Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Getting to know each other

Sing along with me:
Getting to know you,
Getting to know all about you.
Getting to like you,
Getting to hope you like me.

Getting to know you,
Putting it my way,
But nicely,
You are precisely,
My cup of tea.

Getting to know you,
Getting to feel free and easy.
When I am with you,
Getting to know what to say.

Haven't you noticed
Suddenly I'm bright and breezy?
Because of all the beautiful and new
Things I'm learning about you
Day .. by ... day.



We need to get better acquainted, so in the comments let's all tell each other something about ourselves. I have a meeting tonight, but I promise to leave a comment soon telling you about ME. So who's willing to go first?

Jim the Boy -- Book IV: Cold Nights

This section seemed out of place with the book so far. Cold Nights could refer to both the temperature on a December night in the mountains of North Carolina and Mama's coldness to Whitey Whiteside's courtship.

Letter from Elizabeth McBride Glass to Ralph Whiteside

Mama is definitely not interested in Whitey. She seems to be only allowing his courtship because the uncles are making her feel guilty about not have a father for Jim.

Christmas Eve

The uncles sneak Jim out to see the electric lights turned on for the first time in Aliceville. The last few paragraphs at the end of this section signify modern times and technology coming to Aliceville, Jim growing up but in school learning and practical knowledge, and change, in general, in the lives of our characters, including Mama.

Letter from Elizabeth McBride Glass to Jim Glass, Sr.

Did writing this letter help Mama sort out her feelings on the matter at hand and make a decision? She stops writing mid-sentence. Why? Is she interrupted and has to physically stop writing or does she just find that she can't go on writing it?

At the Tenant House

Jim is supposed to go sit with the uncles at the store after dinner. Even though, he isn't usually allowed to do this, he decides not to go in when he gets to the store. As he walks through town, he sees Whitey and decides to follow him. Jim follows Whitey to the tenant house where Whitey speaks to Mama from the front porch with his back to her, seemingly at her request. He proposes. It seems like Mama rejects him. Mama is sad at the end of the section. Is it for Jim not getting another father or for herself having to remarry? Mama says Jim's name as if she either let him down in what the uncles think he needs or to remind herself that she's doing it for Jim.

I wondered this at an earlier point in the book but where do Mama and Jim live? The uncles all have houses, where I assume they sleep, even though Mama cooks for them where she lives. They don't seem to live in the tenant house where Mama and her husband had lived. Before I'd thought they lived in Uncle Zeno's house. But now I'm wondering if they live in the home Mama and the Uncle's parents left? They aren't mentioned in the book so I assume they are dead cause it seems like they would have lived in Aliceville too.

Discussion Questions

15. How do Jim's uncles each play the role of father-figure? Do they make up for his father's absence? Should Jim's mother have remarried when she had the chance in order to give Jim a "real" father?

Jim's uncles pay the role of father-figures by teaching Jim life lessons, right and wrong, and by teasing him. I do think the uncles fulfill the father role in Jim's life very adequately. I don't think Jim's mother should have to remarry if she's not interested in remarrying. She seems to be okay financially and Jim has strong male role models in the uncles.

16. Jim's mother turned down the marriage proposal because she believed she had already met and married her one eternal love. Do you believe, as she does, in the idea of eternal love?

I want to say that I do because I'm sure I will always love my husband but I'm not sure I can since I also think it's possible that I'd remarry if something happened to him.

17. In the section on "Christmas Eve" Jim's uncles take him outside to see something special, the change that came to their town that night. "When he looked up at the stars, they did not seem as bright" (p. 149). Have you ever noticed how lights of a city "hide" the stars?

I grew up in the suburbs of Orlando from the time I was 8 years old to when I was 16 years old. I can remember distinctly that I was out sleeping over at a girlfriend's house which was further out in a more rural area (they also had a library with a rolling ladder!) when I was in eight grade. We went outside in the early am hours and I remember being astounded at the glowing arch in the distance that was (downtown) Orlando and at all the stars so bright against such a dark sky. This was the first time (that I remember) really seeing the stars at night.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Reading Group Guides Friends

Several friends from RGG book discussion forum are reading SF at this time. They said I could bring their discussion over here to post every so often as we move through the book. Would that be alright with everyone here? Or would you prefer that they come here themselves to discuss the book?

Books in general

Hi Buddies,
I am trying to catch up on my 10 blogs. Toby, thanks for the great info on the Kindle. I bought my Mom and myself each a Sony Reader this last Christmas. But my big problem is that I love the actual BOOK. I just can’t help myself, I told my self that I would not buy as many now since I have the reader. Plus the selection here is not so great but as soon as something new is on the shelf I grab it. Now is worse than ever, I feel so starved for a new book I will get what ever comes in on the next shipment to the PX (Post Exchange).
Can’t help myself ~Marylyn

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Jim the Boy -- Book III: Town Boys and Mountain Boys

This book is all about how Jim and Penn, a mountain boy, meet and begin a friendship with some lessons from the uncles thrown in, of course.

First Day

The uncles and mama are going to walk Jim to the new school on his first day. Jim is horrified, but they are just joking. The school yard is crowded and Jim is uneasy until he runs into some boys he knows. They make plans to play baseball at recess. The town boys meet the mountain boys at recess and team up against each other to play ball. As the mountain boys are near to tying up the score, Jim hits Penn in the back with the baseball. Jim isn't sure if he did it on purpose, but perhaps he did. So begins that rivalry of Jim and Penn.

Big Day

Big Day is the open house for the new school. There is also a carnival and contests and many people are there. Still early in the morning and Jim is anxious to get there so Uncle Zeno takes Jim on a walk and tells him the story of the naming of Aliceville to take his mind off of Big Day.

An Unexpected Guest

The uncles invite Whitey Whiteside to go to Big Day with them all. They seem to be trying to set him up with Mama but she's having none of it. Jim is curious about what's going on.

News from the Mountains

Jim gets tired of the carnival and goes into the school for some quiet. He runs into Penn and Mr. Carson there and they tell him stories of his dad when he lived on the mountain. Stories that are new to Jim. Jim begins to feel a bit friendlier to Penn. He's proud of who his dad was too.

A Victory of Sorts

There is a greased pole contest at Big Day and the prize is a dollar. Penn and Jim are the first big boys to try the pole. Penn makes good progress but is ultimately defeated even though he was determine. Jim makes it to the top of the pole and wins the dollar. He boast of his win on the way home. The uncles teach Jim that he wouldn't have won without Penn's help.

King

Jim and Uncle Zeno pass Abraham then two convicts digging holes for the poles that will carry the wires that will bring electricity to Aliceville. There have been no poles put in the holes every other trip that summer, but this trip they see the first poles in the holes. They stop to look and Uncles Zeno lowers Jim into the last hole before a pole. Not sure if there is a reason or if it's just a lark. Uncle Zeno lets Jim roam New Carpenter on his own for the first time. Jim runs into Penn and they decide to go exploring. Their exploring ends in a confrontation with some New Carpenter boys. Abraham saves them and Jim gains a new respect for him. Jim's friendship with Penn is also cemented.

Blackbirds

The second section in the book not told by Jim. This one is from Mama's point of view. A large flock of blackbirds are leaving a tree to fly south and Jim is asking questions. Mama starts crying, runs to the tree, and chases the rest of the birds off. Perhaps this is symbolic of her life, her freedom.

Discussion Questions

8. What role does Abraham play? What lessons does he teach Jim, both in the field and in the alley?

I think Abraham shows Jim that people aren't always what you think they are. In the field, Abraham got the best hoe because he was the best worker, outside of the uncles. This shows Jim that hard good work is rewarded. In the alley, Abraham rescues Jim and Penn from having to fight King and the New Carpenter boys. This shows Jim that Abraham isn't a bad guy like he thought he was.

9. What do we know about Whitey Whiteside, "the unexpected guest" (pp. 96-101)?

Whitey Whiteside works for Governor Feeds and sell to the Uncles. He might be sweet on Mama.

10. Jim woke up on the first day of school thinking, "The morning smelled like school. The previous morning had smelled only like summer, like dew and grass and crops growing in the fields." What does school smell like to you?

Elementary school? The books and the library cause I pretty much just read under the lip of my desk all the time.

11. When he went to the old school, Jim knew who he could outrun (see p. 76). Things were different at the new school. Do you remember going to a new school? Do you remember who you could outrun?

I've gone to 13 different schools so far in my lifetime. When I was young though, I was the kid who got beat up and shut in lockers so no "outrunning" anyone for me.

12. On the "Big Day" there's a Ferris wheel (yes, it's capitalized) at the open house for the new school. Last month we read about the wheel that Mr. Ferris designed for Chicago, so compare it with the one in the town of Aliceville, North Carolina.

I didn't remember much about the Ferris wheel in Aliceville so I looked back at the book. Jim could see the Ferris wheel from the front porch, he wanted to get in line for it before Penn, and after dinner, he grew tired of riding it. I might have missed a part but I didn't find a description of the Ferris wheel in Aliceville. I doubt it was as large or on a scale of the one in Chicago. It also wouldn't be the engineering marvel that the Chicago Ferris wheel was as the design and crafting of a Ferris wheel had surely been if not perfected, then improved by this time.

13. Zeno told Jim, "Everybody knows you ain't got much of a town if a railroad track runs though it but the train won't stop" (p. 88). Explain how the train figured in the naming of Aliceville. And maybe tell us about the name of your town. Do trains figure into your town's history?

Uncle Zeno's grandfather did all the things the superintendent wanted for a train stop to occur in Sandy Bottom. Finally, he realized all he needed to do was get the engineer to stop the train so he named the town Aliceville after the engineer's beloved daughter.

Charleston, SC: The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Town, Carolina in 1670; it adopted its present name in 1783. Charleston's name is derived from Charles Towne, named after King Charles II of England.

14. I can imagine "the red school on top of the hill" (p. 109). What was your school like?

The last elementary school I attended (for three years) was a formulaic brick building on a flat piece of land next to several developments.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Hi Bonnie!

I just wanted to mention we have the 40's Club up and running on the Oprah boards again. We'd love for you to stop by. The board is very pretty but they are still working out the kinks. I'm working on a blog for the group. We are reading "East of Eden," right now and would love to have anyone who has read it to join us. We have a yahoo board but don't use it. We can't get new members there. I was so busy working that I didn't get time to take part in the "Devil in the White City." It is one of my favorite books. Just wanted to say hi. Hope to be able to drop by more often.

Mary

SF schedule

Buddies,
I have worked out a schedule for Suite francaise. (If you all think it is OK)

Book 1
Week 1 Ch 1-20
Week 2 Ch 21-31
Book 2
Week 3 Ch 1-15
Week 4 Ch 16-22 App I&II

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Jim the Boy -- Book II: Jim Leaves Home

The Wide Sea

Since I live in the Carolinas, I enjoyed reading as Jim and Uncle Al passed all the cities I'm near. Wished they could have gotten the horses since they traveled all that way but Jim did get to see more beyond him home town and go in the ocean.

Discussion Questions

6. Why do you think Uncle Al took Jim on the trip out of town? What do the incident with the horses and his first view of the ocean teach him?

I think Uncle Al took Jim to show him more of the world, teach him more about living in it, and for some company on the long drive. The horses incident taught Jim not to make fun of the misfortune of others and to pay as you go. The view of the ocean taught Jim there is so much more to the world than he knows and the world is so vast and also to be brave about trying new experiences.

