Library System using the Dewey Decimal system. You will need an Indian River County Library card to check out books.

1st floor: Fiction, children and young adult books, DVD and CD collections, new fiction and nonfiction books, color copier
2nd floor: Public computers, scanners, black and white copier, printing, reference, adult non-fiction, and textbooks reserves

Use the county's online catalog to find books in the Brackett Library. All circulating Brackett Library books can be checked out for a period of four weeks.

(search results open in a new window)

Brackett Library

The Brackett Library is located on the Mueller Campus of Indian River State College in Vero Beach, FL. The library is a joint-use facility between the College and Indian River County. Combining public and academic resources provides the best possible services to our students, county residents, and public patrons.

Book Club with Indian River County Library System

The Indian River County Library System and IRSC Libraries are hosting a Book Club affiliated with the Brackett Library. All are welcome to join this free Book Club - including IRSC students and employees and the public.

Brackett's Book Club meets on the second Thursday of each month at 3:00 pm. See the schedule on this page for exact dates. Currently, we are meeting in the "pole barn" next to the Laura (Riding) Jackson historic home located on IRSC's Mueller Campus just a few steps south of the Brackett Library.

Copies of each month's selection are available for checkout at the Brackett Library. Please ask at the 1st-floor circulation desk for the current book club book.

To join us or for more information, call Hollie at 772-400-6385 or email Angie at asardon@irsc.edu. Or, read the book and come to the next meeting!

