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 Escondido
Reads:
2nd Tuesday Book Club
All meetings are held at 5:30 p.m. at the Main Library.
Please call 760-839-4839 for more information.
Upcoming Meetings:
August 10, 2010
 The
Known World
by Edward P. Jones
Jones's debut novel, The Known World, is a masterpiece of
overlapping plot lines.
Set in Manchester County, Virginia, 20 years before the Civil
War, we encounter time shifts and heartbreaking details of life
under slavery. Life on the Manchester County estate begins to
unravel as the Civil War recedes into history. The Known World
is a complex, beautifully written novel with a large cast of
characters, rewarding the patient reader with unexpected
connections, some reaching into the present day.
September 14, 2010
 Life
as a Sandwich
by Eric Peterson
Peterson, a local author, tells the story of Wallace Noe and his
wife, Hannah. They are card-carrying members of the Sandwich
Generation-squeezed between raising children and looking after
an elderly parent-struggling to make ends meet, and to keep
their marriage together. A reevaluation of his life and career,
starts a chain of events that will shatter the comfortable world
they have all taken for granted.
October 12, 2010
 A
Person of Interest
by Susan Choi
Choi’s protagonist is Professor Lee, an aging Asian-born
mathematics professor with decidedly limited personal skills,
seemingly the last person who might attract the attention of FBI
agents investigating a series of terrorist attacks. However,
when a professor in the office next to Lee’s, an outgoing,
popular hotshot named Rick Hendley, becomes the latest victim of
a technology-hating psychopath known only as the Brain Bomber,
Lee’s detached response to the event and his persistent acts of
social maladroitness lead not only the Bureau but also the
national news media and his own close acquaintances to regard
him with damning suspicion. In this lush, psychologically
insightful novel, the outwardly mundane Professor Lee truly
becomes a person of interest, not only as he relates to the
government’s investigation, but also as a moving study in
isolation and misunderstood emotions.
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
November 2008 No meeting
December 2008
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunnant
January 2008
The House of Mirth by
Edith Wharton
February 2009
Beneath a Marble Sky by
John Shors
March 2009
Little Black Book of Stories
by A.S. Byatt
April 2009
Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
by Maggie O'Farrell
May 2009 River of Doubt by Candace Millard
June 2009
People of the Book by
Geraldine Brooks
August 2009
Angle of Repose
by Wallace Stegner
September 2009
Peace Like a River
by Leif Enger
October 2009
The Lady Elizabeth
by Alison Weir
November 2009
Emperor's Children by
Claire Messud
December 2009
Gravedigger's Daughter
by Joyce Carol Oates
January 2010
Blessings
by Anna Quindlen
February 2010
The
Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee
March 2010
Day
the World Ended at Little Bighorn
by Joseph Marshall III
April 2010
Midnight's Children by
Salman Rushdie
May 2010
Throw
Like a Girl: Stories
by Jean Thompson
June 2010
Still
Alice
by Lisa Genova
July 2010
The
Awakening
by Chopin, Kate
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Speakers
should be brief and share the discussion with
others.
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Share your
viewpoint and expertise.
-
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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