GPL Book Group

An Affair to Remember

2012-01-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

An Affair to Remember - 1957 movie with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr - We will discuss on Wed. Februiary 1, 2012 at the new library

Handsome playboy Nicky Ferrante (Cary Grant) and beautiful night club singer Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) have a romance while on a cruise from Europe to New York. Despite being engaged to other people, both agree to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months. However, an unfortunate accident keeps Terry from the reunion, and Nicky fears that she has married or does not love him anymore. Will he discover the truth behind her absence and reunite with his one true love, or has fate and destiny passed them by?

Questions: 1. Have you seen this movie before?

2. Did you know this was the movie being played in the movie Sleepless in Seattle with Meg Ryan and Rosie O’Donnell?

3. Do you believe in love at first sight?

4. Did you like their plan to meet 6 months later after the cruise?

5. Did you agree with Terry’s decision to not tell Nicky about her accident?

6. Did you like this movie?

7. Would you recommend this DVD to anyone?

Notes from Jan 2012 group

2012-01-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

This month we discussed A Cup of Friendship by Deborah Rodriguez

Rodriguez follows bestselling memoir Kabul Beauty School with a superb debut novel centering on a group of women who come together in a Kabul coffee shop run by Sunny, a free-spirited American. Sunny takes in the young widow, Yazmina, the casualty of her uncle's debt to Afghan thugs, who had taken the girl as payment but dumped her on the side of the road when they discovered she was pregnant. Halajan is a firecracker older widow who hides her cropped hairdo, jean skirts, and love letters under her burqa. Isabel, a hard-hitting BBC journalist on location to expose the story of the destruction of the poppy fields, uncovers a deeper truth: female workers addicted to the opium they handle who are then, some with their babies, jailed for "moral crimes." Candace, a well-heeled Bostonian, has followed her Afghan boyfriend to Kabul to fund-raise for his school, but soon suspects his real motives for the school and their relationship. A craftsman and a storyteller, Rodriguez captures place and people wholeheartedly, unveiling the faces of Afghanistan's women through a wealth of memorable characters who light up the page.

We thought that the American author made the plot a little too predictable and lightweight for these issues. She wrapped up all the story lines too quickly (similar to a Jennifer Chiaverini “Quilt” book or a Debbie Macomber story. Our group was split on our opinions of this book – half liked it and half thought it was just OK, with a few negative votes. Still this book generated good discussion. The story was enjoyable and easy to read.

A Cup of Friendship

2011-12-14T08:48:00.000-08:00

A Cup of Friendship by Deborah Rodriguez - To be discussed on January 4, 2012 at the new library

Questions:

1. Did you like this book? Why or Why not?

2. Who was your favorite character? What did you like about this character?

3. Did you learn about the location of this book? Was it realistic?

4. What were some important themes brought up in this story?

5. Did the story end as you expected?

6. Would you recommend this book to anyone?

Notes from Dec 2011 Group

2011-12-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

This month we discussed Skipping Christmas by John Grisham.

Luther Krank sees his daughter's Christmas absence as an opportunity. He estimates that "a year earlier, the Luther Krank family had spent $6,100 on Christmas," and have "precious little to show for it." So he makes an executive decision, telling his wife, friends, and neighbors that "we won't do Christmas." Instead, Luther books a 10-day Caribbean cruise. But things start to turn nasty when horrified neighbors get wind of the Krank's subversive scheme and besiege the couple with questions about their decision.

Grisham builds up a funny but increasingly terrifying picture of how this tight-knit community turns on the Kranks, who find themselves under increasing pressure to conform. As the tension mounts, readers may wonder whether they will manage to board their plane on Christmas day. Skipping Christmas is Grisham-lite, with none of the serious action or drama of his legal thrillers, but a funny poke at the craziness of Christmas.

This was a very light, trivial book for Mr. Grisham – not his best book. This book was made into a movie – Christmas with the Kranks. Our group members gave this holiday book a very mixed review. It was somewhat funny, easy to read, but most of us would not recommend it to other readers.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

2011-11-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham - To be discussed on Dec. 7, 2011 at 6:30 PM at new library

Grisham's story revolves around a typical middle-aged American couple, Luther and Nora Krank. On the first Sunday after Thanksgiving they wave their daughter Blair off to Peru to work for the Peace Corps, and they suddenly realize that "for the first time in her young and sheltered life Blair would spend Christmas away from home." Luther Krank sees his daughter's Christmas absence as an opportunity. He estimates that "a year earlier, the Luther Krank family had spent $6,100 on Christmas," and have "precious little to show for it." So he makes an executive decision, telling his wife, friends, and neighbors that "we won't do Christmas." Instead, Luther books a 10-day Caribbean cruise. But things start to turn nasty when horrified neighbors get wind of the Krank's subversive scheme and besiege the couple with questions about their decision.

Questions: 1. This book has been called a "modern day Christmas classic." What does the term mean—what makes the book a "Christmas classic"? Do you agree that it is?

2. As you were reading the book, did you find yourself siding with the Kranks' decision to skip Christmas...or disgreeing with them?

3. What are your feelings toward the Christmas holidays? Has this book affected how you will view the season?

4. When friends and neighbors learn that the Kranks plan to skip Christmas, they try to convince them to change their minds. Why do the neighbors find the Kranks' plans so disturbing? Do you find the neighbors' interference appropriate ... or inappropriate?

5. When the Kranks learn Blair is returning from Peru for the holidays, they decide to cancel their cruise and celebrate the holidays as they had in the past. Yet they decided not to tell Blair what they had been planning. Why? Does it seem strange that parents would behave this way toward an adult child?

6. Have you seen Christmas with the Kranks, the 2004 film based on the book and starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis? If so, how does it compare to the book? If not, do you want to see it after having read the book?

7. Talk about the commercialization of the Christmas season. Do you agree with the Kranks that it's excessive and detracts from the true meaning of Christmas? Or do you feel that the holiday with all its commercial trappings is festive and exciting...that the Kranks are Scrooges...and that you need to take the good with the bad? (There's no "right" answer here....) Is it possible to avoid or escape the commercialism and still celebrate Christmas?

8. Once the Kranks change their plans with Blair's arrival, the neighbors pull together to help them pull off their traditional holiday celebration. Did your opinion of the neighbors change?

9. If you skipped Christmas, what would you miss the most? Alternatively...what would you enjoy the most?

10. Did you find this story enjoyable, even endearing? Or do you think John Grisham should stick to writing legal thrillers?

Notes from Nov 2011 Group

2011-11-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliviera.

The Civil War offers a 20-year-old midwife who dreams of becoming a doctor the medical experience she craves, plus hard work and heartbreak, in this rich debut that takes readers from a small upstate New York doctor's office to a Union hospital overflowing with the wounded and dying. Though she's too young for the nursing corps, Mary Sutter goes to Washington, anyway, and, after a chance meeting with a presidential secretary, is led to the Union Hotel Hospital, where she assists chief surgeon William Stipp and becomes so integral to Stipp's work she ignores her mother's pleas to return home to deliver her sister's baby. From a variety of perspectives—Mary, Stipp, their families, and social, political, and military leaders—the novel offers readers a picture of a time of medical hardship, crisis, and opportunity. Oliveira depicts the amputation of a leg, the delivery of a baby, and soldierly life; these are among the fine details that set this novel above the gauzier variety of Civil War fiction. The focus on often horrific medicine and the women who practiced it against all odds makes for compelling reading.

This book was liked by everyone in our group. We admired the main character, Mary Sutter’s determination and perseverance to become a doctor during the Civil War when society did not allow women to achieve this goal. The author spent a lot of time researching for this novel. The story brought up good discussions on Lincoln, politics of that time, horrors of being a soldier, how little people knew about hygiene /medicine, family relationships, problems with communication, travel, etc. We enjoyed this book. It was very interesting and thought provoking

My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

2011-09-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

MY NAME IS MARY SUTTER by Robin Oliveira - To be discussed on November 2, 2011 at 6:30 pm at the new library

Questions: 1. The end of My Name Is Mary Sutter is both satisfying and surprising. What was your response to the conclusion of each character's story?

2. Women's rights have greatly expanded since Mary's time, but do you believe that women are still limited by prejudice as to what they can or should do professionally? Do you believe men and women should have different roles or responsibilities within society?

3. Beyond Mary, which character did you find the most interesting? Why? Which character did you find the least interesting?

4. Blevens explains that he cannot accept Mary as an apprentice because of the Civil War. Do you believe he would have taken her on had the war not begun? Why?

5. As a woman and midwife, Mary has a particular kind of medical knowledge; Blevens and Stipp have another. What are the values and limitations of each? How does Mary eventually blend the two?

6. Describe Mary and Jenny's relationship. What type of tensions exist? Consider the relationship from both women's perspectives.

7. "From labor to death, she thought, despite every moment at the breast, every reprimand, every tender tousle of hair, every fever fought, every night spent worrying, it came to this: you couldn't protect your children from anything, not even from each other" (page 43). Do you believe Amelia is right? What experiences from your own life make you feel this way?

8. How is Dr. Blevens affected by his experiences during the Civil War?

9. From Jake to Thomas to William Stipp, there is a wide range of male characters in the novel. What type of masculinity does each demonstrate?

10. Have you ever struggled with the same kind of professional or personal obstacles that Mary does? How did you handle it? What did you learn from the experience?

Notes from Sept. 2011 group

2011-09-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed PIRATE LATITUDES by Michael Crichton

This new novel by Michael Crichton, found in manuscript form among his papers after his death in 2008, will come as a bit of a surprise to many of his fans. It is, of all things, a pirate novel. Set in 1665, it tells the story of Captain Charles Hunter, a privateer who’s hired by the governor of Jamaica’s Port Royal to steal a Spanish galleon and its cargo of gold treasure. Don’t expect to see Jack Sparrow in this story of pirates of the Caribbean, though: Crichton doesn’t play his pirates for laughs. And this is no typical pirate adventure, either: it’s actually a caper novel posing as a high-seas adventure. All the key caper-novel elements are here: the target, the mastermind, the plan, the motley crew, the ruthless villain, the gadgets, the twist, and the turncoat. Crichton keeps us in a constant state of suspense, never revealing quite what his hero, Captain Hunter, has up his sleeve, and the novel ends most unexpectedly. Pirate fans will love the book for its flashy characters and historical authenticity. Crime fans will enjoy the caper-novel structure and the way the author keeps them on their toes. If this really is Crichton’s final book, it’s a splendid send-off: something new, different, and daring.

Almost all of our group liked this pirate novel. It was full of action, fun, and a quick read. We were impressed by the historical and geographical details. The characters were very interesting. We enjoyed this book.

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

2011-08-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

PIRATE LATITUDES by Michael Crichton - To be discussed on Sept. 7, 2011 at 6:30 pm

Questions:

1. Why is Almont excited to hear about a Spanish warship that did not attack the English merchantman?

2. What is Hunter’s plan to capture the Spanish treasure?

3. What are the various problems and surprises Hunter faces on his mission?

4. How does Sanson save the English crew?

5. After stealing the Spanish galleon, how does he handle the attack by the larger Spanish warship?

6. Why is Hunter arrested when he returns to Jamaica?

7. Are there any moral or other messages in the book?

8. What character do you view as most admirable? The least admirable?

9. Do you think Crichton wanted the book published? Should it have been published?

10. Rate Pirate Latitudes on a scale of 1 to 5.

Notes from August 2011 Group

2011-08-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

Rainwater by Sandra Brown

This month we discussed Rainwater by Sandra Brown

Bestseller Sandra Brown brings Depression-era Texas to vivid life in this poignant short novel. At the recommendation of Dr. Murdy Kincaid, Ella Barron, a hardworking woman whose husband deserted her, accepts David Rainwater, a relative of the doctor's, as a lodger at the boarding house she runs in the small town of Gilead, Tex. As the local community contends with a government program to shoot livestock and the opposition of racist Conrad Ellis, a greedy meatpacker, to poor families butchering the meat, Ella grows closer to David. Meanwhile, David becomes a special guardian angel to Solly, Ella's nine-year-old autistic son. Dr. Kincaid has gently suggested Ella put Solly in an institution, but she refuses to do so. Brown skillfully charts the progress of Ella and David's quiet romance, while a contemporary frame adds a neat twist to this heartwarming but never cloying historical.

This is a different type of book for Sandra Brown – more serious and historical (set in the Depression). Everyone in our group loved this book. It exceeded our expectations and an easy to read book. There are many conflicts in this story: racial tensions, rich vs poor, well vs sick, law abiding citizens vs the unjust. We had great discussions on these topics. Our group compared life in the Depression era with current day events. We could have spent much more time talking about this book.

Rainwater by Sandra Brown

2011-08-04T17:00:00.001-07:00

RAINWATER by Sandra Brown - To be discussed August 3, 2011 at 6;30 pm

Questions: What qualities does Ella Brown possess? What is her greatest strength? What is her greatest weakness? Which qualities are inherent and which do you attribute to her situation in life?

2. Rainwater is set in Depression-era Texas. What details does Brown use to create atmosphere? How does the setting affect the action of the story?

3. It’s clear from the beginning that Ella wants to prevent Solly’s odd behavior from being misunderstood and ridiculed, and to avoid a situation which would result in his being taken away from her and institutionalized. Why does Ella reject the advice of Dr. Kincaid and Mr. Rainwater? Is maternal love impeding her from making a decision.

4. Mr. Rainwater is an outsider, which automatically makes him an object of speculation and curiosity. Why does he want to keep his illness and his affluence a secret? What clues to both did you find? Did you have any unanswered questions about him?

5. The small-town grapevine plays a dramatic role in the story. Discuss the ways in which it was beneficial, and ways in which the effects of gossip were damaging. Would the story have unfolded differently had it been set in a larger city? How so?

6. The showdown between Conrad Ellis’s gang and the hungry mob is a pivotal scene. The actions and dialog of each character reveal much about that character. What is each party trying to protect or gain? Who is right and who is wrong?

7. What different kinds of prejudices did you find in the story and how were they expressed? Are there commonalities between the oppressed groups?

8. Describe the black community’s affection for Brother Calvin. What does he represent to them? Why is he so highly admired by people of both races?

9. Is Brother Calvin a hero? Is he a martyr? Are the qualities of a Depression-era hero different from a modern hero?

10. At the end of the novel, why does Mr. Rainwater take responsibility for Solly’s actions? Was he protecting Solly or punishing himself? Did his health or love for Ella factor into the decision? Is he a hero?

11. The novel is framed as a flashback. Did this add to the suspense?

12. Except for the prologue and epilogue, every scene is told from Ella’s point of view. Did you realize this as you were reading it? Did Brown do this intentionally? Why?

Notes from July 2011 group

2011-07-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

Family Affair by Debbie Macomber

This month we discussed Family Affair by Debbie Macomber

Then Lacey discovers the awful truth—Cleo is in the family way and Dog's to blame. She's furious that neither Jack nor his amorous animal seem too upset about the situation. But Lacey learns that things are not quite as they seem. Jack's "girlfriend" is really his sister—and his intentions toward Lacey are very honorable. And though she's not quite sure about Dog, Lacey begins to discover the tender joy of falling in love all over again.

