Discussion Questions for Still Alice by Lisa Genova 1. When Alice becomes disoriented in Harvard Square, a place she's visited daily for twenty-five years, why doesn't she tell John? Is she too afraid to face a possible illness, worried about his possible reaction, or some other reason? 2. After first learning she has Alzheimer's disease, "the sound of her name penetrated her every cell and seemed to scatter her molecules beyond the boundaries of her own skin. She watched herself from the far corner of the room" (pg. 70). What do you think of Alice's reaction to the diagnosis? Why does she disassociate herself to the extent that she feels she's having an out-of-body experience? 3. Do you find irony in the fact that Alice, a Harvard professor and researcher, suffers from a disease that causes her brain to atrophy? Why do you think the author, Lisa Genova, chose this profession? How does her past academic success affect Alice's ability, and her family's, to cope with Alzheimer's? 4. "He refused to watch her take her medication. He could be mid-sentence, mid-conversation, but if she got out her plastic, days-of-the-week pill container, he left the room" (pg. 89). Is John's reaction understandable? What might be the significance of him frequently fiddling with his wedding ring when Alice's health is discussed? 5. When Alice's three children, Anna, Tom and Lydia, find out they can be tested for the genetic mutation that causes Alzheimer's, only Lydia decides she doesn't want to know. Why does she decline? Would you want to know if you had the gene? 6. Why is her mother's butterfly necklace so important to Alice? Is it only because she misses her mother? Does Alice feel a connection to butterflies beyond the necklace? 7. Alice decides she wants to spend her remaining time with her family and her books. Considering her devotion and passion for her work, why doesn't her research make the list of priorities? Does Alice most identify herself as a mother, wife, or scholar? 8. Were you surprised at Alice's plan to overdose on sleeping pills once her disease progressed to an advanced stage? Is this decision in character? Why does she make this difficult choice? If they found out, would her family approve? 9. As the symptoms worsen, Alice begins to feel like she's living in one of Lydia's plays: "(Interior of Doctor's Office. The neurologist left the room. The husband spun his ring. The woman hoped for a cure.)" (pg. 141). Is this thought process a sign of the disease, or does pretending it's not happening to her make it easier for Alice to deal with reality? 10. Do Alice's relationships with her children differ? Why does she read Lydia's diary? And does Lydia decide to attend college only to honor her mother? 11. Alice's mother and sister died when she was only a freshman in college, and yet Alice has to keep reminding herself they're not about to walk through the door. As the symptoms worsen, why does Alice think more about her mother and sister? Is it because her older memories are more accessible, is she thinking of happier times, or is she worried about her own mortality? 12. Alice and the members of her support group, Mary, Cathy, and Dan, all discuss how their reputations suffered prior to their diagnoses because people thought they were being difficult or possibly had substance abuse problems. Is preserving their legacies one of the biggest obstacles to people suffering from Alzheimer's disease? What examples are there of people still respecting Alice's wishes, and at what times is she ignored? 13. "One last sabbatical year together. She wouldn't trade that in for anything. Apparently, he would" (pg. 223). Why does John decide to keep working? Is it fair for him to seek the job in New York considering Alice probably won't know her whereabouts by the time they move? Is he correct when he tells the children she would not want him to sacrifice his work? 14. Why does Lisa Genova choose to end the novel with John reading that Amylix, the medicine that Alice was taking, failed to stabilize Alzheimer's patients? Why does this news cause John to cry? 15. Alice's doctor tells her, "You may not be the most reliable source of what's been going on" (pg. 54). Yet, Lisa Genova chose to tell the story from Alice's point of view. As Alice's disease worsens, her perceptions indeed get less reliable. Why would the author choose to stay in Alice's perspective? What do we gain, and what do we lose?

