The Middle Place - February 2009

Finally a book club for those of without time to go to meetings. Take our suggestion for the month, read along. Post your comments to this blog.

Now Reading - The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan

Questions to ask while you read:

1. What is the effect of having the book structured as it is? Why do you think Kelly’s childhood is presented as flashbacks rather than chronologically? In what ways does her childhood affect her adult self?

2. How does Kelly’s breast cancer diagnosis prepare her for her father’s cancer? Does her own experience help her to help her father, or does it hinder her ability to cope?

3. Why do you think it is important for Kelly to travel in Australia and Nepal? What need does the act of traveling fill for her?

4. How does Kelly change when she becomes a parent? In what ways does she choose the family she’s created over the one that created her?

5. Kelly’s family is her safety net. She turns to them when she’s in trouble and they run to help. What are the safety nets in your life? What are the mainstays in your life that you can’t imagine living without?

6. What is “The Middle Place”? Why is this the title of this book? What does being in The Middle Place mean to Kelly? What does it mean to you?

Questions from kellycorrigan.com

The Senator's Wife - January 2009

No meetings required but lend your comments below for the book we are currently reading:

Now reading - The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller

Meri is 37, newly married and newly pregnant, standing on the cusp of her life as a wife and mother, and recognizing with some terror the gap between reality and expectation. Delia, her neighbor in the adjoining New England town house, is twice Meri's age, the wife of Tom Naughton, a venerated former U.S. senator --- a man whose habitual infidelities are an open secret in Washington. As dissimilar as they may appear, these two women find themselves leading strangely parallel lives, reckoning with the contours and mysteries of marriage, one refined and abraded by years of complicated intimacy, the other barely begun.

Questions to ask while you read:

1. In the second paragraph of Chapter One, Miller says, "Meri has occupied the backseat the whole time—at first because that's just how it happened when they all got in the car, then by choice." What does this tell us about Meri? Did your first impression of her turn out to be accurate?

2. Discuss the title. Why do you think Miller called her novel "The Senator's Wife" when Meri's story gets equal time?

3. Several times in the novel, it's suggested that moving to a new home equals an opportunity for new beginnings. Which move proves to be most important to Delia?

4. At times there are parallels between Meri and Tom, Delia and Nathan, and at other times the pairings are rearranged. Who do you think is most similar? Most unlike each other? Who would you most like to spend time with, if these were real people?

5. Delia's relationships with her grown children are quite varied. Why do you think she wound up with three such different results? What kind of mother was she?

6. Re-read the last paragraph of the novel. Did Meri really act out of love? Why do you think she did it? What price did she pay, if any?

Questions from readinggroupguides.com

The Book Thief - December 2008

A book club for those of us without the time to go to meetings. Take our suggestion for the month. Read along. Post comments to this blog if you'd like to answer the questions below with your thoughts.

Now Reading - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Liesel Meminger is only nine years old when she is taken to live with the Hubermanns, a foster family, on Himmel Street in Molching, Germany, in the late 1930s. She arrives with few possessions, but among them is The Grave Digger’s Handbook, a book that she stole from her brother’s burial place. During the years that Liesel lives with the Hubermanns, Hitler becomes more powerful, life on Himmel Street becomes more fearful, and Liesel becomes a fullfledged book thief. She rescues books from Nazi book-burnings and steals from the library of the mayor. Liesel is illiterate when she steals her fi rst book, but Hans Hubermann uses her prized books to teach her to read. This is a story of courage, friendship, love, survival, death, and grief. This is Liesel’s life on Himmel Street, told from Death’s point of view.

Questions to ask while you read:
1. What is ironic about Liesel’s obsession with stealing books? Discuss other uses of irony in the novel.
2. Explain Rudy’s reaction when he discovers that Liesel is a book thief. How does stealing books from the mayor’s house lead to a friendship with the mayor’s wife?
3. How does she equate love with abandonment? At what point does she understand why she was abandoned by her mother?
4. Death says that Liesel was a girl “with a mountain to climb.” (p. 86) What is her mountain? Who are her climbing partners? What is her greatest obstacle?
5. How does it take courage to oppose Hitler?
6. How does Zusak use the literary device of foreshadowing to pull the reader into the story?

