Book Buddies

Bonnie and Shirley ~ LCL is tedious and tiring

2011-10-10T11:47:00.000-04:00

Here's question #5 from the original Lady Chatterley's Lover post.

5. Do you think the novel is obscene or vulgar?

This book was banned in the United Kingdom and in the United States, and that's why I started reading it during Banned Books Week. But I still haven't finished it. I've found the endless descriptions to be tedious, and the characters do nothing but talk or take long walks (describing the scenery) or have sex, which seems almost more perfunctory (hasty, superficial, indifferent, apathetic) than obscene. Shirley's complaint, left on my earlier post, is similar.

The book has some somewhat erotic scenes (far less so far than the title suggests) with a rather tiring amount of discussion that makes one want to scream the Nike slogan, "Just Do It!"

Shirley also asked a question:

As we started to read this, Pat Robertson commented that the spouse of someone suffering from Alzheimer's disease has grounds for divorce. Rather startling given his conservative background. It did, however, make me think of the book as, even though Clifford does know his wife, he is unable to fulfill part of his marriage. Would that fall in with Robertson's approval of justification for divorce? Does Clifford's physical inability morally justify adultery especially given his approval?

Maybe she could get a divorce if she wanted it, but I don't think Connie -- Lady Chatterley -- wants one. Clifford annoys me, and his reason for "approving" of adultery is so Connie will have a child FOR HIM. He wants one who will continue the Chatterley line and doesn't seem to care about Connie one way or the other.

Nature imagery in LCL ~ Bonnie

2011-09-19T22:30:00.000-04:00

One of the main characters is the game-keeper, so it isn't at all unexpected that nature would play a large part in Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence. However, it was not something I would have looked for except for seeing it on a list of discussion questions for the book. Here's the way I re-phrased the question for us, though you are welcome to approach this subject (and this book) with any questions you like):

3. Did you notice the nature imagery in the novel?

Probably not much when I read it back in the early 1970s. This time, with this question to guide me, I've been paying attention, trying to think about why — and how — the author used nature imagery. I've read six chapters, labeling these notes "nature."

"The wood was her [Lady Chatterley's] one refuge, her sanctuary. But it was not really a refuge, a sanctuary, because she had no connection with it. It was only a place where she could get away from the rest. She never really touched the spirit of the wood itself . . . if it had any such nonsensical thing" (p. 19).

"Clifford loved the wood; he loved the old oak-trees. He felt they were his own through generations. He wanted to protect them. He wanted this place inviolate, shut off from the world" (p. 39).

One obvious way the author is using these first two sections is to contrast the way wife and husband think about the woods. Somewhere early on — and I can't find it right now — the book says these woods are part of Sherwood Forest or Robin Hood's woods or something like that.

"In the wood all was utterly inert and motionless, only great drops fell from the bare boughs, with a hollow little crash. For the rest, among the old trees with dept within depth of gray, hopeless inertia, nothingness. Connie walked dimly on. From the old wood came an ancient melancholy, somehow soothing to her, better than the harsh insentience of the outer world. She liked the inwardness of the remnant of forest, the unspeaking reticence of the old trees. They seemed a very power of silence, and yet a vital presence. They, too, were waiting: obstinately, stoically waiting, and giving off a potency of silence. Perhaps they were only waiting for the end; to be cut down, cleared away, the end of the forest, for them the end of all things. But perhaps their strong and autocratic silence, the silence of strong trees, meant something else" (p. 61).

This passage seems to be used to evoke an atmosphere of hopelessness, with everything gray and bare. But there's waiting. Lady Chatterley and the trees are waiting for something to happen.

Lady Chatterley's Lover ~ by D. H. Lawrence

2011-09-17T21:54:00.000-04:00

Banned Books Week starts September 24, and that's this coming Friday. An online friend and I plan to read Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence, first published in 1928. For me it's a re-read, so even if I fail to finish it, I'll be able to discuss the book. The discussion here will last at least a month, as long as there's any interest.

Just so you know, there are sexually explicit scenes, which is why the book was banned in the United Kingdom until 1960 and, thus, first published in Italy. (I read the "complete, unexpurgated" version in the United States in the early 1970s.) Constance, the Lady Chatterley of the title, is a young married woman whose husband, Clifford, has been paralyzed and rendered impotent. Her sexual frustration leads her to have an affair with the gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (choose one at a time, in any order)

1. What do you think of Lady Chatterley? the gamekeeper? the husband? the situation?

2. Edwin Muir said about D. H. Lawrence that “we remember the scenes in his novels; we forget the names of his men and women. We should not know any of them if we met them in the street.” Do you think this applies in the case of Lady Chatterley’s Lover?

3. Did you notice the nature imagery in the novel?

4. Did you pick up on the theme of resurrection?

5. Do you think the novel is obscene or vulgar?

Atlas Shrugged ~ by Ayn Rand, 1957, fiction

2011-05-13T14:34:00.003-04:00

Three face-to-face friends and I have decided to read and discuss Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It's her fourth and last novel. I put off reading this book for years because it's over a thousand pages long. Reading with friends will make it easier, especially since we plan to email our comments and questions to each other after each chapter. Would any of you like to join me in discussing this philosophical book on Book Buddies? You are welcome to start at any time and leave comments even long after the live discussion takes place. (Click on any of the underlined links to read that part of the discussion.)

Wikipedia has lots of information about Atlas Shrugged and about Ayn Rand, the author (shown here). This is from eNotes:

"According to a 1991 Library of Congress report, it is considered the second most influential book after the Bible in the lives of its readers. A complex combination of mystery, love story, social criticism, and philosophical concepts, the 1,100 page novel embodies the author's passionate celebration of individualism, free will, capitalism, logic, and reason. ... The apathy of the people is summed up in a new slang expression, 'Who is John Galt?' which conveys hopelessness, fear, and a sense of futility, as well as everything unachievable and imagined."

The book is divided into three parts with ten chapters in each section:

Introduction ~ by Leonard Peikoff (in the Mass Market paperback, which I have ~ if you have a different one, I'd like to hear about yours)

Part One ~ NON-CONTRADICTION

I ~ The Theme
II ~ The Chain
III ~ The Top and the Bottom
IV ~ The Immovable Movers
V ~ The Climax of the D'Anconias
VI ~ The Non-Commercial
VII ~ The Exploiters and the Exploited
VIII ~ The John Galt Line
IX ~ The Sacred and the Profane
X ~ Wyatt's Torch

Part Two ~ EITHER-OR

I ~ The Man Who Belonged on Earth
II ~ The Aristocracy of Pull
III ~ White Blackmail
IV ~ The Sanction of the Victim
V ~ Account Overdrawn
VI ~ Miracle Metal
VII ~ The Moratorium on Brains
VIII ~ By Our Love
IX ~ The Face Without Pain or Fear or Guilt
X ~ The Sign of the Dollar

Part Three ~ A IS A

I ~ Atlantis
II ~ The Utopia of Greed
III ~ Anti-Greed
IV ~ Anti-Life
V ~ Their Brothers' Keepers
VI ~ The Concerto of Deliverance
VII ~ "This is John Galt Speaking"
VIII ~ The Egoist
IX ~ The Generator
X ~In the Name of the Best Within Us

The Essentials of Objectivism

"My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." -- Ayn Rand

To contact the Book Buddies

2011-05-06T14:42:00.001-04:00

If you want to contact the Book Buddies,
email Bonnie at
emerging DOT paradigm AT yahoo DOT com

Hope All is Well

2011-02-24T05:07:00.002-05:00

Although I've missed hearing from everyone, I have been remiss about checking in as well.

This morning's word of the day is lacuna which really triggered memories of our group.

lacuna

PRONUNCIATION:
(luh-KYOO-nuh)
plural lacunae (luh-KYOO-nee) or lacunas

MEANING:
noun: An empty space, gap, missing part, an opening.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin lacuna (hole, gap), from lacus (lake). Earliest documented use: 1663.

USAGE:
"Last week's collision between two cargo ships off the coast of Mumbai has exposed several systemic lacunae."
Black Waters; The Times of India (New Delhi, India); Aug 11, 2010.

Losing touch with our group has left a lacuna in my life.

Are you all right Bonnie? Rest of group? Are we going to try to continue the group reads?

Housekeeper and Professor ~ discussion questions

2010-12-06T18:29:00.001-05:00

Hanshin Koshien Stadium

Discussion Questions (from the publisher)

1. The characters in The Housekeeper and the Professor are nameless (“Root” is only a nickname). What does it mean when an author chooses not to name the people in her book? How does that change your relationship to them as a reader? Are names that important?

2. Imagine you are a writer, developing a character with only eighty minutes of short-term memory. How would you manage the very specific terms of that character (e.g. his job, his friendships, how he takes care of himself)? Discuss some of the creative ways in which Yoko Ogawa imagines her memory-impaired Professor, from the notes pinned to his suit to the sadness he feels every morning.

3. As Root and the Housekeeper grow and move forward in their lives, the Professor stays in one place (in fact he is deteriorating, moving backwards). And yet, the bond among the three of them grows strong. How is it possible for this seemingly one-sided relationship to thrive? What does Ogawa seem to be saying about memory and the very foundations of our profoundest relationships?

4. The Professor tells the Housekeeper: “Math has proven the existence of God because it is absolute and without contradiction; but the devil must exist as well, because we cannot prove it.” Does this paradox apply to anything else, beside math? Perhaps memory? Love?

5. The Houskeeper’s father abandoned her mother before she was born; and then the Housekeeper herself suffered the same fate when pregnant with Root. In a book where all of the families are broken (including the Professor’s), what do you think Ogawa is saying about how families are composed? Do we all, in fact, have a fundamental desire to be a part of a family? Does it matter whom it’s made of?

6. Did your opinion of the Professor change when you realized the nature of his relationship with his sister-in-law? Did you detect any romantic tension between the Professor and the Housekeeper, or was their relationship chaste? Perhaps Ogawa was intending ambiguity in that regard?

7. The sum of all numbers between one and ten is not difficult to figure out, but the Professor insists that Root find the answer in a particular way. Ultimately Root and the Housekeeper come to the answer together. Is there a thematic importance to their method of solving the problem? Generally, how does Ogawa use math to illustrate a whole worldview?

8. Baseball is a game full of statistics, and therefore numbers. Discuss the very different ways in which Root and the Professor love the game.

9. How does Ogawa depict the culture of contemporary Japan in The Housekeeper and the Professor? In what ways does is it seem different from western culture? For example, consider the Housekeeper’s pregnancy and her attitude toward single motherhood; or perhaps look at the simple details of the story, like Root’s birthday cake. In what ways are the cultures similar, different?

10. Ogawa chooses to write about actual math problems, rather than to write about math in the abstract. In a sense, she invites the reader to learn math along with the characters. Why do you think she wrote the book this way? Perhaps to heighten your sympathy for the characters?

11. Do numbers bear any significance on the structure of this book? Consider the fact that the book has eleven chapters. Are all things quantifiable, and all numbers fraught with poetic possibility?

Those unnamed people in our book

2010-12-06T18:20:00.001-05:00

According to Wikipedia, The Professor's Beloved Equation is the title published in Japan in 2003; The Housekeeper and the Professor is the English translation by Stephen Snyder, which was published in 2009. The same article tells us about the characters:

The Professor ~ 64 years old. A former university professor who specializes in number theory. He loves mathematics, children, and the Hanshin Tigers (especially Yutaka Enatsu, who was playing for the Tigers at the time of the Professor's accident and whose uniform number was 28, the second smallest perfect number. After being in an accident at the age of 47, he can retain new memories for only 80 minutes. He keeps important information on memo paper which is attached all over his suits. He keeps baseball cards and another important memento in a cookie tin. He has trouble interacting with other people and has a habit of talking about numbers when he does not know what else to say. He has a talent for reading things backwards and finding the first star in the sky.

The narrator ~ housekeeper and single mother. Initially feels frustration at the Professor, who shows interest only in mathematics, but through observing the Professor's kindness and his passion for mathematics, comes to feel respect and affection for him. She first manages to connect with the Professor when he discovers that her birthday is February 20 (220), which is an amicable number with the number 284, which is imprinted on the underside of his watch, which he received as the University President's Award for a thesis he wrote in university on transcendental number theory. Cannot pronounce the title of the Journal of Mathematics (to which the Professor submits contest entries) very well, so she refers to it as "Jaanaru obu." Gives the Professor a rare baseball card of Yutaka Enatsu as a birthday present.

Root ~ ten years old. The Professor refers to him as "Root" on account of the top of his head being flat like a square root (√) symbol. Is a fan of the Hanshin Tigers, and gets the Professor to repair his radio so that they can listen to baseball broadcasts together. Eventually becomes a junior high school mathematics teacher.

The Widow ~ sister-in-law of the Professor (wife of the Professor's brother). Cannot walk well, as a result of a traffic accident.

Discussion questions ~ Bonnie's answers

2010-11-21T14:40:00.005-05:00

click to enlarge

This photo shows a cenote, defined as "a deep natural well or sinkhole, especially in Central America, formed by the collapse of surface limestone that exposes ground water underneath, and sometimes used by the ancient Mayans for sacrificial offerings."

8. Frida tells Harrison, "The most important thing about a person is always the thing you don't know" (p. 218). Years later, he writes to her, saying, "Frida, you always said the most important thing about any person is what you don't know. Likewise, then, the most important part of any story is the missing piece" (p. 277). How does this relate to the book's title?

Alison said (in a comment) that she's "still working on The Lacuna." Getting through it was like work, in some ways. The story wasn't exciting enough to pull me along, but when I reached the last part and the whole thing came together, I was left feeling very satisfied with the book. I guess you can tell from the second set of questions (where I posted a different picture of an underwater cave) that part of my enjoyment came from the cave called "la lacuna" hidden beneath the waves.

A lacuna is a gap or missing part. People seemed to think, for example, that they knew the author named Harrison Shepherd because they had read his books or because newspapers reported this or that about him. At the end of the book (something for you to look forward to, Alison), Mrs. Brown discovered a gap in her knowledge of the man, when she realized she didn't know some important things about him, even though she had worked for him for years and had even traveled with him on business a time or two. That's the lacuna that matters.

Joe McCarthy with his aide Roy Cohen

11. Were you surprised by the way statements were twisted during the McCarthy trials?

Like Shirley (see the comments), I was really drawn to what Barbara Kingsolver wrote about the McCarthy period. I remember how uneasy I felt about the televised hearings, even at the age of twelve, when we got our first television in 1952. I cringed at the thought of Senator McCarthy ruining the lives of so many people, realizing, even then, that there was no way to refute the nebulous charges.

9. Did you like the format, using journals and letters?
10. What did you think of Violet Brown, who worked for Harrison?

Violet Brown was a mousy little woman, but she was completely loyal to her boss. I can't say I liked her much, otherwise. And she's the one (other than the book's author) who gets the blame for what we call "the format" of the story, using journals and letters. Mrs. Brown is the one who chose what to include, which thing should come next, and how the whole fit together.

1. Do Harrison's diaries feel realistic to you? Does he sound like a 12-year-old at the beginning ... and later like a mature man? What kind of boy was he? What do you think of him?
12. How did Harrison Shepherd change over the course of the novel?

Yes, his "later" writings seemed more mature, but no, the early ones didn't quite seem like the writings of a child. Maybe it's because I'm teaching two writing classes that I'm aware of the meticulous wording and punctuation in his early diaries, so I'll forgive the (mostly) perfect entries -- except for an occasional comma splice or two. (grin) Harrison Shepherd became more reserved as he became aware of his own sexuality and of the world's unfathomable ways of treating anyone who thinks differently. And finally, he was almost a hermit, trying to keep away from those who admired or hated him. What he longed for, finally, was the ultimate escape.

7. What new things have you learned from reading this book?

I've read reviews of The Lacuna by lots of people, including some who thought the author brought in too many famous people. I think her choices worked the other way around, that she used the fact that Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Leon Trotsky were
Trotsky
all together in one place and time and plunked her protagonist (Harrison Shepherd) down in the midst of them. Because these people were in the book, I looked them up and read more about them, finding Diego's mural in Detroit and his famous mural in Mexico City because I was really learning something about these people in depth for the first time -- even though I'd heard their names and could have told you a fact or two about Trotsky.

December's choice ~ The Housekeeper and the Professor

2010-11-21T10:37:00.006-05:00

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa is the book we chose for December, and it is almost time to start reading it. Here's a summary from the publisher:

He is a brilliant math Professor with a peculiar problem -- ever since a traumatic head injury, he has lived with only eighty minutes of short-term memory. She is an astute young Housekeeper, with a ten-year-old son, who is hired to care for him. And every morning, as the Professor and the Housekeeper are introduced to each other anew, a strange and beautiful relationship blossoms between them. Though he cannot hold memories for long (his brain is like a tape that begins to erase itself every eighty minutes), the Professor’s mind is still alive with elegant equations from the past. And the numbers, in all of their articulate order, reveal a sheltering and poetic world to both the Housekeeper and her young son. The Professor is capable of discovering connections between the simplest of quantities -- like the Housekeeper’s shoe size -- and the universe at large, drawing their lives ever closer and more profoundly together, even as his memory slips away. The Housekeeper and the Professor is an enchanting story about what it means to live in the present, and about the curious equations that can create a family.

TL ~ second set of DQs

2010-11-20T17:51:00.002-05:00

For our second set of discussion questions about The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, I want to start with a quote from page 35, early in the book. It's a bit long, but I was fascinated by the cave Harrison Shepherd found below the water line.

Mexican underwater cave (click to enlarge)
Today the cave was gone. Saturday last, it was there. Searching the whole rock face below the cliff did not turn it up. Then the tide came higher and waves crashed too hard to keep looking. How could a tunnel open in the rock, then close again? The tide must have been much higher today, and put it too far below the surface to find. Leandro says the tides are complicated and the rocks on that side are dangerous, to stay over here in the shallow reef. He wasn't pleased to hear about the cave. He already knew about it, it is called something alreaedy, la lacuna. So, not a true discovery.

Laguna? The lagoon?

No, lacuna. He said it means a different thing from lagoon. Not a cave exactly but an opening, like a mouth, that swallows things. He opened his mouth to show. It goes into the belly of the world. He says Isla Pixol is full of them.

8. Frida tells Harrison, "The most important thing about a person is always the thing you don't know" (p. 218). Years later, he writes to her, saying, "Frida, you always said the most important thing about any person is what you don't know. Likewise, then, the most important part of any story is the missing piece" (p. 277). How does this relate to the book's title?