Questions for Discussion-On Agate Hill by Lee Smith for May 16 Meeting

1. Early on, Molly writes in her diary, “I want to be a real girl and live as hard as I can in this world, I dont want to lie in the bed like Mama or be sick like Mary White. Or be a lady. I would rather work my fingers to the bone and die like Fan-nie. I want to live so hard and love so much I will use myself all the way up like a candle, it seems to me like this is the point of it all, not Heaven” (page 78). This says so much about Molly’s character. How do you think Molly came to reach this conclusion about her aspirations, and how do you think it shapes what hap-pens later on in her life? 2. How do Nicky Eck’s crimes against Molly affect the rest of her life? 3.On Agate Hill is a story within a story, told from many different perspectives. The novel opens with a letter from Tuscany Miller, a university student from the present day who is looking into her own past and the pasts of those who lived at her father’s (Ava’s) new home. What parallels can you draw from both stories, and why do you suppose the author chose to set it up this way? How would the book be different if the author left out the Tuscany Miller thread altogether? 4. Why does Mariah Snow take an immediate dislike to Molly? Is this a clue to what happened in Mariah’s past? Do you believe people like or dislike other people because they possess similar qualities (either positive or negative)? 5. At the beginning of the chapter titled “Paradise Lost,” Agnes Rutherford de-scribes Agate Hill in a letter to her sister, Mariah Snow. She says that it is “sur-rounded by an air of loneliness” and “Defeat. Failure. Loss. Decay” (page 132). She goes on to say that “the interior of the house was so unkept as to appear ran-sacked” (page 135). This is far different from what we are led to believe from reading Molly’s journal. How do you think your reading experience would’ve been affected by knowing the true state of the plantation right from the very be-ginning? 6. What do you make of the author’s choice to write a majority of the novel in journal entries and letters? How would the novel be different if she had chosen to tell the story using straight prose? 7. In the September 22, 1873, letter to her sister, Agnes relays the story of how Molly first came to be accepted by her peers at Gatewood Academy (page 157). Why did the rest of the girls choose to accept Molly instead of shunning her after Ida and Adeline Brown made fun of her background? What does this say about girls and group mentality? 8. In her May 3, 1874, journal entry, Mariah Snow writes (referring to women), “We lose our names as we lose our Youth, our Beauty, & our Lives” (page 163). What does this say about her character? About how women were treated in gen-eral at that time? How is that different from how women are treated now? Do you know women who feel the way Mariah does? Do you feel that way about your life? 9. What do you think happened to Mary White? 10. In the beginning of the section titled “Up on Bobcat,” Agnes writes in her “Final Impressions,” “I wonder if I could have done anything different, if I could perhaps have waited and chosen a less drastic course, and what would have hap-pened then . . . but it is impossible to wrest a decision out of its time and place, and even now I cannot think what I should have done” (page 219). In your opin-ion, could things have been different? What are other possible outcomes? Would a different outcome make the story less or more interesting in your opinion? 11. When Simon Black visits Molly in the mountains in February (page 241), Molly doesn’t discuss with Agnes what transpired between them. What do you suppose was said? 12. After Jacky’s funeral, why do you think Molly asks BJ to take her to Icy Hin-shaw’s cabin, and then leaves without saying a word? Later, she asks BJ to give Icy and her children her house, the one she shared with Jacky. She says, “take care of them, for they are Jacky’s. They are yours” (page 325). What exactly does she mean by this? 13. Who do you believe killed Jacky (with the first shot in the stomach, not the second shot in his neck)? Why do you suppose BJ helped Molly cover up what really happened to Jacky? 14. Discuss this quote: “love lives not in places nor even bodies but in the spaces between them, the long and lovely sweep of air and sky, and in the living heart and memory until that is gone too, and we are all wanderers, as we have always been, upon the earth” (page 328). 15. What are the reasons behind Molly’s decision to go back to Agate Hill in the end? How does this illustrate the change in Molly from the beginning of her life to the end of it? 16. Which character do you relate to the most in the book, and why? Questions from Readinggroupguides.com

The Work of Wolves by Kent Meyers-Discussion Questions

1. How does the initial meeting between Carson Fielding and Magnus Yarborough set the tone for the remainder of the book? Compare their initial meeting with their next meeting (p. 68-73) and their final meeting (p. 389-395).

