On May 10, 2012 at 7:00 PM, the All Good Books group will meet at the Leawood Pioneer Library to discuss American Savior by Roland Merullo. The publisher’s blurb reads:
What if Jesus suddenly appeared and announced that he planned to run for President of the United States? Yes, that Jesus. And what if a well-meaning but utterly inexperienced band of disciples not only helped him mount a seat-of-the-pants campaign but also ran it well, getting millions of people to support him and in the process throwing the other two major party candidates-as well as the world’s news media-into a frenzy as they scramble to discredit him? Roland Merullo’s bitingly clever satirical novel about the state of American politics follows one man’s campaign to bring back goodness and kindness ( real goodness and kindness this time) in a country that has fallen into a divisive state of fear and hatred. Merullo takes us into the heart of “a nation in grave spiritual danger” as the Son of man sets out to make everyone realize that “politics as usual” is no longer an acceptable alternative. American Savior is a remarkably innovative novel that challenges our perceptions and beliefs while it wags a finger at the folly of our self-righteousness. It is sure to cause controversy among those for whom politics itself has become a kind of religion.
You might be interested in knowing that Candice Millard, New York Times best-selling author, will be signing books at the Great Day Cafe on April 20, 2012 from 7-9 PM. Candice won’t be selling books, only signing them. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet the author of River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic (the All Good Books club will read this book later in the year). If you haven’t read the books, you’re in for a real treat. If you’re in a book club, please share this event. If you’re not in a book club, please share this event.
Here’s a link to Candice Miller’s web site. You can read reviews and watch a compelling video of her most recent book: http://www.candicemillard.com.
The next meeting of the All Good Books group will be held on Thursday, March 8, 2012 at the Leawood Pioneer Library (in the meeting room) starting at 7:00 PM. The group will discuss “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins.
“The Hunger Games” movie based on the book will be released on March 23, 2012 (see http://www.thehungergamesmovie.com). You might find the following quote from Booklist (Starred Reviews) provocative:
“…readers will instinctively understand what Katniss (the main character in the Hunger Games Trilogy) knows in her soul, that war mixes all the slogans and justifications, the deceptions and plans, the causes and ideals into an unsavory stew whose taste brings madness. That there is still a human spirit that yearns for good is the book’s primrose of hope.”
A few questions came to mind as I read the book. We can discuss these at the meeting in March, if the group is interested in doing so. I’ve read all three books in the series, but think any of these questions could be discussed even if you’ve only read book one in the trilogy.
Why do you think the book and the games are called “The Hunger Games?”
“Bread and circuses” (summarized from Wikipedia) is a noun that refers to “Things intended to keep people happy and to divert their attention from problems.” The origin of the term is a translation of the Latin term “Panem or Panis (bread) et (and) circenses (circuses).” The term originated in the satires of the Roman poet Juvenal (c. 60-140). Circus refers to the circus games, such as the chariot races held in Roman times. The term is frequently translated into other languages; for instance, in Spanish, it is pan y toros (bread and bullfights). By the way, the “land” in which the games transpire is called Panem, so the author had the concept clearly in mind. Why do you think the Hunger Games are referred to as bread and circuses? Do we have examples of this concept in today’s society?
Many members of our book club are associated with the Community of Christ, a peace church. If the Hunger Games were a reality in our world, how would you (as a member of a church dedicated to promoting peace) participate (or not) as a combatant or spectator in the games?
Are the Hunger Games much different than modern warfare? Have we (in the U.S.) ever had a similar “arrangement” where a select group was “designated” to fight our wars?
What do you consider the most thought provoking concept or event in the book? Did the book cause you to rethink a personal belief or position?
This is a very popular series among young readers. It’s a young adult novel translated into 26 different languages with 2.9 million copies in print. It is a New York Times best seller having been on that list for over 100 weeks. The Hunger Games is also only the sixth ebook to sell over a million copies in the Amazon Kindle Store. Do you think it is a good book for teen readers or pre-teen readers, based on its theme and violence?
This Thursday, February 9, 2012, the All Good Books group will meet to discuss Jodi Picoult’s book “Sing You Home” at the Community of Christ church at the corner of 79th Street and Mission Road in Prairie Village, Kansas (7842 Mission Road). We’ll meet in the church Library at 7 PM. Here are some question and ideas that may generate some discussion for Thursday night.
What one thing did you learn from reading “Sing You Home?”
Why is the book titled “Sing You Home?”
Is the author’s depiction of the gay lifestyle fair or biased? Do you think the depiction of conservative Christianity in the book is fair and accurate?
Vanessa mentally ponders what it’s like to be gay and encounter prejudice (pages 94-95). What, if anything, did you learn from her reflections?