9. Did you like the format, using journals and letters?

10. What did you think of Violet Brown, who worked for Harrison?

11. Were you surprised by the way statements were twisted during the McCarthy trials?

12. How did Harrison Shepherd change over the course of the novel?

World War II in the Netherlands ~ Kingsolver did her homework

2010-11-17T14:00:00.004-05:00

Aerial view of the gap in the dike at Westkapelle, with the sea coming in

A very small comment by Shepherd caught my attention because I have a friend in the Netherlands. Some of you will remember Margreet, who was one of the earlier Book Buddies when we met on Oprah's site. This is the question I sent to Margreet this morning, followed by her answer.

I have been reading The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (2009). I'm having trouble confirming -- for myself -- whether this part of the novel really happened or not. The book is written mostly as journals of the main character (a novelist), and this section was labeled February 1. It would have been 1945, I think.

"Tonight's news: the Allies broke open the dikes along the Netherlands coast, letting in the sea and drowning thousands of German soldiers in the flood. Like the Azteca opening dikes to drown Cortes and his men on the shores of Lake Tenochtitlan. But fiction is nonsense, the war is real. Tomorrow the farmers of Walcheren will wake to see a tide standing over their crops, the floating corpses of their cattle, every tree in the land scalded by the salt on its roots. The glory of war is so frequently disappointing" (p. 294).

Flooding and devastation after breaching the dikes in the Netherlands

I looked up Walcheren in Wikipedia: "Strategically placed at the mouth of the River Scheldt, Walcheren was the key that allowed use of the deep-water port of Antwerp..." But I haven't found anything about the Allies flooding the area. Oops, I just now found this:

"To hamper German defence, the island's dykes were breached by attacks from RAF Bomber Command: on October 3 at Westkapelle with severe loss of civilian life; on October 7 at two places, west and east of Vlissingen; and on October 11 at Veere. This flooded the central part of the island, forcing the German defenders onto the high ground around the outside and in the towns, but it also allowed the use of amphibious vehicles." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Scheldt)

Maybe I've answered my question, but I would like to hear anything you could add. I agree with Kingsolver's protagonist that the glory of war is disappointing. In my opinion, wars are not the best solutions to problems, and should be avoided if at all possible.

