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 Escondido
Reads:
2nd Tuesday Book Club
All meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. in
the Turrentine Room of the Main Library.
Upcoming Meetings:
November 11, 2008 Veterans' Day - no meeting
 December
9, 2008
Birth of Venus by
Sarah Dunant
Turning fifteen in Renaissance Florence, Alessandra Cecchi
becomes intoxicated with the works of a young painter whom her
father has brought to the city to decorate the family's
Florentine palazzo. (Novelist)
January 13, 2009
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Set at the turn of the twentieth century, a young
woman struggles to maintain her integrity in a society based on
greed and vulgarity.
Pulitzer Prize winning author Wharton has us
watch Lily Bart descend the social ladder, changing from a
fashionable decoration at lavish country estates, to a
disheveled outcast living in a shabby hotel, all the while
trying to live up to society’s rigid expectations.
February 10, 2009
Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors
A woman's take
on the famous monument the Taj Mahal, as the emperor's daughter
recalls her part in its construction and her survival through
treachery and war. As Princess Jahanara, now an old woman, tells
the tale of her life to her two granddaughters, we learn about
the people and events that surrounded the building of a most
beautiful monument to a cherished wife.
March 10, 2009
Little Black Book of Stories by A. S. Byatt
From
secret agonies to improper desires and the unthinkable, this
slyly titled collection touches on more than a little bit of
darkness. Booker Prize winning author Byatt masterfully fuses
fantasy with realism in several of these stories, packing a
punch with her sometimes witty, sometimes horrifying
examinations of faith, art and memory.
April 14, 2009
Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
by Maggie O'Farrell
O'Farrell delivers an intricate, eloquent novel of family
malice, longings and betrayal. Iris Lockhart, a young Scottish
woman, is suddenly informed that she has the power of attorney
for her great aunt, Esme Lennox—who Iris never knew existed.
Esme has been locked away in a mental institution for over 60
years and no one in the family had ever revealed Esme's story.
May 12, 2009
River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by
Candice Millard
Teddy Roosevelt spent a harrowing year exploring
the Amazon forest after his defeat at the polls in 1913. The
South American trip almost killed Roosevelt, then in his
fifties, but in the end he and his comrades successfully mapped
the 1000 mile tributary of the Amazon, the River of Doubt. This
exciting work of nonfiction reads like a novel because of its
story of high adventure.
Previous Book Club Titles:
Jun 2006
Vanishing Act by Thomas Perry
Jul 2006
Saturday by Ian McEwan
Aug 2006
The Mistress of Spices by Chitra B.
Divakaruni
Sep 2006
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Oct 2006
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by
Carson McCullers
Nov 2006
History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Dec 2006
The Christmas Train by David
Baldacci
Jan 2007
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Feb 2007
The House on Mango Street by Sandra
Cisneros
Mar 2007
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
Apr 2007
Delta Wedding by
Eudora Welty
May 2007
The Other Boleyn Girl by
Philippa Gregory
Jun 2007
The Alchemist by
Paul Coelho
Jul 2007
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
by Kim Edwards
Aug 2007
Empire Falls
by Richard Russo
Sep 2007
Snow
Flower and the Secret Fan by
Lisa See
Oct 2007
Wonder Boys by
Michael Chabon
Nov 2007
The Namesake by
Jhumpa Lahiri
Dec 2007
A Redbird Christmas
by Fannie Flagg
Jan 2008
Stones for Ibarra by Harriet
Doer
Feb 2008
Eat the Document
by Dana Spiotta
Mar 2008
War Trash by Ha
Jin
Apr 2008
Gilead
by Marilyn Robinson
May 2008
Pretty Birds
by Scott Simon
June 2008
Music of the Mill
by Luis J. Rodriguez
July 2008
Prodigal Summer
by Barbara Kingsolver
August 2008
White Teeth by Zadie
Smith
September 2008
The Double Bind by
Chris Bohjalian
October 2008
Evidence of Things Unseen
by Marianne Wiggins
Book Discussion Tips
FIRST THINGS
FIRST: PREPARE
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Be sure you've allowed yourself time to read the book
and make some notes.
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Know a little about the author's background. You may
want to use some of the author's biographical
information to stimulate the discussion.
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Prepare a list of general and specific questions
to discuss. Six to ten questions should suffice for an
hour-long discussion.
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Increase your background information by reading critical
reviews.
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Have a list of suggested books or resources for further
reading and investigation handy.
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READY, SET, GO!
PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE
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First, find a comfortable setting for your group.
Arrange seating ahead of time so everyone is
comfortable.
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Be sure to introduce yourself and participants to one
another before you begin.
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Before you start the discussion, take care of
housekeeping details: Review and post the Ground Rules
for Discussion (see below) and obtain group buy-in for
group rules.
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Begin by soliciting initial reactions about the book.
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Introduce topics for discussion by asking open-ended
questions: Questions that can be answered "yes" or "no"
will certainly curtail discussion.
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Moderate and facilitate the discussion rather than
lecture or teach.
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Depending on the group, ask general questions to
stimulate thoughts and lead into more specific questions
to provide more depth and insight. You might want to
discuss: author's use of language, character
development, plot development.
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Keep the meeting focused and on topic, but allow for the
free flow of ideas. Encourage participants to refer to
ground rules to help keep the discussion on track.
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Transition or redirect the discussion to new areas by
introducing new questions.
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Ask that comments be backed with specific details and
examples.
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Encourage consensus, but allow room for differing
viewpoints and respectful disagreement. Allow
controversial issues to surface in the discussion.
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Ensure that everyone has a chance to be heard and that
no one person's voice is heard too much.
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Be flexible. Don't expect to get through all the
prepared questions and topics.
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Keep track of time.
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Discussion Ground Rules (Suggested)
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The
discussion is a judgment-free environment: there
are no right or wrong responses in literary
interpretation.
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All opinions
and experiences have equal value.
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Participants
are encouraged to speak up and should not expect
to be called upon.
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Speakers can
respond to what a person before him said.
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No prepared
speeches.
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Listen and
try to understand the other person's point of
view.
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Speakers
should be brief and share the discussion with
others.
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Share your
viewpoint and expertise.
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Disagree
respectfully.
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Comments
should be based on the text.
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ENJOY!
Encourage your group to learn more about the book's time period
or culture.
If you're starting your own book club, check out some of
these links for more ideas on book discussions:
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