2. Why does Earl Walks Alone go to the party on Tower Hill? Discuss what Ted Kills Many means when he says, “Apples don’t roll straight, but they roll. Right off the rez.”

3. What are some of the names that Earl uses to refer to himself in his imaginary documentary? Which of the names do you feel best fit Earl and why?

4. How do you feel about the way Carson deals with his grandfather’s death? What insight does this give into how Carson thinks and acts?

5. Willie’s father tells him before he leaves for his year in America, “You may find, though, that people are the same everywhere. That there is not the difference you think between us and them.” If, when he returned to Germany, Willie were to reflect on these words of his father, what would he conclude?

6. Who (or what) is Goat Man? Is Goat Man a real or imaginary creature? Defend your point of view from the story. What does Greggy Longwell think about Goat Man when he first hears about him? How does his thinking about Goat Man change?

7. What are Carson’s reasons for not wanting to train Magnus Yarborough’s horses? Why does he finally agree to train them? How does his decision to go against his basic rules for training horses turn out?

8. How do you feel about the development of the relationship between Carson Fielding and Rebecca Yarborough? Does it cross any boundaries into becoming an improper relationship? Would you say that their relationship justified Magnus’ behavior toward his cattle and Carson?

9. Relationships with fathers are a key element to the story. Discuss the relationship between Carson and his father, Charles; between Charles and his father Ves; between Willie and his father.

10. What about the relationship between Earl Walks Alone and his father Cyrus? Has his father impacted Earl’s life even though he is no longer alive? Give some examples.

11. Another father-son relationship that the book touches on is the one between the biblical characters of Abraham and Isaac. (p. 344 f.) How does this connect with the rest of the story?

12. What is Lebensborn? What role does it play in forming who Willie is? How does it affect who his father is?

13. Why does Carson object to selling the ranch? Why does his father Charles want to sell it? What position does Carson’s mother Marie take about selling the ranch? Why? Which character do you side with and why?

14. The Work of Wolves explores the role of silence in personal relationships and communities. It also looks at how silence is understood in a community. Find some examples from the story that illustrate these two points. What does Greggy Longwell mean when he says on p. 384, “This much silence, it ain’t as hard to read things, in some ways”?

15. The first mention of wolves in this book occurs on page 288. The chapter that shares the same name with the title of the book is only one sentence long. Why is the novel called The Work of Wolves?

