Monday, September 20, 2010

Let the Great World Spin-Discussion Rescheduled


Discussion of Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann has been rescheduled for October 21.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross


For a thousand years men have denied her existence--Pope Joan, the woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to rule Christianity for two years. Now this compelling novel animates the legend with a portrait of an unforgettable woman who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept. When her older brother dies in a Viking attack, the brilliant young Joan assumes his identity and enters a Benedictine monastery where, as Brother John Anglicus, she distinguishes herself as a scholar and healer. Eventually drawn to Rome, she soon becomes enmeshed in a dangerous mix of powerful passion and explosive politics that threatens her life even as it elevates her to the highest throne in the Western world.
Questions for Discussion:


1. How important is it to this story to believe in its historicity? Are there lessons to be learned from Joan’s story whether it’s legend or fact? What are they?
2. Francis Bacon, the seventeenth-century philosopher, said, “People believe what they prefer to be true.” How does this relate to Joan’s story compared to, say, that of King Arthur? What is it about Joan’s story that people might not “prefer to be true”?
3. Are reason and faith incompatible? What do you make of Aesculapius’s argument that lack of faith leads people to fear reason? What about Joan? Does her study of reason in the work of classical authors such as Lucretius diminish her faith?
4. Joan sacrificed much because she loved Gerold. Do you know women who have sacrificed opportunities to exercise mind, heart, and spirit for love of a man? For love of a child? Are such sacrifices justified?
5. What implications does Joan’s story have with regard to the role of women in the Catholic Church? Should nuns play a greater --- or different --- role? If so, what should that role be? Should women be priests? What effect would women priests have on the Church and its liturgy? What effect have they had on the Episcopal Church?
6. One reviewer wrote: “Pope Joan... is a reminder that some things never change, only the stage and the players do.” Are there any similarities between the way women live in some places of the world today and the way they lived back then?
7. What causes any society to oppress womankind? What are the root causes of misogyny? Are they based in religion or in society? Both? Neither?
8. Why might medieval society have believed so strongly that education hampered a woman’s ability to bear children? What purpose might such a belief serve?
9. What similarities or differences do you see between Pope Joan and Saint Joan of Arc? Why was one Joan expunged from history books and the other made a saint?
10. If Joan had agreed to leave with Gerold when he first came to Rome, what would her life have been like? Did she make the right choice or not?
11. What causes Joan’s inner conflict between faith and doubt? How do these conflicts affect the decisions she makes? Does she ever resolve these conflicts?
Questions from readinggroupguides.com

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult


Here are some questions from litlovers.com. Please consider them as you read Beaufort Book Club's selection for Thusday, June 17 at 5:30. We will be meeting in the Children's Program Room.

Book Club Discussion Questions

1. Charlotte and Sean are faced with a very difficult decision when presented with the option of suing for wrongful birth. How did you feel about the lawsuit? The matter is complicated in many aspects, but especially because of Charlotte’s close friendship with Piper, her ob-gyn. How might the O’Keefes have considered and entered into the lawsuit if they had not had a personal relationship with Piper? Would your own reaction to it have changed?

2. During the filming of a day in Willow’s life, Charlotte purposely asks Willow’s physical therapist to try some exercises that she knows Willow isn’t ready for yet, and Willow begins to cry in pain. Charlotte rushes to her daughter’s side, blaming the physical therapist, and when she asks if they got that on film, Marin—Charlotte’s lawyer—is angry at Charlotte for exploiting her daughter. Do you agree with Marin that Charlotte exploits Willow? Charlotte believes she is doing everything out of love for Willow, to win the case that will get her the care she needs, but does this take it too far? Where can we draw the line?

3. Breaking is a theme in Handle with Care: bones break, hearts break, friendships break, families break. Consider examples from the book and discuss why you think certain breaks can or cannot be mended. Is there anything in the book that represents the unbreakable?

4. The author inserts recipes throughout the book that highlight certain baking techniques, such as tempering, blind baking, and weeping. How do these recipes provide further insight into the story and into Charlotte’s character in particular?