Love,
~~~ Bonnie

Margareet wrote back:

Hi Bonnie Bookworm:)

Interesting part of my country's history...and I never knew this. I am familiar with another part of Holland being 'inundated' as it's called here. The Wieringermeer polder. My grandfather had a farm there in the new land, with his family. My mom was 13 in 1945, when they were warned that the dikes had been demolished (on purpose) so they had one day to gather some belongings and flee back to family in Groningen. But Walcheren, I didn't know that. It was a common way of making access impossible for foreign armies, as far back as 1000 years ago. So I can assure you that it really happened.

Please let me know if you find more about this subject, love 'talking' to you hon!!

Lots of Love, Margreet

TL ~ first set of DQs

2010-11-05T22:40:00.000-04:00

This mural by Diego Rivera is in Detroit. It shows his interest in the workers of the world and also gives us an indication of the wide admiration of Rivera's art. The story in The Lacuna centers on Harrison Shepherd's connection with Diego Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo. I've read Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the book, most of which is set in Mexico, interrupted by Harrison Shepherd's short stay with his father in Washington, D.C.

1. Do Harrison's diaries feel realistic to you? Does he sound like a 12-year-old at the beginning ... and later like a mature man? What kind of boy was he? What do you think of him?

2. What prompts Harrison to begin his journals? Why does he write? What does he mean by referring to his notebook as "prisoner's plan for escape"?

3. How about Harrison's mother? In what way does her profligate life affect how he decides to lead his own life?

4. What do you think of the Rivera/Kahlo household? How does Harrison see Rivera's influence over Kahlo? Have you seen the 2003 movie Frida? If so, does that film influence your reading of The Lacuna? (I hadn't even heard of the movie, but I'm surprised at how much these actors look like the real Diego and Frida. Click the link to see photos I posted earlier.)

5. I like Barbara Kingsolver's writing. In October, I visited the cemetery where my parents are buried; both born in October, they married each other exactly between their birthdays. When I read this a few days later, I realized my parents are still my family, but I've never thought of it that way. What do you think?

2 November, Dead People's Day
"Leandro is at the cemetery to put flowers on his dead people: his mother and father, grandmothers, a baby son that died when it was one minute old, and his brother, who died last year. Leandro said it's wrong to say you don't have a family. Even if they are dead, you still have them" (p. 32).

6. Leon Trotsky, born Lev Davidovich Bronstein, was one of the leaders of the Russian October Revolution. I had intended to ask you why he was called "Lev" in the book, but when I found this photo at Wikipedia, I learned Lev was the name he was born with. I had never heard that, and the book left me confused about why that name was used. What do you think of Harrison's assessment of Trotsky, quoted below? Why do you think things didn't turn out the way Lev anticipated?

"Even in the horror of war, Lev [Trotsky] is optimistic; he says it will make internationalists of us all. A modernized proletariat will unite, because war so conspicuously benefits rich men and kills the poor ones" (p. 224).

7. What new things have you learned from reading this book?

The big mural

2010-10-31T12:03:00.008-04:00

This is part of Diego Rivera's mural at the National Palace, which is mentioned early in the book:

"They say he's making a huge painting on the stairwell of the National Palace, the long red building on the Zocalo with windows like holes in a flute" (p. 68).

I haven't (yet?) found a picture that shows what the boy Harrison Shepherd describes on the next page of the book (p. 69):

"A beautiful lady lifts her skirt, showing her tattooed ankle. Maybe she is a puta, or a goddess. Or just someone like Mother who needs an admirer. The Painter makes you see that those three kinds of women might all be the same, because all the different ancestors are still inside us and don't really die."

Signing their marriage license in 1940

Photos help me visualize what the boy heard about the fat painter and his tiny wife.

"...her face was very startling, an Azteca queen with ferocious black eyes"
(p. 65). "He was as fat as a giant and horribly ugly, with the face of a frog and the teeth of a Communist"
(p. 66).

Have you started reading the book yet?

The Lacuna (TL) ~ November discussion

2010-10-29T22:25:00.009-04:00

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, 1932

We'll discuss The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (2009) in November, so it's time to start reading. The first chapter is found on the author's web site. Synopsis:

Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities.

Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico — from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City — Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey. Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera.

He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence.

Meanwhile, to the north, the United States will soon be caught up in the internationalist goodwill of World War II. There in the land of his birth, Shepherd believes he might remake himself in America's hopeful image and claim a voice of his own. He finds support from an unlikely kindred soul, his stenographer, Mrs. Brown, who will be far more valuable to her employer than he could ever know. Through darkening years, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach — the lacuna — between truth and public presumption.

I have the book already and have read to page 34. That's not very much, but I already feel sorry for the boy who doesn't quite fit in, yet discovers a world of exotic fish beneath the surface of the sea around the island where he and his mother are living when the book opens. Are you ready to start reading with me?

TGB ~ second set of DQs

2010-10-25T18:48:00.003-04:00

1. In a particularly revealing chapter of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Francie's teacher dismisses her essays about everyday life among the poor as "sordid," and, indeed, many of the novel's characters seem to harbor a sense of shame about their poverty. But they also display a remarkable self-reliance (Katie, for example, says she would kill herself and her children before accepting charity). How and why have our society's perceptions of poverty changed - for better or worse - during the last one hundred years?

2. Some critics have argued that many of the characters in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn can be dismissed as stereotypes, exhibiting quaint characteristics or representing pat qualities of either nobility or degeneracy. Is this a fair criticism? Which characters are the most convincing? The least?

3. Francie observes more than once that women seem to hate other women ("they stuck together for only one thing: to trample on some other woman"), while men, even if they hate each other, stick together against the world. Is this an accurate appraisal of the way things are in the novel?

4. The women in the Nolan/Rommely clan exhibit most of the strength and, whenever humanly possible, control the family's destiny. In what ways does Francie continue this legacy?

5. What might Francie's obsession with order -- from systematically reading the books in the library from A through Z, to trying every flavor ice cream soda -- in turn say about her circumstances and her dreams?

6. Although it is written in the third person, there can be little argument that the narrative is largely from Francie's point of view. How would the book differ if it was told from Neeley's perspective?

7. How can modern readers reconcile the frequent anti-Semitism and anti-immigrant sentiments that characters espouse throughout the novel?

8. Could it be argued that the main character of the book is not Francie but, in fact, Brooklyn itself?

(These questions came from the publisher and can be found at several sites online.)

Extra set of questions

2010-10-24T03:13:00.000-04:00

I found a site that quizzes readers about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and then gives the correct answers. Obviously, it's about facts in the book, rather than our usual questions about what we thought of the book. Give it a try. I missed three of the questions. See how you do by clicking this link.

TGB ~ first set of DQs

2010-10-16T17:52:00.001-04:00

Butcher shop ~ 1912

I'm overwhelmed by the Nolan children's hunger and their lives in general. I stopped reading in order to feed my cat and, though I felt like Old Mother Hubbard finding the cupboard bare when I saw only three cans of cat food left on the shelf, I realized my cat eats better than Francie and Neeley did.

1. What indications of poverty stood out for you in the early part of the book?

2. Which of Francie's activities come to mind when you think of her childhood?

3. Which characters interest you the most, and why?

The ailanthus tree

2010-10-15T20:12:00.002-04:00

With a long weekend because of Fall Break at Chattanooga State, I hope to catch up on both reading and sleep. It's time. I taught my two writing classes at Chattanooga State this morning, came home tired, ate lunch, and stretched out to start reading. (Yes, I'm that far behind.) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was published in 1943, but Anna Quindlen's Foreword was copyrighted in 2001. I flipped the pages, deciding I could read Quindlen's five pages plus the six short chapters of Book One, a mere 54 pages, but I fell asleep before finishing the first page, which has only two paragraphs! Must be tired, huh? I'd say so, since I napped a solid six hours. I made supper and read all the way to the second page of the Foreword, where I found Quindlen's remarks about the tree, the one that grows in Brooklyn:

"All of this takes place in the life of Francie Nolan, who is eleven years old when her story opens in the summer of 1912, in a third-floor walk-up apartment in the shadow of the hardy urban ailanthus tree..." (page viii).

I stopped to get online and look it up. The ailanthus tree, also known also as the Tree of Heaven, is "native to Asia and northern Australia. It was introduced into England from China in the mid-18th century as an ornamental, migrating to the United States in 1874." I found pictures of the tree and decided to get online to share them with everybuddy. So here I am at 8:00 in the evening, and I've managed to read a whole three-and-a-half paragraphs of the book. The Foreword, actually. I haven't even gotten to Francie yet. With just under 500 pages to go, I'd better finish this post and start reading!

October ~ A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1943

2010-10-01T06:34:00.005-04:00

Our book for October is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (1896-1972), published 67 years ago. Synopsis:

Francie Nolan learns early the meaning of hunger and the value of a penny. She is romantic and hungry for beauty, like her father. She is also deeply practical and in constant need of truth, like her mother. And like the Tree of Heaven that grows out of cement or through cellar gratings, Francie struggles against all odds to survive and thrive.

The Postmistress - Discussion by Susan part III

2010-09-27T08:21:00.002-04:00

On the tale of two letters - the one the postmistress intercepts from Will's landlady on his apparent missing status - and the letter Frankie takes from Will after his death. (Q9) The postmistress, Iris, was so regimented and dedicated to the rules of her job that I was surprised when she even hesitated much less opened the letter and then did not deliver it. I do think she spared Emma the period of not knowing - from the time Will was missed by his landlady until the arrival of the official letter of his death, Emma went from hope of hearing from her husband, straight to some definite news, skipping that period of uncertainty. (Q10) For Frankie, the encounter with Will and the resulting letter in her possession was a personal experience rather than a job-related journalistic one, so on a personal level she wanted to deliver the letter herself, but after meeting Emma was not able to go through with either giving her the letter or telling Emma about Will's last night, which I thought was very uncharacteristic of Frankie. In the end she did act like a journalist again, not want to be a part of Emma's story, just an onlooker.

Is life just a series of random events or does everything happen for a reason? (Q11) At first this story seemed random, but of course after all the story lines came together it now seems that one event led to another, cause and effect. I have often said 'everything happens for a reason' (usually after something bad happens, trying to see the silver lining) and now that you have made me think about it, I do believe this is true. (Q13) For example, after losing his first patient, Will's feeling of failure (instilled early by his father), he answered the call of the girl on the radio and followed his desire to try to prove himself once again in a bigger theatre, helping the masses of injured in Europe - with so many people who need him, he is bound to do some good to make up for what he considers a failure at home.

(Q14) Historical novels give us a different perspective of war and history than we had in the textbooks in school, a personal viewpoint of the times and places. And of course since there always seems to be a war going on somewhere, we can use these past experiences of people and war to apply to today. (Q15) Otto wisely refuses to tell the townspeople that he’s Jewish out of fear. Jews were being persecuted in Europe, there are prejudices worldwide, so why not err on the side of caution.

(Q16) The request for the certificate of virginity was just strange to me, especially in the early 40s, I don't know why Iris even thought of doing that and actually went through with it. I imagine the doctor had a great story to tell for years after that. (Q17) Frankie is surprised to find Americans calmly going about their lives while war rages in Europe. Out of sight, out of mind. Sure there is a war going on in Europe, sure there were daily radio stories about it, but there was a whole ocean between here and there, just turn off the radio, and all will be fine here, either complacency or a coping mechanism.

~posted by Susan of patchwork reflections

TP ~ second set of DQs

2010-09-22T22:34:00.002-04:00

9. If you were Iris, would you have delivered the letter? Why or why not? Was she wrong not to deliver it? What good, if any, grew up in the gap of time Emma didn’t know the news? What was taken from Emma in not knowing immediately what happened?

Edward R. Murrow

10. Seek Truth. Report it. Minimize Harm. That is the journalist’s code, and it haunts Frankie during the book. Why wasn’t Frankie able to deliver the letter or tell Emma about meeting Will? For someone whose job was to deliver the news, did she fail?

11. Will says that “everything adds up,” but Frankie disagrees, saying that life is a series of “random, incomprehensible accidents.” Which philosophy do you believe? Which theory does The Postmistress make a better case for?

12. After Thomas tells his story of escape, the old woman in the train compartment says “There was God looking out for you at every turn.” Thomas disagrees. “People looked out. Not God.” He adds, “There is no God. Only us.” How does this novel raise the questions of faith in wartime? How does this connect to the decisions Iris and Frankie make with regard to Emma?

13. Why do you think Maggie’s death compels Will to leave for England?

14. What are the pleasures and drawbacks of historical novels? Is there a case to be made that this book is not about the 1940’s so much as it uses the comfortable distance of that time and place in order to ask questions about war?

15. Why does Otto refuse to tell the townspeople that he’s Jewish? Do you think he’s right not to do so?

16. Why is the certificate of virginity so important to Iris? What does it tell us about her character?

17. When Frankie returns to America, she finds it impossible to grasp that people are calmly going about their lives while war rages in Europe. What part does complacency play in this story?

The Postmistress - Discussion by Susan part II

2010-09-15T06:34:00.003-04:00

One of the Jewish refugees tells Frankie about his story of escape, ending with "There is no God. Only us." The question of faith had to be front and center in the minds and hearts of these desperate people running for their lives, being persecuted because of their religious belief. Wartime and questioning faith go hand in hand, starting with, "How can God allow this to happen?" and ending up separating out devout believers and discouraged previous believers forced to be nonbelievers. (Q-5) I don't think that the decisions Iris and Frankie made in regard to Emma had so much to do with faith as with protection and softening the blow of bad news.

(Q-6) This "last summer of innocence for the United States before it was drawn into WWII" could be compared to the summer of 2001, when no one would have believed American would be attacked on 9/11 and subsequently war declared. The difference is in the novel the Americans are apprehensive of just such an attack, well at least Harry was on the lookout!

(Q-7) The background of the characters is something I did not think about before reading this question (one of the perks of discussion questions), but now that their various backgrounds have been pointed out, it does not necessarily change my opinion of them. The fact that Emma was an orphan makes me think that she probably felt abandoned when Will left for Europe, it probably brought up some old feelings of helplessness. Knowing that Emma was an orphan probably made Will want to take care of her and protect her, which worked out fine until his own demons surfaced. After losing a patient, feelings of failure instilled early by his drunken father surfaced and drove him to the war where he thought he could make up for his failures and losing one patient by saving others. The fact that Frankie grew up in a city makes her strong and worldly, with daily opportunities to interact with different types of people, which could have been a major factor in shaping her personality into the woman she became.

(Q-8) The individual stories of people and the affect war has on each one is what Frankie is telling, making it easier for her listeners to identify with the victims, the fact that they were listening to a story about a real person, sometimes hearing their actual voices from the disk recorder, brings the horror of war home faster than hearing news of entire cities being bombed or statistics of total death count, as I said earlier, leave that for the history books. Like Frankie's listeners on the radio, we as readers of this story are similarly affected by her style of storytelling and war reporting.

This discussion has made me appreciate the book much more than when I first read it, I enjoy the process and dissection and learning.

~posted by Susan of patchwork reflections

The Postmistress - Discussion by Susan

2010-09-14T06:58:00.003-04:00

I picked up this book, The Postmistress, at our local library, at first drawn by the beautiful cover - the old tattered letters, the beautiful dried rose. Then on further inspection I read this recommendation: "A beautifully written, thought-provoking novel that I'm telling everyone I know to read." - Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help. Having just finished (and loved) The Help, I took this recommendation very seriously.

The Postmistress is about 3 women whose lives come together in the fate of a letter, the postmistress of Franklin, Massachusetts is Iris James, in the same little Cape Cod town is Emma Fitch the doctor's wife, and then reporting from London is Frankie Bard, a journalist delivering daily broadcasts over the radio on the war in Europe.

At first I had a hard time getting past the randomness and getting caught up into the story, actually wondering at times why it was titled so - as the story seemed to be more about Frankie than Iris. But as is usually the case, the lives of the different characters collided and resulted in a moving story.

Like a quilt there are many connecting threads that bind these different people together, the daily broadcasts from London delivered by Frankie and listened to by Iris, Emma, and Will; the daily letters written between Emma and her husband Will and delivered by the postmistress Iris; the shared experience by Iris and Frankie of keeping a letter from Emma; the fact that the letters stop brings these three women together.

All the pieces of this patchwork story are woven together - the smaller pieces of the quilt are the many letters that pass through the hands of the postmistress, all the people of the small town, the desperate voices of the refugees on the disk recorder, the love stories between Iris and Harry, Will and Emma.

I can picture this quilt story, with the smaller pieces becoming filler around the prominent central story lines - the 3 women and the 3 key letters, sewn onto a background of underlying fear and danger of war. The pieces are all intertwined and connected by the distinct voice coming through the radio, the voice that makes everyone stop and listen and pay attention, (Q-1) unlike today's news broadcasts that are scripted and rehearsed and canned, only feeling real when something like 9/11 happens and the news has to be reported spontaneously as it happens.

Frankie's sometimes emotional voice paints a picture of the war that is moving and scary and very real to her listeners. (Q-3) The fact that she is a woman makes the people on the other side of the radio - her listeners - perk up and listen, her woman's perspective, her female voice so different than all the other reporters gives her the advantage of catching their attention.

(Q-2) Frankie tells just a little part of the bigger picture or story going on, it would be impossible to tell the whole story at that point in time, that would be something for the history books to attempt down the road.

The author paints a picture of the radio as a focal point in the home or post office, with people gathering around for the news, this is part of our history, the history of technology. (Q-4) The quaint way the news and mail is delivered in this story may make you wish for simpler times, but in reality today's instant delivery of news and information is, I believe, much better - progress.

(discussion of questions 1-4 here, remainder will follow)

~posted by Susan of patchwork reflections

Redefining hero

2010-09-12T15:55:00.002-04:00

Iris James, the postmistress, is listening to "that gal" on the radio, as Frankie Bard redefines what a hero is. This long quote (from pages 119-120) was the most memorable quote (for me) in the entire book:

Iris had come to a stop in front of the radio perched on the shelf in the sorting room of the post office above the hot plate and her teakettle.

"Waiting and watching. Weeping into your sleeves -- these are not the traits of heroes, neither Ulysses, nor Aeneas, and not Joshua. Think, rather, of Penelope. Think of all the women down through the years who have watched and waited -- but who, like the boys with their horse, wept and picked themselves up and went on -- and you will have a small sense, then, of the heroes here. The occupied, the bombed, and the very, very brave. This is Frankie Bard in London. Good night."

Iris reached for the knob and slowly turned it to the right. She didn't, as a rule, like the sound of that gal's voice, didn't like the undercurrent that seemed always to run through it that she held the truth in her hand and everyone better damn well take a look. Nonetheless -- Iris stood back rom the radio and crossed her arms -- she was fairly sure that the radio gal had just redefined the nature of a hero. She considered the black box. Yes, she was certain that that was what Miss Frankie Bard had done.

TP ~ first set of DQs

2010-09-12T15:48:00.003-04:00

1. Much of The Postmistress is centered on Frankie’s radio broadcasts — either Frankie broadcasting them, or the other characters listening to them. How do you think the experience of listening to the news via radio in the 1940s differs from our experience of getting news from the television or the internet? What is the difference between hearing news and seeing pictures, or reading accounts of news? Do you think there is something that the human voice conveys that the printed word cannot?

2. “Get in. Get the story. Get out.” That is Murrow’s charge to Frankie. Does this story make you question whether it’s possible to ever really get the whole story? Or to get out?

3. Early in the novel, Frankie reflects on the fact that most people believed that “women shouldn’t be reporting the war.” Do you think that Frankie’s gender influences her reporting? How does Frankie deal with being a female in a male-dominated field? And do you think female reporters today are under closer scrutiny because of their gender?

4. When Thomas is killed, Frankie imagines his parents sitting miles away, not knowing what has happened to their son and realizes there is no way for her to tell them. Today it is rare that news can’t be delivered. In this age of news 24/7, are we better off?

5. After Thomas tells his story of escape, the old woman in the train compartment says “There was God looking out for you at every turn.” Thomas disagrees. “People looked out. Not God.” He adds, “There is no God. Only us.” How does this novel raise the questions of faith in wartime? How does this connect to the decisions Iris and Frankie make with regard to Emma?

6. The novel deals with the last summer of innocence for the United States before it was drawn into WWII and before the United States was attacked. Do you see any modern-day parallels? And if so, what?

7. We know that Emma was orphaned, that Will’s father had drinking problems, that Iris’s brother was killed in the First War, and that Frankie grew up in a brownstone in Washington Square. How do these characters’ backgrounds shape the decisions that they make? And if we didn’t have this information, would our opinion of the characters and their actions change?

8. Discuss the significance of the Martha Gellhorn quote at the beginning of the book, “War happens to people, one by one. That is really all I have to say, and it seems to me I have been saying it forever.” What stance towards war, and of telling a war story does this reveal? How does it affect your reading of The Postmistress?

The Postmistress ~ book for September

2010-09-04T16:11:00.014-04:00

Our book for September is The Postmistress by Sarah Blake, published in 2010. In this YouTube video the author gives us the story behind The Postmistress. I enjoyed the many pictures and headlines from that era shown here.

What would happen if a postmistress
chose not to deliver the mail?

WHO ~ second set of DQs

2010-08-24T10:16:00.000-04:00

5. Why do you think Margaret and the children receive such a chilly welcome when they finally return to the village from the Maori camp?

6. Several matches proposed in this book seem made for convenience: Portia and Henry, Margaret and Captain Fisk of the Sacramento, and even Nancy and Henry, at least in the beginning. Do you agree? If so, why do you think that is?

7. At what point do Margaret and Nancy start to get along? What sparks their friendship?

8. Though it's a wretched situation for everyone involved, which Mrs. Oades do you think suffers most? Which of the two do you most identify with?

9. Was there a better solution for Mr. Oades and his non-traditional family? Or did they make the best possible choice? Would there be a better solution today? What would it be?

10. The claims of the Daughters of Decency seem ridiculous to modern ears. Can you think of any recent court battles that might seem as hysteric and unnecessary a century from now?

11. What, in the end, do you think was the main theme of this book? Were you surprised?

12. What part of the book do you think you'll long remember?

The Help - Discussion by Susan

2010-08-24T05:49:00.002-04:00

Unbidden images of Gone with the wind popped into my head and played out at first while reading the stories of Aibileen and the other black maids, until I found them reading the classics and discovered that some were even college educated. I have to stop and think, this is in fact 1962, almost a hundred years since the slaves were set free. So what has happened in 100 years? According to this story, the subservient slave labor is alive and well, except these black women are employees instead of property.

This book was written from the perspective of several different characters, each taking turns to narrate a chapter or more - just like in House Rules. Does this style of writing have a name? Once again I found myself engrossed in the story, only to have to look back at the beginning of the chapter to see who was doing the story now. A little frustrating, but overall I like the different perspectives it provides.

I really enjoyed this book, it is funny and sad and serious and suspenseful and totally believable. As I am sure the author intended, I found myself rooting for the maids and abhorring their white bosses. For such an oppressing topic, it was a thoroughly great read.

~posted by Susan of patchwork reflections

The Help - 2nd set of Questions/Answers by Susan

2010-08-24T05:48:00.002-04:00

Aibileen is my favorite character - she didn't hold grudges, tried to see the good in things, and especially tried to teach her 'white babies' self-worth and confidence and character. My least favorite was Hilly - I don't know what her problem was, except maybe she wanted to be in charge of everything and everyone. Minny was a hoot! I would root for her to tell her boss what she was really thinking, but of course that always got her fired, so she would try real hard to hold her tongue. The Terrible Awful Thing she did was a funny story, don’t think about it too much - gross - but in the long run, worth it! She definitely had enough reasons to mistrust white people.

Racism is definitely taught, handed down from generation to generation - I still see it today, living in rural Appalachia where rebel flags and rednecks rule.

~posted by Susan of patchwork reflections

The Help - 1st set of Questions/Answers by Susan

2010-08-24T05:47:00.000-04:00

My long wait on the 'hold' list at the library is over! I finally received my copy of The Help a few days ago and couldn't put it down!

Discussion on the first set of questions:

On Minny's mama's advice or rules - just reading them makes me sad and mad and shake my head, that there was a time that people were treated like this and that mothers had to teach these rules to their daughters. Minny followed her mother's advice pretty well, all except for the sassing of course! Minny's strong personality lost her quite a few jobs over the years. She sure knew how to cook though, and I would get hungry just listening to what she was making, fried chicken, pork chops, biscuits, all except for the chocolate pie, I would have to pass on that!

When I was reading Minny's many uses for Crisco, I thought to myself - I need to write some of these down! My favorite one was - lights get cut off, stick a wick in it and burn it like a candle.. and after all that, it'll still fry your chicken.

Like Minny, Skeeter also had a strong personality. She knew what she wanted to do and did not want to compromise her goals or beliefs to please others. Skeeter went off to college and accomplished what she set out to do, bring home a degree, instead of what her mother wanted her to come back with - a husband (albeit both would have been nice, too). Skeeter eventually sacrificed a lot - her place in society (Jr. League, bridge club), marriage to the senator's son, all of her friendships, and even her hometown, but she had the satisfaction of doing the right thing, and ultimately her dream of moving to New York City to become a writer was her reward.

Skeeter wanted to be a writer and had to start somewhere, so she scoured the newspaper ads which were separated by gender - the female jobs paying much less than the male ones. The separation of the ads has changed, but men still make more money than women in many jobs today.

~posted by Susan of patchwork reflections

WHO ~ first set of DQs

2010-08-17T03:21:00.001-04:00