7. The uncles are always teaching Jim things. What teaching moments have you noticed?

Besides the visit to Mr. Harvey Hartsell and going in the ocean for the first time, Uncle Al taught Jim by taking him on the trip, showing him new places, having a conversation with him about wanting a father figure, and telling him stories of his past in this chapter.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Hi Bonnie!

It's Mary from The 40 Something post. I haven't quite figured out where to post. Could you help me? The 40's are reading "East of Eden," but the O boards have undergone their yearly update and the boards have been up and down. I'm working on a blog for the group but it's hard when I work full-time. Hope things are well with you.

Mary

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Jim the Boy -- Book I: Birthday Boy

Breakfast

Jim knows that he makes his mother sad sometimes. Jim wants to eat as much breakfast as he can cause his uncles eat large amounts of food and Jim wants to be like his uncles.

A Day of Work

Well, not a whole day since Jim going home "sick" before it's even noon. Jim can be stubborn when he doesn't want to give the newest hoe up. Jim can be boastful and confident when he claims he knows how to hoe already and in his desire to beat Abraham hoeing. Then he acts like a young child, crying when he finds he's barely accomplished much and goofing off playing instead of working. Jim can be deceitful when he "replants" the corn stalk he has broken in his hoeing. Jim has a lot to learn as he starts his journey to become a man.

An Unexpected Gift

Pete Hunt seems to like Jim. Perhaps because he took a liking to him when Jim was a baby and Pete was living with them or perhaps he took a liking to Jim's mother during that time and so has a soft spot for her boy. The uncles prolly mentioned to Whitey Whiteside about Jim's birthday and what they'd gotten him so he gave Jim a baseball to match their gifts.

Baptism

Uncle Zeno told Jim the story about Uncle Al and the chicks to make a point relating what he did then to what Jim did today. He hopes that Jim will never lie to him again. He also wants to let Jim know that Uncle Al did something similar so not to feel so bad over it.

After Supper

Joking occurs and the air is cleared between Jim and the Uncles. Jim gets his birthday cake and gifts and is very surprised. They had fooled him.

Jim at Bat

The previous five sections were told from Jim's point of view. This one is told from Uncle Zeno's. The uncles want the best for Jim.

Discussion Questions


2. When is Jim's birthday? Check Zeno's letter in the opening pages. So what day is Jim's tenth birthday? If Jim's mother is "not yet thirty" (p. 7) now, she must have been 19 when he was born ten years ago. Would that have been unusual in 1924?

Jim's birthday is June 15, 1924. So Jim's tenth birthday occurs on June 15, 1934. I don't think it was unusual for that time to marry and have children young.

Growing an extra digit in his age seemed a miracle to Jim, now 1-0 instead of merely 9. Do you know anyone who grew a third digit and became 1-0-0? Saturday (tomorrow) will be my oldest granddaughter's 21st birthday, a milestone. For some the special birthday is Sweet Sixteen. For others the darkest one is the half-century mark, celebrated by friends wearing black. 3. What birthday stands out for you?

I had a great aunt, I think or someone of distant relation, turn 100 when I was pretty young. I remember snippets of being at the party.

As for which birthday turning a number year stands out to me, I honestly have to say none have so far and I'm not particularly worried about turning 30 or anything. My family has always really celebrated our birthdays so each has been special. I do have some favorites of spending nice times with my family and friends. Last year, my then boyfriend, now husband and my mom threw a surprise party for me. I had no idea. And I'd never had a surprise party before. This year my mom and I are throwing one for him. He has no idea.

4. What birthday presents did Jim get? Overall, what did you think about Jim's tenth birthday?

Jim got a baseball bat and glove from his mother and the uncles and a new baseball from Whitey Whiteside. I think it was a good birthday for Jim. Sure, the morning wasn't great but it ended well with cake and presents. And I think Jim learned something about growing up and working as a man.

5.What did you make of the scene about baptizing the chicks? And what do the uncles mean by this exchange (p. 39)?
Uncle Zeno: "Allie turned out to be a pretty good farmer, when you consider how he started out."

Uncle Coran: "At least we can be thankful he didn't try to become a preacher."

Uncle Al: "That's for sure ... I would've had to be a Methodist to keep from drowning people."

See my comments in the Baptism section above. I might not be getting the meaning of the exchange. Cause all I can think of is that Uncle Al is a good farmer now despite unintentionally harming some chicks when he was young. Maybe Methodists don't dunk during their baptisms?

Monday, July 21, 2008

Suite Française ~ by Irène Némirovsky, 2006

Beginning in Paris on the eve of the Nazi occupation in 1940, Suite Française tells the remarkable story of men and women thrown together in circumstances beyond their control. As Parisians flee the city, human folly surfaces in every imaginable way: a wealthy mother searches for sweets in a town without food; a couple is terrified at the thought of losing their jobs, even as their world begins to fall apart. Moving on to a provincial village now occupied by German soldiers, the locals must learn to coexist with the enemy — in their town, in their homes, even in their hearts.

When Irène Némirovsky began working on Suite Française, she was already a highly successful writer living in Paris. But she was also a Jew, and in 1942 she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where she died. For sixty-four years, this novel remained hidden and unknown. When Suite Française appeared in France in 2004, it became a best seller. The novel is in two parts, which could be called novellas: "Storm in June" and "Dolce." The New York Times published a review of the book when it was published in 2006, giving us some background information:
Némirovsky had more plans for Suite Française, as an appendix to this volume makes clear. In her notebook, she sketched the possibility of a work in five parts. "Storm in June" and "Dolce" were to be followed by: "3. Captivity; 4. Battles?; 5. Peace?" The question marks punctuate Némirovsky's peculiar problem; she was trying to write a historical novel while the outcome of that history remained unknown. The fourth and fifth parts of the book "are in limbo," she observed, "and what limbo! It's really in the lap of the gods since it depends on what happens."
Irène Némirovsky died without every knowing the outcome of World War Two, and we, unfortunately, will never know how she might have written other parts of the book. Here's the first chapter, if you want to get started right away.