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
ISBN: 9781501132933
Publication Date: 2016-07-19
September's selection - The Book Club met on September 28, 2017
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
ISBN: 9780062491831
Publication Date: 2017-05-02
October's selection - The Book Club met on October 26, 2017
The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
ISBN: 9780553418798
Publication Date: 2016-03-22
November's selection - The Book Club met on November 30, 2017
Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
ISBN: 9781250069795
Publication Date: 2016-07-26
December's selection - The Book Club met on December 14, 2017
A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith
ISBN: 9781561641161
Publication Date: 1984
January's selection - The Book Club met on January 25, 2018
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
ISBN: 9781101971062
Publication Date: 2017-05-02
February's selection - The Book Club met on February 22, 2018 at 3:00 pm.
The Vineyard by Maria Dueñas
ISBN: 9781501124532
Publication Date: 2017-10-03
March's selection - The Book Club met on March 29, 2018 at 3:00 pm.
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
ISBN: 9781501126062
Publication Date: 2017-09-05
April's selection - The Book Club met on April 26, 2018 at 3:00 pm.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
ISBN: 9780060838676
Publication Date: 2013-03-19
May's selection - The Book Club met on May 31, 2018 at 3:00 pm.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
ISBN: 9780312577230
Publication Date: 2018-02-06
June's selection - The Book Club met on June 28, 2018 at 3:00 pm.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
ISBN: 9780735224292
Publication Date: 2017-09-12
July's selection - The Book Club met on Thursday, July 26, 2018 at 3:00 pm.
Dubliners by James Joyce
ISBN: 9781580491655
Publication Date: 2006-01-01
September's Banned Books Week selection - The Book Club met on Thursday, September 27, 2018 at 3:00 pm.
I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara; Gillian Flynn (Introduction by); Patton Oswalt (Afterword by)
ISBN: 9780062319784
Publication Date: 2018-02-27
October's selection - The Book Club met on October 25, 2018 at 3:00 pm.
Tangerine by Christine Mangan
ISBN: 9780062686664
Publication Date: 2018-03-27
November's selection - The Book Club met on November 29, 2018 at 3:00 pm.
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
ISBN: 9781501137471
Publication Date: 2017-10-10
December's selection - The Book Club met on Thursday, December 27, 2018 at 3:00 pm.
There There by Tommy Orange
ISBN: 9780525520375
Publication Date: 2018-06-05
January's selection - The Book Club met January 31, 2019 at 3:00 pm.
Heartland by Sarah Smarsh
ISBN: 9781501133091
Publication Date: 2018-09-18
February's selection - The Book Club met February 28, 2019 at 3:00 pm.
The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
ISBN: 9780735219441
Publication Date: 2018-02-06
March's selection - The Book Club met March 28, 2019 at 3:00 pm.
The Stranger by Albert Camus; Matthew Ward (Translator)
ISBN: 9780679720201
Publication Date: 1989-03-13
April's selection - The Book Club met April 25, 2019 at 3:00 pm.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
ISBN: 9781250080400
Publication Date: 2017-04-25
May's selection - The Book Club met May 30, 2019 at 3:00 pm.
Evicted by Matthew Desmond
ISBN: 9780553447453
Publication Date: 2016-03-01
June's selection - The Book Club met June 27, 2019 at 3:00 pm.
The Martian by Andy Weir
ISBN: 9780553418026
Publication Date: 2014-10-28
July's selection - The Book Club met July 25, 2019 at 3:00 pm.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
ISBN: 9780735219090
Publication Date: 2018-08-14
September's selection - The Book Club met September 26, 2019 at 3:00 pm.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
ISBN: 9780380730407
Publication Date: 2006-09-05
October's selection - The Book Club met on October 31, 2019 at 3:00 pm.
Educated by Tara Westover (Contribution by)
ISBN: 9780399590504
Publication Date: 2018-02-20
November's selection - The Book Club met on November 21, 2019 at 3:00 pm.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
ISBN: 9780061565311
Publication Date: 2008-06-10
December's selection - The Book Club met on December 19, 2019 at 3:00 pm.
My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
ISBN: 9780812979527
Publication Date: 2016-10-11
January's selection - The Book Club met on January 30, 2020 at 3:00 pm.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
ISBN: 9780385537070
Publication Date: 2019-07-16
February's selection - The Book Club met on February 27, 2020 at 3:00 pm.
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
ISBN: 9780684842677
Publication Date: 1999-05-25
March's selection - The Book Club met virtually on March 27, 2020 at 3:00 pm.
The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
ISBN: 9780802125088
Publication Date: 2019-08-13
April's selection - The Book Club met virtually on April 30, 2020 at 3:00 pm.
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
ISBN: 9780062409201
Publication Date: 2016-10-04
May's selection - The Book Club met virtually on May 28, 2020 at 3:00 pm.
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
ISBN: 9781770414006
June's selection - The Book Club met virtually on June 25, 2020 at 3:00 pm.
Tinkers by Paul Harding
ISBN: 9781942658603
Publication Date: 2019-01-01
July's selection - The Book Club met virtually on July 30, 2020 at 3:00 pm.
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa; Stephen Snyder (Translator)
ISBN: 9781101870600
Publication Date: 2019-08-13
September's selection - The Book Club met virtually on September 24, 2020 at 3:00 pm.
Recursion by Blake Crouch
ISBN: 9781524759780
Publication Date: 2019-06-11
October's selection - The Book Club met virtually on October 29, 2020 at 3:00 pm.
Milkman by Anna Burns
ISBN: 9781644450000
Publication Date: 2018-12-04
November's selection - The Book Club met virtually on November 19, 2020 at 3:00 pm.
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
ISBN: 9780525521143
Publication Date: 2020-03-24
December's selection - The Book Club met virtually on December 17, 2020.
The Overstory by Richard Powers
ISBN: 9780393356687
Publication Date: 2019-04-02
January's selection - The Book Club met virtually on January 28, 2021.
Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow
ISBN: 9780316454131
Publication Date: 2019-10-15
February's selection - The Book Club met virtually on February 25, 2021.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
ISBN: 9780679745587
Publication Date: 1994-02-01
March's selection - The Book Club met virtually on March 25, 2021.
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
ISBN: 9781250204028
Publication Date: 2020-08-04
April's selection - The Book Club met virtually on April 29, 2021.
Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin
ISBN: 9780525541363
Publication Date: 2020-05-05
May's selection - The Book Club met virtually on May 27, 2021.
The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey
ISBN: 9780062946393
Publication Date: 2020-08-11
June's selection - The Book Club met virtually on June 24, 2021.
Caste (Oprah's Book Club) by Isabel Wilkerson
ISBN: 9780593230251
Publication Date: 2020-08-04
July's selection - The Book Club met virtually on July 29, 2021.
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
ISBN: 9780802148049
Publication Date: 2020-02-11
September's selection - The Book Club met virtually on September 23, 2021.
A Burning by Megha Majumdar
ISBN: 9780593081259
Publication Date: 2021-06-29
October's selection - The Book Club met virtually on October 28, 2021.
White Noise by Don DeLillo
ISBN: 9780143129554
Publication Date: 2016-10-18
November's selection - The Book Club met virtually on November 18, 2021.
Circe by Madeline Miller
ISBN: 9780316556323
Publication Date: 2020-04-14
December's selection - The Book Club met virtually on December 15, 2021.
Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk; Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Translator)
ISBN: 9780525541332
Publication Date: 2019-08-13
January's selection - The book club met virtually on January 27, 2022.
Matrix by Lauren Groff
ISBN: 9781594634499
Publication Date: 2021-09-07
February's selection - The Book Club met virtually on February 24, 2022.
Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen
ISBN: 9780593317952
Publication Date: 2021-05-04
March's selection - The Book Club met in person on March 31, 2022.
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Call Number: April's selection - The Book Club met in person on April 28, 2022.
ISBN: 9781984898876
Publication Date: 2021-05-18
Monogamy by Sue Miller
Call Number: May's selection - The Book Club met in person on May 26, 2022.
ISBN: 9780062969651
Publication Date: 2020-09-08
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
ISBN: 9780316499033
Publication Date: 2021-07-06
The Book Club met in person on June 30, 2022.
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
ISBN: 9780063072640
Publication Date: 2022-01-18
July's selection - The Book Club met in person on July 28, 2022.
Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin
ISBN: 9781982164324
Publication Date: 2022-03-01
The Book Club met in person on September 8, 2022. Our fifth anniversary!
Assembly by Natasha Brown
ISBN: 9780316268264
Publication Date: 2021-09-14
The Book Club met in person on October 13, 2022.
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
ISBN: 9780593321331
Publication Date: 2022-02-22
The Book Club met in person on November 14, 2022.
Very Cold People by Sarah Manguso
ISBN: 9780593241226
Publication Date: 2022-02-08
The Book Club met in person on December 8, 2022.
Trust by Hernan Diaz
ISBN: 9780593420317
Publication Date: 2022-05-03
The Book Club met in person on January 12, 2023.
Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore
ISBN: 9780062913265
Publication Date: 2020-03-31
The Book Club met in person on February 9, 2023.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
ISBN: 9780593321201
Publication Date: 2022-07-05
The Book Club met in person on March 9, 2023.
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
ISBN: 9781538708279
Publication Date: 2022-12-06
The Book Club met in person on April 13, 2023.
Bliss Montage by Ling Ma
ISBN: 9780374293512
Publication Date: 2022-09-13
The Book Club met in person on Thursday, May 11.
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy
ISBN: 9780307268990
Publication Date: 2022-10-25
The Book Club met in person on June 8, 2023.
Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy
ISBN: 9780307269003
Publication Date: 2022-12-06
The Book Club met in person on July 13, 2023.
The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk; Jennifer Croft (Translator)
ISBN: 9780593087480
Publication Date: 2022-02-01
The Book Club met in person on September 14.
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
ISBN: 9780525619475
Publication Date: 2023-05-02
The Book Club met in person on October 12.
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
ISBN: 9780063252349
Publication Date: 2022-08-02
The Book Club met in person on November 9, 2023.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
ISBN: 9780063204157
Publication Date: 2022-05-03
The Book Club met in person on December 14.
Holding Pattern by Jenny Xie
ISBN: 9780593539705
Publication Date: 2023-06-20
The Book Club met in person on January 11, 2024.
Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose
ISBN: 9780593497388
Publication Date: 2023-04-04
The Book Club met in person on February 8, 2024.
Hello Beautiful (Oprah's Book Club) by Ann Napolitano
ISBN: 9780593243732
Publication Date: 2023-03-14
The Book Club met in person on March 7, 2024.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
ISBN: 9780802162175
Publication Date: 2023-05-02
The Book Club met in person on April 11, 2024.