The book selection for April is “Bed 26: A Memoir of an African Man’s Asylum in The United States” by Edafe Okporo.  We will meet Friday, April 26th at 7:30 p.m at the home of Sally Cummings. Please call Sally at 201 841-9290 for directions. This month some members of the Northern New Jersey Sanctuary Coalition (NNJSC) will join in the discussion. See Judy Manton to learn more about this organization. Judy represents UUCP on the Board of the NNJSC. Below is an excerpt from Amazon:

My life, as you will read, has taken me from one place to another. Bed Number 26 is the story of how I fought my way out of constant persecution and reclaimed my freedom. It is my hope that by sharing my experience and my pain, you will begin to understand why people are forced to immigrate. This is a revealing memoir and empowering manifesto, with contributions from other asylees, refugees, and Nigerians. Nong Richie was born in one country and came of age in another more visible place Nigeria. In a strange world where he was continually persecuted, living soon became a personal nightmare of constant mob attacks and deaths of his friends to HIV. Nong escaped into the world of his mind from the expository details of the war he suffered as a child and high-profile attacks against gay Nigerians. Every detail of his personal life became public, and the realities of an inherently unlawful society emerged with every script of this book. The detention center packaged his trauma as a bombshell, hijacking his image and identity and making profit from every night he spent in it. Bed Number 26 is his raw, honest, and poignant accounta no-holds-barred, pull-no-punches account for the persecution of him and his community. He was a fearless activist and an unstoppable force for change who was determined to expose the truth. The target demographics of this book are clients of Immigration Equality, immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, attorneys representing Immigration Equality, clients and volunteers of First Friends, Eat Offbeat clients, and the network of mine from the United Nations department of NGOs.

If you choose to purchase this book please consider doing so on Amazon. A portion of the sale benefits the congregation.

The Many voices Reading Circle meets at the home of Sally Cummings at 7:30 p.m. The next 2 meetings are scheduled for October 25 and December 13. Please call Sally at 201 841 9290 for directions.

October Book Selection– Church of Lies by Flora Jessop. Excerpt from Amazon: Flora tells the dramatic true story of how she ultimately escaped and has been fighting against frustrating obstacles with hard fought successes in rescuing women and children from the FLDS. It’s a story you can’t put down.

December Book Selection– Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Excerpt from Amazon: Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.

Join us for light refreshments and discussion. If you choose to purchase these books please use the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale benefits the congregation.

The Many voices Reading Circle meets at the home of Sally Cummings at 7:30 p.m. The next 2 meetings are scheduled for October 25 and December 13. Please call Sally at 201 841 9290 for directions.

October Book Selection– Church of Lies by Flora Jessop. Excerpt from Amazon: Flora tells the dramatic true story of how she ultimately escaped and has been fighting against frustrating obstacles with hard fought successes in rescuing women and children from the FLDS. It’s a story you can’t put down.

December Book Selection– Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Excerpt from Amazon: Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.

Join us for light refreshments and discussion. If you choose to purchase these books please use the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale benefits the congregation.

The Many voices Reading Circle meets at the home of Sally Cummings at 7:30 p.m. The next 2 meetings are scheduled for October 25 and December 13. Please call Sally at 201 841 9290 for directions.

October Book Selection– Church of Lies by Flora Jessop. Excerpt from Amazon: Flora tells the dramatic true story of how she ultimately escaped and has been fighting against frustrating obstacles with hard fought successes in rescuing women and children from the FLDS. It’s a story you can’t put down.

December Book Selection– Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Excerpt from Amazon: Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.

Join us for light refreshments and discussion. If you choose to purchase these books please use the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale benefits the congregation.

The Many Voices Reading Circle will meet May 2 at 7:30 pm. The discussion will take place at the home of Sally Cummings. Please call Sally at 201 841 9290 for further information. If you choose to buy the book please consider a purchase on Amazon, a portion of the sale benefits the congregation.

The book we will be discussing is: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

An excerpt from Amazon:

“The bestselling novel—a love story of race and identity—from the award-winning author of We Should All Be Feminists and Dear Ijeawele.

Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland. “

The Many Voices Reading Circle will meet May 2 at 7:30 pm. The discussion will take place at the home of Sally Cummings. Please call Sally at 201 841 9290 for further information. If you choose to buy the book please consider a purchase on Amazon, a portion of the sale benefits the congregation.

