Meeting Date: July 11, 2011 at the Main Library

In Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells her astonishing life story, from her traditional Muslim childhood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya, to her intellectual awakening and activism in the Netherlands, and her current life under armed guard in the West.One of today’s most admired and controversial political figures, Ayaan Hirsi Ali burst into international headlines following an Islamist’s murder of her colleague, Theo van Gogh, with whom she made the movieSubmission.Infidelis the eagerly awaited story of the coming of age of this elegant, distinguished — and sometimes reviled — political superstar and champion of free speech. With a gimlet eye and measured, often ironic, voice, Hirsi Ali recounts the evolution of her beliefs, her ironclad will, and her extraordinary resolve to fight injustice done in the name of religion. Raised in a strict Muslim family and extended clan, Hirsi Ali survived civil war, female mutilation, brutal beatings, adolescence as a devout believer during the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, and life in four troubled, unstable countries largely ruled by despots. In her early twenties, she escaped from a forced marriage and sought asylum in the Netherlands, where she earned a college degree in political science, tried to help her tragically depressed sister adjust to the West, and fought for the rights of Muslim immigrant women and the reform of Islam as a member of Parliament. Even though she is under constant threat — demonized by reactionary Islamists and politicians, disowned by her father, and expelled from her family and clan — she refuses to be silenced.Ultimately a celebration of triumph over adversity, Hirsi Ali’s story tells how a bright little girl evolved out of dutiful obedience to become an outspoken, pioneering freedom fighter. As Western governments struggle to balance democratic ideals with religious pressures, no story could be timelier or more significant.

Place a hold on a WPL copy of the book here

Book Review – No Rest for a Feminist Fighting Radical Islam (NY Times)

Reading Group Guide

Place a hold on a WPL copy of the play here

Summary, Study Guide and Author Info here

Meeting Date: Monday, May 9th

A history of the English language written in a non-technical manner for a general audience. Bryson begins with language’s Neanderthal origins and goes on the describe the key people and events that have shaped English into its modern form and character.

To place a hold on a WPL copy of the book click here

Read a review of the book here

Visit the author’s website here

 Monday, February 14: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Marnin)

 Monday, March 14: In Cold Blood by Trumon Capote (Cheryl)

 Monday, April 11: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova (Marney)

 Monday, May 9: Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way by Bill Bryson (Emma)

Monday, June 13: Our Town by Thorton Wilder

 Monday, July 11: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi  Ali (Donna)

 Monday, August 8: OBOC selection (Title will be announced in April 2011)

 Monday, September 12: Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner (Amy)

 Monday, October 17 (October 10 is Thanksgiving): The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyons (Eugenia)

 Monday, November 14: Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving (Jack)

 Monday, December 12:The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Angela)

Waterloo Main Public Library book club  – meets on the 2nd Monday of every month

 Great books, lively discussion and wonderful people.  New members always welcome!