I found this photo of Maori people on a New Zealand travel guide.

1. On the voyage to New Zealand, Mrs. Randolph, a fellow passenger, cares for Margaret as she miscarries. Later, when Margaret tries to explain her frief over her new friend's death to Henry, she thinks, "the small transactions between women, particularly mothers, cannot adequately be explained to a man. Some, like hers with Mrs. Randolph, will bind women for life." Do you agree with Margaret? Can a strong relationship between women be forged in a matter of hours?

2. When my face-to-face book club discussed The Wives of Henry Oades, someone remarked on how much it showed women supporting other women. Name some of the places that's true of the book.

3. Why do you think Henry Oades misidentified Mim Bell as his wife? How could he have made such a grievous error?

4. Margaret teaches her children lessons every evening: grammar, mathematics, and etiquette. "It was her duty to prepare them for their return. She refused to accept the possibility that they might grow old and die a natural death here. Margaret never once considered setting her children free to be slaves." She refuses to allow her children to live the life before them, planning, instead, for the life she hopes they will claim. Why do you think Margaret remains so steadfast during their captivity?

Suggestions for our fall reading list

2010-08-04T19:53:00.005-04:00

It's time to choose our next books. So far these are the books that have been suggested, but we need more suggestions. Some of these may be too new, meaning you'll have a hard time getting them from your library, so check availability before you tell us which to read. Please comment, so I'll have some idea what interests you. Do any of these sound good to you?

The Postmistress ~ by Sarah Blake, 2010

Synopsis from the author's web site: What would happen if a postmistress chose not to deliver the mail?

It is 1940. While the war is raging in Europe, President Roosevelt promises he won't send American boys over to fight.

Iris James is the postmistress of Franklin, Massachusetts a small town at the end of Cape Cod. She firmly believes her job is to deliver and keep people's secrets, to pass along the news of love and sorrow that letters carry. Faithfully she stamps and sends the letters between people such as the newlyweds Emma and Will Fitch, who has gone to London to help out during the Blitz. But one day she slips a letter into her pocket, and leaves it there.

Meanwhile, seemingly fearless radio gal, Frankie Bard is reporting the Blitz from London, her dispatches crinkling across the Atlantic, imploring listeners to pay attention. Then in the last desperate days of the summer of 1941, she rides the trains out of Germany, reporting on what is happening to the refugees there.

Alternating between an America on the eve of entering into World War II, still safe and snug in its inability to grasp the danger at hand, an a Europe being torn apart by war, the two stories collide in a letter, bringing the war finally home to Franklin.

The Housekeeper and the Professor ~ by Yoko Ogawa, 2003

Synopsis from the publisher's web site: He is a brilliant math Professor with a peculiar problem--ever since a traumatic head injury, he has lived with only eighty minutes of short-term memory. She is an astute young Housekeeper, with a ten-year-old son, who is hired to care for him.

And every morning, as the Professor and the Housekeeper are introduced to each other anew, a strange and beautiful relationship blossoms between them. Though he cannot hold memories for long (his brain is like a tape that begins to erase itself every eighty minutes), the Professor’s mind is still alive with elegant equations from the past. And the numbers, in all of their articulate order, reveal a sheltering and poetic world to both the Housekeeper and her young son. The Professor is capable of discovering connections between the simplest of quantities--like the Housekeeper’s shoe size--and the universe at large, drawing their lives ever closer and more profoundly together, even as his memory slips away.

The Housekeeper and the Professor is an enchanting story about what it means to live in the present, and about the curious equations that can create a family.

Finding Nouf ~ by Zoe Ferraris, 2008

Synopsis from the author's web site: When sixteen-year-old Nouf goes missing, her prominent family calls on Nayir Sharqi, a pious desert guide, to lead the search party. Ten days later, just as Nayir is about to give up in frustration, her body is discovered by anonymous desert travelers. When the coroner's office determines that Nouf died not of dehydration but from drowning, and her family seems suspiciously uninterested in getting at the truth, Nayir takes it upon himself to find out what really happened.

He quickly realizes that if he wants to gain access to the hidden world of women, he will have to join forces with Katya Hijazi, a lab worker at the coroner's office who is bold enough to pursue the investigation on her own. Their partnership challenges Nayir, as he confronts his desire for female companionship and the limitations imposed by his beliefs. Fast-paced and utterly transporting, Finding Nouf is a riveting literary mystery that offers an unprecedented window into Saudi Arabia and the lives of men and women there.

American Wife ~ by Curtis Sittenfeld, 2008

Plot summary from the author's web site: On what might become one of the most significant days in her husband’s presidency, Alice Blackwell considers the strange and unlikely path that has led her to the White House–and the repercussions of a life lived, as she puts it, “almost in opposition to itself.”

A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice learned the virtues of politeness early on from her stolid parents and small Wisconsin hometown. But a tragic accident when she was seventeen shattered her identity and made her understand the fragility of life and the tenuousness of luck. So more than a decade later, when she met boisterous, charismatic Charlie Blackwell, she hardly gave him a second look: She was serious and thoughtful, and he would rather crack a joke than offer a real insight; he was the wealthy son of a bastion family of the Republican party, and she was a school librarian and registered Democrat. Comfortable in her quiet and unassuming life, she felt inured to his charms. And then, much to her surprise, Alice fell for Charlie.

As Alice learns to make her way amid the clannish energy and smug confidence of the Blackwell family, navigating the strange rituals of their country club and summer estate, she remains uneasy with her newfound good fortune. And when Charlie eventually becomes President, Alice is thrust into a position she did not seek–one of power and influence, privilege and responsibility. As Charlie’s tumultuous and controversial second term in the White House wears on, Alice must face contradictions years in the making: How can she both love and fundamentally disagree with her husband? How complicit has she been in the trajectory of her own life? What should she do when her private beliefs run against her public persona?

In Alice Blackwell, New York Times bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld has created her most dynamic and complex heroine yet. American Wife is a gorgeously written novel that weaves class, wealth, race, and the exigencies of fate into a brilliant tapestry–a novel in which the unexpected becomes inevitable, and the pleasures and pain of intimacy and love are laid bare.

The Lacuna ~ by Barbara Kingsolver, 2009

Book description from the publisher's web site: In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities.

Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico—from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City—Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey. Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence.

Meanwhile, to the north, the United States will soon be caught up in the internationalist goodwill of World War II. There in the land of his birth, Shepherd believes he might remake himself in America's hopeful image and claim a voice of his own. He finds support from an unlikely kindred soul, his stenographer, Mrs. Brown, who will be far more valuable to her employer than he could ever know. Through darkening years, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach—the lacuna—between truth and public presumption.

With deeply compelling characters, a vivid sense of place, and a clear grasp of how history and public opinion can shape a life, Barbara Kingsolver has created an unforgettable portrait of the artist—and of art itself. The Lacuna is a rich and daring work of literature, establishing its author as one of the most provocative and important of her time.

The Great Gatsby ~ by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925

This novel was first published in 1925, but didn't do well until the 1950s, when it was republished. Set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City during the summer of 1922, it is a critique of the American Dream. It's the classic story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Nick Carraway is the cynical neighbor observing the decadence and excess.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn ~ by Betty Smith, 1943

This novel, first published in 1943, is the coming-of-age story of Francie Nolan during the first two decades of the 20th century. According to Wikipedia: "The main metaphor of the book is the hardy Tree of Heaven, of Asian origin, now considered invasive, and common in the vacant lots of New York City."

The Dark Is Rising ~ by Susan Cooper,1973

This is a five-book fantasy series for grade five and up, but the second in the series is also entitled The Dark Is Rising. The second volume is about 11-year-old Will, who discovers he's one of the Old Ones. My library's description of this children's book: "On the Midwinter Day that is his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers a special gift -- that he is the last of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to keeping the world from domination by the forces of evil, the Dark. At once, he is plunged into a quest for the six magical Signs that will one day aid the Old Ones in the final battle between the Dark and the Light. And for the twelve days of Christmas, while the Dark is rising, life for Will is full of wonder, terror, and delight."

The Wives of Henry Oades ~ by Johanna Moran, 2010

2010-08-01T18:59:00.006-04:00

Our book for August is The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran (2010). Here's the synopsis from the publisher's web site:

When Henry Oades accepts an accountancy post in New Zealand, his wife, Margaret, and their children follow him to exotic Wellington. But while Henry is an adventurer, Margaret is not. Their new home is rougher and more rustic than they expected—and a single night of tragedy shatters the family when the native Maori stage an uprising, kidnapping Margaret and her children.

For months, Henry scours the surrounding wilderness, until all hope is lost and his wife and children are presumed dead. Grief-stricken, he books passage to California. There he marries Nancy Foreland, a young widow with a new baby, and it seems they’ve both found happiness in the midst of their mourning — until Henry’s first wife and children show up, alive and having finally escaped captivity.

Narrated primarily by the two wives, and based on a real-life legal case, The Wives of Henry Oades is the riveting story of what happens when Henry, Margaret, and Nancy face persecution for bigamy. Exploring the intricacies of marriage, the construction of family, the changing world of the late 1800s, and the strength of two remarkable women, Johanna Moran turns this unusual family’s story into an unforgettable page-turning drama.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Help ~ answering questions

2010-08-01T18:25:00.004-04:00

TH ~ first set of questions

1. When Minny was 14 years old, her Mama gave her some advice (pp. 38-39). ... do you think (so far) that Minny is following Mama's advice?

One of her mama's rules (#5) was "you eat in the kitchen." It reminds me of Cornelia and makes me want to cry. Neal, as we called her, was my mother's friend. Not only did she visit us, but we visited her and her husband at their house. Yet Neal never, ever sat down to eat with us. Not even when I was grown, with children, and invited her over. On her last Christmas, knowing she'd never sit at the table with us, I had us all eat in the den, holding plates on our laps. Cornelia's grin went ear to ear. She cleaned people's houses (though I never saw her wear a uniform), and I can only believe she had the same instructions not to even think about eating with the white folks. And she never did, even though we were friends.

Okay, I didn't exactly answer the question. Minny went her own way, pretty much, but mostly she tried to do what it took. More or less. She was a character!

Besides being a reader (I should say bookaholic), I also has a bookstore. I think about stuff like how to remove old price tags stuck to books and chose to mark prices in our used books in pencil on the inside top corner, rather than "defacing" a book with a hard-to-remove sticker. At the store, we used Goo Gone to remove sticky stuff, so I noticed when Minny said Crisco would do that job.

3. Why did Skeeter's mother object to her college degree?

She sent Skeeter to college to snag a husband! To get her "Mrs. degree." Here's their conversation:

"Four years my daughter goes off to college and what does she come home with?" she asks.
"A diploma?"
"A pretty piece of paper," Mother says.
"I told you. I didn't meet anybody I wanted to marry," I say. (p. 55)
Skeeter: "I'll never be able to tell Mother I want to be a writer. She'll only turn it into yet another thing that separates me from the married girls" (p. 56).

4. Newspaper want ads used to seperate Help Wanted: Female from Help Wanted: Male. ... (p. 59). Do you remember those days? Or have you heard an older person talk about what it was like?

Oh, yeah, I remember those days. When I read this part of the book, I looked back at the dustjacket and saw that the story is set in 1962. Skeeter was 22 in 1962, so I was her age that year.

TH ~ second set of questions

1. Who was your favorite character? Why?

I would have like to know Constantine better. I was tall like Skeeter, and I loved what Constantine told her when she was crying about being five-eleven: "Well, I'm five-thirteen, so quit feeling sorry for yourself" (p. 65). I'm five-nine, but I never cried about my height. I also liked Aibileen a lot; besides having lots of gumption, she had common sense and really cared about the children in her care. I also liked Skeeter and what she said near the end of the book:
"Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I thought" (p. 419).

2. What do you think motivated Hilly?

She was a mean one. I kept trying to like her, but most of the time I just wanted her to somehow become aware of what it was like to be in the other person's shoes. I liked toilet seats on the lawn, but the pie? Now that may have been going too far. (But you could say she got her just desserts.)

3. How much of a person's character do you think is shaped by the times in which they live?

A lot, especially what we grow up with in our families. If I'd lived in Europe during the Dark Ages, I'm sure I would have insisted -- with vigor -- that the earth was flat. By reading, we open ourselves up to "new worlds" that we haven't actually lived; the stories help us imagine another way of living, another way of doing things. I don't think we have completely gotten "past" the racist times this book shows us, but at least some things are better.

4. Do you think Minny was justified in her distrust of white people?

Yes, because we could see it in the story of their lives. On the other hand, how do we learn to trust each other? With those racist attitudes then (and to a big extent, now), how can we start to trust? The "trusting" problem exists with any groups of people who haven't treated each other as equally human: Israelis and Palestinians, Iraqis and Iranians, and any other group that's "them and us."

5. Do you think racism is inherent or taught?

I think it's taught. Children don't recognize differences in the beginning, not until they pick up on what adults say and do. I remember wondering why dark-skinned people couldn't swim in the pool in my town. I wondered if the darkness would come off and stain the water or something, like a red shirt tossed into the washer. It didn't make sense to me.

6. What did you think about Minny's pie for Miss Hilly? Would you have gone as far as Minny did for revenge?

What I think? See #2 above. No, I wouldn't have gone that far. I wouldn't even have imagined it, though I agree with Minny's assessment of Hilly: "She evil, that woman!" (p. 252). The most evil thing in the book, in my opinion, is when Hilly wouldn't let Yule May borrow $75 -- all they lacked to send their twin sons to college -- and then got the "regular sentence" of six months for petty stealing bumped up to four years in the penitentiary.

Whose closet does this remind you of?

2010-07-26T22:33:00.000-04:00

TH ~ second set of questions

2010-07-23T23:25:00.000-04:00

1. Who was your favorite character? Why?

2. What do you think motivated Hilly?

3. How much of a person's character do you think is shaped by the times in which they live?

4. Do you think Minny was justified in her distrust of white people?

5. Do you think racism is inherent or taught?

6. What did you think about Minny's pie for Miss Hilly? Would you have gone as far as Minny did for revenge?

TH ~ first set of questions

2010-07-10T16:56:00.002-04:00

1. When Minny was 14 years old, her Mama gave her some advice (pp. 38-39). Using my highly condensed version here, do you think (so far) that Minny is following Mama's advice?

Rule Number One ... white people are not your friends. ...
Rule Number Two ... don't you ever let that White Lady find you sitting on her toilet. ...
Rule Number Three ... when you're cooking white people's food, you taste it with a different spoon. ...
Rule Number Four ... use the same cup, same fork, same plate every day. ...
Rule Number Five ... you eat in the kitchen.
Rule Number Six ... you don't hit on her children. ...
Rule Number Seven ... No sass-mouthing.

2. Did you pick up on all the ways Crisco can be used? We could learn a thing or two from Minny, who, early in the book, tried to teach Miss Celia to cook. Share something you learned from Minny's list of ways to use Crisco (pp. 43-44).

3. Why did Skeeter's mother object to her college degree (pp. 55-56)?

4. Newspaper want ads used to seperate Help Wanted: Female from Help Wanted: Male. Skeeter read under the "female" ads: "Trim, young secretary wanted. Typing not nec. Call Mr. Sanders" (p. 58). Skeeter wonders, "Jesus, if he doesn't want her to type, what does he want her to do?" Under the "male" column, Skeeter notices that "Percy & Gray, LP, is offering Jr. Stenographers fifty cents more an hour" (p. 59). Do you remember those days? Or have you heard an older person talk about what it was like?

The Help ~ book discussion for July

2010-07-10T16:13:00.004-04:00

The Help ~ by Kathryn Stockett was published in 2009.

Skeeter, 22 years old, has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that puts them all at risk. Why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

Women's Stories

2010-07-09T16:25:00.004-04:00

Lisa See's Shanghai Girls is not only itself a story about two women - sisters Pearl and May - but also a testament to the power of women's stories.

Early in the book, Pearl and May draw strength, as they flee from war-torn Shanghai, from their mother's story about the moon sisters. Mama had, in turn, listened to and learned from her own mother's stories.

As the novel nears its conclusion, Pearl, as the book's narrator, reaffirms the significance of women telling one another their stories:

So often we're told that women's stories are unimportant. After all, what does it matter what happens in the main room, in the kitchen, or in the bedroom? Who cares about the relationships between mother, daughter, and sister? A baby's illness, the sorrows and pains of childbirth, keeping the family together during war, poverty, or even in the best of days are considered small and insignificant compared with the stories of men, who fight against nature to grow their crops, who wage battles to secure their homelands, who struggle to look inward in search of the perfect man. We're told that men are strong and brave, but I think women know how to endure, accept defeat, and bear physical and mental agony much better than men. ...

If we hear that women's stories are insignificant, then we're also told that good things always come in pairs and bad things happen in threes. ... The Louie family's tragedies arrive in a long and devastating cascade like a waterfall, like a dam burst open, like a tidal wave that breaks, destroys, and then pulls the evidence back to sea. Our men try to act strong, but it is May, Yen-yen, Joy, and I who must steady them and help them bear their pain, anguish, and shame. [pages 228-229]

When I reached the final words of the novel, I found myself hoping to hear more about Pearl's life, her destiny, as well as that of her daughter Joy. I want to know more of these women's stories.

SG ~ third set of DQs

2010-06-23T22:39:00.001-04:00

1. This is how Pearl sees emotional abuse. Do you agree with her?

"People say you need to be strong, smart, and lucky to survive hard times, war, a natural disaster, or physical torture. But I say emotional abuse — anxiety, fear, guilt, and degradation — is far worse and much harder to survive. This is the first time that May and I have ever experienced anything like this, and it saps our energy" (p. 43)

2. Pearl is a Dragon, and May is a Sheep. Do you thik the two sisters are true to their birth signs in their actions in the novel?

3. Which sister is smarter? Which is more beautiful?

4. Each sister believes that her parents loved the other sister more. Who is right about this? Why?

5. How would you describe the relationship between Pearl and May? How does the fact that both are, in a sense, Joy's mother affect their relationship toward each other? Who loves Joy more and how does she show it?

6. There are times when it seems like outside forces conspire against Pearl -- leaving China, working in the restaurant, not finding a job after the war, and taking care of Vern. How much of what happens to Pearl is a product of her own choices?
__________

NOTE: Has everybuddy finished reading the book? If so, go ahead and talk about the whole novel.

SG ~ second set of questions

2010-06-16T13:41:00.004-04:00

1. What was it like for immigrant Chinese people at Angel Island (see actual photo above of women waiting for their hearings)?

2. What were some of the hardships Pearl and May went through -- before, during, and after their stay on Angel Island?

3. What were paper sons? How did paper sons drive the storyline?

4. What did you think of China City, the tourist attraction that was intended to look and feel like an "authentic" Chinese city?

5. Why do you think nobody insisted that May take care of her own husband?

This is the Garnier Building, seen from the Los Angeles Street side, where Pearl and May lived when they first moved to Los Angeles. The cars indicate the photo was probably taken in the late 1930s or early 1940s. Today the Garnier Building is home to the Chinese American Museum.

House Rules - 4nd set of questions/answers

2010-06-14T06:33:00.000-04:00

Jacob cannot stand sudden loud noises, bright lights, etc. The prosecutor knows this and purposefully crumples paper at the end of her opening statement which has the expected effect of freaking Jacob out.
Theo runs away to visit his father, hoping to have someone to talk to about all that is going on and his involvement in it. Before he can even say anything, his father offers him a quick fix by handing him money. This is so absurd even for a teenager that Theo bursts out laughing, probably thinking how wrong he was to come and how wrong he was to leave his mother, the only parent who ever cared about him. On the trip back Emma and Theo spend some much-needed alone time together.
Even in families that are not broken by divorce, the father often is not involved in the day-to-day activities of raising children, so the line, "You’re either a father twenty-four/seven or not at all" is not true in my opinion, though it would be great if it were like that.
After all is said and done - the fact that Jacob says he would do it all over again speaks volumes. He would endure all the emotions and trauma of court to have it come out favorably. But also by saying that, Jacob admits to not learning anything from the experience, that if only he had made it clear from the beginning what his involvement was, or if only he had called the police at the moment he found the body. But the "if onlys" would mean no trial, no story, no book, so just glad that all is well that ends well.

~posted by Susan of patchwork reflections

House Rules - 3nd set of questions/answers

2010-06-14T06:19:00.000-04:00

Jacob cannot stand hair hanging down loose, so in order to avoid a reaction, people who know this about Jacob will wear their hair up with a ponytail holder.
The story is written from the perspective of several different characters - at first I liked this because I get see what everyone is thinking, like you said - from different perspectives - but then I found myself just reading through without looking at the title (person's name) of the chapter or section, and have to turn back to see who is talking now, so it is kind of distracting.
Both Theo and Jacob do things to try to have a "real home" (mostly Theo, with his breaking into other people's homes to pretend he is part of their family). I think he wishes he had a normal brother, but most of all a father which would complete the family and make things more normal.
Jacob says being on the other side of dead isn’t that different from having Asperger’s. He is at the time sitting beside (shoulder to shoulder) with the dear departed Jess. He is thinking that she has gone to another place, like he goes to another place when he is having a meltdown or just needs to space out to get away from all external stimuli.
Mark is a suspect in the death of Jess, his girlfriend until Jacob is presented as a more likely suspect. That happens because Emma sees on the news where Jess is found, her body covered by Jacob's quilt. Maybe this is just hindsight, but I believe Emma should have questioned Jacob more before calling the police, should have asked him specific questions - she knows more than anyone else how to get information out of her son.
Jacob obviously needs the accommodations provided to him by the school and court in order to be able to function in those settings, to put him on a more even playing field with everyone else. I think it is fair to request these special accommodations to allow the one with Asperger's to interact with his peers instead of just labeling them 'special ed' and isolating them.
Jacob is taken to the police station and questioned, he has already been tricked into this Rich who told Jacob he needed some help solving old cases. Rich offers Jacob some old Halloween candy, but Jacob says it is not gluten-free, "Do you have any Skittles?" Luckily for Rich there are Skittles handy, so the questioning can proceed.

~posted by Susan of patchwork reflections

House Rules - 2nd set of questions/answers

2010-06-14T05:51:00.001-04:00

Tea bags are mentioned a few times in the story. Theo likes tea and he makes his mother, Emma, a cup of tea when she arrives home after leaving Jacob locked up in jail. This reminds Theo of the cup of tea he had at Jess's house the last time he saw her.

I don't think Theo has it worse than Jacob, he will grow up and move out of the house and which will end the constant daily interaction with Jacob.

Of course Emma loves both of her sons equally, but cannot give Theo as much attention as Jacob, obviously. I empathize with Emma, it would be great if she could spend more time with Theo, but she can only do so much…

Krazy Glue is used to get fingerprints off of objects.

~posted by Susan of patchwork reflections

House Rules - 1st set of questions/answers

2010-06-11T06:25:00.005-04:00

Hi all, Susan here - a newcomer to Book Buddies - thanks for welcoming me into your club! I am a follower of Bonnie's Books and when she posted about this online book club it sounded like fun and House Rules sounded very interesting. I got the book and read the first 1/4 per Bonnie's instructions. Then on to the questions - wow, just like in school, it's been a long time! The questions highlighted my lack of retention. (Note to self - look at questions before reading next time.) Okay, so this is still fun, I like the teacher - I mean Bonnie! - and here is my first set of answers:

Jacob really hates the color orange, it stands for hazard or danger.

In the opening scene, Jacob has been murdered because he stole the sneakers of his brother, Theo.

Why would anyone want to be friends with kids who are nasty to anyone, especially people like Jacob (or me).

Jacob's list of 12 things he can't stand are logical to a point, they are things that upset order, invade his space, over stimulate him, or are hurtful, but I am puzzled about even numbers - what is wrong with them? Let's see, things I can't stand - arguing, clutter, waiting.

I like the five rules of the house, especially #1! Rules don't always work in every situation - there are always exceptions, which is something that has to be learned and probably hard for Jacob to rationalize.

Emma works at home writing an advice column now, she used to be a textbook editor.

Before becoming a lawyer, Oliver traveled around working as a farrier's apprentice.

In the book, all Monday food is green, all Tuesday food is red, all Wednesday food is yellow. I don't know what Thursday is yet, but Friday is blue - I remember Theo saying (or thinking) that the only good thing about Friday food being blue is the blueberry pie. For the life of me I cannot think of another blue food! Eating by color sounds like fun at first, but after thinking about it, it might be hard to come up with some foods. Green is easy - beans, peas, lettuce, broccoli. Red - tomatoes, spaghetti sauce. Yellow - lemon pie, squash, corn. I am getting hungry now!

Movie quotes: What we got here is a failure to communicate (Cool Hand Luke); You talkin' to me? (Taxi Driver); Snap out of it!(Moonstruck); Heeeeer's Johnny (The Shining); Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain (Wizard of Oz).

~posted by Susan of patchwork reflections

SG ~ first set of questions

2010-06-05T12:27:00.002-04:00

The Old Chinese City in Shanghai

1. We have a saying that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." Yet Pearl felt very hurt by her father's words, near the beginning of the book. When have you experienced something similar?

"This is another of my father's standard criticisms and one he picked up from Confucius, who wrote, 'An educated woman is a worthless woman.' People calle me bookish, which even in 1937 is not considered a good thing. But as smart as I am, I don't know how to protect myself from my father's words" (pp. 3-4).

2. The novel begins with Pearl saying, “I am not a person of importance” (p. 3). After Yen-yen dies, Pearl comments: “Her funeral is small. After all, she was not a person of importance, rather just a wife and mother” (p. 246). How do you react to comments like these?

3. These quotes from the first chapter show us a major cultural difference for most westerners today. Try to imagine how you would feel if your father said this to you, and then the man you had a crush on (Z. G.) backs up what your father said.

Their father: "I've arranged marriages for the two of you ... The ceremony will take place day after tomorrow" (p. 19).

Pearl: "I'm to be sold -- traded like so many girls before me -- to help my family. I feel so trapped and so helpless that I can hardly breathe" (p. 26).

Pearl: "In the end, Z. G. says the one thing I didn't expect. 'You should marry the man. He sounds like a good match, and you have a duty to your father. When a girl, obey your father; when a wife, obey your husband; when a widow, obey your son. We all know this is true" (p. 30).

Shanghai's Nanjing Road in the 1930s

Bonnie's thoughts ~ Shanghai Girls

2010-06-02T00:01:00.001-04:00