Vanessa and Zoe discuss the “homosexual agenda” on page 131 (hardcover edition). From Wikipedia the Homosexual agenda(or gay agenda) is described as:“a term used by some conservatives in the United States to describe the advocacy of cultural acceptance and normalization of non-heterosexual orientations and relationships. The term is applied to efforts to change government policies and laws on LGBT issues (e.g., same-sex marriage, LGBT adoption, recognizing sexual orientation as a civil rights minority classification, LGBT military participation, inclusion of LGBT history and themes in public education), as well as non-governmental campaigns and individual actions that increase visibility and cultural acceptance of LGBT people, relationships, and identities. The term has also been used by social conservatives to describe supposed goals of LGBT rights activists for which they themselves have never advocated, such as ‘recruiting’ heterosexuals into ‘the homosexual lifestyle’.”What are your thoughts on the existence of a gay agenda and its objectives?
Wikipedia defines a mix tape as “a compilation of songs recorded in a specific order….” The mix tape can be on any media including cassette tape or CD. On page 134-136, Zoe asks, “What songs would be on a mix tape that describes you?” How would you answer that question? Do you have a mix tape?
What was your reaction to Vanessa’s cautionary tale about Bazooka gum and the X-ray glasses (page 154-155)? Have you had a similar experience?
What’s the message behind the dead man on the train story (page 163-164)? Why did the author include it?
Before reading the book, were you aware of the Jewish tradition of having the groom smash a wine glass at the end of the wedding ceremony? Did you know why that act is incorporated into the ceremony?
In numerous passages the novel discusses marriage. Did the book make you rethink marriage in anyway? For instance, Zoe describes her marriage to Vanessa as “every day is a negotiation” (page 204). Is that a good thing in a marriage or a bad thing? Zoe on page 237 says, “there is a difference between mending someone who’s broken and finding someone who makes you complete.” Do you agree? Is marriage one or the other or both?
Zoe questions whether Pastor Clive “has ever considered what Jesus would think of his tactics” in the last paragraph on page 211. Is the description of Jesus in that paragraph accurate? Would Jesus condone the efforts of Pastor Clive and his church?
The novel presents the conservative Christian (biblical) basis for its anti-gay stance. Were you aware of the scriptures mentioned? That is, Romans 1:26-27 (page 256), and additional references (Romans 1:26-27, I Corinthians 6:9-10) on pages 342-343. Were you aware of the scriptures mentioned by Angela in her defense of Zoe and Vanessa? That is, Mark 10:1-12 (divorce), Deuteronomy 25:11-12 (fighting), Deuteronomy 22:20-21 (virginity) on pages 387-388. How do you reconcile or view these biblically based arguments by both sides in the debate?
Here are a few questions that occurred to me during the reading of Sarah’s Key. Maybe they’ll generate some additional questions and discussion at our meeting this Thursday.
If every author has a moral or message to convey, what would you identify as the primary message(s) of the Sarah’s Key?
Do you believe the situation described in Sarah’s Key could ever occur in the United States? To your knowledge, has anything similar happened in the U.S.?
Why are the French called Frogs?
Why do you think the author “scheduled” Julie to have her “operation” on the anniversary of Vel’ d’Hiv? What’s the message, if there is one? Are there parallels between the events of July 16, 1942 and July 16, 2002 in Julia’s life? Did the text describing Julia on that morning strike you with its double meaning? “I could only lie there in my paper dress and paper hat, and wait. Wait to be wheeled into the operating room. Wait to be put to sleep.”
What was Sarah’s key and did it have a meaning other than the physical key?
Throughout the book, Julia discovers small plaques about Rafle du Vel’ d’Hiv, but the French citizens seem largely unaware of the story. How familiar were you with the “Roundup” in Paris, before reading Sarah’s Key? How familiar are you with memorials and historical plaques in your geographical area?
By the end of the book, what happened to Sarah? Did you anticipate that ending? How did you react? If you were in “Sarah’s shoes,” do you think you would have chosen the same path?
Were you happy with the ending of the book? Or was it contrived or anticipated?
Is the retelling of the story of Sarah’s Key necessary? Important? Or has the story been told so many times, it’s meaning is lost?
Do you see any problem with the Tezacs moving into the apartment vacated by Sarah’s family? Knowing what happened 60+ years earlier, would you live in the remodeled apartment? Did Edouard owe Sarah’s descendants anything?
Genevieve Dufaure wrote, “This is no longer the France I knew when I was a little girl. This is another France that I don’t recognize. I am old now, and I know my days are numbered. But Sarah, Gaspard, and Nicholas are still young. They will have to live in this new France. I pity them, and I fear what lies ahead.” Do you find yourself ever echoing those sentiments about the United States? Does every generation lament the changes they see over a lifetime?
