09.2015 All the Light We Cannot See

Introduction:

A Pulitzer winning novel! All the Light we cannot see.

Book Jacket:

Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.

Book Details:

Length: 545 pages
Publisher: Scribner
Published: May 6, 2014
ISBN: 1400032717
ISBN13: 978-1400032716

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07.2015 Game of Thrones - Book 1

Introduction:

Our first book fantasy book set in medieval times and subject of a popular tv show! It's our longest book yet! Get reading!

Book Jacket:

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. To the south, the king’s powers are failing—his most trusted adviser dead under mysterious circumstances and his enemies emerging from the shadows of the throne. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the frozen land they were born to. Now Lord Eddard Stark is reluctantly summoned to serve as the king’s new Hand, an appointment that threatens to sunder not only his family but the kingdom itself.

Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

Unparalleled in scope and execution, A Game of Thrones is one of those rare reading experiences that catch you up from the opening pages, won’t let you go until the end, and leave you yearning for more.

Book Details:

Length: 864 pages
Publisher: Bantam
Published: March 22, 2011
ISBN: 0553593714
ISBN13: 978-0553593716

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Curious Incident of the Dog at Nightime

Book Club #4!

About the Book:

Summary: 

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. He is quite picky about the way he lives his life and his parents must adapt to his quirks. When his neighbor's dog is killed, Christopher goes on a quest to investigate the suspicious death and is encouraged by a mentor to write a book about the mystery. The quest ends up causing him to uncover much more about his neighbors and family.

Characters:

• Christopher
• Christopher’s father (Ed Boone)
• Christopher’s mother (Judy Boone)
• Mrs. Shears (Eileen Shears)
• Mr. Shears (Roger Shears)
• Siobhan
• Mrs. Alexander
• Wellington - Mrs. Shears’s black poodle
• Toby - Christopher's rate
  

Questions:

1. Dogs are often used as therapy animals, including for autism. Why do you think the main character was so concerned about Wellington? How are animals able to connect/benefit individuals with autism?
2. Do you think the main character was more concerned about the death of the dog than the disappearance of his mother? Discuss reasons.
3. Which character were you able to empathize with most and which situation in the book highlights that sentiment?
4.  The author used an 15 yr old autistic boy as a narrator for the book. The book is not exactly linear and is filled with diagrams. How did you like this writing style?
5. Christopher is articulate about his feelings and why or why not he prefers certain things. How do you feel about this kind of honesty/interaction?
6. How do you think things might have been different if the protagonist had been an adult?

Conversation Summary:

Discussion topics:

• author's writing style
• what did you know about autism before reading the book and what is your current perspective on treatment and care of autistic individuals
• Christopher reacts strongly to different triggers such as colors, did his behavior improve as he grew older or did people around him simply adapt better to his preferences
• how his parents adapted and reacted differently to his behavior
• why his mother left
• which character did you empathize and/or sympathize for most 
• what would you do similarly or differently from the parents if you had an autistic child
• current scientific thinking about autism and causes of autism

3/3 bears happy to have read this book.

References:

1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Official Trailer
A tony-winning play!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O704ld5WQnk

05.2015 Curious Incident of Dog in the Nighttime

Introduction:

Another mystery! Hopefully not as dark and depressing as the last book. It's our shortest book yet!

Book Jacket:

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow.

This improbable story of Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.

Book Details:

Length: 226 pages
Publisher: Vintage
Published: May 18, 2004
ISBN: 1400032717
ISBN13: 978-1400032716

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Dark Places

Book Club #3!

About the Book:

Summary: 

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.

Setting:Kinnakee, Kansas 1985 to present-day

Characters:

• Lyle
• Libby Day
• Patty
• Ben
• Michelle
• Debbie
• Aunt Diane
• Runner
• Diondra
• Krissi Cates
• Trey

Questions:

1. How do you like the style of shifting narrators in Gillian Flynn's books?

2. Flynn is known for writing books with unsavory protagonists and twists. Did Libby, Patty, and Ben serving as narrators affect how much you liked the book?

3. Throughout the book, Libby is pulled back into reliving the evening when her whole family was killed. People with seemingly good intentions, e.g., people who wanted to help Libby or exonerate Ben, kind of force her back to the "dark place." How do you think this impacts her world view or growing up?

4. Did you have any conspiracy theories or ideas about who the killer(s) might be as you read the book?

5. Can a person's social role/how they are viewed by others/how many friends they associate be a good indicator of guilt? Should these factors be weighed heavily in an investigation. Describe how a community's assumptions and discrimination against a person/family can affect fairness in the legal system.

6. Do you think the mother's decision was justified or a good idea? What other options do you think she may have had? Why did she not chose those other options?

4. In the story, Lyle is a member of a Kill Club - a group of people that re-investigate murders. What is the most unique/interesting club or organization that you have been involved with?

Conversation Summary:

Calling through conference call seemed to be the easiest solution. Here was some discussion topics:

•  the author uses a similar narrative format of jumping between different points of view through the book, it gave the book a richer experience, readers get a better understanding of each character
• Ben was a favorite character, you can see why he had fan clubs
• the book was a bit difficult to get into the ending was not very satisfying, predictable for some but not so predictable for others
• presented issues with flaws with the legal system - using a minor's testimony, lack of substantial evidence, bias from the way the community viewed the Day family
• children being easily swayed by parents' expectations or what the children think they want to here (Libby, Krissi, etc.)
• Patty was a weak character, she had a lot of responsibilities, could she handle a farm and four children, unsure of herself and authority over Ben
• terrible choice of resolving her money problems, Patty's plans and motivations completely backfired - all the life insurance money went towards Ben's defense and the children did not have a better life
• whether Ben had a better life in jail
• changing theories of who the murderer was throughout the book
• money as a primary motivator throughout the book
• how the lack and abundance of money changed how people lived their lives (Ben working hard as a child vs. Libby not doing anything until she ran out of money vs. Les Miserables)
• whether the characters with money or no money lived meaningful existences
•  men vs. women in dealing with hardship, isolation, etc.
• 
  

References:

1.Trailer for Dark Places
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJJjy2cZeLk

04.2015 Dark Places

April Winner: Dark Places

 

 Introduction:

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.

Book Details:

Length: 349 pages
Publisher: Broadway Books
Published: May 4, 2010
ISBN: 0307341577

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Discussion Question Inspiration:

Author's Website

Feel free to put your comments, discussion questions, and articles below.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Book Club #2!

About the Book:

Summary: 

Miriam is a woman born in Herat, Afghanistan, out of wedlock to Nana and a man named Jalil. She lives outcasted from her village. After her she leaves home in an attempt to get her father to allow her to move in with the rest of her family, her mother commits suicide. At 15 years old she is married off to an older man named Rasheed in Kabul with whom she is unable to have children and is treated poorly. Laila is a girl born in Kabul with a father that encourages her to go to school, learn, and aim high. Her life is drastically altered when the country's leadership changes, her childhood love Tariq leaves town, a stray bomb hits her home and kills her parents, she is taken in by Rasheed and marries him. Despite uncongenial beginnings, the two form a bond as women raising children in a household and country in which women are denied previous rights and war is a constant presence.

Setting:

Kabul, Afghanistan in 1964 to present-day

Characters:

• Miriam
• Laila
• Rasheed
• Tariq
• Nana
• Jalil
• Mullah Faizullah
• Laila's mom
• Laila's dad
• Tariq's parents
• Aziza
• Zalmai
• Abdul Sharif

Questions:

1. At several points in the story, Mariam and Laila pass themselves off as mother and daughter. What is the symbolic importance of this subterfuge? In what ways is Mariam’s and Laila’s relationship with each other informed by their relationships with their own mothers?

 

2. One of the Taliban judges at Mariam’s trial tells her, “God has made us different, you women and us men. Our brains are different. You are not able to think like we can. Western doctors and their science have proven this.” What is the irony in this statement? How is irony employed throughout the novel? 

 

3. Throughout the book, young girls are being married off to cousins and much older people. What do you think are the implications of this and pros/cons compared to relationships in the Western world?

 

4. Laila's mother changes dramatically from a vibrant figure among the women of the community to a withdrawn, depressed individual. Miriam's mother Nana seems to always have suffered from depression. Mental illness does not seem to be addressed in that culture. Why do you think this is?

 

5. Relationships between parents and their children seem largely tragic in this novel. The theme of betrayal is central - Jalil abandoning Miriam, Fariba's treatment of her daughter vs. sons, Miriam not being able to conceive, etc. What do you think about how the adults affected their kids (or lack thereof, in Miriam's case) throughout the novel?

 

6. Mariam says she is ready to go because she has accomplished all she wanted in life - what did this mean or include?

 

7. Afghanistan has experienced many changes of leadership throughout the story - which characteristics of each reign do you think were positive and negative for the characters?

 

8. Tariq and Laila have a special lifelong friendship - have you ever had a similar childhood friendship?

 

9. Mullah Faizullah is Mariam's childhood mentor - what do you think made this relationship special? What qualities of a mentor is significant for children?

 

10. Jalil regrets not taking in Mariam to save face and uphold his reputation - have you ever done anything you regret for similar reasons? what do you wish you did instead?

Conversation Summary:

Despite problems with echoing, conversation mostly circled around treatment of women, culture differences, and child-adult relationships:

• appreciative to live in a society where women can do and be pretty much anything
• better understanding of middle eastern culture and origin of current status
• mentors are people that give you advice, teach you things, tend to be older, wiser and more experienced
• marrying young children off to a much older person is confusing, power difference, person should be wiser but if abusive or mistreats set a norm that the child will not easily break from, different father figure
• Miriam and Laila had weaker mother figures but strong male mentors that encouraged them
• unfair society rules for women
• happiness of women in families
• similarities and differences between characters and their mothers - strong, sacrificed, valued Aziza
• how Miriam's life would be different if she had children
• why Miriam refused to see people from Herat
• culture and religion
• emotional trauma of growing up and living in a changing, war-torn country
• rules of the country's leadership

References:

1. Women in Afghanistan have found a voice to demand change after the brutal lynching of a woman falsely accused of burning the Koran.
http://www.reuters.com/video/2015/03/26/afghan-women-find-a-voice-after-lynching?videoId=363634946&videoChannel=117760&channelName=World+News 

 

Bear Love Book?:

#3/3