Paris Wife Discussion Questions

1.In many ways, Hadley's girlhood in St. Louis was a difficult and repressive experience. How do her early years prepare her to meet and fall in love with Ernest? What does life with Ernest offer her that she hasn't encountered before? What are the risks?
2.Hadley and Ernest don't get a lot of encouragement from their friends and family when they decided to marry. What seems to draw the two together? What are some of the strengths of their initial attraction and partnership? The challenges?
3.The Ernest Hemingway we meet in THE PARIS WIFE—through Hadley's eyes—is in many ways different from the ways we imagine him when faced with the largeness of his later persona. What do you see as his character strengths? Can you see what Hadley saw in him?
4.The Hemingways spontaneously opt for Paris over Rome when the get key advice from Sherwood Anderson. What was life like for them when they first arrived? How did Hadley's initial feelings about Paris differ from Ernest's and why?
5.Throughout THE PARIS WIFE, Hadley refers to herself as "Victorian" as opposed to "modern." What are some of the ways she doesn't feel like she fits into life in bohemian Paris? How does this impact her relationship with Ernest? Her self-esteem? What are some of the ways Hadley's "old-fashioned" quality can be seen as a strength and not a weakness?
6.Hadley and Ernest's marriage survived for many years in Jazz-Age Paris, an environment that had very little patience for monogamy and other traditional values. What in their relationship seems to sustain them? How does their marriage differ from those around them? Pound's and Shakespeare's? Scott and Zelda's?
7.Most of THE PARIS WIFE is written in Hadley's voice, but a few select passages come to us from Ernest's point of view. What impact does getting Ernest's perspective have on our understanding of their marriage? How does it affect your ability to understand him and his motivations in general?
8.What was the role of literary spouses in 1920's Paris? How is Hadley challenged and restricted by her gender? Would those restrictions have changed if she had been an artist and not merely a "wife"?
9.At one point, Ezra Pound warns Hadley that it would be a dire mistake to let parenthood change Ernest. Is there a nugget of truth behind his concern? What are some of the ways Ernest is changed by Bumby's birth? What about Hadley? What does motherhood bring to her life, for better or worse?
10.One of the most wrenching scenes in the book is when Hadley loses a valise containing all of Ernest's work to date. What kind of turning point does this mark for the Hemingway's marriage? Do you think Ernest ever forgives her?
11.When the couple moves to Toronto to have Bumby, Ernest tries his best to stick it out with a regular "nine-to-five" reporter's job, and yet he ultimately finds this impossible. Why is life in Toronto so difficult for Ernest? Why does Hadley agree to go back to Paris earlier than they planned, even though she doesn't know how they'll make it financially? How does she benefit from supporting his decision to make a go at writing only fiction?
12.Hadley and Ernest had similar upbringings in many ways. What are the parallels, and how do these affect the choices Hadley makes as a wife and mother?
13.In THE PARIS WIFE, when Ernest receives his contract for In Our Time, Hadley says, "He would never again be unknown. We would never again be this happy." How did fame affect Ernest and his relationship with Hadley?
14.The Sun Also Rises is drawn from the Hemingways' real-life experiences with bullfighting in Spain. Ernest and his friends are clearly present in the book, but Hadley is not. Why? In what ways do you think Hadley is instrumental to the book regardless, and to Ernest's career in general?
15.How does the time and place—Paris in the 20's—affect Ernest and Hadley's marriage? What impact does the war, for instance, have on the choices and behavior of the expatriate artists surrounding the Hemingways? Do you see Ernest changing in response to the world around him? How, and how does Hadley feel about those changes?
16.What was the nature of the relationship between Hadley and Pauline Pfeiffer? Were they legitimately friends? How do you see Pauline taking advantage of her intimate position in the Hemingway's life? Do you think Hadley is naïve for not suspecting Pauline of having designs on Ernest earlier? Why or why not?
17.It seems as if Ernest tries to make his marriage work even after Pauline arrives on the scene. What would Hadley it have cost Hadley to stick it out with Ernest no matter what? Is there a way she could have fought harder for her marriage?
18.In many ways, Hadley is a very different person at the end of the novel than the girl who encounters Ernest by chance at a party. How do you understand her trajectory and transformation? Are there any ways she essentially doesn't change?
19.When Hemingway's biographer Carlos Baker interviewed Hadley Richardson near the end of her life, he expected her to be bitter, and yet she persisted in describing Ernest as a "prince." How can she have continued to love and admire him after the way he hurt her?
20.Ernest Hemingway spent the last months of his life tenderly reliving his first marriage in the pages his memoir, A Moveable Feast. In fact, it was the last thing he wrote before his death. Do you think he realized what he'd truly lost with Hadley?
Questions from Randomhouse.com

February Meeting Changed

Our February meeting has been changed to Thursday the 23rd. We will meet at 5:30 in the Children's Program Room to discuss Girl in a Blue Dress: A Novel Inspired by the Life and Marriage of Charles Dickens. The author is Gaynor Arnold. Micki will lead our discussion.

Questions for Discussion-Breaking Night by Liz Murray

1. There are plenty of atrocious aspects to Liz's childhood - the hunger so painful she ate Chap Stick and toothpaste, the lice she had for months, the stopped-up, putrid-smelling bathroom and consequent lack of personal hygiene, the sleep deprivation, watching her parents shoot up daily, being left alone with a child molester, the HIV-positive blood splattered on the kitchen walls and counters, even their pack of Wonder bread, etc. Was there an aspect you were most taken aback by?
2. Have you been close to someone with a drug addiction? Was Liz's portrayal of her parents similar to your experience?
3. Did you side more with Liz or Lisa in the way they handled their parents' addiction and behavior? Why?
4. Why do think Liz loved and accepted her parents as much as she did? Was this surprising to you?
5. What finally made Liz decide to turn her life around? Given her history, was this drastic change believable to you?
6. In reading this book, did you naturally compare your childhood (or the current childhood of your young children) to Liz's? Has this changed the way you look at obstacles in your own daily life?
7. Has the knowledge you've gained through reading Liz's story spurred you on to take action - to do something for yourself that you know is right, or to help children in Liz's situation?
8. Rate Breaking Night on a scale of 1 to 5.

