Books and Brews breaks down barriers

Books can take you to different places, time periods and planets, just by reading them.

Books and Brews, a new book club held in collaboration with the Washougal Community Library and 54?40′ Brewing Company, has immersed its members into a Depression-era story of an old ranch hand from Oregon who travels to Hollywood with hopes of becoming a stunt rider in Molly Gloss’ book, “Falling from Horses.”

Later, book club members found themselves transfixed by Celeste Ng’s “Everything I Never Told You,” set in Ohio and featuring a Chinese-American family left to deal with chaos after their lively daughter is found dead in a local lake.

The next shift will transport readers to Kabul in 2007, where the story of Rahima, a young girl who has to deal with a drug-addicted father and life with only sisters, fights for a promising future, in Nadia Hashimi’s novel, “The Pearl That Broke its Shell.”

The debut novel from Hashimi, an Afghan-American writer, is described as a searing tale of powerlessness, fate and the freedom to control one’s own fate, which combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri and Lisa See.

“Their only hope lies in the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows young Rahima to dress and be treated as a boy until she is of marriageable age,” the book’s synopsis states. “As a son, she can attend school, go to the market and chaperone her older sisters.”

Books and Brews Book Club members welcome the community to share their thoughts about the book at the club’s next meeting, scheduled to take place from 6 to 7 p.m., Monday, July 9, at 54?40′ Brewing Company, 3801 S. Truman Road, Washougal.

Amy Minister, co-owner of 54?40′ Brewing, said the brewery opened up a taproom to welcome the community and create a presence within Washougal.

“We also wanted to partner with the library,” Minister added. “We hold a trivia night to raise awareness that the library is doing great and creative things.”

Book club members can enjoy a cold beer and filling burger while they chat about their most recent reads. Washougal Library Branch Manager Rachael Ries said the group is intended to help connect “new adults” in the 20 to 30 age range.