Our group had mixed feelings on this book (more negatives than positives). The people who had read other Debbie Macomber novels were disappointed. It seemed like cookie cutter characters and plot, and ended quickly – far fewer pages than her other books. Still it was easy to read and light – a good vacation book. Don’t let this story be the only Debbie Macomber book you read. Try another book by her.

Family Affair by Debbie Macomber

2011-06-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

Family Affair by Debbie Macomber - To be discussed July 6, 2011 at 6:30 pm

Lacey Lancaster has always longed to be a wife and mother. However, after a painful divorce, she decides it's time to lay low for a while in her charming San Francisco apartment with her beautiful Abyssinian cat, Cleo. Everything would be wonderful, except for her utterly impossible neighbor Jack Walker. When he's not arguing day and night with his girlfriend, begging her to move in with him, he's chasing down his cat named Dog, who seems determined to get Cleo to succumb to his feline advances. Then Lacey discovers the awful truth—Cleo is in the family way and Dog's to blame. She's furious that neither Jack nor his amorous animal seem too upset about the situation. But Lacey learns that things are not quite as they seem. Jack's "girlfriend" is really his sister—and his intentions toward Lacey are very honorable. And though she's not quite sure about Dog, Lacey begins to discover the tender joy of falling in love all over again.

Questions:

1. Did you like the main characters? Were they well defined?

2. Did you enjoy the story?

3. What would you change about this book?

4. Did you ever read a Debbie Macomber book before?

5. Would you recommend this story to anyone?

Notes from June 2011 group

2011-06-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed Paul Newman A Life by Shawn Levy

Film critic and biographer Levy (Rat Pack Confidential) embarks on a respectful, thoroughgoing survey of Newman's long life (1925–2008) and massive film career without lingering on emotional and psychological factors. A kind of accidental hero, Newman recognized that his blue-eyed good looks would open doors for him, but by sheer determination and work ethic he muscled his way to the Olympian heights of America's finest actors. Born to middle-class Jewish parents in Shaker Heights, Ohio, he eventually enlisted in the navy then attended Kenyon College on the GI Bill; his early first marriage and dabbling in theater seemed to be a way to avoid having to return home and take over his father's sporting-goods store. He enrolled in Yale's drama department, then in 1952 gave himself a year in New York to prove himself: he hustled small, paying parts and gradually became a part of the Actors Studio, where he claimed to have learned everything he knew about acting. From then on, using his connections shrewdly, he moved from success on Broadway (Picnic, where he met Joanne Woodward, whom he married in 1958) to TV (Our Town) and Hollywood (Somebody Up There Likes Me). From there, the professional accolades began piling up, while Levy also chronicles Newman's stunning success as a race-car driver, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Levy doesn't shy from discussing Newman's shortcomings as a father and husband, yet he leaves a glowing assessment of this legend's career.

We had lively discussions about this book. Our group gave this book mixed reviews. We enjoyed learning more about Paul’s background, family, movies and activities, but the book was very detailed about each movie. Most of us did not like the book’s format and found it hard to read. Paul led an interesting, full life – certainly more than a pretty face. He had many charitable and political activities but had his character flaws too. We would recommend this book to any Paul Newman fans or movie fans.

Paul Newman A Life

2011-05-06T11:25:00.001-07:00

Paul Newman A Life by Shawn Levy - To be discussed June 1, 2011 at 6:30 pm

Questions:

1. What surprised you about his life?

2. Did fame change him?

3. Would you like to trade lives with him?

4. What was your favorite Paul Newman movie and why?

5. Do you think he was a good person?

Notes from May 2011 Group

2011-05-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed The Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

Another season of Elm Creek Quilt Camp has come to a close, and Bonnie Markham faces a bleak and lonely winter ahead, with her quilt shop out of business and her divorce looming. A welcome escape comes when Claire, a beloved college friend, unexpectedly invites her to Maui to help launch an exciting new business: a quilter's retreat set at a bed and breakfast amid the vibrant colors and balmy breezes of the Hawaiian Islands. Soon Bonnie finds herself looking out on sparkling waters and banyan trees, planning quilting courses, and learning the history and intricacies of Hawaiian quilting, all the while helping Claire run the inn.

As Bonnie's adventure unfolds, it quickly becomes clear that Claire's new business isn't the only excitement in store for her. Her cheating, soon-to-be ex-husband decides he wants her stake in Elm Creek Quilts, which threatens not only her financial well-being but her dearest friendships as well. Luckily she has the artistic challenge of creating her own unique Hawaiian quilt pattern to distract her - and new friends like Hinano Paoa, owner of the Nä Mele Hawai'-i Music Shop, who introduces Bonnie to the fascinating traditions of Hawaiian culture and reminds her that love can be found when and where you least expect it.

Everyone in our group had mixed comments about this book. We enjoyed the locations in Hawaii, local food, history//politics, and quilting. The same characters were better defined in her earlier books. Most of our group felt the book was lacking substance and the ending left you hanging. However, we are willing to give her books another try.

The Aloha Quilt

2011-04-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

The Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini - To be discussed May 4, 2011 at 6:30 pm

1. Craig believes Bonnie is trying to turn their children against him. Bonnie knows this isn't true, and that she must keep her children out of the divorce as much as possible, but at times it's difficult not to explain the truth. How much do you think their children need to know? Do you think Bonnie is right not to let them pick sides when she's been so clearly wronged?

2. Bonnie wonders why Claire and Eric's marriage survived when hers didn't. Can people change that much over time? Discuss the differences between these two marriages and the reasons why one was able to overcome its hurdles and the other was not.

3. Hinano seems to have a real dislike for tourists. Is he justified in his opinions because of his past? Are his own assumptions and judgments of mainlanders just as ignorant and prejudiced as he believes tourists to be?

4. Bonnie's daughter wonders if Bonnie and Craig are ever going to be able to be in the same room together again. Bonnie reassures her by saying "After the divorce is final and the dust settles, I'm sure we'll manage to be civil". Given the state of their relationship at the end of the book, do you think Bonnie is right?

5. The relationship between Bonnie and Hinano gets off to a rocky start; they're constantly in disagreement. How does that kind of relationship lead to love? In what ways do they open each other's minds and help each other grow?

6. Bonnie feels betrayed when the Elm Creek Quilters decide that she should sell her share of the business. Do you think she's being overly sensitive? Why is she so upset when she knows in her heart it's the only option?

7. When Bonnie visits the Iolani Palace with Hinano, she is deeply moved by the story of Queen Lili'uokalani and her companion in confinement, Eveline Wilson. Marveling over Eveline's courage and compassion, Bonnie wonders who she would be willing to give up her freedom for. Do you agree with Bonnie that it's easy to offer what will never be required?

Notes from April 2011 group

2011-04-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill

Yale graduate, prosperous ad exec: Gill has it all. Then he turns 60 and finds himself precipitously bounced from his job and saddled with the triple threats of a ruined marriage, an unexpected newborn, and a brain tumor. Despairing at the prospect of looming poverty, he stops at a Manhattan Starbucks to comfort himself with a latte. By chance he sits down next to Crystal, a young African American woman recruiting new workers for the coffee giant, and she offers him a job. Almost as an act of desperation, he accepts, and he dons the uniform of a barista-in-training at an Upper West Side Starbucks. This son of privilege who had hobnobbed with Queen Elizabeth, T. S. Eliot, and Jackie Onassis, now keeps daily company with a diverse crew of brash young New Yorkers for whom Starbucks' progressive employee benefits and demanding, inspiring standards of public service offer hope. Gill starts at the bottom, cleaning the bathroom, and he has trouble mastering the cash register. Over the months he learns to deeply respect Crystal, to appreciate the mutual support of his coworkers, and to genuinely cherish the passing parade of customers, each unique. To his own astonishment, he realizes that he actually looks forward joyfully to every hectic, exhausting workday.

Our group gave this book a mixed review. We did not like the main character’s personality before he lost his job. He was a provider, not a family man, however that is how he was raised. We admired how he eventually faced his new reality and learned his new Starbuck job from the very bottom. This book seemed like a Starbucks commercial. The book was easy to read, thought provoking, and resulted in some good conversation.

How Starbucks Saved my Life

2011-03-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill - To be discussed April 6, 2011 at 6:30 pm

1) How did Starbucks “Save” Gill’s Life?

2) Based on his experiences, Gill realized the importance of balance in his life. As a new student, how will you balance your new responsibilities as a student with work, family, etc?

3) Describe two instances where Gill was able to use his previous work experiences to give back to Starbucks.

4) Gill’s children taught him a lot about diversity, values, and appreciating others. What lessons, if any, would you like for your parents to learn from you one day?

5) Gill’s definition of “happiness” seemed to change throughout his life. How would he have defined “happiness” as a young businessman? How would he have defined it as an older gentleman working for Starbucks?

6) What is your definition of true happiness?

Notes from March 2011 book group

2011-03-04T14:06:00.000-08:00

This month we discussed Zorro by Isabel Allende

Born in southern California late in the eighteenth century, he is a child of two worlds. Diego de la Vega's father is an aristocratic Spanish military man turned landowner; his mother, a Shoshone warrior. Diego learns from his maternal grandmother, White Owl, the ways of her tribe while receiving from his father lessons in the art of fencing and in cattle branding. It is here, during Diego's childhood, filled with mischief and adventure, that he witnesses the brutal injustices dealt Native Americans by European settlers and first feels the inner conflict of his heritage.

At the age of sixteen, Diego is sent to Barcelona for a European education. In a country chafing under the corruption of Napoleonic rule, Diego follows the example of his celebrated fencing master and joins La Justicia, a secret underground resistance movement devoted to helping the powerless and the poor. With this tumultuous period as a backdrop, Diego falls in love, saves the persecuted, and confronts for the first time a great rival who emerges from the world of privilege.

Between California and Barcelona, the New World and the Old, the persona of Zorro is formed, a great hero is born, and the legend begins. After many adventures -- duels at dawn, fierce battles with pirates at sea, and impossible rescues -- Diego de la Vega, a.k.a. Zorro, returns to America to reclaim the hacienda on which he was raised and to seek justice for all who cannot fight for it themselves.

Every one of our book club members liked this long, historical book. Only one person thought it was too wordy. The author does a lot of research and describes all the groups that affect young Diego’s life: his traditional Spanish father & his European and American friends, his American Indian mother and Indian friends, the Padre, the gypsies, and the sailors and the pirates. All these people’s different beliefs helped create Zorro’s persona. This novel takes place in several countries. It brings up many topics for discussion including rich & poor, European vs American vs Indian cultures, right and wrong, slavery, wrongful imprisonment / forced labor, etc. We enjoyed this adventure book.

Zorro by Isabel Allende

2011-02-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

Zorro by Isabel Allende To be discussed on March 2, 2011 at 6:30 pm

1. How would you characterize Diego's relationship with Bernardo, his "milk brother," and why does their connection persist despite prevailing social attitudes about class and race?

2. How do the five basic virtues of okahué and the spiritual guidance of White Owl inform the development of Bernardo and Diego as adolescents?

3. Where does Diego's sense of justice come from, and how would you characterize his methods of meting out justice over the course of the novel?

4. To what extent does Bernardo's "loss of voice" diminish or augment his influence in the novel?

5. How does Diego's indoctrination into La Justicia enact his transformation from a boy into a man?

6. How does Diego react when achieving justice requires the death of another, and what do his reactions reveal about his character?

7. What accounts for Juliana's attraction to Jean Lafitte instead of Diego or Rafael Moncada?

8. From what source does Bernardo, whom Diego perceives as wise, derive his wisdom, and how does he demonstrate it at the novel's end?

9. How does the narrator portray class and race divisions in Zorro, and in what ways are these divisions related to the novel's theme of justice?

10. How did the revelation of the narrator's identity at the end of the book affect your appreciation of the novel?

Notes from February 2011 book group

2011-02-04T14:37:00.001-08:00

This month we were supposed to discuss Homer's odyssey by Gwen Cooper Cooper had every intention of saying no to the veterinarian who asked her if she was interested in adopting a four-week-old stray kitten with a particular handicap. She was fresh off a bad breakup, working a low-paying job and living rent-free in a friend's bedroom—plus she was worried about the social implications of adding one cat to the two she had already adopted: The neighborhood kids will... say things like 'That's where Old Widow Cooper, the cat lady, lives.' But as soon as she picked up the tiny kitten and he started to purr, she caved. She settled on a name and brought Homer home. His intrepid explorations of his new environs quickly challenged Cooper's expectations of a blind cat. And through 12 years, six moves, several boyfriends and a showdown with a burglar, this tender and affecting book reveals Homer's lessons about love and acceptance—and how he transformed Cooper into the woman she had always wanted to be.

Our monthly book group did not meet in February. Library was closed due to bad weather conditions. I polled some of our group members plus several of our librarians all of whom read this book. Everyone liked the book. It gives new insights to owning a pet – its responsibilities, challenges, and pleasures. It was a interesting, easy to read book. You do not have to be a cat lover to enjoy this story.

Homers Odyssey by Gwen Cooper

2011-01-13T14:57:00.000-08:00

Homer’s Odyssey by Gwen Cooper - To be discussed on February 2, 2011

Cooper had every intention of saying no to the veterinarian who asked her if she was interested in adopting a four-week-old stray kitten with a particular handicap. She was fresh off a bad breakup, working a low-paying job and living rent-free in a friend's bedroom—plus she was worried about the social implications of adding one cat to the two she had already adopted: The neighborhood kids will... say things like 'That's where Old Widow Cooper, the cat lady, lives.' But as soon as she picked up the tiny kitten and he started to purr, she caved. She settled on a name and brought Homer home. His intrepid explorations of his new environs quickly challenged Cooper's expectations of a blind cat. And through 12 years, six moves, several boyfriends and a showdown with a burglar, this tender and affecting book reveals Homer's lessons about love and acceptance—and how he transformed Cooper into the woman she had always wanted to be.

1. Homer teaches Gwen many life lessons. Which would you say was most transformative in her life? Why?

2. What makes Homer such a special cat? His personality, his challenges, his circumstances, or all three?

3. Homer's life has often revolved around taking a leap of faith. What universal themes, such as this, does Homer’s story evoke?

4. What do you make of the quotes from The Odyssey that start each chapter?

5. Gwen comes to New York looking for success: in business, in life, in love. Was she right to worry about being a single woman with three cats? How does Homer help pave the way?

6. How much of a role do the Miami and New York City settings play in this book?

7. Which of Homer's abilities did you find most surprising? Why?

8. Has reading this book changed the way you think about animals with special needs? If so, in what way? What about your assumptions about people with special needs?

