Thursday Night Book Club at the Butler Public Library

Fresh Air

2008-09-21T11:00:00.001-07:00

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

2008-08-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-28T12:45:00.001-07:00

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

2008-03-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-19T12:35:00.000-08:00

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.

The Kite Runner

2007-11-21T12:17:00.000-08:00

The club members talked about their favorite characters. My favorite character was Sohrab, Hassan's son. Other members thought Hassan's father Ali was a good character. All members agreed that The Kite Runner was a well written, beautiful book. We learned about Afghanistan and the culture. We learned about kite fighting, which was compared to the war.

The book is rich and there were so many areas to discuss. If you plan on reading the book and haven't read it yet, please do not finish reading this blog. The Kite Runner is predominately composed of male characters. It is the story of the friendship between a wealthy boy (Amir) and the son of his father's servant (Hassan). Amir and Hassan grow up in the same household. Amir vies for his fathers attention and often feels like an outside in this father's life. Shortly after the Russians invade Afghanistan, Amir and his father end up leaving Afghanistan and eventually live in America. This is where Amir father's dies. Amir returns to Afghanistan after he is older and married to Soraya. That is when he discovers that Hassan is his half brother. He goes on to find out that Hassan married after Amir left Afghanistan and he has a son. Hassan and his wife were murdered by the Taliban. Amir attempts to adopt his Hassan's son, Sohrab. Adopting an Afghanistan boy is not as easy as it sounds. Amir does end up bringing Soharb back to the US, but Soharb is not the same boy that left Afghanistan. He does not speak. The book's ending is a beautiful, poignant scene with Amir and Sohrab kite fighting and a slow smile coming to Sohrab's face. This one's a keeper.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

2007-09-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

This book is a book club favorite and all members of our group liked it as well. There was much discussion about having developmentally challenged kids and how to be sure they will be cared for after their parents are dead...who will take care of them. Our group also talked about developmentally challenged people growing up to lead a "normal" life getting married and having children of their own, for example.

Regarding the ending, one of our members said it, "wrapped up neatly." And that Nora was able to forgive David Henry after he died, in order to get on with her life.

One of our members posed the question, "what if the tables were turned, what if Nora was the one to give away the baby instead of David? Would the reader have felt the same way about Nora, as we did about David?"

Someone liked this quote on page 193 of the book, "Life had gone on, it was full and rich; he was in all visible ways, a success. And yet at odd moments--in the middle of surgery, driving into town, on the very edge of sleep--he'd start suddenly, stricken with guilt. He had given their daughter away. This secret stood in the middle of their family; it shaped their lives together. He knew it, he saw it, visible to him as a rock wall grown up between them. And he saw Norah and Paul reaching out and striking rock and not understanding what was happening, only that something stood between them that could not be seen or broken."

The Memory Keeper's Daughter is an excellent book for a discussion.

It was a pleasure to welcome two members to our group this month. Welcome and keeping coming.

For October we will be discussing, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I am looking forward to seeing everyone again next month.

Light in August

2007-08-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

I will begin this blog with the title. Our group was careful to call the book, Light in August, not A Light in August or The Light in August. And that was as far as our book title discussion went.

Some member comments included: "I would not have picked up this book if it weren't for the group." "I would not have read this book if it weren't for book group."

The group census was one Faulkner book was enough. We are open to classics, just not another book by William Faulkner.

The group agreed that the third person style of writing was hard to read. We discussed the fact that it was a difficult read and maybe next summer will would read something light, like Danielle Steel.

Some times our members select a quote they liked. A quote worth mentioning was found on page 119. "Memory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders." We all pondered on this a bit, trying to figure out what it meant.

Overall, I can say, we are proud we read Light n August, even if it's not our favorite book.

Please share your thoughts. I welcome posts. Our group will be reading either The Glass Castle or The Book Borrower for Oct. and Nov. We are checking availability before the correct order is determined. For September we will be reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Please join us on Thursday, September 20, 2007. Thank you.

Little Altars Everywhere

2007-07-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

The Butler Public Library Book Group met last evening and discussed Little Altars Everywhere by Rebecca Wells. This book is the prequel to The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. The group discussed Big Shep's indifference to most situations, as well as his inability to communicate what he was feeling. Willetta and Chaney's appreciation of life compared to The Walkers lack of appreciation. Willetta, Chaney and their family lived on the Walkers farm as servants and they were very happy.

One of the members felt that Sidda was the main character not Vivi. And spoke of Sidda's haircut. The scene involved Sidda's mom talking Sidda into having her haircut, Sidda going along with it, even though it wasn't really what she wanted and Sidda feeling like it was the worse decision she ever made. Sidda felt lost without her hair.

The discussion evolved into all of the areas that a working woman must constantly juggle: her role as a mother, a working professional and a wife. And how difficult it can be to work on all of those areas of one's life.

Big Shep's position on the draft board and how it affected him was discussed. How little input he had on the board, because Big Shep was a farmer.

The group touched on the importance of reading to children and home library's. One of the members mentioned the book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and the small home library that the protagonist of that book had.

We talked a little bit about "worry dolls" due to the dolls that Sidda bought on her visit back home.

The portion of the book I enjoyed the most and took a quote from was Baylor's voice. "So me and Sidda and Lulu get out the Sears catalog and start cutting it up. We cut up models and things and glue them back together in different ways. I cut off the head of a man modeling underwear and stick it on a power saw. Sidda cuts off a lady's legs and pastes them coming out of a baby's ears. Whoever makes the weirdest thing wins. We never get tired of that game."

Next book is Light in August--please join us.

The Secret Life of Bees

2007-06-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

The library book club met on June 21st to discuss Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees. Topics of discussion included: civil rights, the current threatened food source for bees, mothers and daughters, Black Madonna, and the right to vote. We talked about who is the Queen Bee? And most of our members believed it was August, the character that took Lily and Rosaleen under her wing in the book. We talked about who killed Deborah, Lily's mom. We talked about the sister relationships between May, June and August.

My favorite quote from the book is, "The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters."

Please join us at the Butler Public Library, NJ next month--July 19 for Little Altars Everywhere by Rebecca Wells. Or just check out the blog for comments on the next book.

I welcome any comments or posts to this blog.