The book we will be discussing is: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

An excerpt from Amazon:

“The bestselling novel—a love story of race and identity—from the award-winning author of We Should All Be Feminists and Dear Ijeawele.

Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland. “

The Many Voices Reading Circle will meet May 2 at 7:30 pm. The discussion will take place at the home of Sally Cummings. Please call Sally at 201 841 9290 for further information. If you choose to buy the book please consider a purchase on Amazon, a portion of the sale benefits the congregation.

The book we will be discussing is: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

An excerpt from Amazon:

“The bestselling novel—a love story of race and identity—from the award-winning author of We Should All Be Feminists and Dear Ijeawele.

Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland. “

The Book selection for the November 29, 2017, Many Voices Reading Circle is “The Summer Book” by Tove Jannson. The voice of young and old by a  Swedish speaking, Finnish author.

An excerpt from Amazon: “This brief novel tells the story of Sophia, a six-year-old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia’s grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The grandmother is unsentimental and wise, if a little cranky; Sophia is impetuous and volatile, but she tends to her grandmother with the care of a new parent. Together they amble over coastline and forest in easy companionship, build boats from bark, create a miniature Venice, write a fanciful study of local bugs. They discuss things that matter to young and old alike: life, death, the nature of God and of love. “On an island,” thinks the grandmother, “everything is complete.”

Please join us on November 29th at the home of Sally Cummings. For directions and information contact Sally at 201-816-8841.

If you choose to purchase this book please use the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale benefits the congregation.

The Book selection for the November 29, 2017, Many Voices Reading Circle is “The Summer Book” by Tove Jannson. The voice of young and old by a  Swedish speaking, Finnish author.

An excerpt from Amazon: “This brief novel tells the story of Sophia, a six-year-old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia’s grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The grandmother is unsentimental and wise, if a little cranky; Sophia is impetuous and volatile, but she tends to her grandmother with the care of a new parent. Together they amble over coastline and forest in easy companionship, build boats from bark, create a miniature Venice, write a fanciful study of local bugs. They discuss things that matter to young and old alike: life, death, the nature of God and of love. “On an island,” thinks the grandmother, “everything is complete.”

Please join us on November 29th at the home of Sally Cummings. For directions and information contact Sally at 201-816-8841.

If you choose to purchase this book please use the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale benefits the congregation.

The Book selection for the November 29, 2017, Many Voices Reading Circle is “The Summer Book” by Tove Jannson. The voice of young and old by a  Swedish speaking, Finnish author.

An excerpt from Amazon: “This brief novel tells the story of Sophia, a six-year-old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia’s grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The grandmother is unsentimental and wise, if a little cranky; Sophia is impetuous and volatile, but she tends to her grandmother with the care of a new parent. Together they amble over coastline and forest in easy companionship, build boats from bark, create a miniature Venice, write a fanciful study of local bugs. They discuss things that matter to young and old alike: life, death, the nature of God and of love. “On an island,” thinks the grandmother, “everything is complete.”

Please join us on November 29th at the home of Sally Cummings. For directions and information contact Sally at 201-816-8841.

If you choose to purchase this book please use the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale benefits the congregation.

The Many Voices Reading Circle will meet March 29th at 7:30 p.m at the home of Sally Cummings. Please contact Sally at 201-816-8841 for directions.

The Book Selection is: Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia. Excerpt from Amazon:

“Impressive . . . [Cristina García’s] story is about three generations of Cuban women and their separate responses to the revolution. Her special feat is to tell it in a style as warm and gentle as the ‘sustaining aromas of vanilla and almond,’ as rhythmic as the music of Beny Moré.”—Time

Cristina García’s acclaimed book is the haunting, bittersweet story of a family experiencing a country’s revolution and the revelations that follow. The lives of Celia del Pino and her husband, daughters, and grandchildren mirror the magical realism of Cuba itself, a landscape of beauty and poverty, idealism and corruption. Dreaming in Cuban is “a work that possesses both the intimacy of a Chekov story and the hallucinatory magic of a novel by Gabriel García Márquez” (The New York Times).

If you choose to buy this book please use the amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale will support the congregation.