I have started reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, our book for June. Already I have discovered, after 59 pages, that "beautiful girls" means something different from what I first thought. Beautiful girls were models who posed for artists making posters and calendars to advertise something like the cigarettes in the retro poster above. The two girls on the cover of the book were advertising bug spray, according to an NPR story, and that's the poster than inspired Lisa See to write a story about the characters Pearl and May Chin. The original shows dead insects falling around them, which gives me a very different "feel" for the picture!

2010-05-31T10:21:00.002-04:00

I am headed to the Essencia Island party but not sure of the directions on how to get there. It has been a while since I have been to one of the island parties but oh the breeze will be worth it on a hot day like this.

Wonder who will be there?

Lynne

It's party time!

2010-05-30T20:30:00.003-04:00

Nobuddy has (yet) come to the party. Please join me on Essencia Island by clicking here.

House Rules - Chapters 10 and 11 (pgs 446-532)

2010-05-26T00:36:00.003-04:00

Finished! I liked the book, but not as much as others here and at The Book Nook did. I figured out the mystery of Jess' death in Chapter 4. I had thought I'd be wrong and Jodi would throw a curve with some details I'd missed. It was frustrating to me that no one ever asked Jacob how Jess died, given how much he loves solving murders. The more interesting part of the book for me was the details about Asperger's Symdrome, both living with AS and living with someone who has AS.

In Case 10: Woodn't You Like To Get Away With Murder?, Richard Craft kills his wife and leaves very little evidence, but one missed detail leads to a trail of evidence against him. Jacob's detail is the iPod, which lead to the true events of Jess' death coming out into the open.

Henry really is there. He want to do the right thing and be there for Jacob and Emma. Emma is argumentative. The house rule are reiterated as another clue to the reader. Emma knows deep inside that a jury will not decide Jacob is not guilty.

Jacob asks Theo for help with his tie. He's tried so hard and succeeded to overcome his AS symptoms and do something he knows needs to be done. Jacob remember his father from back when he lived with them. We learn that AS is like being bombarded with sensory stimulation. I did not know that apples could rust. The first day Jacob met Jess, she taught him how someone else felt in a situation by putting him in the same situation. Jacob thinks Jess is the best teacher he's ever had and she would have understood what he did.

Oliver is really into Emma. He's focused on getting Jacob off. Then he sees Henry. Jacob doesn't like that Helen has her hair down, it's making him anxious and he thinks it's a bad omen. Jacob tells Oliver again to make sure to tell the jury the truth. Oliver tells the jury about AS and Jacob in his opening statement. He says Jacob doesn't understand what he did to Jess was wrong. Jacob writes to Oliver that he has to tell the jury what he did was right.

Theo realizes the Oliver likes Emma and Emma might like him too. Theo tries to talk to Henry but he doesn't respond well. Jacob's regular psychologist testifies about what AS is and how it manifest in Jacob. She explains why Jacob has acted violently in the past. She says that's likely what happened with Jess. Jacob stands up and denies it. There is a sensory break. Theo doesn't go. Theo thinks about Jacob not trying to help him before, that he only wants to help himself. Wrong! Another clue. Jacob is trying to help Theo. Possibly only because it is one of the house rules.

Jacob doesn't know why his psychologist said that and why Oliver isn't telling the truth. He feels like he's trapped in a nightmare. Jacob tells Emma that he didn't loss his temper with Jess and that he didn't mean to hurt her, referring, of course, to the bruises he made dragging her to the culvert and the tooth he knocked out getting her downstairs. Emma assumes that he's says he hurt Jess but didn't mean it. Helen tries to point out that diagnosis AS is a judgment call and maybe Jacob doesn't have AS.

Jacob's guidance counselor testifies. Court adjourns. Oliver makes an excuse to go to the Hunts. He tries to get Emma to ride there with him, but she refuses. Jacob rides with Oliver. Jacob tell Oliver he is not autistic, he has autism. Henry says he's staying until the trial is over. Emma offers to let him stay at the house. Oliver is jealous. Jacob walks in on them kissing as they make up. He's runs off.

Jacob is angry because he thinks if Emma likes Oliver she won't be focused on his trial. Emma slap him. She apologizes and says she didn't mean to hurt him. She realizes that maybe that's what happened to Jess. Henry talks to Emma when they both can't sleep that night. They come to an understanding and a truce. Emma thinks about the only other time she remembers blowing up at Jacob. Then she realizes he would never understand love.

Oliver and Jacob talk. Oliver tells Jacob liking Emma only makes him want to win Jacob's case more. A forensic psychologist testifies. There is a sensory break. Jacob thinks everyone is lying about him. He just wants to tell the truth. He didn't want Jess to die. It wasn't his fault. It was an accident. Emma thinks he killed Jess by accident. At this point, I start thinking that Emma is going to admit to Jacob killing Jess by accident. Jacob is going to stand up and say that he didn't kill Jess. But Jodi will pull a twist and Jacob will go to jail for creating a crime scene and not coming forward that he didn't kill Jess.

Emma does admit that Jacob killed Jess by accident. Jacob is happy that Emma told the jury the truth. Jacob think that he's not obsessed with violent crime, he's obsessed with solving it. The judge wants to stay in court longer to finish Emma's testimony. Jacob is anxious because it is close to 4:30 when CrimeBusters is on. Jacob has a major meltdown and Emma is unable to answer whether she thinks Jacob killed Jess. Jacob is put in a holding cell and talks to Rich about the case.

Jacob wants to testify. Oliver says no and tries to rest his case. Jacob insists on testifying, as is his right to make that decision. Jacob tells about creating the crime scene to make it look like Mark tried to make it look like Jess was kidnapped because Mark killed Jess. He says there isn't much to tell about Jess' death, when asked. He says he's not sorry for killing her because he knows in his head that he didn't kill her. But it looks like he's saying he did. I wonder if Jacob thinks he's on trial for creating the crime scene. If so, why is he admitting it. Doesn't Jacob realize they think he killed Jess. Why doesn't he say he didn't and that she was dead when he got there. The attorneys make their closing statements.

The jury deliberates for three days. Jacob comes to terms with Oliver dating Emma. Emma feels like she's saying goodbye to Jacob. Then it is Theo's birthday. Theo thinks everyone will forget, but they don't. Jacob has a gift for Theo and no one knows what it is or why he got Theo something as Jacob doesn't give gifts usually. Jacob gives Theo Jess's iPod. I thought he was keeping it to keep evidence of Theo killing Jess suppressed. Does Jacob think no one will know it's Jess' iPod. Then the truth about Jess' accidental death come out and the truth about Jacob setting up a crime scene to protect Theo. They head to court to explain what happened and we are left to assume Jacob gets off. This is a rather upbeat ending from Jodi. Usually her books end sad.

Next book, I'm taking notes as I'm reading, =) instead of flipping through the long chapters of this book and posting as I go.

Jodi Picoult wrote to us!

2010-05-24T17:14:00.010-04:00

Hi all, I'm so glad to hear you're reading House Rules and hope it sparks some great discussion. Many thanks for choosing to read my novel, when there are so many great ones out there!

Jodi

Bonnie's note: I emailed Jodi Picoult this afternoon, and five minutes later -- yes, 5 minutes later -- she sent back this message for us.

House Rules ~ fourth set of discussion questions

2010-05-24T06:50:00.001-04:00

1. What does a crumpled piece of paper have to do with the story?
2. How does Theo’s interaction with his father in San Francisco change his attitude toward Henry? Why does he erupt into laughter when Henry offers him a few twenty-dollar bills? Is the short trip also a turning point for Emma?
3. "You’re either a father twenty-four/seven or not at all" (p. 448). Is Emma being fair to Henry? What does House Rules have to say about parenthood and its responsibilities?
4. The final case study in the book — "Case 11: My Brother’s Keeper" — outlines the events that occurred in the course of the novel. It ends with a single line: "I’d do it all over again" (p. 531). Does this line reveal anything new about Jacob? Does it change your feelings toward him in any way?
5. What did you know about autism and AS before reading House Rules? Did the novel challenge your views on the subject, or on disability more generally? Is it an educational book?

House Rules - Chapter 9 (pgs 379-445)

2010-05-24T02:36:00.003-04:00

Only one chapter left to go, I think. So I should finish the book tonight. Then I can see if my theory is anywhere near correct.

In Case 9: Pajama Game, Jeffrey MacDonald was convicted because his story of the events that lead to his wife and daughter's murder didn't match the evidence. Some thing(s) about this case are bound to not match the evidence since a crime scene was set up that wasn't the actual crime scene. Indeed, I believe there was no crime at all. Just a crime scene that Jacob created to protect Theo.

lol @ Jacob in the yellow pimp suit. If it is that much trouble to get him into dressy clothes, how do they expect him to stay in them willingly. Theo tries to tell Emma what he knows about that happened the day Jess died, but she assumes his concerns are about something else. Emma wears a yellow dress to help Jacob better deal with not wearing yellow on Yellow Wednesday. I don't think it was noted before now that Jacob also wore the color of the day as well as ate it.

Jacob remembers being fired from his first job for not wearing the uniform due to certain color days. Prior to telling his boss about his AS, he had made excuses about this for several weeks with no trouble. It was only after Jacob told him that he was fired. No one anticipates the reporters at the courthouse. Jacob has a meltdown and flees. Oliver has to tackle him. Jacob closes his eyes and they all sing and that gets Jacob through the reporters and into the courthouse without another meltdown. Jacob realizes the Oliver thinks why he's not guilty is not the same as the truth. Jacob remembers calling a girl out for lying in his social skills class. It's very important to Jacob not to lie. He remembers practicing with Jess asking a girl to a dance. He's not doing a very good job until he really opens up and asks Jess herself to the dance. Jess is so happy about the sweetness of his declaration, thinking he is just practicing, that she hugs him. Jacob lets her and he likes the hug. Jacob cares for Jess in the ways that he can. It seems even clearer that he wouldn't hurt her.

Helen Sharp, possible last named so by Jodi because of her harshness in attitude, the prosecuting attorney, crumples a piece of paper in her opening argument, setting Jacob off into a meltdown because he can't stand paper to be crumpled and not folded. It seems like Helen might be aware of this fact and might have done this to set Jacob off to show the jury how easy it is to do and how erratic and possibly violent Jacob acts when it happens. Jacob just wants to paper smoothed. Emma doesn't want to be pitied for having a child like Jacob, she would not pity someone else for the same. But she hates that she might be pitied for having a child who is a murder because she would pity someone else who did. Notice that Emma thinks "if Jacob is a murderer" here, not "if Jacob were a murderer". Despite Emma saying she believed Jacob when he said he did not kill Jess when she asked him, it seems she still has her doubts. Emma worried about what kind of child she's raised. Oliver makes sure the paper is smoothed for Jacob to calm him down.

Jacob hates Mark. Did Jacob frame Mark because of this. Mark distracts Jess from Jacob during their sessions. Jacob assumes he is boring her. He thinks he likes her. He is hurt. Jess wants Jacob to meet Mark. They all go skiing. Jacob thinks Mark is good with people, specifically girls, but not smart. Jacob hates Mark because he is then unsure if Jess is truly his friend. Mark calls Jacob retarded. Mark testifies. He says he's hung out with Jacob several times but paid little attention to him. Jacob has noticed that Mark abuses Jess physically. Oliver gets Mark to admit that the bruised on Jess' neck are from where he choked her the morning she died.

A CSI testifies that Jacob's fingerprint was found in the kitchen and Mark's boot prints were found outside the window where it was set up to look like a break in. Jacob points out to Oliver that Luminol can have a false positive with reacting the bleach.

After an inappropriate reaction to the ME's testimony, Jacob has a sensory break. During it, he comment that he would have killed to be at the autopsy. Oliver asks under his breath did you. Oliver thinks Jacob may have actually killed Jess.

Rich returns to the narrative. Its seems like Rich and Emma aren't to be at this point. I still don't like Rich. Rich presents Jacob's journal entry about Jess' crime scene. He says that no one would know all that except the police and the killer. Or someone who set up the crime scene, as we know Jacob has admitted to doing. During a sensory break, Jacob is proud that the cops have figured out his crime scene and thinks that Oliver is doing a good job. Emma and Oliver are more and more worried about the outcome of the trial. Oliver points out in court that perhaps the journal entry is Jacob trying to help solve the case. But then it is reveal that Jacob wrote at the end of the journal entry "solved: me" and underlined it ten times.

Theo tells Jacob after dinner that night that he was there the day Jess died. Jacob tells Theo he knows and that's why he did it. Theo thinks Jacob killed Jess to protect him. Jess was alive when he left. Jacob thinks Theo killed Jess and set up the crime scene to protect him. Jess was dead when he got there. It seems like there was a small window of time between Theo leaving and Jess being alive and Jacob seeing Theo and finding Jess dead. I'm still going with Jess slipped and fell.

Jacob watches a home video of himself before the AS manifested, back when he was normal. Midway through the video, it has been taped over with Jacob's prom date. Jess is on the tape. Jacob is watching to see Jess again. Jacob realizes he might have done something wrong. I think this is covering for Theo, not killing Jess.

Emma can't sleep that night. She imagines life if Jacob were a normal boy. She goes to see Oliver. He is writing his opening statement. He's having a hard time with it. They admit their worries and fears about Jacob's trial and their lives. Oliver tells Emma how he feels. Then he makes a move. Emma lets him. They spend the night together. Emma feels everything might be okay then. I am so happy about this. I felt sure Jodi wouldn't end up pairing Emma and Oliver together, even though to me they seem to be a well-matched pair.

Emma and Oliver go to Emma's house in the morning and discover that Henry is there.

HR ~ accommodations for Jacob

2010-05-23T08:02:00.000-04:00

Jennifer posted in her reading notes of chapter 8:

"Oliver gets four of the the five concessions he asked the judge for."

This gets us into the discussion I had in mind when I asked in question #6:

"Oliver requests accommodations for Jacob in court. Do they seem fair? The first five minutes of the trial show the constant vigilance needed to keep Jacob from having a meltdown and how much Emma does know about her son. Let's talk about the kind of provisions made for Jacob at home, at school, in the wider community, and in court. Do you think they are excessive, inadequate, appropriate, fair or unfair?"

What were those concessions Oliver got for Jacob? What did the judge NOT allow?

Changing the subject (slightly). Did you notice that the judge also quotes something from a movie, after Jacob does? In Oliver's section (see page 195), Jacob is being dragged out of court, shouting:

I look from her to my client, who has gone boneless and is being dragged out a different door. "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!" Jacob yells.

The judge narrows his eyes at me.

"It's from Planet of the Apes," I mutter.

"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore," he replies. "That's from Network. I highly recommend you watch the movie after you get your client under control."

House Rules - Chapter 8 (pgs 335-378)

2010-05-23T03:55:00.003-04:00

I'm admit that I wanted to get my comments on Chapter 8 posted so I can continue reading on and finish House Rules. I've lost interest a bit and want to pick it back up before I end up moving on to another book. There really hasn't been much more on the "mystery" of Jess' death yet so perhaps that is why.

In Case 8: One in Six Billion, Gary Ridgway is caught because of technology advances that pinned the murders conclusively on him. Jacob conclusively admits to setting up Jess' crime scene in his journals.

Oliver is preparing for the trail at the Hunts and watching Jacob. Theo is secretive and testy. Oliver discovers the Jacob wrote about Jess in his CrimeBusters journals. I am assuming Jacob wrote how he set up the crime scene. Did Jacob really just think that Jess' death was a just chance for him to set up a crime scene for real. No, I don't think so. I think Jacob had his reasons for doing what he did, other than an obsessive hobby.

Then Theo is gone. lol @ Theo thinking he'd need a passport to go from New England to CA. We now know that Theo didn't kill Jess. The way Theo lies to and acts with the nice grandma on the plane show Theo trying on the kind of live he could have had.

Jacob finds out that Theo went to CA via his computer. Jacob relates the time he slept outside of Theo's room to convince him that there was no dinosaur in the house because he wants to get a full night's sleep. Emma think it's because Jacob loves Theo and is trying to make him feel protected. Jacob seem to understand what emotions are and when people have them but he cannot do anything to change them so he doesn't care. Jacob basically says that he was looking out for himself in the case of Jess' death but that is was also good for someone else too.

Oliver pays for Emma's same day airline ticket to CA with money he doesn't have. He is surprised the Henry doesn't know about Jacob's arrest and upcoming trial. He says he'll watch Jacob. I'm surprise Jacob isn't more upset about Emma's absence considering he doesn't like changes to his routine.

Emma reminisces about meeting and dating Henry. Henry sounds like he might be somewhere on the high function end of the Autism spectrum himself. Not picking up emotional cues, talking about lots of detailed facts, and having a set routine. Emma and Henry clearly still have issues with each other. Emma meets Henry's wife and daughters and think this should have been her life with him.

Oliver wants the jury to be able to see AS in actions so he takes Jacob to court to set up his rights under the disabilities act. Oliver gets four of the the five concessions he asked the judge for.

Theo sleeps in one of Henry's daughter's rooms. She didn't know she had a brother. He does not tell her about Jacob. Henry's study is magazine perfect, not lived in. Theo wants to impress his father with the young man he's become in hopes that his father would regret not knowing him. His father has no response and tries to give him money. See suspicion above of Henry having Autism. Henry gives Emma money for that trial. Emma and Theo imagine vacationing in Hawaii as a family, which will never happen because of Jacob.

Jacob talks to a shrink who will testify in court about him. Jacob has inappropriate and misleading responses. Jacob thinks it is wrong to kill someone but can't admit it because it would be breaking another rule. Here might be a tie-in to the title, House Rules, because one of the house rules is "take care of your brother, he's the only one you've got". Jacob thinks he's helping Theo.

Jacob gets to set up a crime scene as a reward for a good grade. Oliver thinks it's creepy that Jacob does this and where he chooses to set up the crime scene. Oliver keys into Jacob's saying he was following the rules when he met with the court psychologist. Oliver insists that Jacob has to dress appropriately in court. Emma confesses to upsetting Jacob on purpose before his court psychologist appointment.

This chapter seemed to be more about Emma and Theo and what they were living through, with some insights on Jacob.

Bonnie's answer to #5 ~ third set of DQs for HR

2010-05-22T23:57:00.004-04:00

5. The evidence points to Mark as a suspect. He claims he’s innocent. What does Emma see on the news that changes everything? How would you react? Would you call the police?

I've given this a lot of thought and even discussed it with "Book Buddy Donna," my best friend. I have decided that I would have to talk it over with my child first. At the very least, I think I would have talked to a lawyer before putting my child into the hands of the system or, as Emma presumed, a policeman. On the other hand, I remember talking with my children about drugs one day, probably when they were in their early teens. One of them turned to me, with the eyes of all three looking at me, and said, "If you caught us with drugs, you'd turn us in, wouldn't you?" I immediately said, "Yes." But decades later I am still thinking about it. What would I have done, really?

My reasoning then -- and every time I have explained it to others (and myself) since then -- was that "Yes" was the only possible answer. If I had hemmed and hawed and said, "Well, I don't know," then I might as well have said, "You go right ahead and experiment with all the drugs you please." As long as my children thought I was absolutely, positively against it, I hoped they would think twice before trying it. As far as I know, they left the stuff alone. Or if any of them tried anything at all, they kept it well hidden.

Emma, of course, was faced with the dilemma of whether her son could have committed murder. In her (fictional) case, it wasn't a matter of stating what she WOULD do, but of deciding what she MUST do. She knew without a doubt that Jacob had been there, that he had wrapped the victim in his own multi-colored quilt. Was she afraid that he HAD killed her? Whether she thought it could have been by accident or not, she had to have wondered.

On the other hand, she obviously came to regret doing it the way she did. Emma was more trusting of Rich than she should have been, and even she could see that later. What do you think would have been the best way to handle this situation? Yes, we can use hindsight here, so what do you think?

HR ~ third set of DQs

Shanghai Girls (SG) ~ by Lisa See, 2009

2010-05-21T12:41:00.004-04:00

During June 2010, we'll discuss Shanghai Girls, a 2009 novel by Lisa See.

Pearl and May are inseparable best friends who share hopes, dreams, and a deep connection, but like sisters everywhere they also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. They love each other, but each knows exactly where to drive the knife to hurt the other the most. In 1937 these two are beautiful, sophisticated, and well-educated, but their family is on the verge of bankruptcy. And one day their father tells these modern and carefree daughters that he has gambled away their wealth and is selling them as wives to “Gold Mountain men” who have come from Los Angeles to find brides.

But when the sisters leave China and arrive at Angel’s Island (the Ellis Island of the West)—where they are detained, interrogated, and humiliated for months—they feel the harsh reality of leaving home. They face terrible sacrifices and make impossible choices. And when May discovers she’s pregnant the situation becomes even more desperate. The sisters make a pact that no one can ever know, but through it all the two heroines hold fast to who they are — Shanghai girls.

========================================

Complete discussion of SG
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
SG ~ first set of DQs
SG ~ second set of DQs
SG ~ third set of DQs
Read a chapter (at the site, click on "Read a sample chapter")
Lisa See's web site

Choosing a book for June

2010-05-19T08:49:00.002-04:00

Here are three book suggestions. Leave comments, so I'll know which one most of us want to read next. If you think we should read all three (or two of the three) in the coming months, please say so.

The Wives of Henry Oades, a novel by Johanna Moran, was published in 2010.

When Henry Oades accepts an accountancy post in New Zealand, his wife, Margaret, and their children follow him to exotic Wellington. But while Henry is an adventurer, Margaret is not. Their new home is rougher and more rustic than they expected—and a single night of tragedy shatters the family when the native Maori stage an uprising, kidnapping Margaret and her children.

For months, Henry scours the surrounding wilderness, until all hope is lost and his wife and children are presumed dead. Grief-stricken, he books passage to California. There he marries Nancy Foreland, a young widow with a new baby, and it seems they’ve both found happiness in the midst of their mourning—until Henry’s first wife and children show up, alive and having finally escaped captivity.

Narrated primarily by the two wives, and based on a real-life legal case, The Wives of Henry Oades is the riveting story of what happens when Henry, Margaret, and Nancy face persecution for bigamy.

The Help ~ by Kathryn Stockett was published in 2009.

Skeeter, 22 years old, has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that puts them all at risk. Why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

Shanghai Girls, a novel by Lisa See, was published in 2009.

May and Pearl, two sisters living in Shanghai in the mid-1930s, are beautiful, sophisticated, and well-educated, but their family is on the verge of bankruptcy. Hoping to improve their social standing, May and Pearl’s parents arrange for their daughters to marry “Gold Mountain men” who have come from Los Angeles to find brides.

But when the sisters leave China and arrive at Angel’s Island (the Ellis Island of the West)—where they are detained, interrogated, and humiliated for months—they feel the harsh reality of leaving home. And when May discovers she’s pregnant the situation becomes even more desperate. The sisters make a pact that no one can ever know.

Leave a comment, and consider it your "vote" for the next book or books that we will discuss here among the book buddies.

Shirley's answers to third set of DQs

2010-05-19T08:40:00.001-04:00

1. What does a ponytail holder have to do with the story?

One of the things Jacob appreciated about Jess was that she realized that loose hair bothered him so wore her hair in a ponytail.

2. House Rules is written from the perspective of several different characters, each taking turns to narrate a chapter. Does this technique work for you?

I like not only getting the different perspectives, but that the book clearly indicates who the narrator is.

3. Theo breaks into houses and Jacob saves the Christmas cards. Both boys are trying to have the same thing -- what they consider to be a real home. What makes their home not a “real” home to them? What do they want?

It is as if AS is the focal point of their lives rather than their relationships with each other. However, I am impressed with how well Emma has done for her family. The boys realize the stress that AS has put in their lives and would like the focus to be on each of them instead (every child wants to be their mother's favorite child).

4. On page 146, Jacob says being on the other side of dead isn’t that different from having Asperger’s. What do you think he means by that?

The inability/difficulty to communicate with the living is possibly the comparison between the dead and persons with AS.

5. The evidence points to Mark as a suspect. He claims he’s innocent. What does Emma see on the news that changes everything? How would you react? Would you call the police?

Seeing Jacob's quilt at the crime scene makes Emma aware of his probably involvement. I'd have talked to Jacob before calling the police. I'd then try to call a lawyer.

6. Mark Maguire thinks Asperger's Syndrome is a "Get Out of Jail Free card" (page 285). Oliver requests accommodations for Jacob in court. Do they seem fair? The first five minutes of the trial show the constant vigilance needed to keep Jacob from having a meltdown and how much Emma does know about her son. Let's talk about the kind of provisions made for Jacob at home, at school, in the wider community, and in court. Do you think they are excessive, inadequate, appropriate, fair or unfair?

I think the allowances being made for Jacob seem appropriate even though the ones in court still need to come around. Although society cannot afford to accomodate everyone's special needs, I do think that when possible accomodations should be made and at least an understanding should be attempted on the differences that others confront in life.

7. What do Skittles have to do with the story?

Ditto to Lynne's answer. Glad to have you join us, Lynne!

Shirley

Lynne's answers to third set of DQs

2010-05-19T08:33:00.002-04:00

1. What does a ponytail holder have to do with the story?

A ponytail holder is important in the story because Jacob hates loose hair and this a good solution to the problem.

2.House Rules is written from the perspective of several different characters, each taking turns to narrate a chapter. Does this technique work for you?

This works very well for me. I would like to see more books written this way.

3. Theo breaks into houses and Jacob saves the Christmas cards. Both boys are trying to have the same thing-what they consider to be a real home. What makes their home not a "real" home to them? What do they want?

In this book Asperger's Syndrome robs the entire family of any normalcy with the rest of the world. Both boys feel the lonliness and aloneness in their lives.With no father around to provide for them and be a help mate to the mother, mom is wearing out and the love and comfort of a cozy home that the rest of the world seems to have is lacking in the Hunt family.

4. On page 146 Jacob says being on the other side of dead isn't that different from have Asperger's.

It is like that wall of separation that you can't break through. You can't connect with others and you can't feel them.

5. The evidence points to Mark as a suspect. He claims he's innocent. What does Emma see on the news that changes everything? How would you react? Would you call the police?

Emma sees the rainbow patchwork family quilt and no matter how hard she tries she can't unsee it. I think I might have talked to Jacob first about it. It is hard to know what I would do in this situation and I really don't want to criticize Emma in such a predicament. However I would want to search every avenue of help I could think of before turning him over to the police. But then I would eventually call the police. In the end you always have to do what is right.

6. Don't have time to answer this one right now.

7. What do Skittles have to do with the story?

Skittles is Jacob's absolute favorite candy and was used to sweeten Jacob into talking at the police station. (like giving candy to a baby)

Lynne

Logistics

2010-05-17T21:37:00.004-04:00

POSTS ~ are noticed, so talk about the book in posts. Answer questions about the book in posts, so they are easily spotted and can contribute to the ongoing discussion.

COMMENTS ~ are more hidden, and people must take time to look for them. Make the discussion easy for buddies by putting only the less important stuff in the comments -- maybe short comments on something someone said.

LABELS ~ are helpful, so put "HR" and your name in the labels as we read this book. Or else I will add it later so people who click on "everything we've discussed about HR" (now or years from now) will find our full discussion of House Rules. I have been making the labels uniform, but it saves me time if you do it right at the beginning.

Thanks,
~~~ Bonnie