5. Throughout the story, the question is raised of what it means to be a mother. For Charlotte, it means doing anything in her power to provide the best life for Willow, but at the same time, her other daughter’s suffering goes unnoticed as she develops bulimia and begins cutting herself. For Marin, the question of what it means to be a mother addresses the issues of her adoption. Is a mother someone who gives birth to you and gives you away, or the woman who raises you? Discuss the different ideas about mothering that the author presents in this book. At what moments do certain characters fail or succeed at being a mother?

6. The term wrongful birth suggests that some people never should have been born. If abortion had been legal when Marin was conceived, she likely would not have been born. Willow’s severe disability, had Charlotte known about it early enough, could have been cause for abortion. How do we determine what kind of life is worth living? Who has the right to say whether a pregnancy should be brought to term?

7. Discuss the roles that honesty and deception play in this novel. How do the characters lie to themselves? To each other? Is it sometimes better not to know the truth?

8. Charlotte is confident that the potential end of her lawsuit will justify the means, but Sean can’t handle the idea that the means may leave Willow thinking she is unloved or unwanted. Clearly, they both love their daughter, but express it in drastically different ways. What do each of their approaches say about love? Do Charlotte’s actions speak louder than Sean’s words?

9. What message does the trial verdict send? Do you agree with the jury’s decision?

10. How do you think Amelia’s testimony affects the outcome of the case?

11. We follow Marin through the search for her birth mother, and what she eventually finds out about the circumstances surrounding her conception are truly devastating to her. Why do you think she thanks her birth mother for this information? Discuss Marin’s reaction to what she learns.

12. Why do you think the O’Keefes never cash their $8 million check? How do you feel about what they end up doing with it?

13. How do you feel about the ending? Why do you think the author chose to write it this way?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

Monday, May 24, 2010

South of Broad Discussion

If you missed our lively discussion of Pat Conroy's South of Broad, here are some highlights:
Micki gave us a short biography on the author, and then introduced 2 attendees who had grown up in Beaufort and had known Mr. Conroy for some years. As it happened, another attendee had been the Conroy's neighbor when the family moved to military housing in Laurel Bay. We were all highly interested in their reminiscences!

Below are some questions about the book that we discussed.
1. At the beginning of the novel, Leo is called on to mitigate the racial prejudice of the football team. What other types of prejudice appear in the novel? Which characters are guilty of relying on preconceived notions? Why do you think Leo is so accepting of most people? Why is his mother so condemnatory?

2. What do you think of the title South of Broad? How does the setting inform the novel? Would the novel be very different if it were set in another city or region?

3. As a teenager, Leo is heavily penalized for refusing to name the boy who placed drugs in his pocket. Why did he feel compelled to protect the boy's identity? Do you think he did the right thing?

4. When Leo's mother asks him to meet his new peers, she warns, “Help them, but do not make friends with them.” Do you think such a thing possible? Through the novel, how does Leo help his friends, and how do they help him?

5. Leo's mother tells him, “We're afraid the orphans and the Poe kids will use you,” to which he responds, “I don't mind being needed. I don't even mind being used.” Do you think this is a healthy attitude toward friendship? Do any of the characters end up “using” Leo? Does his outlook on friendship changed by the end of the novel?

Other questions for discussion:
6. Leo admits that the years after Steven's suicide nearly killed him. How was he able to cope? How do Leo's parents deal with their grief? What does the novel say about human resilience and our propensity to overcome tragedy?

7. When Sheba suggests to Leo that he divorce his wife, he says, “I knew there were problems when I married Starla so I didn't walk into that marriage blind.” Do you think that knowledge obligates Leo to stay with his wife? In your opinion, does Leo do the right thing by staying married? Would you do the same?

8. Both Chad and Leo are unfaithful to their wives, but only Leo is truthful about it. Do you think this makes Chad's infidelity a worse offense? Why or why not?

9. At two points in the novel, the group tries to rescue a friend: first Niles, then Trevor. But when Starla is in trouble, they don't attempt to save her. Why do you think this is? Has Starla become a “lost cause”?

10. At one point Leo remarks, “I had trouble with the whole concept [of love] because I never fully learned the art of loving myself.” How does the concept of self-love play into the novel?

11. In the moment before Leo attacks Trevor's captor, he recites a portion of “Horatio at the Bridge,” a poem about taking a lone stand against fearful odds. What is the significance of the verse? Do you think it's appropriate to that moment?

12. The twins are the novel's most abused characters and also the most creative. Do you think there is a connection between suffering and art?