9. What’s your favorite Homer story? Which one made you laugh the most? And which was the most touching?

10. Do any of Homer’s habits remind you of cats you’ve known or owned?

Notes from January 2011 Book Group

2011-01-13T14:49:00.000-08:00

This month we discussed The Hot Flash Club Chills Out by Nancy Thayer

In their fourth outing (after Hot Flash Holidays), Thayer's menopausal quintet are in dire need of downtime. Marilyn wants to plan her wedding to Ian, but is too busy keeping together a hectic household. Faye's yearlong relationship with older Aubrey fizzles instead of sparks. Timid Polly wants a commitment from Hugh, but he's busy tending to his ex-wife's dramas. Intense Alice needs to relax for the sake of her troubled heart, but she helps care for her baby granddaughter, whose parents can't stop fighting. Romantically inept Shirley's finally found a guy her friends approve of, but he's terminally boring. Luckily, a business associate of Shirley's has offered up her home on Nantucket for the summer. The catch is that some antiques have disappeared, so the ladies will have to keep an eye out. And, of course, the house may be haunted. Once on Nantucket, Faye's reawakened passion for painting replaces her desire for Aubrey, and a charming stranger piques Shirley's interest. Thayer mixes in some local intrigue, but as with the ghost subplot, lets the tension unspool by dedicating swaths of pages to fluffy, repetitive chatter. Thayer is at her best when detailing her characters' rich inner lives; thankfully there is plenty of that too.

Most of our group voted that they liked this book even though it was book #4 of a series. It was easy for each of us to identify with the characters and their family/beau/job/health problems. This novel generated a lot of good discussion on best things about getting older, worst things about getting older, friends, parents, and our individual bucket lists. Wished we had more time to continue talking about these topics.

Hot Flash Club Chills Out by Nancy Thayer

2011-01-13T14:41:00.000-08:00

The Hot Flash Club Chills Out by Nancy Thayer - To be discussed on January 5, 2011

In their fourth outing (after Hot Flash Holidays), Thayer's menopausal quintet are in dire need of downtime. Marilyn wants to plan her wedding to Ian, but is too busy keeping together a hectic household. Faye's yearlong relationship with older Aubrey fizzles instead of sparks. Timid Polly wants a commitment from Hugh, but he's busy tending to his ex-wife's dramas. Intense Alice needs to relax for the sake of her troubled heart, but she helps care for her baby granddaughter, whose parents can't stop fighting. Romantically inept Shirley's finally found a guy her friends approve of, but he's terminally boring. Luckily, a business associate of Shirley's has offered up her home on Nantucket for the summer. The catch is that some antiques have disappeared, so the ladies will have to keep an eye out. And, of course, the house may be haunted. Once on Nantucket, Faye's reawakened passion for painting replaces her desire for Aubrey, and a charming stranger piques Shirley's interest. Thayer mixes in some local intrigue, but, as with the ghost subplot, lets the tension unspool by dedicating swaths of pages to fluffy, repetitive chatter. Thayer is at her best when detailing her characters' rich inner lives; thankfully there is plenty of that, too.

• If this were a movie, which actress would play which part?

• With which of the four characters do you most identify?

• How are older women now different from older women a couple of generations ago?

• Could you do what Marilyn did in The Hot Flash Club? What Faye did? Why? Why not?

• At what age do women stop worrying about their bodies?

• Should women stop worrying about their bodies?

• Do older women need role models?

• Who are your role models?

• When did you last make a good new friend?

• Do we need new friends when we're older?

• What are the best things about growing older?

• What are the worst things about growing older?

• What is your biggest fear about aging?

• What would you like to do while you still can? What’s keeping you from doing it?

Notes from Book Group December 2010

2010-12-06T12:27:00.000-08:00

This month we discussed The Gift by Richard Paul Evans

When Nathan Hurst, a lonely security expert, finds himself snowed in at an airport on his way home to Utah, he meets a single mother named Addison, also Utah bound, and her two children, Elizabeth and Collin. Realizing that they have no place to stay, Nathan invites them to share his hotel suite. Although hesitant at first, Addison soon agrees, telling Nathan that her nine-year-old son, Collin, a cancer-stricken boy, had told her that he was a good man. Curious as to why a mother would turn to her child for advice, Nathan becomes even more intrigued when, after Collin touches him, he finds himself cured of both his bronchitis and his Tourettes syndrome.

What begins as a physical healing turns into a spiritual one as Nathan and Addison fall in love while trying to protect Collin from a world that wants his healing, regardless of the sickness it causes him. Through Addison’s love, Nathan is finally able to make peace with his painful past, and together their lives are renewed. The Gift tells a tale of great awakenings and shows how all of us, not only a special little boy, have the power to heal the ones we love.

Most of our group enjoyed reading this book and some members even recommended it to others. The few people who did not like the story said it was too predictable – they guessed the ending before finishing the book. The author has Tourette’s Syndrome which gave credibility to the affectations of the main character, Nathan, who also had the disease. There was much discussion of the following topics brought up by the plot: coming back from the dead, physical healing, who to heal, and after healing his personal strength was gone. We compared the boy, Collin, to Jesus through several biblical stories. This book generated lively debates and we could have extended our talk.

The Gift by Richard Paul Evans

2010-12-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

The Gift by Richard Paul Evans

What begins as a physical healing turns into spiritual one as Nathan and Addison fall in love while trying to protect Collin from a world that wants his healing, regardless of the sickness it causes him. Through Addison’s love, Nathan is finally able to make peace with his painful past, and together their lives are renewed. The Gift tells a tale of great awakenings and shows how all of us, not only a special little boy, have the power to heal the ones we love.

1. At the beginning of the book, there’s an author’s note, letting the reader know that he, like the protagonist has Tourettes. Why do you think the author does this and what, if any, effect does it have on your reading of the story?

2. Nathan is haunted by his childhood. In what ways does his past affect his present life? For example, what effect does it have on his choice of profession or on his relationships with women and why? Are there any other characters in the novel haunted by their past and, if so, who and how?

3. Nathan writes about how he’s always been able to attract relationships but that they never seem to last. To what do you attribute this? He also says that Addison has a maternal quality and that in the past he has tended to attract the opposite type. In your opinion, why is it that this time Nathan has attracted a maternal woman like Addison?

4. Stealing and giving are both major themes in The Gift. What are some of the different types of stealing portrayed in the novel? What are some of the different gifts or ways of giving? Discuss the relationship between stealing and giving as developed in the story.

5. The healing power of love is one of the strongest themes in the novel. That power is stated in the quote: There’s no hurt so great that love can’t heal it. What is love in the world of The Gift? How does love heal Addison, Nathan, Collin, and Miche? Is there anyone in the story who can’t be healed by love? Did you find reading the novel in itself healing? If yes, how?

6. Although Collin is able to restore to life people who have died, when he does so it makes him sick. If healing is a gift, why should it hurt the giver? Why shouldn’t giving which seems like a good thing, make the giver stronger and not weaker? Why might the author have created Collin this way? What might Evans be trying to say about the relationship between healing and sacrifice? Are there other examples in the novel where healing and sacrifice go hand in hand? Explain.

7. The story also raises an interesting ethical question. Addison believes that Collin shouldn’t save bad people or save people for profit, as her husband Steve believes. What do you think about Addison and/or Collin’s decision to heal some people but not others? What makes Collin’s healing different from a doctor's work? Would you let yourself be miraculously brought back from death if you could? Why or why not?

8. One of the most interesting things about Collin is that he can’t heal himself. Why would the author, or God, make this so? Does anyone in the story heal him- or herself? If so, who, and how? If not, why not?

9. Nathan says that he believed that Collin changed our world. How did Collin change their world? How did Collin give Nathan back his soul?

Notes from Book Group November 2010

2010-11-09T11:35:00.000-08:00

This month we discussed Leap of Faith – Memoirs of An Unexpected Life by Queen Noor.

Born in America in 1951 as Lisa Halaby, Noor came from a wealthy, well-connected family and was part of Princeton's first co-ed class. Her father's aviation business produced a chance meeting with King Hussein of Jordan in 1976, and a year or two later Noor realized the king was courting her. He was 41, she was 26. He was thrice married. The rumor mills buzzed: was she the next Grace Kelly? Before long, the king renamed her Noor (light in Arabic), and she converted to Islam. They were married in the summer of 1978. From this point on, her story is mostly his, mainly covering his attempts to broker peace in the Middle East. There are meetings with Arafat, Saddam Hussein, American presidents and other leaders. Noor details Hussein's struggles to create Arab unity and his vision of peaceful coexistence with Israel. Her own activities developing village-based economic self-sufficiency projects and improving Jordan's medical, educational and cultural facilities take second place to her husband's struggles on the world stage. And while she occasionally acknowledges her domestic difficulties, Noor is careful not to allow personal problems to become any more than asides. Her pleasing memoir ends with the king's death in 1999 after his struggle with cancer, although readers may suspect that this smart, courageous woman will remain a world presence for years to come.

Queen Noor offers a vastly informative and even fascinating memoir of her life from her childhood in an Arab American family, daughter of a very successful man in politics and business (including a stint as director of the Federal Aviation Administration), to her tenure as consort of the charismatic King Hussein. Her Majesty naturally adopts a Jordanian perspective in her reminiscences; we are not surprised when she posits, for instance, that "Jews, Muslims, and Christians had lived peacefully in the Middle East and indeed in Palestine for centuries. It was not until the rise of Zionism and the creation of Israel that animosities took root." As the woman who stood behind one of the major players in the Middle East in the second half of the twentieth century, Queen Noor brings a unique perspective to the contemporary history of the region.

This book received positive comments from our group despite being a little difficult to read. Everyone was very interested in the Queen’s personal history, especially since she wrote the book from the Arab / Jordanian point of view. We all wished that the book would have included 2 maps – one of Jordan noting places mentioned, and the other of Middle Eastern countries – for quick reference while reading the story. We also wished for some more personal details on the royal family lives, and the Queen’s learning of Islam, Arabic, and her royal job duties. Everyone had new appreciation for security risks these rulers incur daily, and gained new insight on the Middle East conflict and cultures. This book generated lengthy discussions including what has happened since the death of her husband, King Hussein.

Leap of Faith by Queen Noor

2010-10-08T12:14:00.001-07:00

Leap of Faith – Memoirs of An Unexpected Life by Queen Noor - To be discussed on November 3, 2010 at 6:30 PM

1 How did Lisa meet the King of Jordan?

2 Was it love at first sight?

3 Was Lisa accepted by his family and country men?

4 Lisa gave up much when she married the King. Did he give up anything by marrying her?

5 Were there subjects that Lisa and the King did not agree on?

6 Was Lisa able to make friends in Jordan?

7 Was she able to stay in touch with her family and friends in USA after her marriage?

8 Did she have any job responsibilities by marrying the King?

9 How did her life change after her husband’s death?

10 Would you like to switch places with her? Why or Why not?

11 Were you familiar with her story?

12 Would you recommend this book to others?

Notes from Book Group October 2010

2010-10-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed The Ghost by Danielle Steel

In The Ghost, Danielle Steel has brilliantly interwoven past and present in a timeless novel of courage, history and love. With a wife he loves and an exciting London-based career, Charles Waterston is quite unprepared for the sudden end to his ten-year marriage - and his unwanted transfer to the New York office. With nothing left to lose, and with Christmas approaching, Charlie takes leave of absence and drives through New England, hoping to make peace with himself. A sudden, blinding snowstorm strands him in a small town, where an elderly widow offers to rent him an exquisite lakeside chateau hidden deep in the woods. From the moment he sets foot inside, Charles feels the presence of Sarah, the beautiful young woman who lived and died there two centuries ago - and on Christmas Eve, he glimpses her for the first time. At first he thinks it is a trick, until he finds her diaries hidden away in an old trunk and, as he turns the brittle, dusty pages and learns more about Sarah, she starts to come alive for him

From her arrival in America in 1789, Sarah writes of her harrowing flight from England and her determination to start a new life in the vast new world. She meets a French nobleman who transforms her life, and their fateful union has a love so powerful that it reaches across the centuries. Her story gives Charlie the courage to let go of his past, and the freedom to grasp a future that is right before his eyes

Our group had mixed feelings on this book, but more positive than negative comments. Our ladies enjoyed the 2 different story lines, especially the ghost plot. The ghost story had more interesting characters than the current day story. We appreciated Sarah’s courage to travel across the sea to restart her life alone. She was a determined, optimistic, strong character. Danielle Steel did a good job with the historical details. Everyone was glad when the Earl of Balfour character died. Some of us wished the book ended differently involving the ghost more and wanted additional information about Sarah’s family in later years

The Ghost by Danielle Steel

2010-08-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

To be discussed on October 6, 2010 at 6:30 pm

In The Ghost, Danielle Steel has brilliantly interwoven past and present in a timeless novel of courage, history and love.

With a wife he loves and an exciting London-based career, Charles Waterston is quite unprepared for the sudden end to his ten-year marriage - and his unwanted transfer to the New York office. With nothing left to lose, and with Christmas approaching, Charlie takes leave of absence and drives through New England, hoping to make peace with himself. A sudden, blinding snowstorm strands him in a small town, where an elderly widow offers to rent him an exquisite lakeside chateau hidden deep in the woods. From the moment he sets foot inside, Charles feels the presence of Sarah, the beautiful young woman who lived and died there two centuries ago - and on Christmas Eve, he glimpses her for the first time. At first he thinks it is a trick, until he finds her diaries hidden away in an old trunk and, as he turns the brittle, dusty pages and learns more about Sarah, she starts to come alive for him.

1. Did you like this book? Why or why not?

2. Did you have a favorite character? Why this character?

3. Was the plot interesting or predictable?

4. Did you like the book ending or want to change it?

5. Would you recommend this book to a friend?

6. Did you learn anything from this book?

Notes from Book Group Sept. 2010

2010-08-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie Roger Ackroyd knew too much. He knew that the woman he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband. He suspected also that someone had been blackmailing her. Now, tragically, came the news that she had taken her own life with a drug overdose. But the evening post brought Roger one last fatal scrap of information. Unfortunately, before he could finish the letter, he was stabbed to death!

When the widow Mrs. Ferrars commits suicide and the businessman Roger Ackroyd is murdered in the space of just a few days, the small English village King's Abbot is even more full of gossip than usual. The murder is a complete mystery to the local police. Fortunately, though, the (attemptedly) retired Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is also living in the village, and agrees to come out of retirement one last time to solve the case.

The majority of our group enjoyed this mystery book. We liked the style that Agatha Christie wrote his novel. Even though this is an older, classic book, the characters were still interesting today. The second murder victim financially supported several characters; therefore many people had a motive to kill him. Hercule Poirot (the Belgian detective) is a neighbor and ends up solving the mystery. Most of our group did not guess who the killer was. We laughed at how the British author said the drug problem at that time period was mostly in America and Canada. We discussed several words that have different meaning to a British reader than to an American reader. This book promoted good discussion.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

2010-08-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

To be discussed on September 1, 2010 at 6:30 pm.

Roger Ackroyd knew too much. He knew that the woman he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband. He suspected also that someone had been blackmailing her. Now, tragically, came the news that she had taken her own life with a drug overdose. But the evening post brought Roger one last fatal scrap of information. Unfortunately, before he could finish the letter, he was stabbed to death!

1. What was the effect for Poirot and his investigation of having James be his right hand man during the investigation?

2. Did James hamper the investigation in any way?

3. What did James do to influence the investigation, and how did he play with the clues in order to frame Ralph and keep himself looking innocent?

