Fresh Air

This was a nice summer read for our group. And I might add, a fun book--not disturbing, enjoyable, light.

The book summary: A New York Times Bestselling Author Lucinda Hunter has been alone in the Connecticut farmhouse that was once her mother's. Her life has become a small thing. One July morning as she sits near the window, something in the garden catches her eye: a little girl in shorts and a t-shirt, her bare feet in outsize sneakers. Taken with the girl's sweet nature and generosity of spirit, Lucinda gradually finds herself drawn back into the world.

Fresh Air was not exactly an in depth discussion, but it was a nice book.

The Double Bind & The Great Gatsby

This was not a combination book group meeting, just a combination book group summary.

Prior to reading The Double Bind, the group read The Great Gatsby. Chris Bohajalian, the author, ties The Great Gatsby plot into The Double Bind. It's a great way to set up for a book group meeting or to be read a classic and then a more current book. Anyway, not all of the participants were sold on The Great Gatsby, but we all thought it was a worthwhile read. We all thought that the content was too much for high school students, even though as students we read it in high school.

The Double Bind is a fascinating read. It had many interesting ideas and topics for discussions. It is a study in psychology and anyone who studied psychology in high school would enjoy it.

Missing Mom

Missing Mom by Joyce Carol Oates was the book discussed at the May meeting of the Thursday Night Book Club.

Some of the topics we talked about: there could have been a better ending, perhaps more romantic,
losing a mother,
sadness,
Clare's falling apart was unexpected,
Clare being self absorbed,
Gwen being too nice,
the book was way too long--it could have been shorter,
the sentence fragments were annoying,
we all had mom stories.

What we liked about the book: the way the story was woven, and the role reversal of the sisters.

The Glass Castle

Now I ask you, what book group has not read The Glass Castle? Our group may now be included in those clubs that have read it. The on going controversies over the book continued in our discussion as well.

We all seem to be captivated by Jeannette and how she survived her childhood. I think the mantra of the book is "what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger." I believe this was also one of Jeannette's dad's famous quotes.

There are two very good interviews with Jeannette that are available from the internet:

One article is from ABC News, "Jeannette Walls Answers Your Questions: A Q + A With the Chronicler of New York's Power Elite."

The second article is on the blog, Conversations with Famous Writers.

Please let me know if I may assist you in finding these articles.

Thanks for reading.

A Fine Balance

All is quiet on the blog front. I have not posted a blog since January's Nineteen Minutes and I have not heard a word about it.

February's meeting and discussion of A Fine Balance was in-depth, just like the book. Most readers found that the book was quite involved. We got a look into India in 1975 and the Emergency. This was new information to me. I do not remember learning about India's Emergency in school. That is part of what made the book fascinating. The characters also made the book fascinating for me. I felt like they were friends by the end of the book and I truly cared about what happened in their lives.

Nineteen Minutes

It's hard to believe that another month has passed and the holidays are behind us. Happy New Year to my blogging friends. At January's book club meeting Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult was discussed. The book brought about some very strong feelings from members. One member had a first hand experience with bullying.

So without getting too far ahead of myself for those of you not familiar with the book. Nineteen Minutes begins with a high school shooting and goes back and forth from current day (what's happening with the trial and the kids) to what happened to them growing up. The 'back' brings in lots of background information on characters and creates character development. Basically, Peter, the shooter, was a bullying victim from his first day of kindergarten through high school. He was bullied on a daily basis. In my opinion, the specific incidents were extreme. Peter's attorney said that Peter reacted because of post traumatic stress disorder.

What I liked about the book was Picoult's method of fairness. Picoult writes the book so the reader is able to understand each character's point of view. Not only that, her ending is believable.

One of our members felt this book should be required reading by parents and educators. I would like to add that it should be required reading for those that bully others. So that they may realize their effect on their victims. And that 'victim' is not an exaggerated word.

One of the other major topics discussed was the impact of violent computer games and movies on children. We all know the issues involved with that. Another tangent that evolved from that is the fact that parents allow their children to watch and/or play those games. Which further evolves the discussion into the role of parents. And that can be a major discussion.

So that's where this book led us. It is a great discussion book. Please feel free to add any comments to my blog. A Fine Balance is the next book. Join us on Thursday, February 21 at the library or check out the blog after the meeting. Remember it's 'The Thursday Night Book Club' at the library.

A Wedding in December

A Wedding in December takes place at an inn in the Berkshire Mountains. Seven former high school friends gather to celebrate a wedding. Not only is it a wedding, but a reunion that becomes the occasion of astonishing revelations as the friends collectively recall a long ago night that indelibly marked each of their lives.

As the story of the reunion weekend unfolds, another story is revealed. The tale that Agnes is writing about Innes Finch. This is a story within a story and created a long discussion with the book group participants. The revelation is about the true events of night that Stephen, a schoolmate, died. This account was told by Harrison to Nora. Nora was Stephen's girlfriend and Harrison was Stephen's friend who was in love with Nora. The high school relationships brought up discussions about our own personal high school experiences.

Other topics of discussion included affairs (there were many in the book) and reunions. We talked about the time period of the book. The wedding took place over a long weekend, but the high school flashbacks added to the book's length.

I look forward to seeing you at the next book group meeting on January 17, 2008 when we will discuss Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.