13. What do you make of the smiley face symbol that Sheba and Trevor's father paints? How does the novel address the idea of happiness coexisting with pain?

14. At several points in the novel, characters divulge family secrets. Do you believe that this information should stay secret, or is there value in bringing it to light?

15. Leo examines his Catholicism at several points in the novel. What do you think he might say are the advantages and drawbacks of his religion? Do you think all religions are fraught with those problems?

16. One might interpret Leo's mother's attitude toward religion as one of blind faith. If Steven had admitted his abuse to her, do you think she would she have believed him? How do you think the information might have affected her?

17. Sheba and Trevor are literally tormented by their childhoods, in the form of their deranged father. How are some of the other characters hindered by the past? Are they ever able to escape its clutches and, if so, by what means?

18. Discuss the scene in which Leo and Molly rescue the porpoise. What does the event symbolize?

19. Why do you think the discoveries about Leo's mother and Monsignor Max begin and end the novel? What theme do these incidents convey?

20. Chapter one begins with the statement, “Nothing happens by accident,” and Leo often reflects on the way that destiny has shaped his life. How does destiny affect the other characters? Do you agree that real life is the result of predetermined forces? Or can we affect our fate?

Questions from www.readinggroupguides.com

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Discussion of Michael Connelly's Scarecrow

These are the questions we used from www.michaelconnelly.com
The Scarecrow Reading Guide

SPOILER WARNING! This guide does address the entire book. Do not read it if you have not read the book.

1. Jack McEvoy had been flying high for a while, after The Poet case. He wrote a bestselling book about that story, was featured on TV shows, and was hired at a premier newspaper. However, at the start of The Scarecrow, 12 years after The Poet, he is divorced and seemed to be at the end of his career as a journalist. Did you like Jack as a protagonist? Could you relate to him or to his career issues?

2. The layoffs at the Los Angeles Times in this novel are a fictional example of what is really happening in the newspaper industry today. Why are so many newspapers shutting down or going bankrupt? What is the future of the news industry? And what will our communities miss if local daily newspapers are gone?

3. Jack McEvoy and Rachel Walling reunited in The Scarecrow and appeared to be in a good relationship at the end. Michael Connelly has also written Rachel in an on-and-off again relationship with LAPD Detective Harry Bosch. Who do you think is a better fit for Rachel, Jack or Harry? Or neither?

4. Rachel seemed lost when she was forced out of the FBI. Can you imagine Rachel in another line of work? Do you think she can ever really have job security with the FBI or will she always be one mistake away from being fired?

5. Wesley Carver, the Scarecrow, was obviously a very smart man who was very dangerous. Do you think, if his childhood had been different, he would have leaded a healthier, saner life? Or do you think some people are just simply born bad?

6. Carver seemed to have found a home on the Internet, indulging in his twisted sexual fantasies, finding others who shared his tendencies, laying traps, and finding victims. He was able to get information about his victims very easily. Think about Angela Cook and how much information he gathered about her just by visiting a few web pages. Is this book a cautionary tale about our use of the Internet?

7. Did you catch any of the references to the The Wizard of Oz throughout the
book?

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

March Meeting-Digital Fortress

Stuart had some great questions for our discussion Thursday evening. You might want to consider them too.
Discuss national security and an individual's right to privacy. Under what circumstances does the government have the right to intercept private conversations? Where do you draw the line?


We all have right to keep secrets," he [Tankado] said. "Someday I'll see to it we can." (Chpt. 6, p. 33) Why did Tankado create Digital Fortress? What were his intentions? Was he right or wrong? How so?

What does Strathmore want to do with Digital Fortress? What are his intentions? Is he right or wrong? How so?

Discuss Tankado's early childhood. What effect did the events of his past have on his life? What makes Tankado's life ironic?

What does Susan think of Commander Trevor Strathmore? What does she think of Greg Hale? Do Susan's opinions cloud her judgment? In what way?

What is the significance of the ring? What does the inscription mean? Explain in detail.

What is the pass code? Who figures out the pass code, and how do they figure it out? What is the connection between the pass code and Tankado?

In addition to the above, we were intrigued by the line of 16 numbers on a blank page at the end of every copy of the novel, no matter what edition each of us used. It looked like a code. It was. Can you read the message?