The Many Voices Reading Circle will meet March 29th at 7:30 p.m at the home of Sally Cummings. Please contact Sally at 201-816-8841 for directions.

The Book Selection is: Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia. Excerpt from Amazon:

“Impressive . . . [Cristina García’s] story is about three generations of Cuban women and their separate responses to the revolution. Her special feat is to tell it in a style as warm and gentle as the ‘sustaining aromas of vanilla and almond,’ as rhythmic as the music of Beny Moré.”—Time

Cristina García’s acclaimed book is the haunting, bittersweet story of a family experiencing a country’s revolution and the revelations that follow. The lives of Celia del Pino and her husband, daughters, and grandchildren mirror the magical realism of Cuba itself, a landscape of beauty and poverty, idealism and corruption. Dreaming in Cuban is “a work that possesses both the intimacy of a Chekov story and the hallucinatory magic of a novel by Gabriel García Márquez” (The New York Times).

If you choose to buy this book please use the amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale will support the congregation.

The Many Voices Reading Circle will meet March 29th at 7:30 p.m at the home of Sally Cummings. Please contact Sally at 201-816-8841 for directions.

The Book Selection is: Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia. Excerpt from Amazon:

“Impressive . . . [Cristina García’s] story is about three generations of Cuban women and their separate responses to the revolution. Her special feat is to tell it in a style as warm and gentle as the ‘sustaining aromas of vanilla and almond,’ as rhythmic as the music of Beny Moré.”—Time

Cristina García’s acclaimed book is the haunting, bittersweet story of a family experiencing a country’s revolution and the revelations that follow. The lives of Celia del Pino and her husband, daughters, and grandchildren mirror the magical realism of Cuba itself, a landscape of beauty and poverty, idealism and corruption. Dreaming in Cuban is “a work that possesses both the intimacy of a Chekov story and the hallucinatory magic of a novel by Gabriel García Márquez” (The New York Times).

If you choose to buy this book please use the amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale will support the congregation.

The Many Voices Reading Circle will meet June 2 at the home of Sally Cummings. The book discussion will begin at 7:30 p.m. Please call Sally at 201-816-8841 for directions.

The book is “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

From Amazon:

“Readers of his work in The Atlantic and elsewhere know Ta-Nehisi Coates for his thoughtful and influential writing on race in America. Written as a series of letters to his teenaged son, his new memoir, Between the World and Me, walks us through the course of his life, from the tough neighborhoods of Baltimore in his youth, to Howard University—which Coates dubs “The Mecca” for its revelatory community of black students and teachers—to the broader Meccas of New York and Paris. Coates describes his observations and the evolution of his thinking on race, from Malcolm X to his conclusion that race itself is a fabrication, elemental to the concept of American (white) exceptionalism. Ferguson, Trayvon Martin, and South Carolina are not bumps on the road of progress and harmony, but the results of a systemized, ubiquitous threat to “black bodies” in the form of slavery, police brutality, and mass incarceration. Coates is direct and, as usual, uncommonly insightful and original. There are no wasted words. This is a powerful and exceptional book.–Jon Foro”

If you choose to buy this book please consider using the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale will benefit the congregation.

The Many Voices Reading Circle will meet June 2 at the home of Sally Cummings. The book discussion will begin at 7:30 p.m. Please call Sally at 201-816-8841 for directions.

The book is “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

From Amazon:

“Readers of his work in The Atlantic and elsewhere know Ta-Nehisi Coates for his thoughtful and influential writing on race in America. Written as a series of letters to his teenaged son, his new memoir, Between the World and Me, walks us through the course of his life, from the tough neighborhoods of Baltimore in his youth, to Howard University—which Coates dubs “The Mecca” for its revelatory community of black students and teachers—to the broader Meccas of New York and Paris. Coates describes his observations and the evolution of his thinking on race, from Malcolm X to his conclusion that race itself is a fabrication, elemental to the concept of American (white) exceptionalism. Ferguson, Trayvon Martin, and South Carolina are not bumps on the road of progress and harmony, but the results of a systemized, ubiquitous threat to “black bodies” in the form of slavery, police brutality, and mass incarceration. Coates is direct and, as usual, uncommonly insightful and original. There are no wasted words. This is a powerful and exceptional book.–Jon Foro”

If you choose to buy this book please consider using the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale will benefit the congregation.

