Read for fun – yes, it is possible! Read one or more of the books from this list, and then join your fellow students and John Tyler faculty and staff for an informal discussion on March 26 and 27 at the following times and locations:

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Read by Kathryn Ashworth
In a matter of nineteen minutes, Peter Houghton, a bullied teen, shoots and kills ten people at his New Hampshire high school. The novel is a flashback to Peter’s childhood and the lifetime of torment he endured by the popular crowd. This deeply troubling, compelling story will keep the reader riveted until the surprise ending.

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
Read by Steven Howzr
After throwing three interceptions in the closing minutes of the AFC Championship game, Cleveland Brown’s quarterback, Rick Dockery is hotly pursued by angry fans. Dockery seeks refuge with the Italian National Football league as quarterback for the Parma Panthers, a team that displays more heart than skill. Dockery learns to love the food, the sites, and most of all, the people of Parma in his struggle to lead the team to the Italian Super Bowl.

Double Cross by James Patterson
Alex Cross comes out of semi-retirement once again to assist his girlfriend, homicide detective, Brianna Stone, in her quest to find the D.C. Audience Killer (DCAK). DCAK’s performance murders bring a new twist to the suspense thriller. The plot is complicated by the prison escape of Kyle Craig, a serial killer from previous Patterson novels who is now on the run and seeking revenge.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
In the Memory Keeper’s Daughter, we are told the story of fraternal twins (a healthy boy and a girl with Down syndrome), who are separated at birth by their father Dr. David Henry. The father must deliver the babies himself and after seeing his daughter’s handicap, instructs the nurse to take her to a home. The nurse ignores his instructions and takes the baby with her to Pittsburg. The deception of this event is a defining moment in the lives of all of the main characters.

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent by Julie Alvarez
Alvarez chronicles the trials and tribulations facing four sisters whose family was forced to emigrate from the Dominican Republic to the United States. As the story unfolds from the present to the past, the reader gains an insightful perspective on the challenges facing immigrant families as they attempt to adjust to the American way of life.

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 words or Less by Terry Ryan
Read by Katherine Wright
Evelyn Ryan successfully enters contests on the backs of cereal boxes and writes winning poems and jingles to help put food on the table for her ten children. Evelyn’s daughter, Terry, recounts the true events from her ‘50’s childhood with humor and deep admiration for her resourceful, creative mother.

Looking for more suggestions? Listen to audio clips about the Literature Circles’ past picks.

Questions? Please contact Penny Speidel at pspeidel@jtcc.edu or 804-706-5135, Judy Johnson at jjohnson@jtcc.edu or 804-706-5124, or Mattie Coll at mcoll@jtcc.edu or 804-594-1499.