Constant Princess - May 2008

Now reading: The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory.


Post your comments about this book to this post. Books are available to check out at the circulation desk or click on the title above to reserve your copy on the SAILS Library Network.




A historical novel introduces Katherine of Aragon, daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain. She is fated to marry Prince Arthur of England, and when they meet it is a passionate match. But tragedy strikes, when only 15, Arthur falls ill and makes Katherine prmise to marry his brother Henry and become Queen. This is Katherine's story.




Questions to aks while you read:




1. How realistic do you feel the portrayal of this period was? Do you think Philippa Gregory has managed to shed new light on an already popular period of history?
2. Philippa Gregory creates fantastic, strong female characters. But to what extent are you left with a sense that the female spirit has prevailed or are they ultimately still bound to men?
3. Discuss the relationship between the Spanish and the Moors. How do you think this affects Katherine?
4. How is Catalina used as a political pawn by her parents? What is your opinion of Isabella of Spain, both as a monarch and as a mother? How about King Ferdinand?
5. When it's realized that Catalina is not pregnant with Arthur's child, her mother sends an emissary to escort her home to Spain. Why does Catalina, who was raised knowing it's a princess's duty to obey her parents, defy her mother and remain in England? Why is it so important to her that she not return to Spain? Are her reasons more political or personal?
6. Describe Katherine and Henry's marriage. How is the age difference (Henry is six years Katherine's junior) a factor? How does Katherine's first confinement -- for what turns out to be a false pregnancy -- change their relationship and her standing in the court?

(Questions from SimonSays.com)

Broken for You - April 2008

April's reading is Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos. A first novel released in December 2004, that has been hearaled as a "powerful tale of familial warring, secrets and redemption" A story of a elderly woman who takes in a young woman with a broken heart, into her home full of valuable antiques.

Copies are available in front of the circulation desk for checkout or click the link above to hold a copy for yourself through our catalog. If you'd like to chime in about the book or have thoughts about the question below, post a comment to this blog.

Questions to Ask:

1. How is Margaret portrayed in the beginning? Who is this woman who is entombed in a vast, carefully dusted house with her father's collection? An unlikely heroine, she is an old, peculiar recluse. How is her diagnosis an inciting force for change? Talk about her growing appreciation of the uncommonness of common things.

2. In the clamor of the first armload of plate crashing, Wanda "suddenly knew that she had found a home with someone who was as deeply aggrieved and crazy as she was. It was tremendously comforting" (p. 133). How does the Hughes house, truly a sanatorium, provide a haven and structure for these women to pass through madness to sanity?

3. Did you find conflicts between traditional values and newer ones? Where? Which characters grow larger or more sympathetic from being challenged by younger people? Does the converse hold?

4. How is the theme of the quest important in the book? Which characters commit themselves to seeking someone lost? What are the results? Who abandons the quest and why? Are there surprising rewards?

5. Talk about the title. To how many characters and things and ways of life does it pertain? What is meant by a "dissolution of borders" on page 269?

6. How is the star motif expanded in the book? Think about the star imagery from Margaret to l942 school children in Europe. (See page 282 for some of Margaret's own thoughts on the subject. And see page 290 for a further amplification of the symbol.)

7.What were the funniest parts of the book for you? Think of Irma, with her dry survivor wit as well as her bolder humor. Recall Maurice whose clumsiness is a boon in the Hughes house. And Margaret's outrageous mother. Talk about other moments of high or low comedy.

8. The china, both whole and in pieces, generates stories, such as the ice-fishing ninety-two-year-old Alta Fogle: "Maybe this is true. Maybe not. You can never be sure: all objects in the Hughes house have to have meaning, and if their past is not known, stories are invented" (p. 337). In Chapter Thirty-two, the narrator addresses the reader directly, as if one were M.J. Striker approaching the Hughes house. "Pay attention. Let your mind embrace metaphors. It's your first clue about what goes on here" (p. 337). How do these quotations help us understand multiple levels of the story? Is the making of mosaic art also a metaphor for writing stories, the novel, for instance?

(questions from Readinggroupguides.com)

Holes - March 2008

I know it is late in the month to be posting a book to suggest you read this month. So I picked a short read - one that has a happy ending that you are sure to enjoy no matter what your age. Holes by Louis Sachar. Yes, it is a young adult book, yes it was a movie. But it is such a good story I could read it again and again. Who doesn't want to read a book about a kid, wrongly accused, who has to suffer through some miserable stuff only to find out that a new friend is really an old family friend, and when he helps him, only good comes from it.

