Book Discussion Books
League of Women Voters – Prince William Fauquier Area
Book Discussion List 2026
February 12, 2026, noon – 2 p.m. at Olive Garden, Manassas
Winning the Earthquake: The first major biography of Jeannette Rankin, a groundbreaking suffragist, activist, and the first American woman to hold federal office, by Lorissa Rinehart.
Born on a Montana ranch in 1880, Jeannette Rankin knew how to ride a horse, make a fire, and read the sky for weather. But most of all, she knew how to talk to people, how to convince them of her vision for America. It was this rare skill that led her, in 1916, to become the first woman ever elected to the House of Representatives.
As her first act, Rankin introduced the legislation that would become the 19th Amendment. Throughout her two terms in 1916 and 1940, she continued to introduce and pass legislation benefiting unions, protecting workers, and increasing aid for children in poverty. In 1941, she stood tall as the sole anti-war voice in Congress during WWII, advocating for pacifism in the face of tragedy and stating that you can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.
April 25, 2026, 11:30 – 1 pm, Ruby Tuesday’s, 12721 Marblestone Dr, Woodbridge.
Glass Walls: Shattering the Six Gender Bias Barriers Still Holding Women Back at Work, Amy Diehl and Leanne M. Dzubinski. Gender bias is a powerful but hidden force that is still holding women back, keeping them from achieving their full potential and limiting organizations from achieving the creativity, problem solving, and growth that are possible with a diverse workforce.
In this revealing new book, Amy Diehl and Leanne Dzubinski shine a new light on gender bias in the workplace, uncovering the barriers that work like glass walls surrounding women. Their findings and analysis present a new, important, and richly detailed guidebook.
July 23, 2026, 11:30 – 1 p.m., Effingham Manor Winery, 14325 Trotter’s Ridge Place, Nokesville.
Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age, Kathleen Sheppard begins with some of the earliest European women who ventured to Egypt as travelers: Amelia Edwards, Jenny Lane, and Marianne Brocklehurst. Their travelogues, diaries and maps chronicled a new world for the curious. In the vast desert, Maggie Benson, the first woman granted permission to excavate in Egypt, met Nettie Gourlay, the woman who became her lifelong companion. They battled issues of oppression and exclusion and, ultimately, are credited with excavating the Temple of Mut.
Women in the Valley of the Kings upends the grand male narrative of Egyptian exploration and shows how a group of courageous women charted unknown territory and changed the field of Egyptology forever.
October 25, noon to 1:30 p.m., Uncle Rico’s Cantina, 9685 Liberia Ave, Manassas.
Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think, David Litt. The democracy you live in today is different—completely different—from the democracy you were born into. You probably don’t realize just how radically your republic has been altered during your lifetime. Yet more than any policy issue, political trend, or even Donald Trump himself, our redesigned system of government is responsible for the peril America faces today.
What explains the gap between what “We, the People” want and what our elected leaders do? How can we fix our politics before it’s too late? And how can we truly understand the state of our democracy without wanting to crawl under a rock? That’s what former Obama speechwriter David Litt set out to answer. Poking into forgotten corners of history, translating political science into plain English, and traveling the country to meet experts and activists, Litt explains how the world’s greatest experiment in democracy went awry.
Book Discussion List 2025
October 25th, Saturday 11:30, Ruby Tuesday, 12721 Marblestone Dr., Woodbridge.
The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis, by George Stephanopoulos. An amazing book sharing the insight in the Situation Room at the White House, when it was formed, how various presidents used or did not use it, and the men and women, who gathered information shared with President’s and their cabinets and advisors.
February 12th, Wednesday 11:30. Possibly at City Tavern, with a long table, individual orders. The location TBD.
Sula, by Toni Morrison. A rich and moving novel traces the lives of 2 black heroines from their close-knit childhood in a small Ohio town through their sharply divergent paths of womanhood to their ultimate confrontation and reconciliation.
April 26th, Saturday, 11:30 Ashton Avenue Family Restaurant,
The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt; THE WOMEN WHO CREATED A PRESIDENT by Edward F. O’Keefe. This focuses on his mother, his 1st wife, Alice, sisters Bambi and Corinne, and his second wife, Edith, and how they influenced his life choices and character development.
July 23rd, Wednesday 11:30, Effingham Winery, Please bring a savory to share! Wine available for purchase.
Frontier Grit, by Marianne Morgan. This title covers the lives of 12 women who heard the call to be “influencers” during their time on the frontier of gold mining, dog sledding, voting rights, and helping native Americans.
Compiled by Connie Gilman, Chair Book Discussion Committee
Click here for a list of books from our past book discussions.