Reading Group Guide questions for Left Neglected from simonandshuster.com

1. Is Sarah better off at the end of the novel than at the beginning? If so, in what ways?

2. Sarah has a series of anxious dreams in the nights leading up to the accident. How would you interpret these dreams? What do you think her subconscious is trying to tell her?

3. Is Sarah a better mother before or after the crash? How do you think she would answer that question? Consider the amount of time she spends with her kids, her ability to keep track of them, and the level of participation in their lives.

4. The second time Sarah and Bob meet with Charlie's teacher about his progress in class, they learn that he is the target of some bullying. Ms. Gavin tells them many children experience this whether or not they have disabilities. Do you agree with Charlie's teacher? Do disabilities like ADHD make a child more of a target than other kids?

5. Sarah's Type A personality seems like it should help her through her physical therapy, but her friend and therapist Heidi believes she needs to stop trying to "win" and learn how to "adjust." Do you agree? Do you think by adjusting to her new limitations, Sarah holds herself back from a quicker recovery?

6. If Sarah had recovered completely, do you think she would have gone back to her high pressured job at Berkley Consulting?

7. While Sarah is in the rehabilitation hospital, she and Heidi trade watches, even though Sarah's is clearly the more valuable of the two. Toward the end of the novel, Sarah notes that Heidi is still wearing her expensive watch, but never asks for it back. Why do you think she doesn't reclaim her watch?

8. After Sarah's accident, Bob uses his cell phone at least once while driving in the car with Sarah and their kids. Why do you think he does that? Do we sometimes make exceptions for ourselves and do something unhealthy or risky in the interest of saving time or getting more done (like texting or using a cell phone while driving) even when we know it is dangerous? Why do you think that is?

9. At one point Bob argues that he doesn't think Vermont is a place to live full time when they are young. He sees it as a place to spend their retirement. Do you agree? What are the benefits of living and raising a family in a suburban setting versus a rural one?

10.Which character do you identify with the most? Which the least? Who is your favorite?

11.Is Sarah's mother's response to Nate's death understandable or unreasonable?

12.What did Sarah miss out on by having such a withdrawn mother? If her mother had been more available, do you think Sarah would be as high achieving?

13.Sarah's trauma gives her a chance to reconnect with her estranged mother. Why is it so hard for Sarah to forgive her mother?

14.Can working mothers really have it all—a successful career, well-adjusted children, a great marriage, a sense of well-being, and personal happiness? Or is that a myth? Does something always have to give?

15.Sarah's work/life balance before her disability is weighted toward work, whereas after it is weighted toward her family. How would you categorize your own work-life balance? Does Left Neglected make you reconsider any of your career decisions?

16.The back cover states that the novel is "about what we ignore and neglect in ourselves, in our families, and in the world around us." What do you think you are neglecting in your life? Yourself? Your relationships? Your home? Your job?

Little Bee by Chris Cleave-Questions for Discussion

1. “Sad words are just another beauty. A sad story means, this storyteller is alive” (p. 9). For Little Bee and other asylum seekers, the story of their life thus far is often all they have. What happens to the characters that carry their stories with them, both physically and mentally? What happens when we try to forget our past? How much control over their own stories do the characters in the book seem to have?

2. Little Bee tells the reader, “We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived” (p. 9). Which characters in the story are left with physical scars? Emotional scars? Do they embrace them as beautiful? Do you have any scars you’ve come to embrace? Did you feel more connected to Little Bee as a narrator after this pact?