The Many Voices Reading Circle will meet June 2 at the home of Sally Cummings. The book discussion will begin at 7:30 p.m. Please call Sally at 201-816-8841 for directions.

The book is “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

From Amazon:

“Readers of his work in The Atlantic and elsewhere know Ta-Nehisi Coates for his thoughtful and influential writing on race in America. Written as a series of letters to his teenaged son, his new memoir, Between the World and Me, walks us through the course of his life, from the tough neighborhoods of Baltimore in his youth, to Howard University—which Coates dubs “The Mecca” for its revelatory community of black students and teachers—to the broader Meccas of New York and Paris. Coates describes his observations and the evolution of his thinking on race, from Malcolm X to his conclusion that race itself is a fabrication, elemental to the concept of American (white) exceptionalism. Ferguson, Trayvon Martin, and South Carolina are not bumps on the road of progress and harmony, but the results of a systemized, ubiquitous threat to “black bodies” in the form of slavery, police brutality, and mass incarceration. Coates is direct and, as usual, uncommonly insightful and original. There are no wasted words. This is a powerful and exceptional book.–Jon Foro”

If you choose to buy this book please consider using the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale will benefit the congregation.

The Many Voices reading Circle will meet on April 12 at 7:30. The discussion will take place at the home of Sally Cummings. Please call Sally for directions: 201-816-8841.

If you choose to purchase this book please consider using the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale will benefit the congregation.

The book selected is: fathermothergod: My Journey Out of Christian Science   by Lucia Greenhouse

The Many Voices Reading Circle will meet on February 17, at 7:30 p.m.  The discussion will take place at the home of Sally Cummings. Please contact Sally at (201) 816-8841 for directions.

The book selection:  “When the Elephants Dance”, by  Tess Uriza Holthe

From Publishers Weekly:

“Papa explains the war like this,” narrates 13-year-old Alejandro as he heads through a series of Japanese barricades and check points. ” `When the elephants dance, the chickens must be careful.’ The great beasts, as they circle one another, shaking the trees and trumpeting loudly, are the Amerikanos and the Japanese as they fight. And our Philippine Islands? We are the small chickens.” Inspired by her father, who grew up in the Philippines under the Japanese occupation during WWII, first-time novelist Holthe writes about the experience from a variety of civilian perspectives. Set in Manila during the final week of the Japanese-American battle for control of the islands, the novel centers on a small, mismatched group of families and neighbors who huddle in a cellar while Japanese occupiers terrorize and pillage above. Because food and water are scarce, some of the refugees must leave the shelter to forage for sustenance. In simple, strong language, Holthe conveys the terrifying experience of darting bullets and machetes above ground and the equally horrendous experience of waiting for loved ones to return. Grounded in Philippine myth and culture, the novel is filled with beautiful, allegorical stories told by the story’s elders, who try to share wisdom and inspire their captive audience in the midst of gruesome violence. Primarily narrated by Alejandro; his older, headstrong sister, Isabelle; and Domingo, a guerrilla commander living a double life one with his family in the cellar, the other with his true love and adopted son in his rebel army this beautiful, harsh war story is no epic. Rather, Holthe presents personal, pointed fragments that clearly demonstrate history’s cultural and personal fallout.

If you choose to purchase this book please use the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale benefits the congregation.

The Many Voices Reading Circle will meet at the home of Sally Cummings on November 10, at 7:30 p.m. Please call Sally at 201-816-8841 for directions.

The book selection is:

Fast Times in Palestine: A Love Affair with a Homeless Homeland by Pamela J Olson

Excerpt from Amazon:

“For much of her life—like many Westerners—most of what Pamela Olson knew of the Middle East was informed by headlines and stereotypes. But when she traveled to Palestine in 2003, she found herself thrown with dizzying speed into the realities of Palestinian life.

Fast Times in Palestine is Olson’s powerful, deeply moving account of life in Palestine—both the daily events that are universal to us all (house parties, concerts, barbecues, and weddings) as well as the violence, trauma, and political tensions that are particular to the country. From idyllic olive groves to Palestinian beer gardens, from Passover in Tel Aviv to Ramadan in a Hamas village, readers will find Olson’s narrative both suspenseful and discerning. Her irresistible story offers a multi-faceted understanding of the Palestinian perspective on the Israel–Palestine conflict, filling a gap in the West’s understanding of the difficult relationship between the two nations.

