New Books Are In

The next book: The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox is available at the Reference Desk.

Book Discussion for Away

There were a number of discussion topics covered: immigrant literature, role of women, users, bad sex, emotions (or lack thereof), dreams and the ending. I very much doubt that we came to any firm conclusions but we very much enjoyed the journey.

1. One of the first questions I ask at every book group is: "Would you recommend this book to a friend?"

In the back of the trade paper edition there are a number of questions. Here are some of the ones we found most fruitful.

2. Relationships among family members, particularly parents and children, play an important role in the novel. Compare and contrast the relationship between Lillian and Sophie, Reuben and Meyer, Chinky and the Changs. What is distinct about each family? What is different?

3. Contrast Yaakov's story with Lillian's. How do they each handle the loss of a spouse and children, and how are they changed?

4. Dreams are a recurring theme in the novel. What are Lillian's dreams, both literal and metaphorical? How do these illustrate or inform the larger subject of the American dream?

5. "Not that she is mine. That I am hers, " Lillian says, describing her love for Sophie (p.79 - trade paper). In many ways, love is the primary engine of the plot. How does love define, inspire, and compel characters in the novel? What are some of the things characters do for love? Do you think tht love is portrayed in the novel as a wholly positive force?

Book Club Meeting and China Blog

Our inaugural meeting will be Friday, October 24th at 5:00 p.m. in the Library. We will have the library to ourselves.

As you may (or may not) know I am going with a group of faculty to China in support of a grant on Internationalizing Curriculum . Eileen McKee, Julie Delfinado, Roxanne Munch (from our very own book club), Berta Arias, Fred Miller, Max Lee and Jim Ethridge will be going as well. Gisele Atterberry (also a member of our little coterie) won't be going with us to China but will be visiting England instead (she has my deepest sympathies for the dreadful location.) We have created a blog (we hope to have it posted to a college web page soon) and hope to be posting from China. Here is the address: http://jjcchinavisit.blogspot.com/

Be sure to watch as I try, very hard, to stay out of trouble.

Books Are In!

The books are in!
The books are in!

Please stop by the Reference Desk to pick up your copy.

Book Request Survey

Please enter your request (if you want me to get the book) by Wednesday, September 17th by 11:30 p.m.

Away by Amy Bloom Request
Click Here to take survey

Survey Results

Here are the final counts!

• 12 VOTES: Away (Bloom), Across a Hundred Mountains (Grande) and On Chesil Beach (McEwan)
• 11 VOTES: Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (O'Farrell) and Then We Came to the End (Ferris)
  
• 10 VOTES: The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Hamid), Fire in the Blood (Nemirovsky) and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Diaz)
• 9 VOTES: Bridge of Sighs (Russo), The Lazarus Project (Heman), and Escape into America (Rivera)
• 8 VOTES: Spook Country (Gibson), A Free Life (Jin), The Road (McCarthy), The Gathering (Enright) and Lush Life (Price)
• 7 VOTES: Half of a Yellow Sun (Adichie), The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (Wroblewski), The Maytrees: A Novel (Dillard), Falling Man (DeLillo)
• 5 Votes: Master Pip (Jones), Savage Detectives (Bolano), Tree of Smoke: A Novel (Johnson)
• 1 Vote (I'm sad to announce that I was the only person who voted for this...typical) Atmospheric Disturbances (Galchen)
  

Susan
images are from USAsearch.gov

Suggested Meeting TImes and Books

I suggest that we start our reading with the books that got the most votes and then work our way down

• October - Away (Bloom) - sugggested meeting October 24th
• November - Across a Hundred Mountains (Grande) - suggested meeting November 14th
• December - On Chesil Beach (McEwan) - December 12th or 18th
• January - Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (O'Farrell) - January 16th
• February - Then We Came to the End (Ferris) - suggested meeting February 13th or 20th
• March - The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Hamid) - suggested meeting March 13th
• April - Fire in the Blood (Nemirovsky) - suggested meeting April 10th
• May - Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Diaz) - suggested meeting May 8th or 15th
• June - Bridge of Sighs (Russo) - suggested meeting June 12th
• July - Lazarus Project (Heman) - suggested meeting July 10th
• August - Escape into America (Rivera) - suggested meeting August 14th or 21st
• September - TBA