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Digital Fortress


If you do not yet have a copy of Digital Fortress for our book club meeting on March 18, you can find one at Beaufort Branch on the paperback rack. It will not be listed in the catalog. Stuart has also made his personal copy available. Of course, he will need it back before the meeting as he is our presenter!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Food of a Younger Land

Thursday evening Brenda lead us in a discussion of Food of a Younger Land, a book that Mark Kurlansky created from newly discovered submissions to a 1930s WPA project called America Eats. Brenda told us that the project was never published.
We learned a great deal about WPA projects from Brenda's research. For instance, at the time of the WPA, government support for the arts was a brand new concept.

Several members of the group brought regional dishes to share. Brenda, who is from Virginia, brought Brunswick stew. Cathy brought a corn dish often served in her native Iowa. Micki brought a local dish called Shrimp Bog, while Judy brought my childhood favorite, Snickerdoodles!

No, we haven't become a cooking club, but we were treated to some very fine food as part of our discussion of what people ate before the advent of the Interstate and fast food. I think we found that regional fare has survived in our homes, if not in restaurants.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

A Note on our February Book

As our book next week focuses on food of an earlier generation, I would like to add, please be thinking of some of the foodways or regional cookery that you grew up with, or that perhaps you miss, if it is not readily available here. And what you find strange or wonderful or strange AND wonderful about Southern foodways. We’ll go around the room and savor each other’s stories, and get to know each other better. Thanks!

p.s. I’m bringing Brunswick stew from a recipe of my native Virginia.

Brendagael Beasley~Forrest, MA, MSLS

Blog Reader Request




Someone in cyberspace wanted to see pictures of the Beaufort Book Club. The only one saved on my computer is from our Christmas gathering. So, folks, here we are!

Please understand that the composition of our group changes from meeting to meeting. We are a book club that is freely open to the public, so people attend if they are interested in the subject of the book under discussion.


Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Food of a Younger Land


I hope you are enjoying our February selection. It has already created lively discussion as readers have dropped by the library! Remember that our meeting is Thursday, January 18 in the Children's Program Room.
I have been asked if attendees can bring a sample of a favorite recipe from the book. Of course, but please don't feel that you must bring something.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Meeting with Carolyn MacCullough

Seventeen of us met on Thursday with author Carolyn MacCullough, her husband, her darling baby girl and of course her mother and father who are regular attendees of the book club. For the aspiring authors in the group, Carolyn had a great deal of information:

Should you have an agent? Yes.

Is it hard to have a new editor for the second novel in your series? Probably, yes. She has not worked with the new editor yet, but the former editor has moved away.

Did she go into writing intending to write for the teen reader? No, but her "picture books" had too much text to fit into the category, so she adjusted.

Is she allowed to pick her cover art? Not really, but her editor let her give a lot of input into the one for Once a Witch. Actually, the large, chain bookstores dictate cover art, placing larger orders for those books whose covers they approve!

Carolyn gave us some insight into how her last book came to be. Imagine looking at a carved gargoyle and thinking "what if...."

Carolyn is an entertaining and articulate speaker. We were all so pleased to have her with us! Keep up with Carolyn and her books at http://www.carolynmaccullough.com/.





I hope you have all found a copy of Foods of a Younger Land, our selection for February 18. It's an interesting look at regional foods in the thirties when the WPA paid authors to investigate what people ate in this country. I read a few recipes that had survived into my own childhood passed along from my grandmother to my mother!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Review of Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Join the Beaufort Book Club and the Teen Book Club to meet the author on Thursday, January 21 at 5:30 in the Children's Program Room.
It is a great honor for an author to be reviewed in Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and the former publication Kirkus Reviews. See below.
Review of Once a Witch.
“[MacCullough] has created an enormously sympathetic character in Tamsin, whose itchy relationship with her family will resonate with teens struggling to define themselves. Characters, setting, conflict—all develop nicely to create a light urban fantasy that goes down easy and will have readers asking for its sequel.”—Kirkus Reviews

“With the glut of contemporary romantic supernatural tales, this will be popular, but the action, drama, and great potential for compelling sequels set it apart from the crowd.”—Booklist

"MacCullough's writing is evocative without distracting from her story; readers will identify with Tam's desire to create a space away from parental expectations and take comfort that even extraordinary families make mistakes."--Publishers Weekly