4. Why did Poirot offer James a way out at the end? What does that tell us about Poirot's character?

5. Compare and contrast Poirot and Inspector Raglan. Discuss how their personalities and investigative methods differ.

6. What is John's profession?

7. How does Caroline find out about Mrs. Ferrars?

8. Who does James live with?

9. Why doesn't James trust Caroline with information?

10. Explain the relationship between Dr. James Sheppard and his sister, Caroline.

11. What is the Intelligence Corps and what role does it play?

12. What is Caroline's theory about Mrs. Ferrars' death and the death of Mr. Ferrars a year ago?

13. How does James feel about Caroline's theory regarding Mrs. Ferrars' death?

Notes from Book Group August 2010

2010-08-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson which is the true story of a humanitarian mission. In 1993, a young American mountain climber named Greg Mortenson stumbles into a tiny village high in Pakistan’s beautiful and desperately poor Karakoram Himalaya region. Sick, exhausted, and depressed after a failing to scale the summit of K2, Mortenson regains his strength and his will to live thanks to the generosity of the people of the village of Korphe. Before he leaves, Mortenson makes a vow that will profoundly change both the villagers’ lives and his own—he will return and build them a school.

The book traces how Mortenson kept this promise (and many more) in the high country of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The region is remote and dangerous, a notorious breeding ground for Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists. Mortenson was kidnapped and threatened with death. He endured local rivalries, deep misunderstandings, jealousy, and corruption, not to mention treacherous roads and epic weather. But he believed passionately that balanced, non-extremist education, for boys and girls alike, is the most effective way to combat the violent intolerance that breeds terrorism. To date, Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute has constructed fifty-five schools, and his work continues.

The majority of our group liked this book. The ones that did not disliked the main character’s attitude towards his family more than the book itself. Everyone agreed that Greg Mortenson was a very unique individual who was driven by his personal goal of helping people in this mountainous region. This story generated discussions on Greg’s background, his lifestyle, politics, charities etc. Agreed that Greg is a citizen of the world – not a typical American. We had intense discussions on this book, and members recommended this book to others.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

2010-07-20T17:41:00.000-07:00

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson To be discussed on August 4, 2010 at 6:30

Three Cups of Tea is the true story of a humanitarian mission. In 1993, a young American mountain climber named Greg Mortenson stumbles into a tiny village high in Pakistan’s beautiful and desperately poor Karakoram Himalaya region. Sick, exhausted, and depressed after a failing to scale the summit of K2, Mortenson regains his strength and his will to live thanks to the generosity of the people of the village of Korphe. Before he leaves, Mortenson makes a vow that will profoundly change both the villagers’ lives and his own—he will return and build them a school.

1. What made Mortenson particularly ripe for transformation into a humanitarian? Has anything similar happened in your own life?

2. Is Mortenson someone you’d like to get to know, work with, or have as a neighbor or friend?

3. At the heart of the book is a powerful but simple political message: we each as individuals have the power to change the world, one cup of tea at a time. What do you think of the “one cup of tea at a time” philosophy? Do you think Mortenson’s vision can work for lasting and meaningful change?

4. Have you ever known anyone like Mortenson? Have you ever had the experience of making a difference yourself through acts of generosity, aid, or leadership?

5. The Balti people are fierce yet extremely hospitable, kind yet rigid, determined to better themselves yet stuck in the past. Discuss your reactions to them and the other groups that Mortenson tries to help.

6. Discuss this sense of indebtedness as key to Mortenson’s character. Why was Mortenson compelled to return to the region again and again? Does he repay his debt by the end of the book?

7. Discuss the concept of paradise, lost and regained, and how it influences Mortenson’s mission.

8. Discuss the various facets of Mortenson’s character—the freewheeling mountain climber, the ER nurse, the devoted son and brother. Do you view him as continuing the work his father began?

9. “I expected something like this from an ignorant village mullah, but to get those kinds of letters from my fellow Americans made me wonder whether I should just give up,” Mortenson remarked after he started getting hate mail after 9/11. What was your reaction to the letters Mortenson received?

10. Discuss Mortenson’s repeated brushes with failure and how they influenced your opinion of Mortenson and his efforts.

11. Discuss the pros and cons of bringing “civilization” to the uncomplicated mountain community.

12. Discuss your own experiences with foreign cultures—things that you have learned, mistakes you have made, misunderstandings you have endured.

Notes from Book Group July 2010

2010-07-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult. In Picture Perfect, Jodi Picoult introduces us to Cassie Barrett. Cassie wakes up in a cemetery, bleeding from the head and suffering from amnesia. She cannot remember who she is, or where she lives. Will Flying Horse has just arrived in Los Angeles to join the local police force. By chance, or by design, Will finds Cassie and helps her to discover her identity.

As it turns out, Cassandra Barrett is a renowned anthropologist who is married to Alex Rivers, Americas Hollywood hotty. Cassie returns to her mansion with Alex, trying to get reacquainted with her glamorous life style. As her memory slowly returns, she begins to recall instances of physical abuse. The "picture perfect" marriage between Alex and Cassie is far from the fairy tale romance that the public imagines.

When Cassie discovers that she is pregnant, she flees her home in an attempt to protect herself and her baby from Alex's rage. She runs to Will, who agrees to take her to live with his grandparents on the Sioux reservation. On the reservation, Cassie is exposed to a culture and a lifestyle that is completely new to her. While the isolation of the reservation might have been stifling to some, it was liberating to Cassie.

Our group had mixed feelings on this book and liked other Jodi Picoult books better. Picture Perfect was one of her earlier novels. We had intense discussion on spouse abuse, the main topic of the book. The actor husband, Alex River’s dark side was hidden to the outside world by his good looks and fame. Many of us felt that his wife Cassie was a strong, independent person who should have made better decisions. We were disappointed in Cassie’s decision to return to her abusive husband after childbirth, but glad she left him for good at the end. Also we talked about Native American culture, book characters, and the character’s professions. Discussed how the scenes developed and compared the book characters to famous people in today’s media. Plenty of good discussion on this book.

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

2010-06-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

To be discussed Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult on July 7, 2010 at 6:30

In Picture Perfect, Jodi Picoult introduces us to Cassie Barrett. Cassie wakes up in a cemetery, bleeding from the head and suffering from amnesia. She cannot remember who she is, or where she lives. Will Flying Horse has just arrived in Los Angeles to join the local police force. By chance, or by design, Will finds Cassie and helps her to discover her identity.

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1. Hands figure significantly and symbolicly in Picture Perfect. Explain.

2. Cassandra Barrett is a highly educated, successful and independent woman when she meets and falls in love with Alex Rivers. What aspect of her character or her past allows a woman of her stature to endure the abuse she suffers repeatedly at his hands?

3. Why does Connor continue to appear to Cassie in her dreams? What does he represent?

4. Discuss the symbolism of birds in Picture Perfect.

5. What is the significance of Cassie's career in anthropology, particularly physical anthropology?

6. What attitudes toward the study of anthropology--as well as her own life--does Cassie form after her time spent at Pine Ridge?

7. What does Will learn about himself and about his life through his friendship with Cassie?

8. When Cassie prepares to reconcile with Alex after the birth of their son, Will says to her, “You know what he's done to you before, you know he's going to do it again. I couldn't escape the past, no matter how hard I tried. Neither can Alex, and neither can you.” Do you agree with this statement, that who we are and who we will become are determined by our pasts? Is it possible to change?

9. Do you agree with Cassie that the only way for Alex to let go of her is to let the world know the truth about him?

10. What are your feelings toward Alex at the end of the book? Cassie? Will?

Notes from Book Group June 2010

2010-06-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg.

Betta Nolan moves to a small town after the death of her husband to try to begin anew. Pursuing a dream of a different kind of life, she is determined to find pleasure in her simply daily routines. Among those who help her in both expected and unexpected ways are the ten-year-old boy next door, three wild women friends from her college days, a twenty-year-old who is struggling to find his place in the world, and a handsome man who is ready for love.

Our group had mixed feelings on this book. It was an easy book to read with interesting characters and plot twists. We enjoyed the story but were slightly disappointed with the ending. The group felt the author jumped ahead to a perfect ending. We had very good, lively discussions on this book.

The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg

2010-05-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

To be discussed on June 2,2010 at 6:30 pm

In this rich and deeply satisfying novel by the beloved author of The Art of Mending, and Open House, a resilient woman embarks upon an unforgettable journey of adventure, self-discovery, and renewal.

Elizabeth Berg's The Year of Pleasures is about acknowledging the solace found in ordinary things: a warm bath, good food, the beauty of nature, music, friends, and art. "Berg writes with humor and a big heart about resilience, loneliness, love, and hope. And the transcendence that redeems," said Andre Dubus about Durable Goods. And the same could be said about The Year of Pleasures.

1. Betta's departure from Boston at the beginning of the book is abrupt, even rushed. Is her choice to move so quickly a good one? What is she running away from, and what is she running toward?

2. In the early pages of the book, while driving to the Midwest with all her belongings in tow, Betta finds a kind of freedom and relaxation on the road. What does moving, or even driving, have to do with this release Betta feels?

3. Betta refers to a belief that one is sometimes closer to someone after death than before. What does she mean when she says this? Have you experienced this, in your own life?

4. Moving to a new place fulfills a promise Betta had with John, but she makes the move alone. Discuss the ways that Betta finds strength and independence in her new life. In the moments when that strength falters, how does she cope?

5. Betta hopes to love John and to be loved by him after his death. Does she succeed? Do you think love can transcend death?

6. Is Betta's relationship with Tom doomed from the start? Why or why not?

7. Why do Betta and Matthew become friends? Do they want the same things from the friendship? Do you agree with the decision Betta makes, to rent the room in his apartment?

8. Betta says there are times when food is not just food. She uses food to heal, to comfort, and to seduce. Are there other ways in which food is important in this novel? In your own life, what roles do food and cooking play?

9. Finding joy in small things is important to Betta, and she uses joy as a vehicle for change. Do you agree with her philosophy? If so, what small things bring you great happiness? If not, why not?

10. What does Betta's store symbolize? How does opening the store change her personality, and emotions? What is the importance of risk, and taking chances, in creating a new life? Have you ever undertaken a similar project?

11. A major theme of the novel is the transformation from tragedy to joy. Could Betta have found this certain kind of joy without the tragedy of losing John? How does the relationship between tragedy and joy operate, in the book and in your own life?

Notes from Book Group May 2010

2010-05-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler's Wife is the story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, an adventuresome librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-three and Henry thirty-one. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity in his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.

The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's marriage and their passionate love for each other as the story unfolds from both points of view. Clare and Henry attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals—steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

Our group had very mixed feelings on this book. We enjoyed this odd love story but found it a little difficult to read, jumping from person to person and different times. It was an interesting plot and settings. Story had a surprise ending but we were somewhat disappointed. It made for good discussions.

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

2010-04-08T16:48:00.000-07:00

To be discussed May 5, 2010 at 6:30 pm

1. In The Time Traveler's Wife, the characters meet each other at various times during their lifetime. How does the author keep all the timelines in order and "on time"?

2. Although Henry does the time traveling, Clare is equally impacted. How does she cope with his journeys and does she ultimately accept them?

3. How does the writer introduce the reader to the concept of time travel as a realistic occurrence? Does she succeed?

4. Henry's life is disrupted on multiple levels by spontaneous time travel. How does his career as a librarian offset his tumultuous disappearances? Why does that job appeal to Henry?

5. Henry and Clare know each other for years before they fall in love as adults. How does Clare cope with the knowledge that at a young age she knows that Henry is the man she will eventually marry?

6. The Time Traveler's Wife is ultimately an enduring love story. What trials and tribulations do Henry and Clare face that are the same as or different from other "normal" relationships?

7. How does their desire for a child affect their relationship?

8. The book is told from both Henry and Clare's perspectives. What does this add to the story?

9. Do you think the ending of the novel is satisfactory?

10. Though history there have been dozens of mediums used for time travel in literature. Please cite examples and compare The Time Traveler's Wife to the ones with which you are familiar.

Notes from Book Group April 2010

2010-04-08T16:35:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

This story told by Marion Stone begins even before Marion and his twin brother, Shiva, are born in Addis Ababa’s Missing Hospital (a mispronunciation of “Mission Hospital”), with the illicit romance between their parents, Sister Mary Joseph Praise, a beautiful Indian nun, and Thomas Stone, a brash, brilliant British surgeon. After Mary dies while giving birth to the twins Thomas vanishes, and Marion and Shiva are raised by Hema and Ghosh, two Indian doctors who also work at Missing, and who shower Marion and Shiva with love and nurture their interest in medicine. Marion and Shiva come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution, and their lives become intertwined with the nation’s politics. Yet it is not politics but love that tears the brothers apart: Shiva sleeps with Genet --- the daughter of their housekeeper and the girl Marion has always loved. And when Genet joins a radical political group fighting for the independence of Eritrea, Marion’s connection to her forces him into exile: he sneaks out of Ethiopia and makes his way to America.

Marion interns at a hospital in the Bronx where the patients are nearly as poor and desperate as those he had seen at Missing. It is here that Marion meets his father and takes his first steps toward reconciling with him. But when the past catches up to Marion he must entrust his life to the two men he thought he trusted least in the world: the father who abandoned him and the brother who betrayed him.

Everyone in our group loved this book. Love, betrayal and loss were main themes of the book and how these subjects affected the characters’s lives. This book is full of vivid descriptions of surgical procedures and is not for the faint hearted. Readers learn about Ethiopian customs and history, which we found interesting. Book kept our attention right up to the surprise ending

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese

2010-03-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

To be discussed April 7, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.

The twins are raised by Hema and Ghosh, two Indian doctors who also work at Missing, and who shower Marion and Shiva with love and nurture their interest in medicine. Marion and Shiva come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution, and their lives become intertwined with the nation’s politics. Addis Ababa is a colorful, cosmopolitan city: the Italians have left behind cappuccino machines and Campari umbrellas. But they've also left a nation crippled by poverty, hunger, and authoritarian rule. Yet it is not politics but love that tears the brothers apart: Shiva sleeps with Genet --- the daughter of their housekeeper and the girl Marion has always loved. And when Genet joins a radical political group fighting for the independence of Eritrea, Marion’s connection to her forces him into exile: he sneaks out of Ethiopia and makes his way to America. Marion interns at a hospital in the Bronx where the patients are nearly as poor and desperate as those he had seen at Missing. It is here that Marion meets his father and takes his first steps toward reconciling with him. But when the past catches up to Marion he must entrust his life to the two men he thought he trusted least in the world: the father who abandoned him and the brother who betrayed him.

1. What does Cutting for Stone reveal about the emotional lives of doctors? Contrast the attitudes of Hema, Ghosh, Marion, Shiva, and Thomas Stone toward their work.

2. Marion observes that in Ethiopia, patients assume that all illnesses are fatal and that death is expected, but in America, news of having a fatal illness “always seems to come as a surprise, as if we take it for granted that we were immortal”. What other differences are revealed about the way illness is viewed and treated in Ethiopia and in the United States?

3. In the novel, Thomas Stone asks, “What treatment in an emergency is administered by ear?” The correct answer is “Words of comfort.” How does this moment encapsulate the book’s surprising take on medicine?

4. Marion suffers a series of painful betrayals --- by his father, by Shiva, and by Genet. To what degree is he able, by the end of the novel, to forgive them?

5. In what important ways does Marion come to resemble his father, although he grows up without him? How does Marion grow and change over the course of the novel?

6. A passionate, unique love affair sets Cutting for Stone in motion, and yet this romance remains a mystery --- even to the key players --- until the very conclusion of the novel.

7. The title Cutting for Stone comes from a line in the Hippocratic Oath: “I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art.” Verghese has said that this line comes from ancient times, when bladder stones were epidemic and painful: “There were itinerant stone cutters who could cut into either the bladder or the perineum and get the stone out, but because they cleaned the knife by wiping it on their blood-stiffened surgical aprons, patients usually died of infection the next day.” How does this line resonate for the doctors in the novel?

Notes from Book Group - February 2010

2010-02-05T09:22:00.000-08:00

This month we discussed Sarah’s Key by Tatiana DeRosnay.

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

This book alternates chapters between 1942 Sarah’s story and 2002 Julia’s story. Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

The members of our group enjoyed this book and found it surprising to discover France’s role in the roundup of the Jews to send to the concentration camps. The French citizens were not taught this part of their history. It was just brushed under the rug.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana DeRosnay

2009-12-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

To be discussed on February 3, 2010 at 6:30

Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

1. What did you know about France’s role in World War II --- and the Vél d’Hiv round-up in particular --- before reading Sarah’s Key? How did this book teach you about, or change your impression of, this important chapter in French history?

2. Sarah’s Key is composed of two interweaving story lines: Sarah’s, in the past, and Julia’s quest in the present day. Did you enjoy the alternating stories and time-frames?

3. Per above: Which “voice” did you prefer: Sarah’s or Julia’s? Why? If you could meet either of the two characters, which one would you choose?

4. How does the apartment on la rue de Saintonge unite the past and present action - and all the characters - in Sarah’s Key? In what ways is the apartment a character all its own?

5. What are the major themes of Sarah’s Key?

6. Were you surprised by what you learned about Sarah’s history? Take a moment to discuss your individual expectations in reading Sarah’s Key.

7. How do you imagine what happens after the end of the novel? What do you think Julia’s life will be like now that she knows the truth about Sarah? What truths do you think she’ll learn about herself?

8. Among modern Jews, there is a familiar mantra about the Holocaust; they are taught, from a very young age, that they must “remember and never forget”. Discuss the events of Sarah’s Key in this context. Who are the characters doing the remembering?

9. What does it take for a novelist to bring a “real” historical event to life? To what extent do you think de Rosnay took artistic liberties with this work?

10. We are taught, as young readers, that every story has a “moral”. Is there a moral to Sarah’s Key?

Notes from Book Group - December 2009

2009-12-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

This months was about The Girl She Used to Be By David Cristofano

When Melody Grace McCartney was six years old, she and her family witnessed a brutal mob murder by a member of the Bovaro family. When her parents agree to testify against the murderer, the whole family is secreted away in the Witness Protection Program. When Melody was a teen-ager, her parents were murdered by a member of the Bovaro crime family and Melody finds herself in the Witness Protection Program by herself. Melody feels like she can’t get close to anyone, so she leads a lonely existence.

Whenever she gets bored with her current situation, she “cries wolf,” and gets a new identity in a new city. She has done just that and is in the hands of the U. S. Marshals when John Bovaro, the son of the Bovaro family crime boss visits her and convinces her to leave with him. The next thing you know, she’s been rescued by the U. S. Marshals. Now, Melody has to make a decision – should she stay with the Marshals and a world she knows, or should she risk everything and go with John Bovaro?

The Girl She Used to Be is David Cristofano’s first novel. This book is exciting and loaded with suspense. It’s a short book and reads quickly, because you really want to know what’s going to happen next. The book doesn’t end the way you may think, but the ending is really a nice twist on how love can change your life.

The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano

2009-11-05T16:28:00.000-08:00

To be discussed on December 2, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

(1) From the first sentence of the story, the narrator asks you to take part in the action. Why do you suppose David Cristofano decided to tell this story in the first person from the point of view of a woman? Who would have more at stake in witness protection, a man, woman, or child?

(2) Early in the novel, Melody appears conflicted in having feelings for both Sean and Jonathan. What is driving her need for affection? When does she realize she has made a decision?

(3) At various points in the novel, the reader is given a glimpse into the previous six identities Melody has had. Which identity acts as a turning point? What event occurred that changed the trajectory of her life?

(4) Though romantically inexperienced, Melody longs to be noticed by both Sean and Jonathan, trying different ways to capture their eyes. In what ways has she felt invisible to men her whole life? How has she overcompensated?

(5) Melody and Sean share a few conversations that expose the failings of WITSEC for both the protectors and the protected. From each of their points of view, how is the system not working? How does it work as intended? How is WITSEC more or less vital to the Justice Department today?

(6) Jonathan tries to distinguish himself from his Mafia ties in several ways. How has he successfully achieved this? In what ways is he a typical Mafioso?

(7) Melody is scarred by the explicit violence she witnesses at age six. Repeatedly, she attempts to rid Jonathan of his reactionary viciousness to seemingly topical problems. Though later in the story, she finds security in his violent behavior. What changes her mind? Would you react the same way? Why or why not?

(8) How do the tangible things in Melody's story-the food, clothes, cars, hotels-reflect her happiness, security and satisfaction? Are these things metaphorical or incidental? Would her story be different if things were reversed? Why or why not?

(9) Being in WITSEC for twenty years has had a negative impact on Melody. In what ways has it made her stronger?

(10) What is the significance of the chapter titles? How do they differ? What is the special significance of the final chapter's title?

Notes from the Book Group - November 2009

2009-11-05T16:24:00.001-08:00

This months discussion was about Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

With the humor of Bridget Jones Julie Powell recounts how she conquered every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and saved her soul.

Julie Powell is 30-years-old, living in a rundown apartment in Queens and working at a soul-sucking secretarial job that's going nowhere. She needs something to break the monotony of her life, and she invents a deranged assignment. She will take her mother's dog-eared copy of Julia Child's 1961 classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she will cook all 524 recipes in the span of one year.

At first she thinks it will be easy. But as she moves from the simple Potage Parmentier (potato soup) into the more complicated realm of aspics and crepes, she realizes there's more to Mastering the Art of French Cooking than meets the eye. With Julia's stern warble always in her ear, Julie haunts the local butcher, buying kidneys and sweetbreads. She sends her husband on late-night runs for yet more butter and rarely serves dinner before midnight. She discovers how to mold the perfect Orange Bavarian, the trick to extracting marrow from bone, and the intense pleasure of eating liver.

Julie is very determined to complete the project, maybe the only thing she has ever completed in her life. Julie Powell writes with a great deal of humor and wit. Our group had differing opinions on the book. Some thought it was annoying others thought it was hilarious. A few had seen the movie and thought it was very different from the movie.

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

2009-10-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

To be discussed November 4, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

With the humor of Bridget Jones Julie Powell recounts how she conquered every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and saved her soul.

And somewhere along the line she realizes she has turned her kitchen into a miracle of creation and cuisine. She has eclipsed her life's ordinariness through spectacular humor, hysteria, and perseverance.

1. Julie has such a remarkable relationship with Julia Child, despite never having met her. What did you think of the relationship that Julie built in her mind? And why does it not matter, in some sense, when Julie finds out that Julia wasn't an admirer of hers or the Project?

2. Throughout the book, various people become involved with the Project: Julie's husband, her friends, and several of her family members. Discuss the different roles each played in the Project.

3. Did you find Julie to be a likeable character? Did you relate to her insecurities, anxieties, and initial discontent? Why do you think it is that she was able to finish the Project despite various setbacks?

4. The Julie/Julia Project is obsessive and chaotic, yet it manages to bring a sort of order to Julie's life. Have you ever gone to obsessive lengths in an attempt to, ironically, make things more manageable? Why do you think Julie does (or doesn't) succeed in this?

5. If someone were to ask you about this book, how would you describe it? Is it a memoir of reinvention? An homage to Julia Child? A rags-to-riches story? A reflection on cooking and the centrality of food in our lives? Or is it all (or none) of these?

6. Did Julie's exploits in her tiny kitchen make you want to cook? Or did they make you thankful that you don't have to debone a duck or sauté a liver? Even if your tastes may not coincide with Julia Child's recipes, did the book give you a greater appreciation of food and cooking?

7. At various points in the book, Julie finds that cooking makes her question her own actions and values. What did you make of her lobster guilt or her thoughts on extracting bone marrow? Have you ever encountered these issues while cooking, or while going through everyday life?

8. When Julie began the Project, she knew little to nothing about blogging. What do you think blogging about her experiences offered her? Does writing about events in your life help you understand and appreciate them more? Do you think the project would have gone differently if the blog hadn't gained so much attention? Who was the blog mainly for, Julie or her readers?

Notes from the Book Group - October 2009

2009-10-15T16:54:00.001-07:00

This months discussion was about The Ballad of West Tenth Street by Marjorie Kernan

Once upon a time in Manhattan . . . there stood a pair of fine old brick townhouses on West Tenth Street. One had a blue door with a tarnished brass knocker in the shape of a dolphin. The other was empty. Behind the blue door lived Sadie, the eccentric widow of a famous British rocker who died of an overdose, and two of her children, Hamish and Deen. The third and eldest is the princess in the tower of this story; she is confined to a mental institution upstate.

The children manage to muddle along as best they can with a loving but distracted mother. But their whole world changes when the house next door gets a new owner. A mysterious southern gentleman with a staff with nearly magical powers moves into the house next door and befriends them. A noble homeless man with a cat, a remarkable housekeeper with a son who joins the two children next door in adventures, and a series of urban ogres and witches round out the cast.

Life is not easy, but the children, especially, are resourceful. The book is a modern-day fairy tale set in Greenwich Village, where the author creates a vivid portrayal of the characters. Kernan even provides the requisite happy ending, though one a bit chipped around the edges. This was a very entertaining and mostly lighthearted story that will keep you reading.

The Ballad of West Tenth Street by Marjorie Kernan

2009-09-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

To be discussed on October 7th, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

Once upon a time in Manhattan . . . there stood a pair of fine old brick townhouses on West Tenth Street. One had a blue door with a tarnished brass knocker in the shape of a dolphin. The other was empty. Behind the blue door lived Sadie, the widow of a famous British rocker who died of an overdose, and two of her children, Hamish and Deen.

The children manage to muddle along as best they can with a loving but distracted mother. But their whole world changes when the house next door gets a new owner—a mysterious Southerner who quickly endears himself to his new neighbors, taking them—and their friends—under his protective wing. In doing so, he transforms everything.

1. The Ballad of West Tenth Street has been described as an urban fairy tale. What elements of the story and characters do you see as having parallels in traditional fairy tales?

2. Describe what you see to be the dynamics of the Hollander family. Do you think that Sadie would still drink as much if she hadn't lost Ree?

3. How do you feel the environment of New York City interplays and affects the characters and their actions? Do you think the house is a refuge from the city or is it in fact a microcosm of the city? How so?

4. What do you think motivates the Angry One to fixate on Cap'n Meat and his cat? What fuels his rage?

5. The novel contains a series of small vignettes of the Village. Did you find that they added to the general narrative? It also goes off on odd tangents, such as the life of the mouse that lives under the dishwasher and the thoughts of a carved cow. Did these add an element of fantasy or whimsicality?

6. What do you think is the significance of the drawing that Gretchen keeps repeating?

7. Many might call certain characters in the novel stereotypes, such as the kindly old Southern gentleman, or Ette, the cook with the heart of gold. Do you agree? If not, why?

8. Have you ever encountered an infant as horrid as Rinaldo? If so, describe your experience.

9. In the opening and closing scenes of the novel, the author employs a rather antiquated method of inviting the actual reader to see the scene with her. Did you find that this approach helped to effectively frame the narrative? Why or why not?

10. Did the novel end the way you expected? Why or why not?

Notes from the Book Group – September 2009

2009-09-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

This month’s discussion was about Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.

In the opening pages of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. This discovery takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While attending the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. After Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

Forty years later, Henry Lee embarks on a search of the hotel’s dark dusty basement looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and father and son relationships. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

2009-08-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

To be discussd on September 2, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While attending the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.

Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

1. Father-son relationships are a crucial theme in the novel. For example, how is the relationship between Henry and his father different from that between Henry and Marty?

2. Why doesn't Henry's father want him to speak Cantonese at home? How does this square with his desire to send Henry back to China for school? Isn't he sending his son a mixed message?

3. From the beginning of the novel, Henry wears the "I am Chinese" button given to him by his father. What is the significance of this button and it’s message.

4. The US has been called a nation of immigrants. In what ways do the families of Keiko and Henry illustrate different aspects of the American immigrant experience?

5. What is the bond between Henry and Sheldon, and how is it strengthened by jazz music?

6. Henry's mother comes from a culture in which wives are subservient to their husbands. Given this background, do you think she could have done more to help Henry in his struggles against his father? Is her loyalty to her husband a betrayal of her son?

7. Does Henry give up on Keiko too easily? What else could he have done to find her? What about Keiko? Why didn't she make more of an effort to see Henry once she was released from the camp?

8. Was the US government right or wrong to "relocate" Japanese-Americans and other citizens and residents who had emigrated from countries the US was fighting in WWII? Could the government have done more to safeguard civil rights while protecting national security?

Notes from Book Group August 2009

2009-08-14T10:52:00.001-07:00

This month we discussed Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

This book is set in an unnamed Colombian city on the Caribbean coast between 1870 and 1930, and a portion of the plot, especially later in the book, takes place on the riverboat docks. Florentino Ariza is a telegraph operator who eventually works his way up in his uncle’s riverboat company. As a young man Florentino falls in love with Fermina Daza. Florentino’s romantic attitude toward life shapes his obsession with Fermina that lasts fifty-one years, nine months, and four days. Fermina’s father takes her on an extended trip in the country to keep them apart, after which she decides that she doesn’t care for Florentino anymore. Fermina then weds Dr. Juvenal Urbino, who is dedicated to the eradication of cholera, at the age of 21.

This is a timeless story on the age-old concept of unrequited love. Florentino makes a vow of eternal love for Fermina and never married, waiting for the day when he could pursue Fermina, though he had many-many (over 600) romps with women in his many single years. The meticulously detailed descriptions draw you into the story at times and at other times it slows the plot down to a crawl. Garcia Marquez's story of life, love, and lust was a very insightful and challenging modern classic that will be with you always.

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

2009-07-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

To be discussed August 5, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

Love in the Time of Cholera (Spanish: El amor en los tiempos del cólera) is a novel by Nobel Prize winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez that was first published in Spanish in 1985, with an English translation released in 1988 This book is set in an unnamed Colombian city on the Caribbean coast between 1870 and 1930, and a portion of the plot, especially later in the book, takes place in the riverboat docks. It tells the story of a man who waits fifty-one years, nine months, and four days to be with the woman he loves. The main female character in the novel is Fermina Daza. Florentino Azira is telegraph operator and eventually works his way to working side-by-side with his uncle in operating a riverboat company. Fermina and Florentino spend months in secret contact as her father tries to keep them apart, and eventually after a trip through the country, Fermina comes to the surprising realization that she doesn't care for Florentino. Fermina easily rejects Florentino in their youth when she realizes the naïveté of their first romance, and she weds Juvenal Urbino at the age of 21, the "deadline" she had set for herself. Juvenal is a doctor in medicine devoted to science, modernity, and is committed to the eradication of cholera. He is a rational man whose life is organized precisely and who values his importance and reputation in society.

Florentino makes a vow of eternal love for Fermina and never married, waiting as he was for the day when he could pursue Fermina, though he had many romps with young women in his many single years.

It is 51 years, nine months and four days after Fermina’s original wedding, the night of Juvenal's funeral, that Florentino arrives on Fermina's doorstep to repeat to her his vow of eternal love and fidelity.

"Love in the Time of Cholera" builds a timeless but always surprising story on the age-old basis of unrequited love. This is a story that will be with you always. Garcia Marquez's story of life, love, and lust in a convention-bound provincial city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia displays great imaginative and narrative freedom.

1. Why does García Márquez use similar terms to describe the effects of love and cholera?

2. After rejecting Florentino's declaration of love following her husband's funeral, why is Fermina eventually won over by him?

3. Why does a change in Florentino's writing style make Fermina more receptive to him?

4. What does Florentino mean when he tells Fermina, before they make love for the first time, “I've remained a virgin for you” ?

5. Why does Florentino tell each of his lovers that she is the only one he has had?

6. What does Florentino's uncle mean when he says, "without river navigation there is no love"?

7. Do Fermina and Dr. Urbino succeed at "inventing true love"?

8. Does Dr. Urbino die a happy man?

9. Why does García Márquez begin the novel with the suicide of Jeremiah de Saint-Amour?

10. Why is Leona Cassiani "the true woman in [Florentino's] life although neither of them ever knew it and they never made love"?

11. When Tránsito Ariza tells Florentino he looks as if he were going to a funeral when he is going to visit Fermina, why does he respond by saying, "It's almost the same thing"?

Notes from Book Group July 2009

2009-07-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed Dewey: The small Town Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

Dewey Readmore Books was found in the book deposit box on the coldest day of winter and nursed back to health by the employees of the Spencer Public Library. Dewey is the true story of what it means to love a cat wholeheartedly, not only in good times but in bad - when Dewey started to age and his coat wasn’t as shiny and youthful as it was before. The library board actually discussed what to do with Dewey “now that he was old” and didn’t look as good. Apparently, we Americans are not only obsessed with human youthfulness but cat youthfulness too.

The story may be about a cat, but there are lessons to be learned that can apply to anyone's life. Dewey was a symbol of hope for the town of Spencer as they were going through the farm crisis in the 1980’s. People drove hundreds of miles to see Dewey as his story spread around the country and world. He seemed to bring the people of Spencer through hard times with his special touch.

If you love cats, libraries, or the small town life, then you’ll adore Dewey. This is a quick read that you will enjoy even if you do not care for cats.

Dewey: The Small Town Cat who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

2009-06-04T13:38:00.001-07:00

To be discussed July 1, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

Vicki Myron was a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm and an alcoholic husband. But her biggest challenge as the new head librarian in Spencer, Iowa, was to raise the spirits of a small, out-of-the-way town mired deep in the farm crisis of the 1980s. Then, on the coldest morning of the year, Vicki found a tiny, bedraggled kitten almost frozen to death in the night drop box, and her life—and the town of Spencer—was never the same. Dewey, as the townspeople named the kitten, grew into a strutting, affable library cat whose antics kept patrons in stitches, and whose sixth sense about those in need created hundreds of deep and loving friendships. As his fame grew, people drove hundreds of miles to meet Dewey. Through it all, Dewey remained a loyal companion, a beacon of hope not just for Vicki Myron, but for the entire town of Spencer as it slowly, steadily pulled itself up from the worst financial crisis in its long history.

1. What do you think of Dewey Readmore Books? Was he a special cat because of his personality, his circumstances, or both?

2. What was your favorite Dewey story? What was the funniest Dewey story? Which was most touching? Did his habits remind you of cats you have known or owned?

3. Vicki Myron believes she had a deep connection with Dewey. For example, he knew when he was going to the vet before she even said the word. Do you believe people and animals can have such a connection? If so, how do they read us so well?

4. How much of an impact do you think Dewey had on Spencer? Do you believe he affected the town? If so, how?

5. At the beginning of the book, Spencer is going through hard times because of a collapse in land/housing values. Do you see parallels to our current economic situation? Are there lessons to be learned from this town?

6. Do you agree with Vicki that it was wise for the town of Spencer to vote against the jobs and incomes that a slaughterhouse and a casino would have provided? What about the decision to embrace big national stores like Wal-mart?

7. Some people think Vicki Myron should not have included so many details of her life in the book. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

8. How do you think the circumstances of Vicki’s life affected her relationship with Dewey? How do you think the circumstances of Dewey’s life—particularly his night in the book drop box—affected his relationship with Vicki?

9. What did you think of the library board’s desire for Dewey to “retire” to Vicki’s house to live out the last months of his life?

10. Did this book change your opinion of cats? How would you answer the question posed at the beginning of the book: how much of an impact can an animal have? Is your answer different after reading the book?

11. Share some examples of how an animal has made a positive impact on your life or someone you know.

Notes from book group June 2009

2009-06-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

The way that Bernhard Schlink wrote this book makes you feel like you are seeing everything through the eyes of main characters Michael Berg and Hanna Schmidt. You begin to understand the growing love connection between the two unlikely lovers and feel the disappointment and heartbreak that both experienced as secrets were revealed.

The teenage Michael has a love affair with Hannah which he must keep secret from everyone. As He seems to be emotionally scarred from his experience and as a result he keeps himself at a distance from his contemporary friends and later with his wife and daughter. He divorces his wife and never marries again.

Many in our group thought the book was slow and tedious. All who persevered ended up enjoying the book though. None of us could quite understand the mindset of the guards at the concentration camps. It is hard to imagine what you would do if faced with such a choice. This book really paints a personal picture of what it may have been like to be part of a concentration camp.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

2009-05-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

To be discussed June 3, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

The Reader is a haunting story of love and guilt in which the legacy of Nazi crimes enters a young man's life in an unexpected way. Michael Berg is fifteen and suffering from hepatitis. When he gets sick in the street one day on his way home from school, a woman brings him into her apartment and helps him clean up. Later, he visits the woman to thank her and is drawn into a love affair -their meetings become a ritual of reading aloud (Michael reads to Hanna, at her request), taking showers, and making love. When Hanna disappears following a misunderstanding, Michael is overcome with guilt and loss.

Years later, when Michael is studying law at the university, he is part of a group attending one of the many Nazi war crime trials. He is shocked when he recognizes Hanna in the courtroom, on trial with a group of former concentration camp guards. During the proceedings, it becomes clear that Hanna is hiding something that is more shameful than murder, something that could possibly save her from going to prison. She chooses not to reveal her secret and as a result is sentenced to life.

Married and divorced, Michael has become a scholar of legal history and suffers from a haunting emotional numbness. To help himself through nights of insomnia he begins to read his favorite books aloud into a tape recorder, and he sends the tapes to Hanna in prison. The bond between the two is continued in this unique way until Hanna's release from prison, when, in the face of Michael's ambivalence and Hanna's shame, their story reaches its anguished conclusion.

A parable of German guilt and atonement and a love story of stunning power, The Reader is also a work of literature that is unforgettable in its psychological complexity, its moral nuances, and its stylistic restraint.

1. At what point does the significance of the book's title become clear to you? Who is "The Reader"? Are there others in the story with an equally compelling claim to this role?

2. When does the difference in social class between Hanna and Michael become most clear and painful? Why does Hanna feel uncomfortable staying overnight in Michael's house?

3. Why is the sense of smell so important in this story? What is it about Hanna that so strongly provokes the boy's desire?

4. Do you agree with Michael's judgment that Hanna was sympathetic with the prisoners she chose to read to her, and that she wanted their final month of life to be bearable? Or do you see Hanna in a darker light: do the testimonies about her cruelty and sadism ring true?

5. Asked to explain why she didn't let the women out of the burning church, Hanna remembers being urgently concerned with the need to keep order. What is missing in her reasoning process? Are you surprised at her responses to the judge's attempt to prompt her into offering self-defense as an excuse?

6. Why does Michael visit the concentration camp at Struthof? Does he find what he is seeking?

7. One might argue that Hanna didn't willfully collaborate with Hitler's genocide and that her decisions were driven only by a desire to hide her secret. Does this view exonerate Hanna in any way? How would you have argued for her, if you were a lawyer working in her defense?

8. Do you agree with the judgment of the concentration camp survivor to whom Michael delivers Hanna's money at the end of the novel? Why does she accept the tea tin, but not the money? Who knew Hanna better--Michael or this woman?

9. How does this novel leave you feeling and thinking? Is it hopeful or ultimately despairing? If you have read other Holocaust literature, how does The Reader compare?

Notes from Book Group May 2009

2009-05-07T15:36:00.002-07:00

This month we discussed Cane River by Lalita Tademy.

Lalita did a fantastic job of bringing her family history to life. By creating a work of fiction she was able to add dialogue and feeling to her story. The reader was able to really connect with the five generations that her story was centered on. The novel is set amid small farmhouses and a tight knit community of French-speaking slaves, free people of color, and whites.

We followed Elisabeth, Suzette, Philomene, Emily, and their offspring through years of slavery and then freedom. These women and their families endured heartbreak, fear, family separation, and the hardships of the Civil War. Through it all, they fought to keep their families together and worked for a better future for their children. The women of the family were forced to bear their white owners children, often resulting from rape, and care for their family as well as their own children. After the Civil War was over and the slaves were legally free, Emily had a real forbidden-love relationship with a white man that ultimately resulted in his death.

This novel is a wonderful work of historical fiction that gives a glimpse into a rarely seen part of American history that you don’t want to miss.

Cane River by Lalita Tademy

2009-03-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

To be discussed May 6, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

It was here, on a medium-sized Creole plantation owned by a family named Derbanne, that author Lalita Tademy found her family's roots--and the stories of four astonishing women who battled vast injustices to create a legacy of hope and achievement. They were women whose lives began in slavery, who weathered the Civil War, and who grappled with the contradictions of emancipation through the turbulent early years of the twentieth century. Through it all, they fought to unite their family and forge success on their own terms. Here amid small farmhouses and a tightly knit community of French-speaking slaves, free people of color, and whites, Tademy's great-great-great-great grandmother Elisabeth would bear both a proud heritage and the yoke of slavery. Her youngest daughter, Suzette, would be the first to discover the promise-and heartbreak-of freedom. Suzette's strong-willed daughter Philomene would use determination born of tragedy to reunite her family and gain unheard-of economic independence. Emily, Philomene's spirited daughter, would fight to secure her children's just due and preserve their future against dangerous odds.

1. The relationships between Suzette, Philomene and Emily and the white fathers of their children range from flat-out rape, to calculated financial arrangements cemented by childbearing, to real forbidden love. What did you find most surprising about these often complex relationships?

2. Do you think Doralise was in a position to help Suzette and Philomene more than she did?

3. Emily is described by the author as being "color-struck." In what ways does color-consciousness continue to afflict black and mixed-race societies today? How was the color-struck attitude a help or hindrance in successive generations' rising fortunes?

4. What surprised you most about some long-held beliefs about slavery? In which ways did you find Tademy's depictions believable? Upsetting? Eye-opening? 5. The free people of color considered themselves neither black nor white. Can you think of any parallels in today's society?

6. Do you think that each of the women was a good mother? Was there more that any one of them could have done for their children than they did?

7. In many ways, Cane River, a rural farming community established by French Catholics, was unlike other southern communities of the time. What did you find most surprising about the community and its leading citizens?

8. Which living situation do you think was easier: big house or quarter?

9. Emily, in the very last scene in the book, takes a seat in the front row of the bus to return home from her trip to town. Is this something you believe she would do? Why or why not?

10. Joseph stays close to Emily in his later years. Why do you think Emily continued to allow Joseph into her life after he kicked her out of their home and married another woman?

11. Elisabeth says that everyone along Cane River was 'waiting for the spider to come home." What did she mean?

12. The author of Cane River made the decision to turn her family's story into a work of fiction rather than nonfiction? What motivated her to do so, and do you think it was the right decision?

Notes from Book Group April 2009

2009-03-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed The Easter Parade by Richard Yates.

Everyone in the group agreed that The Easter Parade was well written. This book took place roughly between the years 1920 and 1960. Yates made every word count in this novel. Sarah and Emily Grimes grew up in a broken home and led two very different lives in adulthood. Sara was a traditional wife and mother whose marriage was not as great as it may have seemed from the outside. Emily was more independent and lived a city life with a string of different men in her life. Neither of the sisters led a very satisfying life.

Everyone agreed that none of the characters were not very likable even if they liked the story. Emily was told by one of her favorite nephews how he admired her for being a feminist. We wanted to like Emily but she did not try hard enough to help her sister in troubled times. The group liked Yates’ writing style and look forward to reading his first novel Revolutionary Road.

The Easter Parade by Richard Yates

2009-03-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

To be discussed April 1, 2009 at 6:30

Easter Parade" follows sisters, Emily and Sarah Grimes, over forty years. The author’s opening line gives you a glimpse of what you are in for. “Neither of the Grimes sisters would have a happy life, and looking back it always seemed that the trouble began with their parents' divorce.” They enter adulthood during WWII, and their lives follow tremendously different trajectories. Sarah is the traditional one: she marries early, has three children, and settles into a seemingly idyllic life in the countryside. Emily is more independent, and she experiences a series of unsatisfying intimate relationships and drifts through life. The novel chiefly concerns the relationship, or lack thereof, between the sisters and their family. The story climaxes in the 1960's with mild invocations of the women's liberation movement, and Yates draws clear parallels between the sisters and their times. Although the time period is specific, the characters remain amazingly relatable and universal.

1. What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take away from the story?

2. What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel? What do you think he or she is trying to get across to the reader?

3. Do the characters seem real and believable? Did your opinions about any of the characters change over the course of the novel? How do characters change or evolve throughout the story?

4. In what ways do the events in the book reveal evidence of the author’s world view?

5. Did certain parts of the book make you uncomfortable? Why? Did this lead to a new understanding of some aspect of your life you may not have thought about before?

6. I there a part of the novel you didn’t understand? Are you confused by a character’s actions or the outcome of an event?

7. What is your favorite passage?

8. Why do you think the author chose the title? Is there significant meaning behind it?

Notes from Book Group March 2009

2009-03-05T15:52:00.000-08:00

This month we discussed A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossieni. This author’s first book, The Kite Runner was well liked by our group and this novel did not disappoint. Even though the story is fiction it feels as though the author is describing current events. Actually he is not all that far off given the current situation in Afghanistan. The name of the novel comes from a line from a poem by Saib-e-Tabrizi. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” was taken by our group to signify the thousand souls locked behind war torn walls waiting to shine forth.

This story is about the depressingly dreary lives of Mariam and Laila in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan during the time the Taliban defeats Russia. It is also about lost loves and hopes. Mariam desperately wants her father to accept her into his family which cannot happen because Mariam was born out of wedlock. Laila loses her teenage love to the circumstances of war as his family moves out of the city to survive. Mariam and Laila eventually end up married to the same miserable man. His mistreatment of them is unimaginable. The two form an unlikely alliance and try to help each other endure.

This was a very moving as well as unsettling novel that you should not miss reading. The story does end in a surprising manner that inspires hope for the characters. Don’t miss this one!

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

2009-02-13T12:11:00.000-08:00

To be discussed March 4, 2009 at 6:30 pm

The novel opens with the introduction of Mariam, an Afghan girl growing up in a small village on the outskirts of Herat. She lives with her mother, Nana, a bitter woman who is resentful towards her daughter whom she bore out of wedlock. Miriam visits with her wealthy father, Jalil. Mariam weekly and has heard of her father's other wives and children, who live with him at his lavish home in Herat, but has never visited them due to the stigma of her being an illegitimate child.

On her fifteenth birthday in Mariam wants her father to take her to see Pinocchio at the theatre that he owns. When Jalil fails to show up, Mariam travels to Herat for the first time ever and go to her father's house in person. Jalil refuses to see her, and she ends up sleeping outdoors on the porch. In the morning, Mariam returns home to find that her mother has hanged herself out of fear that her daughter has deserted her. Mariam is taken to live in her father's house, where she feels isolated and spends most of her time alone in her room. Jalil and his wives quickly arrange for her to be married to an older widower named Rasheed, who is a middle-class shoemaker in Kabul.

Mariam begins adjusting to her life as the wife of a man she barely knows and soon becomes pregnant. Rasheed, having lost his own son in an accident years earlier, hopes for a boy. When Mariam suffers a miscarriage, her marriage takes a turn for the worse; Rasheed begins to verbally and physically abuse her. Down the street lives Laila, a high school teacher and a mother who mourns the loss of her two sons, who were fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Laila has a romance with Tariq, a boy from the neighborhood. War comes to Afghanistan, and Kabul is bombarded by rocket attacks. Tariq's family decides to leave the city and the farewell between Laila and Tariq culminates in a tryst on the living room sofa. Laila’s family is fleeing the city when a rocket destroys the house and kills her parents. She discovers that she is pregnant with Tariq’s child and arranges to also marry Rasheed to try to pass the child off as his.

After an initially cold relationship, Mariam and Laila eventually become confidantes. They run away from Rasheed who finds them and beats the two women and deprives them of water for several days, almost killing Aziza. The women survive this and many other hardships in their lives that for one ends in tragedy and the other peace and hope.

1. The phrase “a thousand splendid suns,” from the poem by Saib-e-Tabrizi, is quoted twice in the novel – once as Laila’s family prepares to leave Kabul. Discuss the significance of this phrase.

2. Mariam’s mother tells her: “Women like us. We endure. It’s all we have.” Discuss how this sentiment informs Mariam’s life and how it relates to the larger themes of the novel.

3. By the time Laila is rescued from the rubble of her home by Rasheed and Mariam, Mariam’s marriage has become a miserable existence of neglect and abuse. Yet when she realizes that Rasheed intends to marry Laila, she reacts with outrage. Given that Laila’s presence actually tempers Rasheed’s abuse, why is Mariam so hostile toward her?

4. Laila’s friendship with Mariam begins when she defends Mariam from a beating by Rasheed. Why does Laila take this action, despite the contempt Mariam has consistently shown her?

5. At several points in the story, Mariam and Laila pass themselves off as mother and daughter. What is the symbolic importance of this subterfuge? In what ways is Mariam’s and Laila’s relationship with each other informed by their relationships with their own mothers?

6. One of the Taliban judges at Mariam’s trial tells her, “God has made us different, you women and us men. Our brains are different. You are not able to think like we can. Western doctors and their science have proven this.” What is the irony in this statement? How is irony employed throughout the novel?

7. Laila’s father tells her, “You’re a very, very bright girl. Truly you are. You can be anything that you want.” Discuss Laila’s relationship with her father. What aspects of his character does she inherit? In what ways is she different?

8. While the first three parts of the novel are written in the past tense, the final part is written in present tense. What do you think was the author’s intent in making this shift? How does it change the effect of this final section?

Notes from Book Group February 2009

2009-02-13T12:07:00.000-08:00

This month we discussed Boomsday by Chritopher Buckley. This book was not well liked by the group. An interesting point is that the people who listened to the book on CD thought it was very funny and the people who read the book did not find it as funny. This story was slow moving but at times it was very witty as well and readers will probably have mixed opinions.

The book is about a young blogger named Cassandra Devine. Cassandra devised a scheme to get the government to reexamine the Social Security System so it will not go broke in a few years. She politely suggests that Baby Boomers be given government incentives to kill themselves by age 75. Her modest proposal catches fire with millions of citizens, including "an ambitious senator seeking the presidency." The issue of euthanasia for Boomers (called "transitioning") raises objections by the Religious Right, and of course, the Baby Boomers, who are offended by demonstrations on their golf courses and retirement resorts.

As a story about the social security crisis in America, it makes you think about the rising debt and the inability of the younger generation to support the program. Cassandra starts out as an independent strong woman but ends up totally dependent in the men in her life. The book started out well and lost many of us in the middle where the story just went nowhere. If you like a little political satire this book may be for you.

Boomsday by Christopher Buckley

2009-01-05T13:45:00.001-08:00

To be discussed on February, 4, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

Outraged over the mounting Social Security debt, Cassandra Devine, a charismatic 29-year-old blogger and member of Generation Whatever, incites massive cultural warfare when she politely suggests that Baby Boomers be given government incentives to kill themselves by age 75. Her modest proposal catches fire with millions of citizens, chief among them "an ambitious senator seeking the presidency." With the help of Washington's greatest spin doctor, the blogger and the politician try to ride the issue of euthanasia for Boomers (called "transitioning") all the way to the White House, over the objections of the Religious Right, and of course, the Baby Boomers, who are deeply offended by demonstrations on the golf courses of their retirement resorts.

A story about the social security crisis in America, and one woman's novel approach to solving it. Woven into the story is a tale of politics, personal greed, corruption and the indignation of the younger generation - the one that gets stiffed with the bill when the boomers pull a runner.

1. What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take away from the story?

2. What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel? What do you think he or she is trying to get across to the reader?

3. Do the characters seem real and believable? Did your opinions about any of the characters change over the course of the novel? How do characters change or evolve throughout the story?

4. In what ways do the events in the book reveal evidence of the author’s world view?

5. Did certain parts of the book make you uncomfortable? Why? Did this lead to a new understanding of some aspect of your life you may not have thought about before?

6. I there a part of the novel you didn’t understand? Are you confused by a character’s actions or the outcome of an event?

7. What is your favorite passage?

8. Why do you think the author chose the title? Is there significant meaning behind it?

Notes from Book Group January 2009

2009-01-05T13:42:00.001-08:00

This month we discussed Mudbound by Hilary Jordan. Everyone in the group liked this book, which is unusual for everyone to like it. The book was set in the mid 1940’s during World War II. Two of the book’s main characters had fought in that war and came home to very different receptions.

We had a very lively discussion among ourselves – some of us have lived in the midwest all of our lives and others had lived in the south at one time or another and experienced firsthand some of the attitudes that pertain to racism. The McAllen’s uproot their family from their comfortable home in the city and move to a remote cotton farm in the Mississippi Delta that does not even have indoor plumbing or electricity. When it rains the road to town is covered with water and the family lives in a sea of mud. Henry and Laura McAllen and their 2 children live with Henry’s mean, hateful, racist father.

The two celebrated soldiers of World War II return home to the Delta. Jamie McAllan is everything his older brother Henry is not: charming, handsome, and sensitive to Laura’s plight, but also haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black tenant farmers who live on the McAllan farm, comes home from fighting the Nazis only to face far more personal battle against racism. The two form an unlikely friendship and they arouse passions in others that drive this powerful debut novel.

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

2008-12-04T12:51:00.000-08:00

To be discussed on January, 7, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

In the winter of 1946, Henry McAllen moves his city-bred wife, Laura, from their comfortable home in Memphis to a remote cotton farm in the Mississippi Delta — a place she finds both foreign and frightening. While Henry works the land he loves, Laura struggles to raise their two young children in a rude shack with no indoor plumbing or electricity, under the eye of her hateful, racist father-in-law. When it rains, the waters rise up and swallow the bridge to town, stranding the family in a sea of mud.

As the McAllans are being tested in every way, two celebrated soldiers of World War II return home to the Delta. Jamie McAllan is everything his older brother Henry is not: charming, handsome, and sensitive to Laura’s plight, but also haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black tenant farmers who live on the McAllan farm, comes home from fighting the Nazis with the shine of a war hero, only to face far more personal - and dangerous -battles against the ingrained bigotry of his own countrymen. It is the unlikely friendship of these two brothers-in-arms, and the passions they arouse in others, that drive this powerful debut novel.

1. Inequality is a major theme affecting each character in the novel. What are the main forms it takes?

2. Henry buys the farm without consulting Laura. What does Mudbound tell us about the ways that the relationships between husbands and wives have changed?

3. Henry is devoted to the land and farming. Discuss other examples of ownership in the novel.

4. How did Ronsel and Jamie’s experience of war differ?

5. Jamie suggests that what happens to Ronsel is his fault. Do you think this is fair? Should someone be blamed even though their actions were well intentioned?

6. ‘You got to go along to go along’ p. 42. Is it ever excusable to accept racism in order to survive?

7. Compare Laura and Florence. In what ways do their experiences of motherhood differ?

8. Which character do you find most likable/do you think you are most like?

9. How would you have behaved if you were Florenece? Hap?

10. Do you think the ending is hopeful?

Notes from Book Group December 2008

2008-12-04T12:45:00.000-08:00

This month we discussed "The Secret Life of Bees". The group was split on their opinion of this book. Some liked it and some did not like it very well. The book was well written and had some very thought provoking elements. The main criticism was that it was a little slow moving.

This book is set in South Carolina in 1964 right after the civil rights amendment was passed giving black people the right to vote. Although the amendment was passed it was not always enforced. Lilly Owens’ mother was accidentally killed when Lily was 4 years old. Lily was raised by her black nanny Rosaleen and her abusive father. When Rosaleen took Lily into town to register to vote she was insulted by a trio of fierce racists and retaliated by spitting on their shoes.

Lily and Rosaleen escape to a town that holds the secrets of Lily’s past. Lily and Rosaleen were taken in by three sisters who had a connection to her mother. We all enjoyed the “calendar sisters” – April, May, June, and August Boatwright. Their mother sure had a sense of humor. Lily begins to work through her troubles all the while hoping not to be found by her father or the police. Lily blossomed in the company of these nurturing women and their friends. The queen bee in the story was interpreted differently by different people. Some felt it was August who always had things under control and some thought it was Lily’s mother.

This is a good read and should be looked at since the movie based on the book was just released.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

2008-11-06T15:57:00.000-08:00

For discussion December 3, 2008 at 6:30 P.M.

Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life is shaped by her blurred memory of the afternoon of her mother's accidental death. When Lily's black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three racists in town, they escape to Tiburon, South Carolina, a town that holds the secret to Lily's mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, is forced to confront her own dark past and learns what it means to be a family.

1. Were you surprised to learn that T. Ray used to be different, that once he truly loved Deborah? How do you think Deborah's leaving affected him? Did it shed any light on why T. Ray was so cruel and abusive to Lily?

2. Had you ever heard of "kneeling on grits"? What qualities did Lily have that allowed her to survive, endure, and eventually thrive, despite T. Ray?

3. Who is the queen bee in this story?

4. Lily's relationship to her dead mother was complex, ranging from guilt to idealization, to hatred, to acceptance. What happens to a daughter when she discovers her mother once abandoned her? Is Lily right—would people generally rather die than forgive? Was it harder for Lily to forgive her mother or herself?

5. Lily grew up without her mother, but in the end she finds a house full of them. Have you ever had a mother figure in your life who wasn't your true mother? Have you ever had to leave home to find home?

6. What compelled Rosaleen to spit on the three men's shoes? What does it take for a person to stand up with conviction against brutalizing injustice? What did you like best about Rosaleen?

7. Had you ever heard of the Black Madonna? What do you think of the story surrounding the Black Madonna in the novel? How would the story be different if it had been a picture of a white Virgin Mary? Do you know women whose lives have been deepened or enriched by a connection to an empowering Divine Mother?

8. Why is it important that women come together? What did you think of the "Calendar Sisters" and the Daughters of Mary? How did being in the company of this circle of females transform Lily?

9. May built a wailing wall to help her come to terms with the pain she felt. Even though we don't have May's condition, do we also need "rituals," like wailing walls, to help us deal with our grief and suffering?

10. How would you describe Lily and Zach's relationship? What drew them together? Did you root for them to be together?

Notes from Book Group November 2008

2008-11-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

This month we discussed Little Bitty lies by May Kay Andrews. This was a light and fluffy novel about Mary Bliss McGowan who was left by her husband Parker. Parker not only left Mary, and their daughter Erin, he left her in debt and cleaned our all of their accounts and insurance policies. Mary and Erin have an uneasy and tumultuous relationship after Parker leaves them. There are many lies and secrets held by both of them.

Mary hatches a scheme to come up with some much needed money for their expenses. With the help of her best friend Katherine she manages to fake Parker’s death to cash in the only insurance policy left. She also starts making and selling her famous chicken salad to make some additional cash. Her lies all begin to unravel when an investigator starts nosing around her house masquerading as a tennis buddy of Parker’s. Eventually Mary falls in love with the investigator and he helps her locate Parker and her run away daughter Erin.

The group thought this book was written without enough back story to explain some of the things that happened. We wondered if the best friend should have been more of a voice of reason instead of a partner in crime. The story illustrated how one small lie can snowball and turn into a huge mess. All-in-all the book was a light read that didn’t require much contemplation. The group also got to try the famous chicken salad which was very good.

Little Bitty Lies by Mary Kay Andrews

2008-10-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

For discussion November 5, 2008 at 6:30 P.M.

In a suburban Atlanta neighborhood where divorce is as rampant as kudzu, Mary Bliss McGowan doesn't notice that her own marriage is in trouble until the summer night she finds a note from her husband, Parker, telling her he's gone -- and has taken the family fortune with him.

Stunned and humiliated, a desperate Mary Bliss, left behind with her seventeen-year-old daughter, Erin, and a mountain of debt, decides to salvage what's left of her life by telling one little bitty lie ... that starts to snowball until Parker turns up dead. Or does he?

Little Bitty Lies is a comic Southern novel not only about one woman's lifelong quest for home but also about all the important things in life: marriage and divorce, mothers and daughters, friendship and betrayal, small-town secrets -- and the perfect recipe for chicken salad.

1. Mary Bliss and Katherine have been friends for more than a decade, and the saying "opposites attract" seems to describe their friendship. Are Katharine and Mary Bliss really as different as they seem? What makes their friendship so strong?