Getting started
Chapter 1 ~ can be read online
What we said about the book
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Storm in June (War), Ch 1-20
Storm in June (War), Ch 21-31
Dolce (Occupation), Ch 1-22
Appendix (1 = author's notes, 2 = correspondence)
Preface to the French Edition

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Jim the Boy--Questions 15-17

15. How do Jim's uncles each play the role of father-figure? Do they make up for his father's absence? Should Jim's mother have remarried when she had the chance in order to give Jim a "real" father?
I think the uncles provided excellent role models for Jim. They showed Jim love, tried to expose him to things in the world, provided guidance, and allowed him to be himself.
Although the uncles provided him with good father figures, I think there was still a hole in Jim's life caused by his father's death.
I think that remarriage when there are children involved is very tricky. Some work well and others are disasters. I think Jim's mother did the right thing by listening to her heart and not remarrying in spite of the advice of her brothers.

16. Jim's mother turned down the marriage proposal because she believed she had already met and married her one eternal love. Do you believe, as she does, in the idea of eternal love?
I think that one can retain the love one has had of a departed one and still love again.
My son's girlfriend has had a difficult time adjusting to the loss of my son last August. She loved him dearly and has been a comfort to our family. She has shown her love for him in many ways (such as until his marker was placed, she continually put up personalized wooden crosses at the cemtery even though the cemetery kept taking them down. I hope that she is able to find someone else as she is only 28. My daughter said that even at the hospital when Brendan died, I encouraged her not to let their love prevent her from finding someone else after she said that she'd never find someone else as good as he was.

17. In the section on "Christmas Eve" Jim's uncles take him outside to see something special, the change that came to their town that night. "When he looked up at the stars, they did not seem as bright" (p. 149). Have you ever noticed how lights of a city "hide" the stars?
When trying to look for constellations and eclipses, the lights of the city do make it difficult to see the natural lights.
I liked the way the uncles turned the historical event into something special and made it more memorable for Jim.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Jim the Boy -- Prologue

At first I thought Jim (the boy) was the subject of Zeno's letter and the body of the novel would take place as a flashback telling the story of the events that lead up to Jim's death. But I quickly realized that Jim's (the boy) father was the one who died.

I wonder why Jim (the father) is estranged from his father, Amos, and will Amos ever meet his grandson. I think he will and the letter foreshadows this being an event later in the book.

Discussion Question

Read these lines from a review of Jim the Boy, and tell me what you think.
"Jim is 10. His mother is a widow. They live in the small town of Aliceville with Jim's three uncles, Zeno, Coran and Al. And they're content."
1. Does it make you want to read the book? If you like thrillers, it could be a turn-off. Did reading the prologue change your mind?

It would make me wonder if there would be much action or excitement in the book or if it was a series of anecdotes in the daily life of a 10 year old coming of age in rural North Carolina. After reading the prologue, I realized there is going to be an element of mystery in the book as there are now some questions to be answered.

JTB-DQ ~ Book V ~ Quiet Days

18. Why did Jim feel such a strong sense of rivalry toward Penn? What about their pasts and their families' pasts gave them a special bond?

19. Jim has moments of selfishness. How does he begin to take responsibility for his actions as he grows older?

20. **SPOILER** (Don't read this question if you haven't read Book V ~ Quiet Days.) "Penn had polio. The sheriff ... nailed up quarantine notices" (p. 172). Having polio felt like a death penalty to people in the 1930s and 1940s, and I remember not being allowed to swim in a public pool for several summers of my childhood. Polio ruined lives ... and sometimes took lives. If you don't have any stories about polio, see what you can find out about President Franklin D. Roosevelt's polio. News photographers were careful to take pictures when FDR was sitting or already propped up at a microphone.

JTB-DQ ~ Book IV ~ Cold Nights

15. How do Jim's uncles each play the role of father-figure? Do they make up for his father's absence? Should Jim's mother have remarried when she had the chance in order to give Jim a "real" father?

16. Jim's mother turned down the marriage proposal because she believed she had already met and married her one eternal love. Do you believe, as she does, in the idea of eternal love?

17. In the section on "Christmas Eve" Jim's uncles take him outside to see something special, the change that came to their town that night. "When he looked up at the stars, they did not seem as bright" (p. 149). Have you ever noticed how lights of a city "hide" the stars?

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao

Plot introduction
The novel chronicles not just the "brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao," an overweight Dominican boy growing up in New Jersey and obsessed with science fiction, fantasy and women, but also the curse of the "fukú" that has plagued Oscar's family for generations and the Caribbean since colonization and slavery. The middle sections of the novel center on the lives of Oscar's mother Beli and his grandfather Abelard under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Rife with footnotes, science fiction and fantasy references, and street Spanglish, the novel is also a meditation on story-telling, Dominican diaspora and identity, masculinity, and the contours of authoritarian power.

Critical reception
The book won the National Book Critics Circle Award as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2008. Time magazine's Lev Grossman named it #1 of the Top 10 Fiction Books of 2007, praising it as "a massive, heaving, sparking tragicomedy".

Nominees for August's Book

The Eyre Affair by Jaspar Fforde

I really love Fforde's books. They are easy reading and literary. We read this book over at RGG recently and I loved seeing others in the book club fall in love/like with a book and author I enjoy so much.

Great Britain circa 1985: time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. Baconians are trying to convince the world that Francis Bacon really wrote Shakespeare, there are riots between the Surrealists and Impressionists, and thousands of men are named John Milton, an homage to the real Milton and a very confusing situation for the police. Amidst all this, Acheron Hades, Third Most Wanted Man In the World, steals the original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit and kills a minor character, who then disappears from every volume of the novel ever printed! But that's just a prelude.

