I've put together the discussion sheet for Snow Falling on Cedars since some members thought that it would be helpful to have the discussion questions while reading the book. Copies are available in the library or online at http://technologytrainingwheels.pbworks.com/f/Snow%20Falling%20on%20Cedars.pdf.

At last night's book group, we discussed The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. Our discussion sheet covered a biography of the author, similar books & authors, and questions for the discussion. I did some "lightning" book talks on potential fiction and non-fiction titles for next year's book group and then the group voted on their favorites. The fiction books with the most votes were:
Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan
Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
My Antonia by Willa Cather
World and Town by Gish Jen

Popular non-fiction titles included:
John Adams by David McCullough
Listening is an Act of Love by Dave Isay
The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson

At the next meeting on November 29th, we'll continue our "lightning talks" with 6 additional fiction titles. The book for the next discussion is Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson.

For information about our September 27, 2010 book club discussion, see our Salem Falls discussion sheet. The discussion sheet is in .pdf format. If your computer does not have a .pdf reader, download a free version of Adobe Acrobat at www.adobe.com/products/reader

Here's the schedule for bookgroup from October 2010-January 2011

October 25 THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL Philippa Gregory
RSA Cat link (includes reviews)
BOOK SUMMARY: Two sisters are competing for the greatest prize: the love of a king. When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family’s ambitious plots as the king’s interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands.

November 29 SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS Guterson, David
RSA Cat link (includes reviews)Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award American Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award.BOOK SUMMARY: San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, is a place so isolated that no one who lives there can afford to make enemies. But in 1954 a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, and a Japanese American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with his murder. In the course of the ensuing trial, it becomes clear that what is at stake is more than a man's guilt. For on San Pedro, memory grows as thickly as cedar trees and the fields of ripe strawberries--memories of a charmed love affair between a white boy and the Japanese girl who grew up to become Kabuo's wife; memories of land desired, paid for, and lost. Above all, San Piedro is haunted by the memory of what happened to its Japanese residents during World War II, when an entire community was sent into exile while its neighbors watched.

December NO MEETING – HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2011
January 31 THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA: A NATURAL HISTORY OF FOUR MEALS Pollan, Michael
RSA Cat link (includes reviews)
BOOK SUMMARY: Pollan explores the ecology of eating to unveil why we consume what we consume in the twenty-first century. "What should we have for dinner?" To one degree or another, this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore's dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn't-which mushrooms should be avoided, for example, and which berries we can enjoy. The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. A society of voracious and increasingly confused omnivores, we are just beginning to recognize the profound consequences of the simplest everyday food choices, both for ourselves and for the natural world.

July 26, 2010The Next Thing on My List: A Novel by Jill Smolinski

This Spring our choices for book club are varied and will take us all over the world and into our own history and emotions. Hopefully, there is lots of thought provoking and discussion starting ideas to explore. Happy Reading!

Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places on Earth by Eric Weiner
Part humor, part twisted self-help guide, and part foreign affairs discourse. The Geography of Bless will take us from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author's case, moments "un-unhappiness." This book investigates not what happiness is, but where it is. Are people happier in one part of the world than in another? Eric Weiner answers those questions and more, offering travelers of all moods some interesting new ideas for sunnier destinations and dispositions. We will be discussing the book on April 26, 2010 at 6:30

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Have you had a favorite teacher? Or one that you felt didn't understand you and didn't care? At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large but she doesn't always recognize the changes in those around her. As people around her grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition-its conflicts, its tragedies and joys and the endurance it requires. We will be discussing this book on May 24, 2010 at 6:30. Note the change from our regular last Monday of the month time due to the Memorial Day holiday.

Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg
In this biography, Rick Brag tells an unforgettable tale about fathers and sons inspired by his own relationship wth his ten-year-old stepson. He learns, right from the start, that a man who chases a woman with a child is like a dog who chases a car and wins. He sets out to understand his father, his son, and himself. With candor, insight, tremendous humor, and the remarkable gift for descriptive storytelling on which he made his name, Rick Bragg delivers a brilliant and moving rumination on the lives of boys and men, a poignant reflection on what it means to be a father and a son. We will be reading this book in June, just in time for Father's Day and we'll discuss it on June 28, 2010 at 6:30.

We have been enjoying talking about books together for five years this month. In that time I have made some great friends and really improved my choices in the books I read! As many of us have said, "If I wasn't reading this for group, I probably wouldn't have chosen to read it." And you all know that we have read some great books together. I wonder which of the books have been your favorites and why? How about sharing your choices here on our blog. Here are the books we've read together in the last five years: