National reading group month

  • by Marge, Everett Public Library staff
  • Wednesday, October 2, 2013 11:01am
  • LifeA Reading Life

October is National Reading Group Month and a great time to think about starting a book group, joining one or changing how your current group functions. Tips for Book Groups can help in planning for a new group or in enriching the discussions in your existing group.

The library’s book group collection has sets of good books for discussion that can be checked out with a discussion packet. Browsing the book group titles has just become easier with the library’s new KitKeeper option. Simply go to www.epls.org and click on the box that says Book Group Sets. Titles can be reserved online and you will receive an email confirmation of your reservation and another email when the set is ready for you to pick up.

We will be adding five new titles to the book group collection soon. You might want to consider one of these for your group. I’ve included a brief synopsis of each title and possible ideas for further discussion:

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan Philipp Sendker

When a successful Wall Street attorney disappears, his adult daughter Julia travels to his native Burma (Myanmar) hoping to find him. When she arrives a mysterious man approaches her and begins to tell her a story. He asks if she believes in a love that knows no bounds. She doesn’t know how to answer – is he speaking of romantic love or the love one feels for a child. As the story unfolds she finds out. Discuss the themes of love and death in this book and how Burmese and Western attitudes toward love and death differ. Think about why this particular title was chosen for this book. Consider the ambiguous ending and how Julia will face the future.

The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro

Claire Roth is a struggling artist who agrees to create a copy of a painting at the request of a friend – an act that has serious repercussions for herself and the people she cares about. Discuss the characters in this book and what motivates them. Why does Claire make the decisions she does? What else could she have done? Several other characters also make questionable decisions – what motivates them? Talk about the book’s structure. The author inserts letters from the past throughout the book. What is the author trying to do by inserting these letters? How do they relate to the rest of the story? Do they enhance the story or detract from it?

In Falling Snow by Mary Rose MacColl

Young Australian nurse, Iris Crane travels to France to find her 15-year-old brother who has run away to fight in World War I. Once there she meets a woman who is a doctor and who is setting up a hospital near the front for the war wounded. Iris joins the hospital staff and has a very intense experience for several years. Much later her granddaughter learns the whole truth about what happened in France so long ago. Discuss the life-changing decisions that Iris makes and whether you agreed with her decisions. Could you have done what she did? An issue in this book is the lives and choices of women. Compare the lives and choices of Iris and her granddaughter.

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

An English woman is recruited into the British Secret Service in the 1970s during the Cold War. She is given the assignment of cultivating a novelist who will – it is hoped – write novels with messages the Services thinks are appropriate. This is a book about deception and betrayal. Talk about who is deceived and betrayed. How did you react to the deceptions and betrayals? Consider how the story speaks to the issue of intellectual freedom. Is this topic still relevant today? With the book’s ambiguous ending, reflect on how you wanted the story to end.

The Mirrored World by Debra Dean

In this tale of love and devotion set during the reign of Catherine the Great of Russia, Xenia, a young aristocrat, reacts dramatically to tragedies in her life. Discuss whether Xenia was mad or simply devout. Talk about the significance of the title. Consider reading and discussing Catherine the Great by Robert Massie first as it will expand your understanding of The Mirrored World.

Be sure to visit A Reading Life for more reviews and news of all things happening at the Everett Public Library.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.