The Also Rans . . .

These looked good too . . .

The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt

Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand

Gilead, Marilynne Robinson

A God in Ruins, Kate Atkinson

And the Birds Rained Down, Jocelyne Saucier

Wash, Margaret Wrinkle

The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton

The Paris Architect, Charles Belfoure

On Such a Full Sea, Chang-Rae Lee

Station Eleven, Emily St John Mandel

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, Anthony Marra

In the Shadow of the Banyan, Yadday Ratner

Thrive, Arianna Huffington

North of Normal, Cea Sunrise Person

2015-2016 Reading List

These are the books we will read after January . . .

The Inconvenient Indian, Thomas King

The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck

Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo

Molokai, Alan Brennert

2015-2016 Reading List

Here are the books we have selected to read this year . . .

October

A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki

 

November

The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January

 

All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr

The Giver - Reader's Guide

If you Google "The Giver Reader Guide" you will get myriad links from big name reputable websites. When it comes to these sorts of sites, Shmoop.com is my favourite, so that' the only link I'm going to list. Feel free to explore the others and report back if you find anything special.

The Giver at Shmoop:  http://www.shmoop.com/the-giver/

Fifth Business - Discussion Questions

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Dunstan Ramsay feels compelled to write his autobiography after reading a patronizing portrait of himself in the school newspaper, in which he is presented as “a typical old schoolmaster doddering into retirement with tears in his eyes and a drop hanging from his nose” (p. 5). He feels the piece depicts him as a man who never had a life outside the classroom. How does Ramsay present himself in correcting this account? In what ways does the novel show the depth and complexity of character that lie beneath the clichés we quickly, and sometimes dismissively, use to sum up the lives of others?
 

Ramsay titles the chapter dealing with his war years “I Am Born Again” (p. 58). In what ways does the war change him? Why does he vow, after returning home, to “live henceforth for my own satisfaction” (p. 79)? What is the most life-altering experience he has during the war?
 

Padre Blazon asks Ramsay about the significance of Mrs. Dempster: “What figure is she in your personal mythology? If she appeared to save you on the battlefield, as you say, it has just as much to do with you as it has with her—much more probably” (p. 165). Why is Mrs. Dempster so important to Ramsay? In what ways has his interaction with her changed the course of his life? Why does Ramsay think she is a saint?
 

Dunstan Ramsay is fascinated by what he calls “a world of wonders”: saints, mythologies, miraculous events. “Why do people all over the world, and at all times,” he asks, “want marvels that defy all verifiable facts? And are the marvels brought into being by their desire, or is their desire an assurance rising from some deep knowledge, not to be directly experienced and questioned, that the marvelous is indeed an aspect of the real?” (p. 186). How would you answer these questions?

SOURCE: http://www.penguin.com/read/book-clubs/fifth-business/9780141186153

Summer 2015 Reading Suggestions

Here are all the outstanding books that I recommend since my last list in June 2013:

FICTION (in no particular order)

The Vanishing Act of Esme Marshall - Maggie O'Farrell

What a Carve Up! - Jonathan Coe

Before I Go to Sleep - SJ Watson

The End of the Affair - Graham Greene

Case Histories - Kate Atkinson

One Good Turn - Kate Atkinson

The Children's Act - AS Byatt

The Dinner - Herman Koch

The Stranger's Child - Alan Hollinghurst

Broken Harbour - Tana French (this is the 4th book in a series of mysteries, and the only one I've read, but I hear her other books are even better)

Harvest - Jim Crace

The Edwardians - Vita Sackville-West

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

Shame - Jasvinder Sanghera (British-Indian girl escapes forced marriage)

Without You There is No Us - Suki Kim (Korean-American teacher goes undercover in North Korea)

Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs - Elissa Wall (not all that well written, but super fascinating and blood pressure raising).

NON-FICTION

Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margins of Error - Kathryn Schultz

Nothing to Envy - Barbara Demick (amazing survivor stories from North Korea)

Children Act ~ Ian McEwan Reading Group Guide

Reading Guide Questions

Please be aware that this discussion guide may contain spoilers!

1. How did The Children Act affect your perception of family courts? What makes it so challenging for parents and the courts alike to follow the deceptively simple mandate that "the child's welfare shall be the . . . paramount consideration"?


2. How would you react if your spouse made a proposal like Jack's? Is Jack's interest in Melanie purely sexual? When he asserts that couples in long marriages lose passion, is he right?


3. How would you have ruled in the first case described in The Children Act, regarding the education of Rachel and Nora Bernstein? Does Fiona approach religious freedom the same way in her ruling for Adam's case?


4. How did your impression of Adam and his parents shift throughout the novel? How does his childhood exposure to religion compare to your own?


5. At the heart of Adam's testimony is a definition of scripture, secured by faith in his religious leaders to interpret scripture perfectly. How should the government and the court system consider religious texts?


6. Both Jack and Adam are drawn to romantic ideals, albeit at opposite stages of life. Are their dreams reckless or simply passionate?


7. As Fiona reflects on her life, which choices bring her solace? How does she reconcile her childlessness with her notions of the ideal woman? How does her personal history affect her decisions in court?


8. Discuss Fiona's sojourn to Newcastle. What is she pursuing on that journey? What is Adam pursuing when he follows her there?


9. What does "The Ballad of Adam Henry" (page 187) reveal about the nature of youth, and the nature of mortality?


10. What is Fiona able to experience through music that she can't access any other way? For Mark (possibly with a new lover to impress), and for the Gray's Inn community, what is the significance of the Great Hall concerts?


11. In the novel's closing scene, what transformations do Jack and Fiona undergo?


12. How does The Children Act enhance your experience of Ian McEwan's previous novels? What is unique about the way his characters approach moral dilemmas?


13. Explore a few of the recordings of Benjamin Britten's setting for "Down by the Salley Gardens" that are available online. How do the melody and the verses affect you? In your experience, what does it mean to take love and life "easy"?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Anchor Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

Source:  Book Browse