Shall we party on Essencia Island?

2010-05-17T16:57:00.003-04:00

How many of us are interested in having a party on Essencia Island at the end of the month? That's the online "place" we go to devour tons of (cyber) food and laugh with one another and the characters from our book. Yes, that's right, Jacob will be there, along with Theo and Emma and Rich and Oliver -- and even that prosecutor, if she wants to come. What was her name, again? Does anybuddy remember? Though it may freak Jacob out to see her there, Jess (who was alive during part of the book) could very well show up. The Island is magical that way.

Another question we should consider -- and the reason I'm asking this question so early in the month:

What must be do to make Essencia Island "friendly" for Jacob? Is there anything we should NOT bring to the party? Anything special we should DO beforehand? I already know we should avoid any food that happens to be orange, like these cheddar cheese cubes. (Though I don't see a problem with cheese of another color.)

Does everybuddy remember how to reach Essencia Island? Either click on the name of the island in this post or on the picture of Essencia Island on the sidebar. Got that? I wouldn't want you to get lost on your way to the end-of-book party!

Bonnie's answer to question #4 of the first set of DQs

2010-05-17T15:31:00.003-04:00

Here's question #4 from the first set of DQs:

4. Jacob lists twelve things he can't stand (page 20). Do you see his logic? We all have things we could put into such a list. What would yours be?

Here are the twelve things Jacob lists:

(1) The sound of paper being crumpled. I can't ell you why, but it makes me feel like someone's doing that to all my internal organs.
(2) Too much noise or flashing lights.
(3) Having plans change.
(4) Missing CrimeBusters, which is on the USA Network at 4:30 every day, thanks to the wonders of syndication. Even though I know all 114 of the episodes by heart, watching them daily is as important to me as taking insulin would be to a diabetic. My whole day is planned around it, and if I can't have my fix, I get shaky.
(5) When my mother puts my clothes away. I keep them in rainbow order, ROYGBIV, and the colors can't touch. She does her best, but the last time, she completely forgot about indigo.
(6) If someone else takes a bite of my food, I have to cut off the part that his/her saliva has touched before I can eat any more of it.
(7) Loose hair. It freaks me out, which is why mine is military short.
(8) Being touched by someone I don't know.
(9) Foods with membranes, like custards; or foods that explode in your mouth, like peas.
(10) Even numbers.
(11) When people call me retarded, which I am not.
(12) The color orange. It means danger, and there's no rhyme for it in English, which makes it suspicious. (Theo wants to know why I can tolerate things that are silver, then, but I won't even rise to the argument.)

Some of these answer questions I have been "showing" you in pictures, like his being bothered by orange (first set of DQs) and by loose hair (third set of DQs). ROYGBIV is mentioned several times in the book. Do you know ROYGBIV (which I've also seen printed as Roy G. Biv) stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet? I have no idea why the designer of the color wheel pictured above gave red twice as much space -- unless it because s/he couldn't divide a circle into seven parts.

I, too, prefer odd numbers. But my reasoning is different from Jacob's. I have always liked being just a little bit "odd"! The two houses I've owned were numbered 109 and 1909. (Yep, that's odd.) My current zip code is 37409, and nine is my favorite number. See? I'm odd. Jacob would probably like me, huh?

House Rules ~ third set of discussion questions

2010-05-17T14:09:00.000-04:00

1. What does a ponytail holder have to do with the story?

2. House Rules is written from the perspective of several different characters, each taking turns to narrate a chapter. Does this technique work for you?

3. Theo breaks into houses and Jacob saves the Christmas cards. Both boys are trying to have the same thing -- what they consider to be a real home. What makes their home not a “real” home to them? What do they want?

4. On page 146, Jacob says being on the other side of dead isn’t that different from having Asperger’s. What do you think he means by that?

5. The evidence points to Mark as a suspect. He claims he’s innocent. What does Emma see on the news that changes everything? How would you react? Would you call the police?

6. Mark Maguire thinks Asperger's Syndrome is a "Get Out of Jail Free card" (page 285). Oliver requests accommodations for Jacob in court. Do they seem fair? The first five minutes of the trial show the constant vigilance needed to keep Jacob from having a meltdown and how much Emma does know about her son. Let's talk about the kind of provisions made for Jacob at home, at school, in the wider community, and in court. Do you think they are excessive, inadequate, appropriate, fair or unfair?

7. What do Skittles have to do with the story?

House Rules - Chapter 7 (pgs 293-335)

2010-05-17T00:57:00.004-04:00

In Case 7: Blood is Thicker Than Water, Ernest Brendel doesn't dispose of all the evidence linking him to killing his friend and his friend's family. It is pointed out that friends can end up being enemies.

As I lie in bed last night after reading the case but before beginning the chapter, I feel down as I think about how Jodi isn't likely to pair Emma and Oliver. Rich will come around to Jacob's innocent and help clear Jacob. Emma will realize he's a decent guy. Oliver will be a family friend. =( I usually pull for the underdog in love triangles.

Theo's section on how he's going to be the one eventually taking care of Jacob was honest and real. I'd feel that way if I were him. I think a lot of people might.

Oliver thinks about Emma. He thinks about cooking according to color scheme. Emma asks Oliver to watch the boys. Emma goes to the bank to take out a second mortgage. She is denied because she's unemployed. Oliver plays Wii with the boys. He cooks yellow foods and saves a plate for Emma.

Oliver goes to court to get Jacob's interrogation by Rich to be inadmissible during the trial. Jacob has a minor meltdown after Rich implies that Emma thought he had something to do with Jess' death. Emma doesn't look Jacob in the eye as she tells him that she believes he didn't kill Jess. Oliver gets an expert on police relations with Autistic people to testify by trading him a consult on an injured horse. Jacob then takes the stand and by interacting with Oliver and prosecutor shows the judge he can be misunderstood.

Emma invites Oliver to lunch the next day. Jacob reads the newspaper in the car on the way home and discovers that Dr. Henry Lee, a famous forensic scientist, will be speaking relatively nearby. He really wants to go, but is unable to understand that he can't go because of being under house arrest. He thinks Emma should be able to change this. He thinks Emma thinks he killed Jess.

The bit with Farley McDuff from Neurodiversity Nation was just odd. I really hope Jodi doesn't go somewhere weird with that. I guess he is representing the extreme side of Autism rights. I am hoping this doesn't somehow get Jacob's case into the national media.

Jacob is still not giving up on seeing Dr. Henry Lee. Emma is firm that he cannot go. Emma asks if he killed Jess. Jacob says he did not and Emma believes him. She wonders about his lies by omission though. Were they deliberate, or did Jacob simply not say anymore because he wasn't asked about it specifically.

Jacob thinks about how he'd dreamed of studying under Dr. Lee in college. He admits that he set up the crime scene to point to someone else's involvement but ended up a suspect himself. Did Jacob set up the crime scene to point to a certain person's involvement to frame someone, to throw the trail off of someone, or because he knows who it really was. The police haven't figured out who the crime scene is supposed to point to, unless it is Mark.

Jacob calls 911 and tells them he is being abuse by his mother because Emma won't take him to see Dr. Lee. Rich ends up being the one to respond. Jacob quickly realizes his mistake. He hides his stuff, which he is worried might also end up confiscated, and then he hides under the bed. Rich insists on talking to Jacob about what he did. He's nicer about it. We're supposed to realize that Rich isn't that bad, that's he's not a jerk. I don't think he is, but I still don't like him any better.

For a smart 17-year-old, how can Theo possible believe that the police's involvement with Jacob is to get to him from breaking into people's homes and basically doing nothing.

In Jacob's dream, Dr. Lee tells Jacob that he understands why he did what he did.

Mostly paraphrasing on this chapter. I didn't seem to have much to say. In regards to the case from the beginning of the chapter, Jacob left the ROYGBIV quilt on Jess and he admitted to moving the body and cleaning up the crime scene. But is there something the real killer, if there is one, missed that will point to him. Rich being the friend who ends up being an enemy is too obvious. Maybe Oliver, but he's growing as a lawyer and learning he has good instincts in law too in addition to with horses. Theo or Emma, for not being completely sure of his innocence.

Where is everybuddy in the book?

2010-05-17T00:48:00.002-04:00

I don't want to post ahead and spoil it for anybuddy.

House Rules - Chapter 6 (pgs 242-292)

2010-05-15T22:52:00.002-04:00

In Case 6: Bite Me, Ted Bundy is convicted because a very thorough CSI measured bite marks on a victims buttocks in a photograph which was used in the trial years later. I think this maybe be foreshadowing that Rich finds some detail in Jacob's stuff that he confiscated that exonerates Jacob, or Oliver learns some detail from Emma about Jacob that helps him win Jacob's trial.

I think Jacob would have known about the Luminol reaction with hemoglobin that will make blood fluorescent in the dark. The comment later in that section about getting a print off a porous surface seems to indicate that Jacob knows more about forensic science than the average CSI.

"So why do you make me feel so small?" From the comment on the pink index card hit home for me. I was bullied badly as a young girl. I remember all too well how it felt to feel complete alone in a crowd of my peers.

I'm not liking Rich too much. I get him, I think. He means well. He wants to do his job well. But he's not coming across as a kind person. I think he could be nicer if he wanted and make this easier on Emma and Jacob. It seems like he tries a little. I think deep down his instinct knows that Jacob isn't a killer.

Jacob could probably well go to law school, ace it, and pass the bar with a perfect score. But he'd make a lousy lawyer in the courtroom. I suppose he practice some type of dense boring law for corporations that would never require him to leave his office but earn him mega money.

The state of Vermont does not sound like a good place for an innocent mentally disabled defendant to stand trial for a criminal case. Winning with an insanity defense will likely send Jacob to a mental hospital. I still cannot believe that no one, not even Emma or Theo, has asked Jacob what happened exactly.

Clue - When Oliver tells Jacob his best defense is an affirmative defense, Jacob lights up and says defense of another person. (pg 264) Oliver asks him who and Jacob quote a movie. Oliver then moves to asking Jacob about using an insanity defense. But who was Jacob defending when Jess died? Could Jacob have been trying to keep Jess from doing something to protect a third person or herself?

Emma quits her job. Theo finds out just how little money the family has. He wants to earn money to help out.

I like Oliver. I wish he were a better and/or more experience lawyer, for Jacob's sake, but I like him. He's a good guy. He has a dog, which he totes in his jacket to keep warm. He gets the certain colored foods on a certain day. He wants to help Jacob to the best ends that he can. He likes Emma. Maybe Emma could like him. She probably much older than him. I don't think he will care. I think it could bother her. I think he'd be good with Jacob. He could get Jacob.

House Rules - Chapter 5 (pgs 184- 241)

2010-05-15T00:19:00.003-04:00

In Case 5: The Not-So-Good Doctor, Bill Sybers was caught for the murder of his wife by rushing and overlooking or being unaware of a fact that made it easier to catch him. Oliver rushes through Jacobs arraignment and doesn't really know what he's doing, putting Jacob in a place he shouldn't be. Repeatedly in this chapter, people aren't told Jacob has AS as he moves from the police station to the court to jail. It's only a loose connection. Anyone have any other thoughts? I am enjoying trying to link the relevance of the cases opening each chapter to the chapter.

