I hope to see you all there for an engaging discussion of “The Glass Castle”!

This year we are continuing with selecting six months worth of books, so that we can all plan ahead and know what to expect.  The book choices through June are listed below.

Additionally, this year we are introducing book notes and a book rating system. Beth Thessen has volunteered to be our recorder, and will post group summaries and comments for each book. At each meeting, prior to the discussion, each member will be asked to rate the book on a five star scale. Five stars is the highest rating a member can give a book, and half stars are acceptable!  Our group star rating will be posted along with the summaries and comments.

New members are always welcome at any meeting! We love to meet new people and a variety of opinions makes the discussions much more interesting.

We meet on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m.  The one exception for this year is the February meeting, which will be rescheduled for Valentine’s Day.  We will post the alternative meeting date when the group comes to a consensus decision.

The 2011 Book Selections are:

February                    The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

March                          The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

April                             The Things They Carried  by Tim O’Brien

May                               Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

June                              Traveling Mercies by Annie Lamott

July                               Crashing Through by Robert Kurson

Sara Gruen will be doing a signing for her latest book “Ape House” at the Borders in Oak Brook this Saturday, October 9 at 2:00.

Sorry for the late notice! If you are interested in finding out more, you can click on the link below (scroll down for events).

http://www.borders.com/online/store/StoreDetailView_20

Book Synopsis (from BarnesandNoble.com): Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family’s apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France’s past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl’s ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d’Hiv’, to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah’s past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.
Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

We will meet on Monday, September 13 at 7:00 pm for our group discussion. New book lovers are always welcome!

Our schedule for the next six months will be:

All of our meetings are on the second Monday of the month at 7:00. Check the church calendar or website www.roselleumc.org for room location – it is subject to change as we continually seek the room that has the most comfortable chairs!

If you haven’t attended one of our discussions before, this is a great way to plan ahead to join us. You are welcome any time.

From the publisher’s website:

After a car accident in which her passenger, Marissa, dies, June Parker finds herself in possession of a list Marissa has written: “20 Things to Do by My 25th Birthday.” The tasks range from inspiring (run a 5K) to daring (go braless) to near-impossible (change someone’s life).

To assuage her guilt, June races to achieve each goal herself before the deadline, learning more about her own life than she ever bargained for.

For our June discussion we will be reading  Golfing With God: A Novel of Heaven and Earth By Roland Merullo.

From the publisher’s website: Herman “Hank” Fins-Winston was a pro golfer destined for greatness. Now he lives in a condominium on the thirteenth fairway of one of heaven’s glorious courses – a fact he finds surprising and amusing, since for one reason or another, a fair percentage of golfers never make it to paradise. Hank is having the time of his afterlife until he’s summoned one idyllic morning to play a round with the Almighty. It seems that God is having some trouble with His game. As they play the heavenly courses, both in paradise and back on earth, Hank comes to realize that what began as a golf lesson has become a spiritual journey.

Please join us on Monday, June 14 at 7:00 p.m. as we kick off our summer discussions!

Our discussion for THIS COMING MONDAY May 10 will be about the book “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen.  It can be a quick read so there may still be time to get through it if you haven’t started yet.  And, remember there is no requirement that you complete the book – come and share what you’ve read so far and enjoy the company and conversation! 

 And, as an added bonus and apology for updating so late, following are some discussion questions from the publisher’s website to get your thought processes rolling: 

 1. To what extent do the chapters concerning the elderly Jacob enhance the chapters recounting the young Jacob’s experiences with the Benzini Brothers circus? In what ways do the chapters about the young Jacob contribute to a deeper understanding of the elderly Jacob’s life?  

2. How does the novel’s epigraph, the quote from Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hatches the Egg, apply to the novel? What are the roles and importance of faithfulness and loyalty in Water for Elephants? In what ways does Gruen contrast the antagonisms and cruelties of circus life with the equally impressive loyalties and instances of caring?  

3. Who did you, upon reading the prologue, think murdered August? What effect did that opening scene of chaos and murder have on your reception of the story that follows?  

4. In connection with Jacob’s formal dinner with August and Marlena in their stateroom, Jacob remarks, “August is gracious, charming, and mischievous” (page 93). To what extent is this an adequate characterization of August? How would you expand upon Jacob’s observation? How would you characterize August? Which situations in the novel reveal his true character?  

5. August says of Marlena, “Not everyone can work with liberty horses. It’s a God-given talent, a sixth sense, if you will” (page 94). Both August and Jacob recognize Marlena’s skills, her “sixth sense,” in working with the horses. In what ways does that sixth sense attract each man? How do August and Jacob differ in terms of the importance each places on Marlena’s abilities? 

You can find more discussion questions at:  

http://www.workman.com/more/readers-guides/Gruen_WFE_RG.pdf  

and more information about the book at  

http://www.saragruen.com/water.html

We look forward to seeing you Monday evening at 7:00. (Remember, we are meeting in room 15 downstairs.)