Plano Reads: Join Second Tuesday Book Club Members for Sara Nović’s ‘True Biz’ on March 14

Second Tuesday Book Club will meet in person from 7 to 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, in the program room at Schimelpfenig Library to discuss the novel True Biz by Sara Nović. As usual, we will observe social distancing, but with face coverings optional. Please email Cathe Spencer at cathes@plano.gov if you have questions or comments. See you at Schimelpfenig Library in early March!

True Biz by Sara Nović

Available as Print | eBook | eAudiobook

“She would learn as much as she could and do whatever she could to dismantle all that she knew to be broken, brick by brick, by hand if she had to. She would keep the bricks, though. She would use them to build something new.”

This remarkable novel, set at River Valley, a residential school for Deaf students, tells “a story of sign language, lip-reading, disability and civil rights, personal crisis, isolation and injustice, love and loss–but also persistence, daring, and joy.” Join us for “a journey into the heart of the Deaf community that is also an absorbing and assured celebration of human connection.”

Laura Sackton’s review in BookPage calls True Biz “a vibrant celebration of Deaf culture and Deaf communities … It’s a remarkable book that is many things at once: a primer on Deaf history, a love story, a coming-of-age tale, a riotous political awakening, a family saga and a richly layered character study. Though written in English, the book is bursting with ASL, offering an exploration into the power of language and the violence of language deprivation, the beauty of free and open communication, and the possibilities (and limitations) of translation. At times somber, often bitingly funny, awash in playfulness and fiercely proud, True Biz is a masterfully crafted love letter to Deaf culture.”

Novelist Maile Meloy praises True Biz in the New York Times, describing the book as “tenderly beautiful and radiantly outraged,” offering “vivid access to all of the main characters’ points of view” and making “a strong case for the role of Deaf education in providing language learning and a strong sense of self for young men and women. She adds, “Great stories create empathy and awareness more effectively than facts do, and this important novel should — true biz — change minds and transform the conversation.”

Sara Nović is a Bosnian-American writer and a Deaf activist, who has written extensively on her experiences in the Deaf community.

Sara is the author of the instant NYT Bestseller True Biz, as well as the books Girl at War, for teens, and the nonfiction work, America is Immigrants. She has also written short fiction, essays, and sports nonfiction, and has done translations of poetry from Bosnia.

She is a graduate of Emerson College and holds an MFA in fiction and literary translation from Columbia University. She is an instructor of Deaf studies and creative writing. She lives in Philadelphia with her family.

You can find her on Twitter and Instagram. Her website has photos and details.