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Lunch Time Book Discussion Group|
Join us for this lunch time book discussion group on the fourth Wednesday of every month at 1 p.m. in the library's 2nd floor conference room. We discuss the books we've been reading and share ideas about what to read next. December 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005
These are the books we discussed in October 2005:
During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, two educated boys, among thousands, are exiled to the countryside for "re-education" – where they must live and work as peasants. When they discover a hidden stash of Western classics in Chinese translation their re-education takes a surprising turn, and they share it with the local tailor’s daughter: Little Seamstress. Lucia Acosta: “Super, so awful and absurd that it’s funny.”
Nathan Glass is a retired insurance salesman who is estranged from his family and is "looking for a quiet place to die. Someone recommended Brooklyn." What he gets is a big-hearted borough brimming with characters. Kristin Pehnke: “Great book, well-written and comical.”
Continental Drift by Russell Banks Fed up with his meager life in New Hampshire, Bob Dubois moves his family to Florida and begins illegally smuggling Haitians into the U.S. Vanise, her nephew, and baby are among those Bob smuggles in, and their destinies meet in a shocking twist of events. Catherine Harper: “I like this novel very much. I enjoyed how the stories of the two families alternated.”
Privileged, radical American Hannah Musgrave flees to Liberia after becoming a wanted person for her involvement in the Weather Underground. She marries and has three sons with government minister Woodrow Sundiata, and then switches allegiance to Charles Taylor. Carolyn Barnshaw: “The author is writing with a woman’s voice, and she is more connected to the chimpanzees she cares for than her own sons. This is a bleak, gritty novel.”
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller British-born Fuller tells the story of her childhood in Rhodesia. She lost three siblings to disease while her father fought in the Rhodesian civil war and her mother managed the farm - which they eventually were forced to leave. Barbara Silberstein: “Beautiful descriptions and well-drawn characters make this an excellent memoir to listen to on tape.”
This is the first Gulf War memoir by a frontline infantry marine. Swofford weaves his wartime experiences with vivid accounts of boot camp, reflections on the mythos of the marines, and remembrances of lovers and family. This memoir insists we remember the Americans who were wounded or killed in battle, and sympathize with the continuing difficulties that American soldiers have when reentering civilian life. Bob Keith: “The almost stream of consciousness style where Swofford jumps between the battlefield and times before and after the war is disconcerting.”
The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart Cameron is a twenty-nine-year-old research assistant with no ties except her aging boss. When a letter arrives from childhood best-friend Sonia, ten years after the incident that ended their friendship, Cameron doesn't reply. But when her boss passes away Cameron discovers that he has left her with one final task: to track down Sonia and hand-deliver a mysterious package to her. Kristin Pehnke: “This book is well-written, and I recommend it, but the ending is predictable.”
Based on the diaries of Emily Eden, a 19th-century Englishwoman known for her watercolors of the Indian people, this novel is set in 1836 Calcutta. Eleanor, her sister, cousin, and brother, who has been appointed the new governor-general of the colony of India, have just come from England. Each member of the family adapts to life in India in a different way. Phyllis Suber: “Depicts the subjugation of the Indian people; and Eleanor describes the injustices so clearly.”
A compelling book that describes the cult of the perfect mother, and how mothers who work overcompensate with their children. Warner also explores the pressure mother’s feel to produce perfect children because perfect children mean a perfect mother. Janie Hermann: “Moms aren’t doing their kids a favor by being uptight and stressed.”
The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar The Rabbi's cat begins to speak after swallowing a parakeet, and since he doesn’t always tell the truth the rabbi vows to educate him in the Torah, but first the question of whether a feline can be Jewish must be resolved. When the Rabbi’s daughter falls in love they travel to meet the young man's secular family in Paris; this provides more opportunities for the rabbi and his cat to discuss both the important and petty details of life. Lucia Acosta: “I like how this graphic adult novel addresses the different ways of being Jewish and how different cultures come together for a sweet ending.”
The life of Liza Durbin, New Yorker, mediocre lawyer, is completely overturned when she is suddenly possessed with the genius of composer Franz Schubert. The rewards and perils of genius: concert dates, professional recordings, and uncanny compositions versus problems with family, relationships, and sudden fame keep this chick-lit novel moving. Phyllis Suber: “This was a fascinating book.”
Shortly after WWII, fisherman Carl Heine was found dead off the coast of Washington State. Accused of his murder is fellow fisherman Kabuo Miyomoto, one of the people of Japanese descent on the island. Ishmael Chambers, a local reporter who lost his arm in the Pacific theater, and Kabuo's wife deal with the trial, the legacy of the war and the Japanese relocation camps and racism. Phyllis Suber: “This was a good read, but the author spent too much time on descriptions.”
In this suspenseful novel psychologist Alex Delaware investigates the sadistic double murder of a young couple. A corrupt multimillion-dollar scheme and a celebrity psychologist are part of the twisting plot. Alison Peebles: “I didn’t like the characters in this novel, although I usually enjoy this author.”
Three-Day Road by Joseph Boyden During WWI, two Cree Indians enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces and are sent to the western front as sharpshooters. Jane Brown: “I really liked how this book depicted the Indian way of life in Canada. I’m surprised this book didn’t get more attention in the U.S.”
Victor Maskell, an art historian and scholar in his seventies, is exposed as a Double Agent. This causes him to begin his memoir describing his Irish childhood, his life during WWII, and his cold war spy ring. He recalls his randy, heavy-drinking friend’s exploits, and his own homosexual explorations. Jane Brown: “I’m a spy story lover, and this book was a perfect sleeping aid.”
A historical romance based on the real-life love triangle of Sir William Hamilton, his wife Emma, and Lord Nelson. Hamilton was the English ambassador to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in the late 1700s; he married his nephew's beautiful if vulgar mistress shortly after the early death of his first wife, and although Emma was happy to marry Hamilton she unexpectedly finds real love when heroic Lord Nelson visits Naples. Phyllis Suber: “I liked this novel quite well.”
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Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster 
The Darling by Russell Banks
Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles by Anthony Swofford
One Last Look by Susanna Moore
Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety by Judith Warner
Sleeping with Schubert by Bonnie Marson
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Therapy by Jonathan Kellerman
The Untouchable by John Banville
The Volcano Lover by Susan Sontag 
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