Hades' real target is the beloved Jane Eyre, and it's not long before he plucks her from the pages of Bronte's novel. Enter Thursday Next. She's the Special Operative's renowned literary detective, and she drives a Porsche. With the help of her uncle Mycroft's Prose Portal, Thursday enters the novel to rescue Jane Eyre from this heinous act of literary homicide. It's tricky business, all these interlopers running about Thornfield, and deceptions run rampant as their paths cross with Jane, Rochester, and Miss Fairfax. Can Thursday save Jane Eyre and Bronte's masterpiece? And what of the Crimean War? Will it ever end? And what about those annoying black holes that pop up now and again, sucking things into time-space voids.

Suspenseful and outlandish, absorbing and fun, The Eyre Affair is a caper unlike any other and an introduction to the imagination of a most distinctive writer and his singular fictional universe.


These next two books are on my TBR list. Both are hardcovers though.


The Film Club by David Gilmour


At the start of this brilliantly unconventional family memoir, David Gilmour is an unemployed movie critic trying to convince his 15-year-old son Jesse to do his homework. When he realizes Jesse is beginning to view learning as a loathsome chore, he offers his son an unconventional deal: Jesse could drop out of school, not work, not pay rent — but he must watch three movies a week of his father's choosing.

Week by week, side by side, father and son watched everything from True Romance to Rosemary's Baby to Showgirls, and films by Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorsese, Brian DePalma, Billy Wilder, among others. The movies got them talking about Jesse's life and his own romantic dramas, with mercurial girlfriends, heart-wrenching breakups, and the kind of obsessive yearning usually seen only in movies.

Through their film club, father and son discussed girls, music, work, drugs, money, love, and friendship — and their own lives changed in surprising ways.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.

Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals.

On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through: the sacrifices Denny has made to succeed professionally; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny's wife; the three-year battle over their daughter, Zoe, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoe at his side. Having learned what it takes to be a compassionate and successful person, the wise canine can barely wait until his next lifetime, when he is sure he will return as a man.

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Next Book

I am going to pretend that we are not discussing the end of BB's and put out my suggestion of a book we can vote on for next month Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. Waiting anxiously for all the others so we can vote.


Marylyn

Monday, July 14, 2008

August Book

What's the plan for August? Any input on the minimalist participation in the discussions? Suggestions on how the vigor can be restored?

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Jim the Boy

8. What role does Abraham play? What lessons does he teach Jim, both in the field and in the alley?
At first my mind went totally blank on Abraham, but now I think he was the one that Jim tried to take the nicer hoe away from and his uncles would not allow it.

9. What do we know about Whitey Whiteside, "the unexpected guest" (pp. 96-101)?
Whitey gave Jim the softball. When they were discussing him going to the Big Day opening, I noted the comment, "Hush, you two...the corn has ears." This was a new expression to me, but an interesting way to indicate that one should be careful of what is said in front of children. After my niece's recent death, when my 10-year-old nephew was told about it (they are cousins and this was the second cousin he lost in less than a year) he said that his parents are going to be burned (his expression for cremation)and had my sister promise him that if she was alive when he died that she would make sure that he was not burned and that she would put KU stuff on his grave. I wish my brother (his father) and wife had followed the adage that "the corn has ears" and not discussed their plans for cremation in front of him. He has always been so sensitive and the losses of his cousins and realization of deaths is hard enough on him as is without the added burden of the practice of cremation.

10. Jim woke up on the first day of school thinking, "The morning smelled like school. The previous morning had smelled only like summer, like dew and grass and crops growing in the fields." What does school smell like to you?
The main smell I associated with school was the chalk. When my kids went to school, I was surprised at the strong smell of mass quantities of food being prepared. It is a smell similar to that in other institutions and not a smell I like so I am glad they didn't have school cafeterias in grade school and junior high when I went. I am so old that most kids went home for lunch when I was growing up which was sure a nice break from the school day.

11. When he went to the old school, Jim knew who he could outrun (see p. 76). Things were different at the new school. Do you remember going to a new school? Do you remember who you could outrun?
I lived a dull life and my only changes in schools were transitions from grade school to junior high and then to high school.
I can't remember any feeling of competitiveness about running skill--I wasn't very athletic. The one time I won someone at something (box hockey), the girl I won was so made that she purposely hit my hand holding my hockey stick with hers and broke my middle finger. I remember both the way they brought her to the office where I was waiting for my dad to pick my up to take me to the hospital and she was supposed to apologize (this is why I never used the forced apology method with my kids) for what she did and it was obvious that she said the words, but did not mean them. I also remember that having a cast on my middle finger was quite the talk of the sixth grade class.

12. On the "Big Day" there's a Ferris wheel (yes, it's capitalized) at the open house for the new school. Last month we read about the wheel that Mr. Ferris designed for Chicago, so compare it with the one in the town of Aliceville, North Carolina.
The Aliceville Ferris wheel was much more humble than the Chicago one. Actually, as small as the Aliceville community was I was surprised that they even had a Ferris wheel for the Big Day.

13. Zeno told Jim, "Everybody knows you ain't got much of a town if a railroad track runs though it but the train won't stop" (p. 88). Explain how the train figured in the naming of Aliceville. And maybe tell us about the name of your town. Do trains figure into your town's history?
The engineer's stopping at Aliceville allowed it to continue as well as it did as a town. The town showed its gratitude by naming the town after his daughter.
Topeka was a stop on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad (now merged into the Burlington Northern railroad so is the BNSF)so the railroad helped put or keep Topeka on the map. My husband worked for the other railroad in town (Union Pacific) and my oldest son developed a major passion for trains (especially steam engines) so railroads have played a major role not only in the livelihood of my town, but also in my family.