This chapter is all about the missteps that occur leading to Jacob being put in jail, which he can't handle. Oliver is ineffective as a lawyer. Don't lawyer learn how to handle court appearances in law school, such as mock trials or shadowing? I get that he's inexperienced but it seems like he should have some idea how to proceed. Also, I'd have thought there would be a special prison or prison wing for prisoners with disabilities. No one in the prison even seems to know Jacob has AS. A nurse is there administering these drugs to Jacob. Surely, she would know about the characteristics of Autism or AS if she knew Jacob had it. Rich seems to know Jacob is acting oddly for someone who has just been charged with a crime. He knows not to leave Jacob in the cell at the police station.

This chapter didn't give in any further insight into how Jess died. I also didn't find it as interesting as the previous chapters. I still want to know what happens next, but the (mostly minor) characters are seeming somewhat stereotypical. The chapter didn't seem like it was furthering the story much either.

House Rules - Chapter 4 (pgs 147-183)

2010-05-14T00:22:00.002-04:00

In Case 4, Something's Fishy, Stella Nickells is caught for killing her husband by a small detail she neglected to think of - the Algae Destroyer in the cyanide in the Excedrin capsules. In Chapter 4, Jacob is caught having moved Jess' body by a small detail he didn't think would get linked back to him - the ROYGBIV quilt.

Rich thinks back on Gracie, a girl who committed suicide due to her father molesting her and her mother not being there for her because her brother had Down's Syndrome. Rich tries to tell Gracie's mother after the funeral about what was happening to Gracie but she doesn't want to know. I think what an awful woman and think she did know something was very wrong to some extent. This could also be foreshadowing to Theo's acting out due to Jacob's taking more of Emma's attention. I don't think Theo is going to do anything to himself or others, nor do I think he killed Jess. I have a theory about what I think happened at the end of the post. I also don't think Emma wouldn't want to know if Theo was troubled. I think she genuinely hasn't noticed. Also, between Mark and Jacob, Rich isn't the best initial judge of character for a cop.

I don't understand why Emma takes Jacob in to tell his story about why the ROYGBIV quilt is on Jess without questioning him herself and finding out why. She's already aware that Jacob's AS might be interpreted incorrectly by someone not familiar with AS. It seems possible that she really thinks that Jacob might have killed Jess unintentionally. Maybe she doesn't ask him because she is scared of him or scared of what he might say.

This book seems to be set now, time-wise. Most people know something of what Autism is now. Rich seems to that Autism makes someone act differently, yet he completely doesn't take it into account when assuming Jacob's guilt. No further research to see what is normal acting for a person with AS.

Now for my current theory on what I think happened. Jess gets out of the shower, she reaches for a towel, and she's dripping wet. She sees Theo. She screams, maybe wraps the towel around her, and goes to chase Theo. Theo turns and runs out of the house, knocking into things and making a mess in his haste to get out of there before he's caught. Jess slips on the wet floor of the master bath (I remember either Jacob or the cops mentioning something about the master bath having been cleaned and I remember Rich mentioning it had be used recently), she falls, hits her head, and dies from the head injury. Jacob sees Theo leave and drop the iPod, which he collects. He assumes that Theo either saw Jess dead and that Mark had killed Jess or, correctly, that Jess had died accidentally. Either way, Jacob knows he needs to clean up the crime scene after Theo had been there so Theo isn't falsely accused.

House Rules ~ second set of discussion questions

2010-05-14T00:00:00.001-04:00

1. What does a used tea bag have to do with the story?

2. Theo is the younger brother but he has to take care of Jacob. How does Theo handle the conflict of his position in the family? Do you agree that he has it "worse than Jacob"? This quote is from Theo's section (page 107):

True confession number one: When I'm walking down the hall in school and I see Jacob at the other end of the corridor, I intentionally divert my path to avoid him.

True confession number two: Once, when a bunch of kids started making fun of Jacob as he attempted to play kickball -- a hot mess if ever there was one -- I pretended that I didn't know him; I laughed along, too.

True confession number three: I truly believe that I have it worse than Jacob, because he's oblivious most of the time to the fact that people want nothing to do with him; but I am one hundred percent aware that they're all looking at me and thinking, Oh, that's the bizarre kid's brother.

3. Emma maintains that she loves both of her sons equally, although she acknowledges that most of her time and attention are taken up by Jacob. What are your feelings regarding the way Emma treats Theo? Do you hold her or Jacob accountable for letting Theo go unnoticed and friendless to the point of breaking into other people’s homes? Why or why not?

4. What does Krazy Glue have to do with the story?

House Rules - Chapter 3 (pgs 90-146)

2010-05-13T01:16:00.002-04:00

I read Chapter 3 on Friday night so I'm going with the flipping through the pages, skimming, and commenting method again. It was a long chapter but it felt like a shorter read than Chapter 2. I remember thinking after I read it that I didn't have have as much to comment on as I did on Chapter 2 so hopefully this is a shorter post. I do want to hurry up and get it posted so I can read Chapter 4.

The case opening Chapter 3 is titled Bragged, Taunted, "Kaught". I can't see how that relates to this chapter. Thoughts? I thought a possible link might be to the previous chapters in that Jacob solved the case of the man who died by hypothermia and Rich eventually found out who Jacob was, but it's not a very good link.

As soon as Rich starts commenting on the neighborhood where Jess is house sitting for her professor, I just know that's the house Theo broke into and Jess is the girl he saw. I think then that maybe Jacob saw Theo leave Jess' place then walked in on Jess dead and that's why he melted down. But he wasn't scared or angry with Theo so if he did see Jess dead, he knew his brother well enough to know he didn't kill her. Or he knew Theo did kill her but that it was an accidental death (knew by forensic science) and he's covering up for Theo. Then there is the mug with the tea bag in it and I know for sure that that is the house that Theo broke into and Jess is the girl he saw.

Jacob fingerprints something of Jess'. I suspect it's her iPod. His suspicions are confirmed. I think he finds Theo's fingerprints. If they were Mark's, I think he'd turn it in. Then he hides it. Theo's prints will be on the tea mug and other things in the house though.

Theo clearly doesn't know Jess is dead or was hurt. So she wasn't when he left after seeing her naked.

Rich is definitely interested in Emma. He likes that she's single and he compliments her.

Did Jacob take the stuff in the backpack because it was incriminating towards who killed Jess or because he wanted her stuff to remember her. Is the stuff in the backpack the odd stuff that Rich and Mark thought wasn't what she'd take if she left on her own.

The alphabetical CD tower is explained. And it seems that Jacob took the backpack to investigate further. He hands it over to Rich and want to know what he finds. Maybe Jacob doesn't know what happened after all. He just knows Theo was there, and likely had nothing to do with it. Maybe he saw Theo drop the iPod as Theo left. Rich finds the boot print.

Jacob has Jess' body. He moved it from the crime scene. He should know better. Why did he move it. He's surprised Rich hasn't found it yet. He gives Jess a blanket. Somehow Rich is going to figure out that Jacob was there. Rich will know someone was there because the cel phone was off but now it's on and someone called 911 from it.

House Rules - Chapter 2 (pgs 38-89)

2010-05-07T00:55:00.004-04:00

I read chapter 2 late last night and could not stop reading. This is definitely the kind of book that is hard to break away from. I'm going to kind of flip through and skim the chapter again and put down my comments as I do. Yesterday, I read the chapter earlier then commented a few hours later and could remember most of what I wanted to say. This chapter also seemed longer or maybe just more packed with stuff.

So the case at the beginning of this chapter is called Irony 101, which is evident both in the case and in something Emma says that I find very telling. "Isolation. A fixation on one particular subject. An inability to connect socially. Jacob was the one diagnosed, but I might as well have Asperger's, too." Even though Jacob is the one with the disability, his disability is a disables the family to some extent. Emma devotes her life to providing the education/skills Jacob needs to learn, Theo gets less of a parent than he should.

I thought the quip about Emma having show on the Food Network was funny, but true. Diet plays a major part in managing Autism and I like that Jodi is educating people with her novel as well. I think everyone is free to think what they would like, make their own decisions, and I would not argue with anyone who disagreed but I do not think vaccines cause autism. I do think Jodi did a good job laying out the facts the subject and the emotion on why a mother would think that vaccines caused autism in her child. I liked Jacob going to the prom. He asked 83 girls and held the door open for his date then sat in the backseat. =)

I thought Theo seemed a lot more realistic as a teenage boy in this chapter, trying the wine and changing the DVR settings, but a more responsible one, changing the DVR setting back and trying to leave the house as it was. He's probably more responsible because he has Jacob as a brother. But he's probably breaking into the houses because his house doesn't seem like a home to him.

I wondered about the seemingly random introduction of Oliver. But it seems that Oliver will clearly be Jacob's and Emma's lawyer after the murder. Recently out of law school, quirky but intelligent, he seems like someone who will try to relate to Jacob and someone who will be cheap. Their chance meeting at the pizza parlor was unexpected. Will Oliver remember that he ran into Jacob before?

Mark is a jerk. Jess should not be with him. And Jacob can see that. Maybe she shouldn't be with Jacob but I am hoping the he helps her think more of herself and see that she doesn't need someone who thinks so little of her and the thinks she values. I liked the bit about the Christmas cards to the wrong house. I'd totally open them and read them too.

Agony aunt, I'd never heard that phrase before, the origin of modern Dear Abby. I liked how Jodi found an old fashioned title for what Emma does. The incident with Jacob shoving his maths teacher and Emma trying to explain to him why it's wrong in this situation but not in others showed how I'd originally thought Jacob would think, very literally. Emma also states that she wishes Jacob could be empathetic. There is the distinction that helped me understand better that Jacob could know that he was causing certain emotions in people, even if he couldn't read them, but he could not put himself in their shoes and understand why they felt or reacted a certain way. He doesn't understand why people doesn't think and act like him, but he understands that they do, and that he needs to learn to "interpret" them and interact more correctly. Emma ignores finding Theo's stolen video game. Foreshadowing?

Theo - more typical teenage boy with the teaching Jacob how to curse and the hoping to see a naked female.

Jacob - On interpreting slang. Deductions on why Jess hasn't contacted him. Jacob goes to Jess's house. Then foreshadowing on Jacob's impulsive nature. I'm sure we'll see in the next chapter what that means. But we know from Emma's next section that it causes Jacob to meltdown very badly, and Emma, not meaning to, lets Theo's need for a somewhat normal home life down again. Emma can't do everything, who could in this situation.

House Rules - Chapter 1 (pgs 1-37)

2010-05-06T02:27:00.002-04:00

I finished the first chapter of House Rules last night and I'm definitely interested in the story. I think Emma's voice is the most true to life, a single mother struggling to raise her kids the best she can. Rich also seems realistic as a single dad. I can already see the love story about to happen between those two. Theo doesn't quite ring true as a smart teenager who also skate boards. I'm just not really getting teenage boy quite right from him. I also wonder about Jacob. Would an Asperger's Symdrome child be that aware that he has no social skills, can't recognize emotion, it isn't normal to throw fits in the grocery, etc.? I did see how he views his family very well. It's only the first chapter though and I hope the boys' voices develop better. I also thought it was quite interesting to learn why there are no fingerprints below freezing. The case the chapter opened with was called Sleep Tight, which is ironic because it seems like Emma is the only one sleeping that night.

I got my book!

2010-05-04T17:48:00.002-04:00

Lynne was kind enough to send me a copy of House Rules by post. And it arrived in only five days!! Way sooner than I would have gotten it from the library. Thanks Lynne!! You're awesome girl.

I plan to start reading it tonight. And since it's not due back in two week, I plan to read the book straight through since I'll have it to refer back to for the discussion questions.

Bonnie's answers to some of the first DQs

2010-05-02T23:21:00.009-04:00

1. What does the object in this photo have to do with the story?

The color orange upsets Jacob, whether it's fruit or a piece of clothing or a warning sign. Here's one example of how Jacob feels about orange:
"This is where I go, when I go: Somewhere completely, unutterably orange" (p. 100).
To answer Shirley's question, "Orange you glad this isn't a test?" Yep, but I hope thinking about these questions helps everybuddy remember various parts of the story as much as coming up with the questions made me aware of all that is in the book.

2. What is the presumptive "motive" behind the staged murder in the opening scene?

Jacob stole Theo's sneakers, but Shirley's answer is so very perceptive: that it "showed Jacob's understanding of Theo's love of the shoes while showing that he [Jacob] does have a sense of humor."

3. Jacob says, “Why would I want to be friends with kids who are nasty to people like me anyway?” (page 20). What does this tell us about Jacob?

Shirley, thanks for sharing the story about your daughter's first day in kindergarten, AND for pointing out that Jacob has "a better understanding of people than he is given credit for." I think you are right.

6. What kind of work does Emma do? What did she do before that?

She writes an advice column as Auntie Em:
"And off goes my mother, champion of the confused, doyenne of the dense. Saving the world one letter at a time. I wonder what all those devoted readers would think if they knew that the real Auntie Em had one son who was practically a sociopath and another one who was socially impractical" (pp. 24-26).

She used to be an editor of textbooks:
"I used to have friends. Back before I had children, when I was working at a textbook publishing company outside of Boston, I'd hang out with some of the other editors after hours" (p. 41).

7. What work did Oliver do before he became a lawyer?

"I liked being a farrier. ... But after four years I got restless. I decided to go to law school, for the same reason everyone else goes to law school: because I had no idea what else to do" (p. 58).
I didn't realize a farrier is someone who shoes horses. Wikipedia says, "A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of a horse's hoof and the placing of shoes to the horse's foot." So I've learned something new.

8. Tell us whatever you've learned so far about the food colors the Hunt family eats during the week, the color and also any foods you can think of that fit the day's color.

"Five days of the week, in addition to having a limited diet, Jacob eats by color. I don't really remember how this started, but it's a routine: all Monday food is green, all Tuesday food is red, all Wednesday food is yellow, and so on" (page 43).

Green foods I can think of are peas, turnip greens, spinach, pickles, lettuce, asparagus, kiwi fruit. Red foods might be tomatoes, apples, radishes, spaghetti sauce, red velvet cake. Yellow foods include corn, bananas, squash, lemon meringue pie, mustard, cornbread, slices of pineapple. Watch for the colors the Hunt family eats on Thursdays and Fridays, and somebuddy please tell me what page it's on, since I didn't think to make a note of it.

9. List any movie quotes you found in the first 100 pages or so of the book.

Shirley, there's no "special section" about movie quotes, just quotes that Jacob uses when he can't think of what to say. That's when he uses something from a movie he remembers. And sometimes, a movie is mentioned by one of the other characters. Here are some movie references I noticed, along with a quote from the book and the page number:

a. Cool Hand Luke (p. 5)
"What we got here," Jacob mutters, his voice a sudden drawl, "is . . . failure to communicate." He crouches down, hugging his knees. When he cannot find the words for how he feels, he borrows someone else's. These come from Cool Hand Luke; Jacob remembers the dialogue from every movie he's ever seen.
b. Rain Man (p. 6)
When he was diagnosed, I burst into tears. Remember, this was back in 1995; the only experience I'd had with autism was Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man.
c. Silence of the Lambs (p. 12)
I'll be honest with you -- it wasn't the fact that he took my sneakers without asking or even that he stole hair out of my brush (which is, rankly, Silence of the Lambs creepy). It was that when I saw Jacob in the kitchen with his corn-syrup blood and his fake head injury and all the evidence pointing to me, for a half a second, I thought: I wish.
d. Moonstruck (p. 22)
Dr. Moon: Can you think of a solution that might have worked better than calling 911? Me (doing my best Cher from Moonstruck impression): Snap out of it!
e. Gone with the Wind (p. 23)
"Frankly my dear," I murmur, "I don't give a damn."

My mother sighs. "Dinner at six, Rhett," she says, even though it's always at six, and even though my name is Jacob.

I've gotta add one more thing. Being a word person, I was delighted when Jacob spoke up about the word "frankly" later in the book (okay, I know I'm a bit weird). This shows the way Jacob thinks:

"Frankly, I wonder who Frank was, and why he has an adverb all to himself" (p. 101).

First Set of Discussion Questions

2010-05-02T15:25:00.003-04:00

1. Hmmmm....Jacob is afraid of the color orange because it means danger and it doesn't rhyme with anything. A couple of other thoughts on the picture of the oranges are "Orange you glad this isn't a test?" We're in for a juicy story. Several sections (people) make up the whole story.

2. Jacob's comment that the theft of the shoes was the motive for Theo killing him showed Jacob's understanding of Theo's love of the shoes while showing that he does have a sense of humor.

3. Jacob's realization that friends who treat persons with differences in a degrading way shows he does have a better understanding of people than he is given credit for. A friend does not mistreat you. The comment reminds me of an incident when my daughter was in kindergarten. She came home after the first day of school delighted with her new friend Sam. She came home very upset after the second day of school. When they were lined up to go to the restroom he told her she was in the wrong line as she was in the line for girls. After explaining that she is a girl, he proclaimed that they couldn't be friends as he didn't like girls. She was upset the rest of the day about his rejection. When I tucked her in bed that night, she gave a half-hearted smile and said that she thought it over and decided that that was all right after all as she didn't want to be friends with someone who let a little thing like that bother him.

4. I can't stand:
a. Favoritism that prevents others from getting a fair chance (such as getting a job or a promotion or being allowed to play in a sport).
b. Bias against people as a group (such as racism, age, weight).
c. Pain--emotional or physical--especially when it's me suffering from it.
d. Condescending behavior
e. Constant talking

5. I thought the household rules seemed appropriate. They are minimal and understandable. Although the intentions of the rules are followed without being stated, I no longer have young children at home that I would want to make rules for nor would I impose rules on my husband.

6. Emma is a freelance editor including doing an advice column. I can't remember what she did before that or if the freelancing is in addition to another job.

7. Another question I can't answer. I don't remember reading about Oliver in the first chapter.

8. I haven't made it this far in the book yet.

9. Knowing that I'm not a movie buff and that there is to be a special section on movie quotes, I will opt out of this question as well.

House Rules ~ first set of discussion questions

2010-05-01T18:37:00.000-04:00

Post your answers to these questions (as actual posts if you are a Book Buddy, rather than a comment), and tell us your thoughts about the earliest parts of the book:

1. What does the object in this photo have to do with the story?

2. What is the presumptive "motive" behind the staged murder in the opening scene?

3. Jacob says, “Why would I want to be friends with kids who are nasty to people like me anyway?” (page 20). What does this tell us about Jacob?

4. Jacob lists twelve things he can't stand (page 20). Do you see his logic? We all have things we could put into such a list. What would yours be?

