DMPL Book Chat discussion

See which books staff read for this challenge below. If you've completed this challenge, let us know which book you read and what you thought about it! Also, don't forget to register for the 2023 Reading Challenge at dmpl.org/readingchallenge.

I listened to "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann. One statement synopsis: Discovery of oil leads to more than two dozen murders in Osage Nation

I read this a few years ago and remember feeling bogged down in parts because of the incredible amount of detail and the large number of individuals involved in this 1920s-era true-life murder mystery. I did not, however, feel that way when my husband and I listened to the story.

Three narrators shed light on the indignities and injustices committed against Oklahoma's Osage Indian Nation—one who tells the stories of the Osage who were not allowed to control their own finances, a second who exposes the inner workings of the newly-formed F.B.I, and a third who shares additional information the author gleaned during his research. Each part of the book is filled with twists and turns that become more and more incredulous and each narrator adds the appropriate amount of drama to keep listeners tuned in.

The book was first published in 2017 and won several awards for both nonfiction crime writing and western historical nonfiction. A movie is scheduled to be released in May 2023 and I look forward to seeing it and to further acknowledge the atrocities committed against the Osage Nation. May we learn from this historical event and not repeat it.

I read Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It was good! I've heard great things about the Amazon series, so I'm looking forward to starting it.

I read "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey. It was unnecessarily racist and sexist. While it picked up near the end, I can't say it made me interested in watching the lauded film adaptation.