14. I can imagine "the red school on top of the hill" (p. 109). What was your school like?
My grade school was a fairly typical neighborhood school built of bricks. My mother often told the story of my older brother's concern about starting school and having trouble opening the "big doors" and I remember that the school did seem a lot larger when I was attending it than when I went back many years later. Although parents attended school programs, the school was not the center of the community like schools were when my mother grew up and taught at the one room rural schools of her day.

Alicevillie's consolidation in the 1930's of the rural schools was interesting in that this happened in the late 1950's in the community where my mother grew up. The one room school that my cousins were attending (their dad, uncle, and my mother had all graduated from 8th grade in the same school) was consolidated and all the rural kids were bussed to the town school. This was especially hard on my cousin who was around 9 at the time. He got literally sick every morning when the bus came. I wonder about the wisdom of the elimination of community schools. Bigger isn't necessarily better.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

The Devil in the White City -- In the White City Discussion Questions

6. At the end of The Devil in the White City, in Notes and Sources, Larson writes: "The thing that entranced me about Chicago in the Gilded Age was the city's willingness to take on the impossible in the name of civic honor, a concept so removed from the modern psyche that two wise readers of early drafts of this book wondered why Chicago was so avid to win the world's fair in the first place" [p. 393]. What motives, in addition to "civic honor," drove Chicago to build the Fair? In what ways might the desire to "out-Eiffel Eiffel" and to show New York that Chicago was more than a meat-packing backwater be seen as problematic?

I think Chicago also had financial motives to build the fair and pride in their city to show it off as one of the biggest and best in America. "Out Eiffeling Eiffel" was problematic because American's engineers didn't step up to the task of building an engineering marvel rapidly. Showing New York that Chicago wasn't just a backwater city with a lot of growth was problematic because Chicago was just that. Chicago did not seem to be a city of culture and refinement. At least, not as it was portrayed in the book.

7. Larson writes, "The juxtaposition of pride and unfathomed evil struck me as offering powerful insights into the nature of men and their ambitions" [p. 393]. What such insights does the book offer? What more recent stories of pride, ambition, and evil parallel those described in The Devil in the White City?

The pride and evil of Holmes? Or the pride of Burnham (and the leading men of Chicago) and the evil of Holmes? I considered the question to be asking the latter when I read it the first time. If Burnham had had less pride in the fair designed just as he wanted and viewed just as he wanted, the fair might have been more of a success both financial and for its visitors. As for Holmes, I have to wonder how so many people fell for his guises. It's hard to believe he was got away with all that he did and no one noticed at the time.

8. In his speech before his wheel took on its first passengers, George Ferris "happily assured the audience that the man condemned for having 'wheels in his head' had gotten them out of his head and into the heart of the Midway Plaisance" [p. 279]. In what way is the entire Fair an example of the power of human ingenuity, of the ability to realize the dreams of imagination?

Speed and the act of taking the dreams and ideas and actually transforming them into reality. The fair was actualized in a very short time period for the amount of construction, landscaping, and exhibitions put together, especially so considering the time period and the lack on modern technology. The architects, financiers, Olmstead, and Ferris dreamed big, made the plans for those dreams, then made them happen.

9. In describing the collapse of the roof of Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building, Larson writes: "In a great blur of snow and silvery glass the building's roof — that marvel of late nineteenth-century hubris, enclosing the greatest volume of unobstructed space in history — collapsed to the floor below" [p. 196–97]. Was the entire Fair, in its extravagant size and cost, an exhibition of arrogance? Do such creative acts automatically engender a darker, destructive parallel? Can Holmes be seen as the natural darker side of the Fair's glory?

Of course, the fair was an exhibition of arrogance. To New York, to Paris. It takes a certain amount of arrogance in a man to create and build such buildings and a wheel. And in a city, to think that all that was done could be done bigger and better than anywhere else in the space of two years.

I do not think creative acts automatically engender darker, destructive ones. It just seems wrong somehow to think that way, to me. I do think Holmes can be seem as the darker side of the fair's glory. Such men are drawn to places where they (and their actions) can go unnoticed due to the size of the population and visiting crowds, the commotions and events, and the shortage of law enforcement, especially trained ones. But I do not think Homes can be seen as the natural darker side of the fair's glory. To me, to say this would imply that having a great and glorious fair would also have to include having a dark disaster. Yes, it was more likely, given the conditions in Chicago at the time of the fair and the magnitude of the fair, that some dark disaster would occur but one didn't necessarily have to occur just because the fair did.

This section of the book seemed jumpy and patchy to me. It was harder to read in consistent threads. For example, there was a short section on three couples in love and marriage which didn't seem to have anything to do with the narratives being told and the people weren't brought up again (yet). I am guessing the author wanted to include stories of love in the time of the fair, perhaps to balance out Holmes's lack of love in his courtships. But the section seemed out of place and unnecessary to me.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Camel Bookmobile

Carol Fitzgerald, founder of BookReporter.com and ReadingGroupGuides.com, wrote the following in her introduction for this month's Reading Group Guides' newsletter and I thought I'd share it with ya'll here.

Last week I spent some time at the American Library Association Convention in Anaheim, which was a wonderful celebration of books and reading. Librarians are wildly enthusiastic about books and authors --- and they ask smart questions and provoke thoughtful replies when they are at panels and speeches.

I also got to catch up with Masha Hamilton, whose book The Camel Bookmobile has been enjoyed by many groups. She blogged for us about the real-life inspiration for the novel and how book groups in the U.S. have given people in Kenya the gift of the written word, which you can read here. As many of you know this novel is based on the actual camel bookmobiles --- camels carrying books, which is an image that I love. While we were chatting Masha shared that the book-toting camels cost $350, and readers have purchased camels, some in the name of their loved ones, as a tribute. I love this idea. We just may need a Bookreporter.com or ReadingGroupGuides.com camel! On her blog we have a link so you can get involved.

The first link is to a Book Reporter bio of Masha Hamilton with an interview with her and the second link is to Masha Hamilton's website for The Camel Bookmobile.

JTB-DQ ~ Book III ~ Town Boys and Mountain Boys

8. What role does Abraham play? What lessons does he teach Jim, both in the field and in the alley?

9. What do we know about Whitey Whiteside, "the unexpected guest" (pp. 96-101)?

10. Jim woke up on the first day of school thinking, "The morning smelled like school. The previous morning had smelled only like summer, like dew and grass and crops growing in the fields." What does school smell like to you?

11. When he went to the old school, Jim knew who he could outrun (see p. 76). Things were different at the new school. Do you remember going to a new school? Do you remember who you could outrun?

12. On the "Big Day" there's a Ferris wheel (yes, it's capitalized) at the open house for the new school. Last month we read about the wheel that Mr. Ferris designed for Chicago, so compare it with the one in the town of Aliceville, North Carolina.

13. Zeno told Jim, "Everybody knows you ain't got much of a town if a railroad track runs though it but the train won't stop" (p. 88). Explain how the train figured in the naming of Aliceville. And maybe tell us about the name of your town. Do trains figure into your town's history?

14. I can imagine "the red school on top of the hill" (p. 109). What was your school like?

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Jim the Boy

6. Why do you think Uncle Al took Jim on the trip out of town? What do the incident with the horses and his first view of the ocean teach him?
I think Al thought the trip would allow Jim to see more of the world and give him a chance to buy the horses. When they realized that the owner had shot the horses to avoid having to sell them, Jim realized that things do not always turn out the way one planned.

7. The uncles are always teaching Jim things. What teaching moments have you noticed?
When Jim first saw the ocean at Myrtle Beach, Uncle Al told Jim not to ever make fun of the misfortunes of others and gave an interesting analogy about making fun of others: "No good will ever come of it. God will bring you down. If you use his blessings to look down on other people, it's like cussing. I't like taking his name in vain."
The education that Jim received from his uncles was practical and compassionate.

The Devil in the White City -- An Awful Fight Discussion Questions

I'm not enjoying reading the Holmes sections either. I'm just glad they aren't really graphic so far and I hope they don't become so.

3. Did you notice the "water wars"? Because Georgia is currently engaged in what some are calling a "water war" with Tennessee (and because I live in Chattanooga, on the border between the two states), I noticed Burnham's concern about providing clean water to the fair. Georgia's problem is rapid expansion without planning ahead for the water needs of its people; Burnham's problem was sewage threatening Chicago's water supply. Read the section spanning pages 175-176 about the fight to pipe water from Waukesha, Wisconsin, to the fair in Jackson Park. What was the subtle distinction that allowed Burnham to say the water came from Waukesha?

The subtle distinction that allows Burnham to say the water comes from Waukesha is that he piped the water in from a small town on the edge of Waukesha county, not actually the town of Waukesha.

4. A tiny (four sentence) section at the top of page 181 mentions a pledge recited by school children on Dedication Day. I'd never heard that this was how the Pledge of Allegiance began, had you? Who was Francis J. Bellamy, anyway? (You may have to google or go to Wikipedia to learn more about him. In my research, I discovered that I was two years old when the U.S. Congress recognized the Pledge as the official national pledge.)

I did not know that this was the origin of the Pledge of Allegiance. Francis J. Bellamy was an American Baptist minister and Christian Socialist. Bellamy worked for Youth's Companion in the magazine's premium department. The magazine also sold flags to schools to solicit subscriptions. This turned into a movement to put a flag in every school. As the market became saturated and flag sales slowed, the magazine published a flag salute and Bellamy's pledge. My father's family is from Rome, NY where Bellamy is buried.

5. The original Ferris Wheel was bigger than I realized, at "a bit higher than the crown of the ... Statue of Liberty" (p. 185). I'm sure we'll read more about it in later sections of the book, but say something about the size of the thirty-six "cars" on the Ferris Wheel. (Click to enlarge this photo.)

The two parts that astounded me about the Farris Wheel was that the cars could hold 60 people, had refreshment stands, and there were 36 of them and that the spokes inside the wheel were only 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Amazing!

JTB-DQ ~ Book II ~ Jim Leaves Home

6. Why do you think Uncle Al took Jim on the trip out of town? What do the incident with the horses and his first view of the ocean teach him?

7. The uncles are always teaching Jim things. What teaching moments have you noticed?

Saturday, July 5, 2008

The Devil in the White City -- Frozen Music Discussion Questions

1. In what ways is this nonfiction book like a novel? Is it more satisfying to read fiction or nonfiction?

I am finding that The Devil in the White City reads mostly like a novel to me, except for some of the factually dense portions and tangents. I usually have a very hard time reading non-fiction books and can only digest them in small parts so they take me a very long time to finish. I'm not having this problem with The Devil in the White City, although it is a little slower going for me than fiction. For me, fiction is definitely a more satisfying read since I don't struggle so with reading it. I do enjoy the learning part of reading non-fictions though and I wish I read more of them. This is one aspect of the online book clubs that I'm enjoying (reading non-fiction with a group on a schedule).

2. What have you found out so far about Chicago, the Fair, and the two men: Burnham and Holmes?

Nearly everything in the book so far is new information to me. I know very little about the city of Chicago and nothing about Chicago of that time period. I know nothing about the Fair or Burnham and Holmes. But I'm enjoying learning about it all!

