Dear Great Book Guru, Every year I look forward to the Long Island Reads event our local libraries host, and I especially enjoy John Canning’s witty observations.  Well… this year it was virtual and I missed it. However, I’m sure I can find a recording of it, but first - of course - I want to read the 2021 selection. Do you know what book was chosen this year?  Lover of Long Island Reads

Dear Lover of Long Island Reads, Always a great event and this year’s selection THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett made for a fascinating discussion!  The story weaves in and out of time starting in the 1950’s with the birth of identical twin girls, Stella and Desiree. When the girls are eight years old, their father is brutally murdered in a horrific, racially motivated attack in their small Southern hometown where skin color is very, very important…the lighter the skin, the more attractive the person is judged.  Finding life there very repressive, the girls run away when they turn sixteen. Stella decides to live as a white woman and ultimately vanishes.  Over the decades, their racial identities dictate the outcome of many life choices. They remain apart over the decades and it is only when their daughters meet that Stella and Desiree acknowledge all that separates and binds them together.  An illuminating story of the injustices that permeate American society - highly recommended!