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?

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

January Meeting

I hope you have found a copy of Once a Witch by Caroly MacCullough.

It is a teen novel, but still very interesting as an adult read. If not, the library system has four copies of the book. If you would like to own one, Baystreet Trading Company was ordering copies when I checked.

The author is still planning to speak to the combined adult and teen book clubs on January 21 at 5:30 PM in the Children's Program Room at the Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street in Beaufort, SC. Even if you haven't read the book by that time, please come and learn about the writing process.

Carolyn's next novel, Always a Witch is in the works! Have read the first one, I'm looking forward to the the sequel.

Happy New Year!

Fran

October 15 Reading Guide

Caution! It is likely that the following reading guide will reveal, or at least allude to, key plot details. Therefore, if you haven’t yet read this book, but are planning on doing so, you may wish to proceed with caution to avoid spoiling your later enjoyment.

Book Group Questions
Pearl's narration is unique because of its level, calm tone throughout – even when the events she describes are horrific. One is reminded of Wordsworth's reference to "emotion recollected in tranquility." It is almost as if Pearl is writing in a diary. What was Lisa trying to accomplish in setting up this counterpoint between her tone and her narrative?

Pearl is a Dragon and May is a Sheep. Do you think the two sisters are true to their birth signs in their actions in Shanghai Girls?

Which sister is smarter? Which is more beautiful?
Each sister believes that her parents loved the other sister more. Who is right about this? Why?

Pearl says that parents die, husbands and children can leave, but sisters are for life. Does that end up being true for Pearl?

If you have a sister, to what extent does the relationship between Pearl and May speak to your own experience?

What's the difference between a relationship that's "just like sisters" and real sisters?

Is there anything your sister could do that would cause an irreparable breach?

Z.G. talks about ai kuo, the love for your country, and ai jen, the emotion you feel for the person you love. How do these ideas play out in the novel?

Shanghai Girls makes a powerful statement about the mistreatment of Chinese immigrants to the United States. Were you surprised about any of the details related to this theme in the novel?

How would you describe the relationship between Pearl and May?

How does the fact that both are, in a sense, Joy's mother affect their relationship toward each other?

Who loves Joy more and how does she show it?

Pearl doesn't come to mother love easily or naturally. At what point does she begin to claim Joy as her own? How, where, and why does she continue to struggle with the challenges of being a mother? Do you think this is an accurate portrayal of motherhood?

There are times when it seems like outside forces conspire against Pearl—leaving China, working in the restaurant, not looking for a job after the war, and taking care of Vern. How much of what happens to Pearl is a product of her own decisions and choices?

Pearl's attitude toward men and the world in general is influenced by what happened to her in the shack outside Shanghai. To what extent does she find her way to healing by the end of the novel?

Did your attitude toward Old Man Louie change? How do you feel about Sam and his relationship with Pearl and Joy? Did your impression of him change as the novel progressed?

The novel begins with Pearl saying, "I am not a person of importance." After Yen-yen dies, Pearl comments: "Her funeral is small. After all, she was not a person of importance, rather just a wife and mother." How do you react to comments like these?

Speaking of Yen-yen, Pearl notes: "When we're packing, Yen-yen says she's tired. She sits down on the couch in the main room and dies." Why does Pearl describe Yen-yen's death in such an abrupt way?

After Joy points out the differences in the way Z.G. painted her mother and aunt in the Communist propaganda posters, May says, "Everything always returns to the beginning." Pearl has her idea of what May meant, but what do you think May really meant? And what is Pearl's understanding of this saying at the end of the novel?

Near the end of Shanghai Girls, May argues that Pearl and Sam have withdrawn into a world of fear and isolation, not taking advantage of the opportunities open to them. Do you agree with May that much of Pearl's sadness and isolation is self-imposed? Why or why not?

How do clothes define Pearl and May in different parts of the story? How do the sisters use clothes to manipulate others?

How does food serve as a gateway to memory in the novel? How does it illustrate culture and tradition both in the novel and in your own families?

What influence—if any—do Mama's beliefs have on Pearl? How do they evolve over time?

Pearl encounters a lot of racism, but she also holds many racist views herself. Is she a product of her time? Do her attitudes change during the course of the story?

What role does place—Shanghai, Angel Island, China City, and Chinatown—serve in the novel? What do you think Lisa was trying to say about "home"?

Questions provided by bookbrowse.com