At turns funny, shocking, and galvanizing, Fast Times in Palestine is a gripping narrative that challenges our ways of thinking—not only about the Middle East, but about human nature, cultural identity, and our place in the world.”

If you choose to purchase this book please do so by selecting the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sales will benefit the congregation.

The Many Voices Reading Circle will meet at the home of Sally Cummings on May 12 at 7:30 p.m. Please call Sally at (201) 816- 8841 for directions.

The Book selection is  “The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother”  by James McBride.

An excerpt from Amazon:

“Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared “light-skinned” woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her twelve black children. James McBride, journalist, musician, and son, explores his mother’s past, as well as his own upbringing and heritage, in a poignant and powerful debut, The Color Of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother.

The son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white, James McBride grew up in “orchestrated chaos” with his eleven siblings in the poor, all-black projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn. “Mommy,” a fiercely protective woman with “dark eyes full of pep and fire,” herded her brood to Manhattan’s free cultural events, sent them off on buses to the best (and mainly Jewish) schools, demanded good grades, and commanded respect. As a young man, McBride saw his mother as a source of embarrassment, worry, and confusion—and reached thirty before he began to discover the truth about her early life and long-buried pain……..

In The Color of Water, McBride retraces his mother’s footsteps and, through her searing and spirited voice, recreates her remarkable story.

Interspersed throughout his mother’s compelling narrative, McBride shares candid recollections of his own experiences as a mixed-race child of poverty, his flirtations with drugs and violence, and his eventual self- realization and professional success. The Color of Water touches readers of all colors as a vivid portrait of growing up, a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a lyrical valentine to a mother from her son.”

If you choose to purchase this book please use the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale benefits the Congregation.

The book selected for December is Listening to Country: A Journey to the Heart of What It Means to Belong by Ros Moriaty.  We will meet on December 15 at 7:30 pm at the home of Sally Cummings. Call Sally at 201-816-8841 for directions.

An excerpt from Good Reads:

From a trip made by the author to the Australian desert to spend time learning the secrets and hearing the stories of her husband’s family’s matriarchs, comes a warm, intimate account providing rare insight into the spiritual and emotional world of Aboriginal women

An excerpt from Amazin:

“Ros Moriarty is a white woman married to an Aboriginal man. Over the course of many visits to her husband’s family, she was fascinated to discover that the older tribal women had a deep sense of happiness and purpose that transcended the abject material poverty, illness and increasing violence of their community – a happiness that she feels is related to an essential ‘warmth of heart’ that these women say has gone missing in today’s world.

In May 2006, she had the chance to spend time in the Tanami Desert in northern central Australia with 200 Aboriginal women, performing women’s Law ceremonies. Listening to Country is the story of that trip and her friendship with these women, as she tells their stories and passes on their wisdom and understanding.

Offering a privileged window into the spiritual and emotional world of Aboriginal women, this book is a moving story of common human experience, the getting and passing on of wisdom, and the deep friendship and bonds between women. It carries a moving and profound sense of optimism in the fundamental humanity we all share.

Full of warmth, honesty and insight, Listening to Country shares a rare and vivid insight into the lives, wisdom, humour and difficulties of the lives of Aboriginal women – right here, right now.”

If you choose to buy this book please consider using the link to Amazon on this website. A portion of the sale will benefit the congregation.

The October Book Selection is “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe. The Reading Circle will meet at the home of Sally Cummings on October 29 at 7:30 p.m. Please contact Sally at 201-816- 8841 for directions.

About the book (an excerpt from Amazon):

Things Fall Apart tells two intertwining stories, both centering on Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first, a powerful fable of the immemorial conflict between the individual and society, traces Okonkwo’s fall from grace with the tribal world. The second, as modern as the first is ancient, concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo’s world with the arrival of aggressive European missionaries. These perfectly harmonized twin dramas are informed by an awareness capable of encompassing at once the life of nature, human history, and the mysterious compulsions of the soul.

If you choose to purchase the book please usew the Amazon link on this website. A portion of the sale will benefit the congregation.