2. Mary Bliss encourages Katherine to reconcile with Charlie, who cheated on Katharine and was living with another woman. In one instance Mary Bliss says to her, "Honestly, sweetie, he's too good a man to just throw away like this." Why does she think Katharine should take Charlie back when she makes it very clear that she will not give Parker a second chance?

3. Mary Bliss visits Eula regularly at the nursing home, cooks her favorite foods, and brings her flowers. Even after Parker leaves, Mary Bliss continues to visit Eula. Why is Eula so hostile to Mary Bliss? Why does Mary Bliss feel such a sense of responsibility for Eula? Did Eula's decision about her estate surprise you?

4. There are references throughout the story to Mary Bliss's childhood. "Her own daddy, James Clewitt, had abandoned his family, told her mama he was going to Florida to look for work, and drove away in a 1968 green Ford Falcon, never to return." How have the circumstances of Mary Bliss's childhood affected her as an adult? She sees Parker's behavior as worse than her father's because "Parker had not only abandoned them, he'd stolen their future." Do you agree with Mary Bliss on this?

5. Discuss the relationships Mary Bliss has with the women in her life -- Katharine, Erin, Eula -- and how each one is important to her.

6. Katharine plays an integral role in the plan to fake Parker's death. Why does she do this? Is it merely because she's Mary Bliss's best friend, or is there other reasons?

7. Mary Bliss and Matt Hayslip meet under unusual circumstances, and she does not particularly like him at their first meeting. What changes her mind about him? Why, ultimately, does their relationship work?

8. The title of the book, Little Bitty Lies, is an understatement. What do you think of the lies that abound in the book? Is there any character that does not resort to lies and deception? During a conversation with Charlie, Mary Bliss feels bad for deceiving him but has "already made an uneasy peace with her conscience, telling herself the ends justified the means." In Mary Bliss's case, do you think the ends justified the means?

Notes from Book Group October 2008

2008-10-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

This month we discussed Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. Robinson's debut novel depicts two sisters whose efforts to cope with loss, abandonment, and insecurity illustrates the vulnerability of human relationships and the transient nature of the world. This book gives a glimpse into the nomadic life of a person incapable of forming lasting human bonds. Although the story was a bit slow moving it contained many humorous passages and was overall entertaining.

Set in a remote Idaho community where the grandfather’s train plunges over the edge of the bridge leading into Fingerbone, the novel contrasts social relationships in the family unit, and the eccentric female characters. Ruth and Lucille are abandoned, first by their mother’s suicide, then again by their grandmother’s death. Next the grandmother’s two sisters came to stay with Ruth and Lucille but decide that they are just too old to be caring for young children, so they get in touch with the girls’ crazy Aunt Sylvie who is mentally unbalanced and never stays in one place for very long. Sylvie sets up housekeeping on the family farm with total disregard for the two girls wellbeing. She lets everything on the family farm go into a state of disrepair, starts strange collections – hoarding useless items and cluttering the house with them, and she even lets the children stop going to school. In an attempt for a normal life, Lucille leaves the farm and moves into town with a favorite teacher leaving Sylvie and Ruth to fend for themselves. In the end Ruth joins Sylvie in her world of madness and life of wandering.

Housekeeping by Marylynne Robinson

2008-09-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

For Discussion October 1, 2008 - 6:30 P.M.

Housekeeping is a haunting and unforgettable work of art about the transitory nature of love and the impermanence of all things. Ruth, the young narrator of Housekeeping, is taken with her sister, Lucille, to the small Idaho town of Fingerbone to live with their grandmother. They are brought by their mother, Helen, who leaves them on the porch and then drives her car into the town lake where her own father drowned years before.

The girls are raised by a series of relatives, and finally come under the care of Sylvie, their aunt, an elusive transient who agrees to return to Fingerbone to make a home for them. At first her eccentricities seem unimportant to the girls, but as time goes on, her behavior becomes increasingly erratic. Lucille determines that she will lead a conventional life, and eventually separates herself from her peculiar aunt. Ruth, grief-stricken by the loss of her mother and increasingly detached from the life of the surrounding community, responds to Sylvie’s tragic yet powerful and poetic vision of the world and, in the end, joins her in her life of wandering.

About the Author:

MARILYNNE ROBINSON was born and raised in Idaho, where her family has lived for several generations. She received a B.A. from Brown University in 1966 and a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Washington in 1977. Housekeeping, her first novel, was published in 1981 and won the PEN/Hemingway Award for First Fiction and the American Academy and Institute’s Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award Robinson lives in Iowa City, Iowa, with her family.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think Marilynne Robinson has chosen Housekeeping as the title for her novel? What does the concept of housekeeping mean to Sylvie? To the girls’grandmother? To Lucille? Why is the idea of housekeeping such an important one in this book?

2. How do the geography and character of Fingerbone mold and shape the lives of the people who live there? How does the fact that Fingerbone is “shallow-rooted” (p. 177), a “meager and difficult place” affect Ruth and her family?

3. Do you find that the three generations of Foster women—the grandmother, Sylvie and her sisters, and Ruth and Lucille—share certain unusual or eccentric qualities? Do they have similar attitudes toward men and marriage?

4. Why do you think that Sylvie ventured out onto the railroad bridge (p. 81)? Was it from simple curiosity, as she assures the girls, or is it possible that she was actually thinking of killing herself, of dying in the lake like her sister and father? Where else in the novel can you find images of drowning?

5. At what point in the novel do you begin to notice the differences between Ruth and Lucille? Is Lucille’s wish for a ‘normal’ life evident early in the story, or does it take hold only as she reaches adolescence? What is the significance of Ruth’s and Lucille’s dreams?

6. What is Lucille’s attitude toward Ruth? Does Lucille purposely leave Ruth behind, or does she try to save her?

7. If you were one of Sylvie’s acquaintances or neighbors, you might consider her mad. After seeing her through Ruth’s eyes, do you believe that she is in fact mad?

8. What happens to Ruth during the day she spends alone at the abandoned house in the mountains (chap. 8)? How does this experience affect the direction she will take in life? How does her relationship with Sylvie change at this point?

9. “Everything that falls upon the eye is apparition, a sheet dropped over the world’s true workings” (p. 116). What is Ruth saying in the long paragraph which contains this sentence, and how does this central idea of illusion, the unreality of reality, contribute to her leaving Fingerbone with Sylvie?

10. Why do Sylvie and Ruth attempt to burn down the house at the end of the novel?

Notes From Book Group September 2008

2008-09-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

This month’s discussion was about Atonement by Ian McEwan. We all agreed that this book was a little slow moving but after you get into the book you get hooked and want to know what will happen to the characters. Atonement spans several decades, and is written from multiple points of view in three parts which take the reader from England to France during WWII. It is not until the final page is turned that you discover the real ending to the story.

The story is set in the Tallis family estate, and the first member introduced is 13-year-old Briony, who is writing a play to be performed by herself and her three visiting cousins. Her mother Emily lies upstairs, nursing one of her migraines. Her restless older sister, Cecilia, frets about the new awkwardness in her relationship to Robbie Turner, son of the family's cleaning woman and her childhood playmate. Everyone awaits the arrival of the adored eldest, Leon, who's bringing along his friend, Paul Marshall, an industrialist with big plans to sell candy-coated chocolate bars to the army in the likelihood of England declaring war on Germany.

The characters move through a sultry summer day and toward the fateful, moonless night. There's fussing about the dinner, lost socks, a broken vase and, behind all this, large, ominous emotions shifting their way to the surface. The most violent acts of the day happen offstage and the most destructive one is a lie Briony tells, a lie that will ruin two lives and overshadow her own for decades.

October’s discussion will be about Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson.

Atonement by Ian McEwan

2008-08-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

For disscussion September 3, 2008 - 6:30 P.M.

Atonement follows a 13-year-old aspiring writer, Briony Tallis, from the failure of her first childish attempt at drama, The Trials of Arabella, to its presentation, six decades later, by the grandchildren of the ginger-haired, freckled cousins who had wanted to be its stars. Briony is the youngest of the Tallises' three children, raised virtually as an only child because a decade separates her from Cecilia and their 12-year-older brother Leon. Leon, an easy-go-lucky banker in London, brings a rich and vapid friend, Paul Marshall, home for a summer holiday, occasioning Briony's play and a formal dinner party in his honor.

The cousins, 15-year-old Lola Quincey and identical twins Pierrot and Jackson, age 9, arrive at the Tallis estate as refugees from parental divorce. Frustrating rehearsals and rivalry with Lola contribute to the collapse of the play, but.....

1. What sort of social and cultural setting does the Tallis house create for the novel? What is the mood of the house, as described in chapter 12? What emotions and impulses are being acted upon or repressed by its inhabitants?

2. A passion for order, a lively imagination, and a desire for attention seem to be Briony's strongest traits. In what ways is she still a child? Is her narcissism—her inability to see things from any point of view but her own—unusual in a thirteen-year-old? Why does the scene she witnesses at the fountain change her whole perspective on writing?

3. What kind of a person is Emily Tallis? Why does McEwan decide not to have Jack Tallis make an appearance in the story? Who, if anyone, is the moral authority in this family? What is the parents' relationship to Robbie Turner, and why does Emily pursue his conviction with such single-mindedness?

4. What happens between Robbie and Cecilia at the fountain? What symbolic role does Uncle Clem's precious vase play in the novel? Is it significant that the vase is glued together by Cecilia, and broken finally during the war by Betty as she readies the house to accept evacuees?

5. The scene in the library is one of the most provocative and moving descriptions of sex in recent fiction. How does the fact that it is narrated from Robbie's point of view affect how the reader feels about what happens to him shortly afterwards? Is it understandable that Briony, looking on, perceives this act of love as an act of violence?

6. Why does Briony stick to her story with such unwavering commitment? Does she act entirely in error in a situation she is not old enough to understand, or does she act, in part, on an impulse of malice, revenge, or self-importance? At what point does she develop the empathy to realize what she has done to Cecilia and Robbie?

7. How does Leon, with his life of "agreeable nullity" [p. 103], compare with Robbie in terms of honor, intelligence, and ambition? What are the qualities that make Robbie such an effective romantic hero? What are the ironies inherent in the comparative situations of the three young men present—Leon, Paul Marshall, and Robbie?

8. Lola has a critical role in the story's plot. What are her motivations? Why does she tell Briony that her brothers caused the marks on her wrists and arms [see pp. 109–13]? Why does she allow Briony to take over her story when she is attacked later in the evening [see pp. 153–60]? Why does Briony decide not to confront Lola and Paul Marshall at their wedding five years later?

9. The novel's epigraph is taken from Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, in which a naïve young woman, caught up in fantasies from the Gothic fiction she loves to read, imagines that her host in an English country house is a villain. In Austen's novel Catherine Norland's mistakes are comical and have no serious outcome, while in Atonement, Briony's fantasies have tragic effects upon those around her. What is McEwan implying about the power of the imagination, and its potential for harm?

10. When Robbie, Mace, and Nettle reach the beach at Dunkirk, they intervene in an attack on an RAF man who has become a scapegoat for the soldiers' sense of betrayal and rage. As in many of his previous novels, McEwan is interested in aggressive human impulses that spin out of control. How does this act of group violence relate to the moral problems that war creates for soldiers, and the events Robbie feels guilty about as he falls asleep at Bray Dunes?

11. About changing the fates of Robbie and Cecilia in her final version of the book, Briony says, "Who would want to believe that the young lovers never met again, never fulfilled their love? Who would want to believe that, except in the service of the bleakest realism?" [p. 350] McEwan's Atonement has two endings—one in which the fantasy of love is fulfilled, and one in which that fantasy is stripped away. What is the emotional effect of this double ending?

12. Why does McEwan return to the novel's opening with the long-delayed performance of The Trials of Arabella, Briony's youthful contribution to the optimistic genre of Shakespearean comedy? What sort of closure is this in the context of Briony's career? What is the significance of the fact that Briony is suffering from vascular dementia, which will result in the loss of her memory, and the loss of her identity?

Notes from Book Group August 2008

2008-08-07T13:20:00.000-07:00

This month we did something a little different and had the author of this month’s book join our group. Mr. Steele was very fascinating as he told us how he first started his writing process and how his writing has evolved over time. We learned that Tom first attended a short writing course with a friend. The instructor gave the class the assignment of writing a book! Tom spent the next 18 months writing and revising his first novel. He explained the editing, printing, and marketing process that he has chosen for his book.

Muddy Water takes place in Henry County and involves the murder of a young woman from Kewanee. The Henry County Sheriff and deputies work to unravel the mystery of Katie Karver’s murder. Katie had been romantically involved with one of the Deputies in the past. The story follows the investigation and the many twists and turns that involve Henry County politics. Tom drew from his past experiences and expanded on them to create his novel.

The group overall enjoyed the book and it was fun to read about the places in the area we are familiar with. We look forward to Mr. Steele’s next novel Perish – Murder in Wicker Park. This book is about the murder of a University of Chicago Professor.

The group meets again on September 3, 2008 to discuss Atonement by Ian McEwan.

Muddy Water by Tom Steele

2008-07-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

For discussion August 6, 2008 - 6:30 P.M.

What lies below the waters of the abandoned Hennepin Canal? The canal has been turned into a bike trail, stretching thirty-two miles through the center of rural Henry County. The best time to enjoy the trail is September, when the weather is moderate and the landscape ablaze with color. People from all over Illinois travel the pathway and enjoy the beautiful fall countryside. But county residents ride the trail with apprehension, for they believe the scattered remains of Katie Karver lie somewhere beneath the canal's murky waters. Amid the splendor of autumn colors and the apprehensions of the citizenry, freshman Sheriff Mike Armstrong plans his political campaign and aspires to become the county's longest-serving law officer. But with startling abruptness, unresolved questions of Katie's murder rise to torment the sheriff. Her ghost becomes a major obstacle to the sheriff's re-election dream and more. As the mystery engulfs Mike and seven others in tragedy, he must reopen a case long grown cold.

About the Author: Tom Steele is a retired high school teacher. During his career in education, Tom's teaching abilities were recognized with the following honors: the PTA Educator of the Year Award, the Western Illinois Master Teacher Award, the Illinois State Board of Education Award of Excellence, the Channel One Teacher Award, a USA Today Teacher Team Award, the American Councils Excellence in Teaching Award, the U.S. State Department Russian-American Art Exchange Award, and four Western Illinois University's Most Inspirational Teacher Awards. Tom served as a Staff Sergeant in Cu Chi, Vietnam and is the recipient of two Army Accommodation Medals and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He has resided in Henry County with his wife, Linda, for thirty years and has been a member of the Henry County Board for seven years. He is currently the Chairman of Henry County Administration Committee.

1. What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take away from the story?

2. What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel? What do you think he or she is trying to get across to the reader?

3. Do the characters seem real and believable? Did your opinions about any of the characters change over the course of the novel? How do characters change or evolve throughout the story?

4. In what ways do the events in the book reveal evidence of the author’s world view?

5. Did certain parts of the book make you uncomfortable? Why? Did this lead to a new understanding of some aspect of your life you may not have thought about before?

6. I there a part of the novel you didn’t understand? Are you confused by a character’s actions or the outcome of an event?

7. What is your favorite passage?

8. Why do you think the author chose the title? Is there significant meaning behind it?