3. Little Bee strives to learn the Queen’s English in order to survive in the detention center. How does her grasp of the language compare with Charlie’s? How does the way each of these two characters handle the English language help to characterize them?

4. How did it affect your reading experience to have two narrators? Did you trust one woman more than the other? Did you prefer the voice of one above the other?

5. Little Bee credits a small bottle of nail polish for “saving her life” while she was in the detention center (p. 7). Is there any object or act that helps you feel alive and beautiful, even when everything else seems to be falling apart?

6. Of the English language Little Bee says, “Every word can defend itself. Just when you go to grab it, it can split into two separate meanings so the understanding closes on empty air” (p. 12). What do you think she means by this? Can you think of any examples of English words that defend themselves? Why is language so important to Little Bee?

7. Little Bee says of horror films, “Horror in your country is something you take a dose of to remind yourself that you are not suffering from it” (p. 45). Do you agree? Was reading this novel in any way a dose of horror for you? How did it help you reflect on the presence or lack of horror in your own life?

8. Little Bee figures out the best way to kill herself in any given situation, just in case “the men come suddenly.” How do these plans help Little Bee reclaim some power? Were you disturbed by this, or were you able to find the humor in some of the scenarios she imagines?

9. What does Udo changing her name to Little Bee symbolize for you? How does her new name offer her protection? Do you think the name suits her?

10. “To have an affair, I began to realize, was a relatively minor transgression. But to really escape from Andrew, to really become myself, I had to go the whole way and fall in love” (p. 161-162). Do you agree with Sarah that an affair is a minor transgression? How did falling in love with someone else help Sarah become herself? What role did Andrew play in perpetuating Sarah’s extramarital affair?

11. When Little Bee finds that Andrew has hanged himself she thinks, “Of course I must save him, whatever it costs me, because he is a human being.” And then she thinks, “Of course I must save myself, because I am a human being too” (p. 194). How do the characters in the story decide when to put themselves first and when to offer charity? Is one human life ever more valuable than another? What if one of the lives in question is your own?

Questions from readinggroupguides.com

More About James Edwin Mcteer, Jr., Witchdoctor Sheriff

Here are some links that Grace Cordial, Historical Resources Librarian, gave the book club for futher information about Sheriff McTeer.
Quintessentially Lowcountry by Patrick Donohue
http://www.islandpacket.com/2009/07/24/915010/quintessentially-lowcountry-sheriff.html

Nudist Colony, Cat Island
http://www.scpronet.com/point/9509/s03.html

Gaynard Woods on Radio Free Dafuskie
http://www.citytrex.com/rfd/boynard-woods1.php

20 Years of History: Beaufort county Sheriff's Department by Neil Baxley
www.bcso.net/history.htm

Interview with Baynard Woods by Aaron Hinklin of WYPR, Baltimore
http://tenein.com/tuner/?Programldo=60224&Topicld=34260898&

That Old Black Magic by tom Poland
http://likethedew.com/2010/12/05/that-old-black-magic

Question for Discussion-Coffin Point: The Strange Cases of Ed McTeer, Witchdoctor Sheriff

Here are questions for you to ponder as you read Coffin Point by Baynard Woods. Grace Cordial, Historical Resources Librarian for the Beaufort District Collection will lead our discussion on August 18.

1. What made you want to read Coffin Point: The Strange Cases of Sheriff Ed McTeer?

2. Compare this book to others your group has read. Is it similar to any of them? Did you like it more or less than other books you've read?

3. What did you find to be the most interesting event in this book?

4. How might things have been different if Governor McLeod had chosen someone else to fulfill Jim Eddie’s term?

5. What did you learn about the time period in which the book is set that you did not previously know?

6. What was Sheriff McTeer’s most admirable quality?

7. Would you have invited Sheriff McTeer over for dinner? What would you have served? How do you think that dinner conversation might have gone?

8. What do you think of the author’s writing style? Was the format he chose an appropriate one for the subject matter?

9. Has reading this book inspired you to do further research on the subject and the time period discussed?

10. What do you think will be your lasting impression of the book as a whole? How about Sheriff McTeer specifically?