Dog-Eared Books Official Book Club

The Dog-Eared Books “Official” Book Club reads and discusses noteworthy new fiction and nonfiction titles. Join us!

This month we are reading Deacon King Kong by James McBride. The Dog-Eared Books Official Book Club will meet at 10 AM on Thursday, February 20th.

From the author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, and the bestselling modern classic The Color of Water, comes one of the most celebrated novels of the year.

In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and, in front of everybody, shoots the project’s drug dealer at point-blank range.

The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong, James McBride’s funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird. In Deacon King Kong, McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood’s Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself.

As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters—caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York—overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion.

Bringing to these pages both his masterly storytelling skills and his abiding faith in humanity, James McBride has written a novel every bit as involving as The Good Lord Bird and as emotionally honest as The Color of Water. Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.

Purchase a copy to read, or grab it from the library, and join us February 20th, for a thoughtful and entertaining discussion about How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur. This book club is free to anyone who wishes to participate. No registration necessary.

Also, for 20 minutes after each club meeting, you will receive 20% off all books and merchandise!

Content Warnings for Official Book Club 2025
Content Warnings for Deacon King Kong
Content Warnings for The Safekeep
Content Warnings for Quietly Hostile
Content Warnings for The Berry Pickers
Content Warnings for Greta & Valdin