Questions from readinggroupguides.com

Bee Season - November 2008

No meetings required but lend your comments below for hte book we are currently reading:


Bee Season by Myla Goldberg



Eliza Naumann, a seemingly unremarkable nine-year-old, expects never to fit into her gifted family: her autodidact father, Saul, absorbed in his study of Jewish mysticism; her brother, Aaron, the vessel of his father's spiritual ambitions; and her brilliant but distant lawyer-mom, Miriam. But when Eliza sweeps her school and district spelling bees in quick succession, Saul takes it as a sign that she is destined for greatness. In this altered reality, Saul inducts her into his hallowed study and lavishes upon her the attention previously reserved for Aaron, who in his displacement embarks upon a lone quest for spiritual fulfillment. When Miriam's secret life triggers a familial explosion, it is Eliza who must order the chaos.

Question to ask:
1. Why does Eliza slip the information about the district spelling bee under Saul's door, rather than telling him about it in person? Is her behavior unusual for an eleven-year-old?
2. Initially, Saul is portrayed as an involved and caring father. What hints are there that his interest in his children's lives masks a need to satisfy his own ego? How does his relationship with Miriam enhance the image he has created for himself?
3. Is there a common thread that links Aaron's experiments with different religions, Miriam's secret excursions, and Eliza's plunge into Jewish mysticism?
4.Bee Season presents the narrative viewpoints of all the family members. How does this technique add depth and nuance to our understanding of each character? How do the self-portraits differ from the portraits, implicit or explicit, sketched by the other members of the family?

Black Swan Green - October 2008

No Meetings required - but lend your comments to the book we are now reading:

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

The book tells the story of one year in the life of thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor. It is broken down into thirteen chapters, which are also able to function independently as short stories, each one reflects a month in the life of the young protagonist.

Questions to ask:

1)Why do you think that the author chose the title Black Swan Green for this novel? How is a sense of place significant within the context of the story? How are Jason Taylor’s experiences linked to a sense of place?

2)Examine the structure of the novel. Why do you think that the author chose to break the novel down into chapters which seem also to function independently as short stories? Why might he have chosen to include 13 chapters? Why not 12 chapters?

3)Why do you think that the author chose to name both the first and last chapter of the novel “January Man”? What does it indicate about the passage of time in the novel? How has Jason Taylor changed from the first to last chapter?

4)What political events are taking place throughout the novel? How do they affect Jason? How do depictions of the political events correspond to the depiction of Jason’s own life at home?

5)Various ethnic groups are represented or discussed throughout the novel. Are they accurately described? Whose points of view are represented?

questions from randomhouse.com

The Girls - September 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 - The Girls by Lori Lansens






"I promise: you will never forget this extraordinary story. Love, connection, loyalty, raw humanity and much more are the ingredients of this most unusual novel. Lori Lansens's blend of tragedy and comedy will touch you deeply."—Isabel Allende



For identical twins, Rose and Ruby are remarkably different both on the inside and out. Ruby has a beautiful face whereas Rose’s features are, in her own words, “misshapen and frankly grotesque.” And whereas Rose’s body is fully formed, Ruby’s bottom half is dwarfish – with her tiny thighs resting on Rose’s hip, she must be carried around like a small child or doll. The differences in their tastes are no less distinct. A poet and avid reader, Rose is also huge sports fan. Ruby, on the other hand, would sooner watch television than crack open a book – that is, anything but sports. They are rarely ready for bed at the same time and whereas Rose loves spicy food, Ruby has a “disturbing fondness for eggs.” On the eve of their thirtieth birthday, Rose sets out to write her autobiography. But because their lives have been so closely shared, Ruby insists on contributing the occasional chapter. And so, as Rose types away on her laptop, the technophobic Ruby scribbles longhand on a yellow legal pad. They’ve established one rule for their co-writing venture: neither is allowed to see what the other has written. Together, they tell the story of their lives as the world’s oldest surviving craniopagus twins – the literary Rose and straight-talking Ruby often seeing the same event in wildly different ways.