5. The rules of the house are listed on page 21. Do they seem appropriate or unusual? Would they be rules that would work in your house? Why should a rule that works in one situation not work in another? "If a bully taunts him and I tell him it’s all right to reciprocate, why shouldn’t he do the same with a teacher who humiliates him in public?" (see page 75).

(1) Clean up your own messes.
(2) Tell the truth.
(3) Brush your teeth twice a day.
(4) Don't be late for school.
(5) Take care of your brother; he's the only one you've got.

6. What kind of work does Emma do? What did she do before that?

7. What work did Oliver do before he became a lawyer?

8. "Five days of the week, in addition to having a limited diet, Jacob eats by color. I don't really remember how this started, but it's a routine: all Monday food is ______, all Tuesday food is ______, all Wednesday food is ______, and so on" (page 43). The colors for Thursday and Friday come later in the book. You'll also discover later (page 288) that there's another food color they always eat on the first day of the month. Tell us whatever you've learned so far about the food colors the Hunt family eats during the week, the color and also any foods you can think of that fit the day's color.

9. List any movie quotes you found in the first 100 pages or so of the book.

HR challenge #1 ~ movie quotes

2010-04-25T08:01:00.003-04:00

I got Jodi Picoult's House Rules yesterday and started reading. One thing that stands out is how many different movies are either quoted or alluded to. I challenge you to make a list of all the movies you can find as you read (or looking back over the book, if you've already finished it). Here's a start for you:

"Houston, we have a problem."
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
"Life is like a box of chocolates."

Make a note of the page numbers, too, so we can discuss the quotes and/or the movies when we get into the book in May (less than a week from now). And see if you can name the movie and/or character being quoted.

House Rules

2010-04-24T12:00:00.002-04:00

I plan to join in on the discussion of House Rules. See you there.

Comments

2010-04-22T11:21:00.002-04:00

Hello Jennifer. Yes, I am the same Lynne that you read and chat with on TBN.

Reading House Rules

2010-04-20T20:21:00.003-04:00

Reading House Rules, by Jodi Picoult, with Bonnie could be like reliving some of the fun we use to have together over books.

Lynne

House Rules (HR) ~ by Jodi Picoult, 2010

2010-04-20T20:00:00.007-04:00

Is anybuddy interested in reading another book together? Bookread (Lynne) is hosting a discussion on Saturday -- too soon for those of us who have not yet read the book -- but we could take a whole month to get the book, read it, and discuss it here during the month of May. Are you interested?

Here's what I'll do. First, I'll post this and notify all of you -- and you are welcome to invite your friends to take part, as well. Then we can start posting book-related things, either questions or comments or links to Jodi Picoult's interviews, that sort of thing. For now, I'll start links for this title in the sidebar, including a link that will allow you to read the first chapter. When I know a bit more, I'll post a schedule so we can do a little bit at a time, the way we used to do. I hope at least a few of you will decide to talk with us. Do you want to know the honest truth? I've missed all of you buddies!

If you are not currently authorized to post here, email me to get an invitation. My email address is:
emerging DOT paradigm AT yahoo DOT com

Love,
~~~ Bonnie

==================================================

Message to BBs from Jodi Picoult
Complete discussion of HR
HR ~ first set of questions
HR ~ second set of questions
HR ~ third set of questions
HR ~ fourth set of questions
HR challenge #1 ~ movie quotes
Read an excerpt (at the site, click on "Read a sample chapter")
Jodi Picoult's web site
End of discussion party

Ya gotta have heart

2009-03-14T16:35:00.005-04:00

An update for those of you who happened to read my comment on the previous post.

Remember that I told you I was moving? I was having trouble breathing during December, but attributed it to the exertion of moving boxes of stuff, many filled with books. You know how heavy books are. One day, while carrying an overweight cat in a kitty-kennel, I was so out of breath that I got the door of my new place open, set down the cat, and sprawled on the floor. I thought maybe I was breathless from bronchitis or pneumonia, but the doctors now say I have had one (or more) heart attacks. On the morning of January 31, after a night of being unable to sleep because I couldn't breathe, I called my friend Donna to take me to the emergency room. That's when I learned I had congestive heart failure. They kept me overnight and helped me breathe better, but with instructions to see my primary physician that week. I did, and she sent me to a cardiologist -- who did a stress test, which I failed. Heart catherization showed the three heart arteries were 100%, 100%, and 90% blocked.

To shorten this story, I had open-heart surgery on February 19th, with four bypasses. I was able to leave the hospital after six days but, being unable to do much if anything for myself, went home with a friend who volunteered her home and her time to take care of me. I was at her house for eleven days before moving back to the new home I had not fully gotten moved into. I joked after the surgery that I must have gotten blood transfusions from a non-reader, because I had no interest in reading for days and days.

Wanna know what I've learned from this experience? How important it is to have loving friends. Two old friends and three women in my writers critique group have been my faithful supporters, re-scheduling their time for overnights at my house, getting me to doctor's appointments, bringing me meals, running errands for me, and generally "babysitting" me. Friends are wonderful.

Which leads me to the online friendships I have developed through my blogs. Thanks to all of you Book Buddies who called and sent me cards and emails during this time. Getting to know you has been a blessing in my life. God bless you, every one.

Unreturned library book leads to woman's arrest

2009-01-26T20:48:00.003-05:00

Unreturned library book leads to woman's arrest (copied below) was published online day before yesterday (January 24th), but I didn't get around to reading it until just now. I was surprised to learn the book she failed to return was the last book we read together (in September 2008): The Freedom Writers Diary. (Click on the title to read our discussion about the book, or click here to read what we said about the book on my Banned Books blog.)

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa – An Iowa woman has been arrested because she failed to return a library book. Thirty-nine-year-old Shelly Koontz was arrested Thursday night on a fifth-degree theft charge. She is accused of keeping "The Freedom Writers Diary," which she checked out from the public library in nearby Jesup in April. Police say the book — which is about a high school teacher's effort to inspire students to write — is valued at $13.95. Court records show library employees tried repeatedly to contact Koontz by phone and mail. A police officer even visited her home last September. Officials at the Buchanan County jail say Koontz was released after posting $250 bond.

It appears to me this woman "borrowed" the book in order to take it out of circulation, which may be the REAL reason she was arrested. What do you think?

Greetings!

2008-12-17T05:02:00.003-05:00

It was good to read Toby's post and to be updated with Bonnie's move.

I agree with Toby that the letters at the end of the book were extremely touching and helpful in giving a better understanding of the author's life and ultimate death.

Best wishes to you in your new apartment, Bonnie!

I have slowed down in my reading this year, but miss our discussions. The reading I've done is primarily lighter fare, but I recently enjoyed Tom Brokaw's Boom--Voices of the Sixties which was both a good way to recall my youth and catch up on the lives of some of the famous folks of that era. Amazing how much has changed since those turbulent years.

I'm trying to wrap up this year's annual Christmas cookbook. The theme this year was friends. Next year, I'm going to start a new tradition of just having each participant summarize their year. I'm also working on the family calendar. I am now up to August and will then go in and add quotes. The calendars have photos of each family member preferably taken sometime around their birthday so wind up being a nice keepsake for each year.

Hoping everyone has a nice holiday!

Shirley

Toby ~ link to article about Irène Némirovsky

2008-12-16T17:34:00.004-05:00

Hi Bonnie! I see you made it. Congrates on finishing your novel at nanowrimo!!!!!!!

Happy Holidays to you!!!

Irène Némirovsky in the woods by Ruth Scurr (Times Literary Supplement)

Someone gave this link in my "kindle" group. Would you post this link for me in your book buddies group? I have finished reading "the letters" at the end of the book, awhile ago & thought that the book, Suite Francais, was worth the price for those letters alone. It's just too bad they didn't escape to another country. However, the husband was either in denial of the current events or was not aware of what was going on.

If you like mysteries, go to Robert Robinson's (http://www.robertburtonrobinson.com/) site to read his free books, short stories online.

I read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Great book until the end. The ending sucked big time. It was so bad. The ending made no sense at all. The loose ends were not tied up. It was Oprah's Book Club selection, & I only read it because it was about dogs. 99% of the people hate this book, because of the ending. Just something to keep in mind when writing your bestseller.

All the best,
Toby

__________

NOTE from Bonnie

All of you BBs still have the ability to post at Book Buddies (everybuddy does) and can do it yourself. That hasn't changed. It's a place you can update everybuddy about your life or what you're reading or anything you like. The names of those able to do it are listed at the bottom of the sidebar.

I'm moving!

My cat and I are moving into a gated community for seniors, and it may take me some time to get settled in. Tomorrow I'll sign the lease and start moving boxes over there each time I go. I really am looking forward to this, so be glad for me, but moving (as most of you probably know) takes time and effort. Kiki, my cat, won't be happy to have to go in the car, but maybe she'll be happy when she realizes the other cat (Sammy is my roommate's cat) won't be living in the same apartment with us. They both grew up as only-cats and resent each other. Sammy and Donna will be moving into a different apartment next week. Here's Kiki among the boxes:

Follow up on "Jim the Boy" ~ now he's 17

2008-11-27T17:03:00.001-05:00

The Blue Star. By Tony Earley. (Little, Brown, $23.99.) The caring, thoughtful hero of Earley’s engrossing first novel, Jim the Boy, is now 17 and confronting not only the eternal turmoil of love, but also venality and the frightening calls of duty and war.

FWD ~ Follow-Up Read

2008-10-30T09:49:00.004-04:00

Because I read The Freedom Writers Diary last year, I didn't read it with the Book Buddies in September. But I had hoped to read Erin Gruwell's memoir Teach With Your Heart: Lessons I Learned From the Freedom Writers instead.

As is more often than not the case in my life at present, I was running behind schedule - so I didn't get to Teach With Your Heart until October. I did want to let those who enjoyed The Freedom Writers Diary know that I enjoyed Teach With Your Heart just as well. It's the same story but more from Gruwell's viewpoint than from the students'. (I've posted a brief review on my book blog.)

Last chance to vote on a year's worth of books

2008-09-30T06:26:00.004-04:00

Voting has been open since the end of August, and you have only one more day to vote. Anyone reading this blog is welcome to vote, so click on your favorites of these twelve ... and also your least favorites in the next poll down the sidebar.

From The Other Side of the Bridge to The Freedom Writers Diary, we've traveled the globe together. Help me remember (in the comments) where we've been.

The Other Side of the Bridge (OSB)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (BSP)
Cold Comfort Farm (CCF)
Pictures of Hollis Woods (PHW)
In Lucia's Eyes (ILE)
People of the Book (POB)
The Camel Bookmobile (CB)
Windfalls (WF)
The Devil in the White City (DWC)
Jim the Boy (JTB)
Suite Française (SF)
The Freedom Writers Diary (FWD)

We have completed a year together, but I think that's enough ... at least for me. I'm sorry, Shirley, but the interest just isn't here. Thanks, Marylyn, for your major effort to make Book Buddies work during August. Thanks to those of you who have read and commented on books we've shared. For now, however, I have decided to devote more time to writing ... and to leading the writers in the Chattanooga region who (foolishly?) try to write the draft of a novel in the 30 days of November. Read about it on Bonnie's NaNoWriMo* 2008 blog.

Essencia Island will continue to be a place for book buddies to talk to each other, so drop by there anytime you want to chat.

Superstar Teachers

2008-09-19T21:09:00.002-04:00

In reading the Freedom Writers, I was quite impressed with the dedication and enthusiasm of the author. She is the teacher everyone would have liked to have had for themselves and their children. Has anyone had or has one of their children had a teacher that made such a difference in the life of themself or their child? I have had some good teachers and mainly mediocre ones which was the experience for my children as well with none being truly outstanding. This is the same way with coaches. I have read stories and seen movies of a coach that makes a difference in the lives of the team, but again none made the mark of the ones in the lives of my children. Of course, if such teachers were the rule rather than the exception, it wouldn't be worth reading a book about her.

October Book

2008-09-19T21:05:00.003-04:00

While visiting on the phone with Bonnie last night about the next month's selection, I suggested that until our group becomes more active again that we just go with the selection that she is reading as part of her face to face book club. For October, they are going to read Profiles in Courage. I read that years ago, but am game to reading it again. How does that sound to the rest of the crew?

FWD ~ Freshman Year

2008-09-04T18:43:00.000-04:00

1. Why do you think Ms. Gruwell refers to the Nazis as the most famous gang in history? Why does this comparison make the students listen to her?

2. Why are the students so unwilling to associate with anyone outside their own ethnic or racial groups? Where does this intolerance come from?

3. Why is trust such an important part of a teacher-student relationship?

4. Respect and trust are not only a problem among the students. Teachers and administrators at Wilson High School don't support Ms. Gruwell's teaching methods. Why do they refuse to trust her?

5. Why are the students so filled with anger at the beginning of the book? Do you think their anger is reasonable?

6. Have you ever kept a diary or journal?

Suite Francaise ~ how far did you get in it?

2008-08-31T20:19:00.004-04:00

Jennifer said, "I am currently enjoying Suite Française but I am only done with the first book so far. I like it cause I don't know much about WWII in France and I like puzzling over people's actions and reactions."

Shirley said, "I am now reading Appendix II of Suite Francaise. I enjoyed the book and it is eerie reading it knowing that it was being written as she was living (and later dying) through this historical time. The Appendices have been enlightening both about the author and the book. It was interesting that one of her notes was that the people like reading about the rich. Maybe that was why she included so many, but she sure doesn't give much respect to them."

You both got further than I did ... the book was overdue at the library and had to be returned. But August was a nice break for me because Marylyn did the work for us this month. Thanks, Marylyn! Is everybuddy ready to move on to the next book?

Voting for MOST and LEAST enjoyable books

2008-08-28T05:03:00.004-04:00

During September 2007, we began to gather ourselves as Book Buddies on this blog. In October 2007, we started reading and discussing books. If you are a current or former Book Buddy, you are invited to vote on the ones you liked MOST and LEAST. If you are a regular ... or even occasional ... reader of our blog, you are also welcome to vote on ones you've read, pro or con.

Please leave a comment on this post about the books, too. Tell us what you did or didn't like about a particular book. Let's see what's been good and bad about this year of plowing through books together.

Oct 2007 ~ The Other Side of the Bridge (OSB) ~ by Mary Lawson
Nov 2007 ~ The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (BSP) ~ by John Boyne
Dec 2007 ~ Cold Comfort Farm (CCF) ~ by Stella Gibbons
Jan 2008 ~ Pictures of Hollis Woods (PHW) ~ by Patricia Reilly Giff
Feb 2008 ~ In Lucia's Eyes (ILE) ~ by Arthur Japin
Mar 2008 ~ People of the Book (POB) ~ by Geraldine Brooks
Apr 2008 ~ The Camel Bookmobile (CB) ~ by Masha Hamilton
May 2008 ~ Windfalls (WF) ~ by Jean Hegland
Jun 2008 ~ The Devil in the White City (DWC) ~ by Erik Larson
Jul 2008 ~ Jim the Boy (JTB) ~ by Tony Earley
Aug 2008 ~ Suite Française (SF) ~ by Irène Némirovsky
Sep 2008 ~ The Freedom Writers Diary (FWD) ~ by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell, 1999

SF-DQ ~ Appendix

2008-08-24T14:58:00.001-04:00

10. Consider Irène Némirovsky’s plan for the next part of Suite Française (in the appendix). What else do you think could happen to the characters?

SF-DQ ~ Dolce (Occupation), Ch 1-22

2008-08-24T14:49:00.004-04:00

6. Suite Française is a unique pair of novels. Which of the two parts of Suite Française do you prefer? Which structural organization did you find more effective: the short chapters and multiple focus of "Storm in June" or the more restricted approach of "Dolce"?

7. The aristocratic Mme de Montmort believed: “What separates or unites people is not their language, their laws, their customs, but the way they hold their knife and fork.” How do the rich, poor, and the middle classes view one another? How do they help or hinder one another? Do the characters identify themselves by class or nationality?

8. Coexisting uneasily with the soldiers billeted among them, the villagers — from aristocrats to shopkeepers to peasants — cope as best they can. Some choose resistance, others collaboration. Each relationship is distorted by the allegiances of war. What happens during a war when someone who might have been your friend is now declared your enemy?

9. The lovers in "Dolce" (the occupation) question whether the needs of the individual or the community should take priority. Lucille imagines that “in five, or ten, or twenty years” this problem will have been replaced by others. To what extent, if at all, has this proved the case?

The Freedom Writers Diary ~ our September book

2008-08-24T13:40:00.009-04:00

Okay, we're one week away from the end of August, so I'm going to make a decision. Shirley is the only one (so far) who has spoken up about my suggestion that we read The Freedom Writers Diary by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell (1999). Shirley's all for it, and I know Alison has read the book and is troubled by the situation of the teacher suspended for a year and a half for distributing the book to her students. Therefore, it's official. This is the book we'll discuss in September.

If you want to know more about Erin Gruwell, the teacher who had her students write diaries, read about her at these places online:

Freedom Writers Foundation

Wikipedia's "Erin Gruwell"

And here are a couple of YouTube videos about the Freedom Writers from the movie:

Getting started
Read an excerpt online
What we said about the book
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Freshman Year
Sophomore Year
Junior Year
Senior Year

My suggestion for September

2008-08-21T03:02:00.006-04:00

I'm really enjoying the book I'm reading now: The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell. Over on my Banned Books blog, we picked up on a controversy swirling around this book ... a teacher in Indiana was suspended from her school for choosing this book for her class to read. Check out these posts from my other blogs by clicking on the links:

Saturday the 16th ~ Let's Talk About It (see sidebar)

Sunday the 17th ~ Alison's review of the book

Tuesday the 19th ~ Book chosen for my Bella Novella book club

Thursday the 21st ~ Teacher suspended for teaching it

The book has been made into a movie starring Hilary Swank, and the husband of the suspended teacher has commented on the first blog post listed above.

Read Ch. 25....Run!!!!!

2008-08-20T01:57:00.004-04:00

Okay, what was the reason to show children that are detached because they were never held & bonded to another human & became sociopaths. That's my analysis. Why kill? What did the author want us to take away with what happened during the war? why would the author include this. It's chilling. The Father's instincts kept telling him to get away from these children/devils. They did not act normal. I read Ch. 25 last night before bed & was so afraid to go to sleep. I kept listening for footsteps. I can't handle this stuff. It's too violent, gory & scary for me. As soon as those boys killed the salamander, lizard, what have you., I knew they got a thrill killing. They wanted to destroy anything that was beautiful. I don't get it. It's just like seeing kids ripping up pretty flowers on private property & throwing them down on the ground. You would think that the kids would be happy to see pretty things. I don't get it. Please help me out here. What did you think of this chapter?