Join a campus Book Club at Skyline College Library!
What: We'll read modern fiction with a theme related to migration or life as an immigrant or undocumented person. We'll enjoy great discussion as an informal group. A copy of the book will be provided. No homework beyond reading is required.
When: Drop by the Library any time during the Week of October 14 to vote for the book you'd like to read. See the book display next to the Library Check Out desk!
When: We'll meet at the Library about every two or three weeks for one hour through the end of the semester (dates to be scheduled). Snacks and drinks will provided.
Who can join? Book Club is open to undocumented and immigrant students and their allies (students, faculty and staff). Discussions will be facilitated by Pamela Ortiz Cerda and Jessica Silver-Sharp & hosted by Skyline College Library.
Questions? Contact Jessica Silver-Sharp <silversharpj@smccd.edu> or stop by the Reference Desk
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Summary: Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.
In the Country: Stories by These nine globe-trotting, unforgettable stories from Mia Alvar, a remarkable new literary talent, vividly give voice to the women and men of the Filipino diaspora. Here are exiles, emigrants, and wanderers uprooting their families from the Philippines to begin new lives in the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere--and, sometimes, turning back again. A pharmacist living in New York smuggles drugs to his ailing father in Manila, only to discover alarming truths about his family and his past. In Bahrain, a Filipina teacher drawn to a special pupil finds, to her surprise, that she is questioning her own marriage. A college student leans on her brother, a laborer in Saudi Arabia, to support her writing ambitions, without realizing that his is the life truly made for fiction. And in the title story, a journalist and a nurse face an unspeakable trauma amidst the political turmoil of the Philippines in the 1970s and '80s. In the Country speaks to the heart of everyone who has ever searched for a place to call home. From teachers to housemaids, from mothers to sons, Alvar's powerful debut collection explores the universal experiences of loss, displacement, and the longing to connect across borders both real and imagined. Deeply compassionate and richly felt, In the Country marks the emergence of a formidable new writer.
Migrations: New Short Fiction from Africa by Short Story Day Africa presents its annual anthology. The stories explore true and alternative African culture through a competition on the theme of Migration. The fourth in the SSDA collection of anthologies which aim to break the one-dimensional view of African story telling and fiction writing.
The Book of Unknown Americans: A Novel by "A triumph of storytelling. Henríquez pulls us into the lives of her characters with such mastery that we hang on to them just as fiercely as they hang on to one another and their dreams. This passionate, powerful novel will stay with you long after you've turned the final page." --Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk A boy and a girl who fall in love. Two families whose hopes collide with destiny. An extraordinary novel that offers a resonant new definition of what it means to be American. Arturo and Alma Rivera have lived their whole lives in Mexico. One day, their beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter, Maribel, sustains a terrible injury, one that casts doubt on whether she'll ever be the same. And so, leaving all they have behind, the Riveras come to America with a single dream: that in this country of great opportunity and resources, Maribel can get better. When Mayor Toro, whose family is from Panama, sees Maribel in a Dollar Tree store, it is love at first sight. It's also the beginning of a friendship between the Rivera and Toro families, whose web of guilt and love and responsibility is at this novel's core. Woven into their stories are the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America. Their journeys and their voices will inspire you, surprise you, and break your heart. Suspenseful, wry and immediate, rich in spirit and humanity, The Book of Unknown Americans is a work of rare force and originality.
U.S.A. Student Club, faculty, and staff gravitate to new campus Book Club
For those who love great books and salty snacks, a first ever Book Club collaboration between Skyline College’s U.S.A. undocumented students club, the Dream Center, and Skyline Library proved a perfect ending to a long semester. While the initial idea was for a student book club based on bestselling author Nicola Yoon’s The Sun is also a Star, a romantic novel whose protagonist is undocumented, the idea quickly attracted Skyline faculty and staff. With U.S.A. and the Library providing free copies of the book, the group gathered in the Library to discuss the book during two meetings in April and May. For a quick hour, all titles were scrapped as members gathered as equals to explore and critique themes, characters and plot. After the semester concludes, U.S.A. will sponsor a group trip to the movies to enjoy the just released film of the same title.
Would you like to join or know more about U.S.A.? Join a Fall 2019 book club on a similar theme? Contact Dream Center Coordinator Pamela Ortiz Cerda <ortizcerdap@smccd.edu> or Jessica Silver-Sharp <silversharpj@smccd.edu>.