1. The Girls is written as a fictional autobiography. Why do you think the author chose this format? Did you ever have to remind yourself while reading that The Girls is a novel rather than a memoir?

2. Rose and Ruby have spent every moment of their lives bound to each other, and yet they have forged two very distinct personalities and ways of looking at the world. What does this novel say about identity? How does each sister manifest individuality? In what ways do they borrow from each other?

3. Aunt Lovey is portrayed by Rose and Ruby as a very wise woman. Is it possible that their perception of her is influenced by their deep gratitude for her sacrifices in raising them? Why do you think they never refer to her as their mother?

4. Did you find yourself forgetting that Rose and Ruby were joined at the head? In what way is the bond of sisterhood more important than their physical link?

5. The girls said that, if given the chance, they wouldn't want to be separated. Is this a sentiment you understand? How does the dynamic of the girls relate to real-life relationships you've been in or witnessed?





Questions from readinggroupguides.com

Theory of Relativity - August 2008

Now Reading: Theory of Relativity by Jacuelyn Mitchard (click on title to reserve your copy in SAILS)

The term "relativity" has many meanings, all of which come into play in this novel. But whether one refers to Einstein's theory concerning nature 's most fundamental laws, or the seemingly arbitrary rules that bind one family to another, Mitchard's most powerful message is revealed in the person of Keefer Kathryn Nye McKenna: in her intelligence and honesty, in her humor and optimism. "Related" to her parents or not, she is happy, and she is loved. That's not relative, that's real.

Question to ask while you read (from Readinggroupguides.com)

1. In whose home do you think Keefer would be happiest-Gordon's or the Nye's? On what would you base your decision? What makes a good parent? What makes a happy home?

2. Do you think Mitchard's portrayal of Diane as a mother and as a born-again Christian is a balanced one? How does she make Diane a sympathetic character?

3. There are many kinds of single parents in the novel: Gordon, Delia, Craig (after Delia's death), the birth mothers of both Gordon and Georgia. How would you use this book to argue for or against single parenting?

4. Gordon is first introduced as a highly analytic person, one who thinks that "life could be lived like an experiment conducted in keeping with scientific method, that a certain set of results could be obtained and, once obtained, repeated." Eventually he comes to realize "the pressure of the human hand behind the instruments."(p. 11) How do Gordon's relationships with Keefer, Lindsay, his Aunt Nora, and his mother bring about his own emotional development?

5. Discuss Gordon's decision to drop his petition to adopt Keefer. Was it the right one, given the circumstances? How much of it was based on his relationship with Georgia? How much do you think was based on the difficulties he would encounter as a single father?

6. Discuss how the phrase, "a theory of relativity" touches on the novel's themes: family, heredity, adoption, and parental love, to name a few. Can you think of any other issues this title suggests?

7. Do you agree with Judge Sayward's decision to deny Gordon's petition for adoption based on his own status as an adopted child? As a judge was she compelled to give a literal interpretation of the law, or do you think she should have assumed that Gordon's status was the same as any other blood relative of Georgia's?

8. Discuss the possibility that Ray and Georgia's accident was a suicide. How does it make you feel about Ray?

9. Where do you stand on the nature versus nurture debate? Do you think your personality has been determined genetically or by the situation in which you grew up? How do the characters of Georgia, Gordon, Alex, and Keefer support or contradict your beliefs?

10. In the last chapter, Mitchard offers us a glimpse of Keefer as a ten-year-old. Did she "turn out" the way you expected? How do you think Keefer would have been different if Delia had lived and become her mother?