Book Club
The HoMA Book Club brings together museum community members interested in exploring the intersection of literature and art. Currently held virtually via an online platform, Book Club meetings are centered around docent-led conversations that weave together themes from books selected for their ties to the museum’s galleries, specific works of art, or related cultures.
Online meetings take place on the last Wednesday and Saturday of each month at 1pm. Pick up one of the book selections below, and join the group to enjoy an hour of lively discussion and personal connection to members of the museum community—everyone is welcome!
For more information, or details on how to join future Book Club meetings, send us an email. Please note: No meeting November.
Free to join. RSVP is required.
2021 HoMA Book Club Reading List
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
July 28 & 31
Discussion led by HoMA Docent: Jan Tucker
Set against the backdrop of coal-mining Kentucky, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is about risks taken by a mule-riding woman whose job is to deliver books in remote areas of Kentucky, facing the dangers of being a woman alone in rural Kentucky as well as those engendered by her skin color. Blue-skinned librarian Cussy Mary was part of FDR’s Work Projects Administration (WPA) program putting women to work to help build literacy in poverty-stricken Kentucky. These brave Pack Horse librarians brought not only books but a human connection to those in desperate need of both. Strengthened by her mother’s loving memory, her father’s good intentions, and the gratitude of patrons of all ages, Mary risks her life to deliver the gift that sustains her: knowledge.
Atlantis by Renzo Piano
Aug 25 & 28
Discussion led by HoMA Docent: Nancy Miwa
Renowned architect Renzo Piano and his son, journalist Carlo, embark on a sailing trip around the world in an elusive yet irresistible search for the model of perfection. For Renzo, it is the ideal city or building and the relationship to habitat; for Carlo, it is the ideal expression of words and voices. A travelogue of sorts and interwoven with personal reflections and musings, their quest is merely a pretext to a larger conversation on what constitutes form and function. Do they ever finish their journey? Do they find Atlantis? Join us as we journey with them to some of Renzo’s most iconic designs.
Voices of Hawaii: Life Stories from the Generation that Shaped the Aloha State by Jane Marshall Goodsill
September 25 & 29
Discussion led by HoMA Docent: Susan Palmore
Eager to learn more about her father, Jane Marshall Goodsill, an accomplished oral historian, began interviewing persons who knew her father, Marshall Goodsill, who lived and practiced law in Honolulu between 1941 and 2004. The result is a behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of Hawaii from pre-war island territory to the vibrant burgeoning state of the 21st Century. Stories from more than 70 individuals in business, cultural and social realms capture life and changes in the Aloha State that will bring laughter and tears along with insight. Did you know there was a railroad on Oahu that could take one from Honolulu to a resort in Haleiwa or how the Hawaii Songbook came about? Please join us to discuss these stories and share your own.
Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa by Marilyn Chase
October 27 & 30
Discussion led by HoMA Docent: Karen Ley
Karen Ley presents Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa by Marilyn Chase
A Short Life of Trouble: Forty years In The New York Art World by Marcia Tucker
December 1 & 4
Discussion led by HoMA Docent: Lizzy Lowrey
Lizzy Lowrey presents A Short Life of Trouble: Forty years In The New York Art World by
Marcia Tucker