Questions to Ask as you read:
1. In what ways is the saying "You can't judge a book by its cover" a good one for this story? For example, what do you expect Camp Green Lake to be like based on its name? What is it really like?
2. What do you think the title Holes means? What might be another reason other than the holes the boys dig in the lake? What hole (or holes) is in Stanley 's life when he first arrives at Camp Green Lake ? Are the holes still there when he leaves?
3. Stanley 's father, an inventor, says, "I learn from failure." What do you think this means? In what ways have you learned from failure?
4. At home, Stanley did not have friends. But at Camp Green Lake, he forms a special friendship with Zero. How did Zero and Stanley prove their friendship to each other? In what way does Zero fill a hole in Stanley's life? How is Stanley 's friendship with Zero similar to Kate Barlow's friendship with Sam? In each case why don't people approve of the friendship?
5. What is the significance of Stanley 's name being a palindrome - a word that is spelled the same way forward and backward?
6. Where does Stanley find the strength to carry Zero up the mountain? Why did he do it even though he didn't know what he'd find at the top? Describe something you've done that at first seemed impossible. What did you learn from the experience?
7. When Hattie Parker sees Katherine and Sam kiss, she says, "God will punish you!" Based on the events later in the book, whom do you think God punished?

Girl with a Pearl Earing - February 2008

A book club for those of us without the time to go to meetings. Take our suggestion for the month. You can reserve your copy through SAILS Library Network Here. Read along. Post comments to this blog if you'd like to answer the questions below with your thoughts.

Now reading - Girl with a Pearl Earing by Tracy Chevalier

Questions to ask:

1. Do you think Griet was typical of other girls her age? In what ways? How did she differ? Did you find her compassionate or selfish? Giving or judgmental?

2. In many ways, the primary relationship in this novel appears to be between Griet and Vermeer. Do you think this is true? How do you feel about Vermeer's relationship with his wife? How does that come into play?

3. Peering into 17th century Delft shows a small, self-sufficient city. Where do you think the many-pointed star at the city's center pointed toward? What was happening elsewhere at that time?

4. Discuss the ways religion affected Griet's relationship with Vermeer. His wife? Maria Thins?

5. Maria Thins obviously understood Vermeer's art more than his wife did. Why do you think this was the case? Do you think she shared Griet's talents?

6. Do you think Griet made the right choice when she married the butcher's son? Did she have other options?

7. How is Delft different to or similar to your town or city? Are the social structures comparable

8. Though Girl with a Pearl Earring appears to be about one man and woman, there are several relationships at work. Which is the most difficult relationship? Which is the most promising?

Into the Wild - January 2008

Into the Wild - January 2008
Now Reading: Into the Wild by Jon KrakauerNo meeting required. Pick up a copy of this book in front of the circulation desk as our suggestion for the month. If you'd like to chime in post a comment to this blog.

Questions to Ask:1. Why did McCandless reject his parents' lifestyle?

2. What do you think of McCandless's decision to discard his identity and past life without a backward look? Would you do the same thing if you were in his place, or do you think it would be important to discuss your decision with your family first, even if you were certain that they would try to dissuade you?

3. Pretend that you could speak for McCandless. What would you have to say to Krakauer, his biographer. To his parents?

4. What do you think you would want to say to McCandless if you were his father? If you were his...

5. If you've seen the movie - how would you compare the two?

All Souls - December 2007

All Souls - December 2007
Now Reading: All Souls: A family story from Southie by Michael Patrick MacDonald Copies are available for checkout. No meeting required. Just take this book as a suggested read this month and enjoy. Chime in with your thoughts on these questions by posting comments.This book an eye-opener to the truth about the “best place in the world”: the Old Colony housing project of Southie in the 70's. If you grew up here you've heard or been a part of the mandatory bussing in the 70's, and heard all about Southie & the Irish mob. If you are not here is a chance to catch up on what Southie was like back in the day, from someone who was there.Questions to ask as you read:1. Describe the tone in which All Souls opens. How does it shift throughout the memoir?2. In his opening chapter MacDonald speaks of the seductiveness and threat of Southie myths. Describe those myths. In what ways is All Souls an act of demythologizing, and to what extent does it romanticize Southie?3. What distinguishes Ma? How is she at once recognizable and unique? What do we learn about the challenges facing, and the resources available to a single mother in poverty?4. To what sort of masculinity do the young men of the neighborhood aspire without father figures? How do Whitey Bulger and his ilk exploit and perpetuate this absence?5. What contributed to the intolerance exhibited by many in Southie during busing, and how did it differ in kind and degree from racism elsewhere?6. What does Southie mean to MacDonald at the close of the memoir?

I Don't Know How She Does it? - November 2007

Now Reading: I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson
Copies are available for checkout. No meeting required. Just take this book as a suggested read this month and enjoy. If you want to chime in make a comment to this blog.
Questions to ask:1. How are we meant to pass our days?
2. How are we to reconcile the two passions, work and motherhood, that divide our lives?
3. How does the opening sequence, along with the "Must Remember" list that follows it, work to set the comic pacing for the novel [pp. 3–10]? How successful is the opening chapter in getting the reader to sympathize with Kate and her daily challenges?
4. When Kate arrives late for work, she needs to come up with what her friend Debra calls "a Man's Excuse" [p. 15]—something that does not have to do with sick children or an absent nanny, preferably something involving car repairs or traffic. Is Pearson accurate in describing a business world that has little patience for the out-of-office responsibilities of working mothers?