Friday, July 4, 2008

Book I

2. When is Jim's birthday?
Jim's 10th birthday is June 16, 1934.
I don't think his mother being about 19 when he was born is that unusual for that time (or unfortunately in today's society as it seems that there are lots of teen pregnancies; there are also lots more people who wait to start their families when the mother is in her late 20's and 30's). My grandmother on my Dad's side married at age 15 while my other grandmother married at age 25. I was 29 when I had my first child.
I remember that one of my brothers and my oldest son found turning 13 to be an extra special day although the same son was also pleased about turning 10 as he got a kick out of becoming two digits old.

3. What birthday stands out for you?
I can't think of a birthday that was outstanding. Old age must be setting in. I'll turn 60 this year. It sounds so old when I say it, but except for my body reminding me otherwise, I really don't feel as old as I'd always thought that 60 was. Over time the ages that had seemed old have shifted upwards.

4. What birthday presents did Jim get? Overall, what did you think about Jim's tenth birthday?
I thought that the baseball, glove, and bat were each very special gifts that were given with love during a time when money was scarce. Each of the gifts were both useful and helped enrich Jim's life.
Jim's decision that at age 10 he was old enough to work with his uncles was interesting as it showed his developed work ethic that he had internalized rather than being told to do. The way that the uncles handled Jim's attempt to take the best hoe was also done in a manner which showed their respect for their workers.
I thought that the way the family kept their planned celebration of his birthday a secret was interesting--poor Jim thought his birthday had been forgotten when they had planned an extra special celebration for him.

5. What did you make of the scene about baptizing the chicks?
I thought the chick baptism story gave fascinating insight into the past generation. The baptizing uncles showed typical childhood reenactments of portions of adult life while also showing the closeness of the brothers and the value that was placed on honesty.

And what do the uncles mean by this exchange (p. 39)?

Uncle Zeno: "Allie turned out to be a pretty good farmer, when you consider how he started out."

Uncle Coran: "At least we can be thankful he didn't try to become a preacher."

Uncle Al: "That's for sure ... I would've had to be a Methodist to keep from drowning people."

Even though Al's early venture in farming involved the disastrous drowning of the chicks, he still wound up being a good farmer. Perhaps Methodists are like Lutherans and baptize by sprinkling instead of the immersion used by Baptists so Al would have had to have been Methodist if he preached to avoid drowning people when baptizing them.

JTB-DQ ~ Book I ~ Birthday Boy

2. When is Jim's birthday? Check Zeno's letter in the opening pages. So what day is Jim's tenth birthday? If Jim's mother is "not yet thirty" (p. 7) now, she must have been 19 when he was born ten years ago. Would that have been unusual in 1924?

Growing an extra digit in his age seemed a miracle to Jim, now 1-0 instead of merely 9. Do you know anyone who grew a third digit and became 1-0-0? Saturday (tomorrow) will be my oldest granddaughter's 21st birthday, a milestone. For some the special birthday is Sweet Sixteen. For others the darkest one is the half-century mark, celebrated by friends wearing black. 3. What birthday stands out for you?

4. What birthday presents did Jim get? Overall, what did you think about Jim's tenth birthday?

5. What did you make of the scene about baptizing the chicks? And what do the uncles mean by this exchange (p. 39)?
Uncle Zeno: "Allie turned out to be a pretty good farmer, when you consider how he started out."

Uncle Coran: "At least we can be thankful he didn't try to become a preacher."

Uncle Al: "That's for sure ... I would've had to be a Methodist to keep from drowning people."

Happy Independance Day

As my Fourth of July comes to an end here in Korea most of you are just beginning yours. So Happy Fourth of July to you!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Windy City ~ let's tour the Fair!

Marylyn and I arrived at Essencia Island and discovered nobuddy else is here for the party. We've gone to take a tour of the Fair while we're waiting for you. If you take the tour, look for us. I want to ride the Ferris Wheel, for sure. Oops! Which way did she go? Marylyn, wait for me! Oh, look, there's Daniel Burnham!







I hope you Book Buddies plan to party on the island with us, even if you have started reading Jim the Boy. Marylyn brought Chicago-style hot dogs for us to eat.

JTB-DQ ~ Prologue

Read these lines from a review of Jim the Boy, and tell me what you think.
"Jim is 10. His mother is a widow. They live in the small town of Aliceville with Jim's three uncles, Zeno, Coran and Al. And they're content."
1. Does it make you want to read the book? If you like thrillers, it could be a turn-off. Did reading the prologue change your mind?

Jim the Boy (JTB) ~ our book for July



Who? A boy named Jim. What? The fatherless boy is being raised by his mother and three uncles. When? During the Depression, starting on Jim's tenth birthday. Where? Aliceville, North Carolina. What else? Jim has never traveled more than 30 miles from Aliceville. The book will take us through a year in the life of this young fellow.

Getting started
What we said about the book 
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Prologue
Book I ~ Birthday Boy
Book II ~ Jim Leaves Home
Book III ~ Town Boys and Mountain Boys
Book IV ~ Cold Nights
Book V ~ Quiet Days
Book VI ~ The View from Up Here

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Jim the Boy Comments

I received this book from the library a couple of weeks ago so was able for a change to get a head start on our read.

The easy to read and less intense read is perfect at this time of my life. My 30-year-old neice just died unexpectedly a little over a week ago bringing back many emotions of the death of my 29-year-old son who also died unexpectedly last August. Although both deaths were undiagnosed heart conditions, supposedly the conditions are not related. In addition to the stress of this, we are in the midst of year end closing, my first as supervisor of our team, so having an easy read is well timed. I have had such problems even focusing that I returned my books on CD to the library as I couldn't concentrate enough to listen to them.

Jim's problems and life as a 10-year-old during the Depression have proved a pleasant diversion. The author has presented several characters that I like--Jim's mother and uncles are quite the role models in parenting as they show their love yet give Jim the freedom he needs to be himself.