I’m looking forward to seeing you all at 7 PM on January 12, 2012 at the Leawood Pioneer Library, Leawood, Kansas to discuss Sarah’s Key.
[UPDATED] We talked about the following books as possible additions to our reading schedule for 2012. At our November 2011 meeting we decided to add more books to our schedule using a survey. Below are the books that have been suggested. I have added a few books from other lists of the best novels of 2011 posted by the NY Times (see http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/books/10-best-books-of-2011.html) and Amazon.com. For these books, I’ve listed the descriptions from the respective list.
By the way, we also added Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult as the book to discuss at our Thursday, February 9, 2012.
Our next meeting will be on January 12, 2012 at 7 PM at the Leawood Pioneer Library, Leawood, KS. We’ll discuss Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
11/22/63 by Stephen King. Throughout his career, King has explored fresh ways to blend the ordinary and the supernatural. His new novel imagines a time portal in a Maine diner that lets an English teacher go back to 1958 in an effort to stop Lee Harvey Oswald and — rewardingly for readers — also allows King to reflect on questions of memory, fate and free will as he richly evokes midcentury America. The past guards its secrets, this novel reminds us, and the horror behind the quotidian is time itself.
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson. Every day Christine wakes up not knowing where she is. Her memories disappear every time she falls asleep, and her husband Ben is a stranger to her. Thriller writer Dennis Lehane said of this electrifying debut, “It left my nerves jangling for hours after I finished the last page.”
Heaven is For Real : A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3xItrGOi6Q (Today Show).
The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht. As war returns to the Balkans, a young doctor inflects her grandfather’s folk tales with stories of her own coming of age, creating a vibrant collage of historical testimony that has neither date nor dateline. Obreht, who was born in Belgrade in 1985 but left at the age of 7, has recreated, with startling immediacy and presence, a conflict she herself did not experience.
The Woman in the Dunes by Kōbō Abe, see http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9998.The_Woman_in_the_Dunes. One of the premier Japanese novels of the twentieth century, The Women in the Dunes combines the essence of myth, suspense, and the existential novel. In a remote seaside village, Niki Jumpei, a teacher and amateur entomologist, is held captive with a young woman at the bottom of a vast sand pit where, Sisyphus-like, they are pressed into shoveling off the ever-advancing sand dunes that threaten the village
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Notes: some of the suggested books were listed at the back of Breakfast with Buddha. There are a few books listed that might be interesting to read such as American Savior by Merullo, Saving the World by Julia Alvarez and An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England by Brocke Clarke. All of these are fiction.
Jane Stock then emailed me the following recommendations:
I have long wanted to read your Julia Alvarez book Saving the World that you mentioned below. I used to teach her Butterfliesbook at Sumner in my AP class and at KCKCC in a Latino Lit course. The one you mentioned is one I think sounds really good. I have read The Arsonist’s Guideat the suggestion of one of my friends whose opinions I usually agree with. It is interestingly eccentric at first, but seemed to get increasingly bizarre as it continues to the point where I felt that overall I hadn’t truly felt rewarded for all of the time I put into it. That’s just my opinion, however. [Note: I dropped it from the list based on Jane's comment.]
I know you all may not want a suggestion from a hidden person in the wings, but a book that is high on my list to read is Jeffrey Eugenides The Marriage Plot (a review follows):
Eugenides’s first novel since 2002′s Pulitzer Prize-winning Middlesexso impressively, ambitiously breaks the mold of its predecessor that it calls for the founding of a new prize to recognize its success both as a novel–and as a Jeffrey Eugenides novel. Importantly but unobtrusively set in the early 1980s, this is the tale of Madeleine Hanna, recent Brown University English grad, and her admirer Mitchell Grammaticus, who opts out of Divinity School to walk the earth as an ersatz pilgrim. Madeleine is equally caught up, both with the postmodern vogue (Derrida, Barthes)–conflicting with her love of James, Austen, and Salinger–and with the brilliant Leonard Bankhead, whom she met in semiotics class and whose fits of manic depression jeopardize his suitability as a marriage prospect. Meanwhile, Mitchell winds up in Calcutta working with Mother Theresa’s volunteers, still dreaming of Madeleine. In capturing the heady spirit of youthful intellect on the verge, Eugenides revives the coming-of-age novel for a new generation The book’s fidelity to its young heroes and to a superb supporting cast of enigmatic professors, feminist theorists, neo-Victorians, and concerned mothers, and all of their evolving investment in ideas and ideals is such that the central argument of the book is also its solution: the old stories may be best after all, but there are always new ways to complicate them—Publisher’s Weekly
As I read Breakfast with Buddha byRoland Merullo, I kept running into questions I hope to remember to bring up at the book club meeting. To reinforce my forgetful brain, here are the questions I have asked myself. Maybe you have an answer?
By the way, Rinpoche is “(in Tibetan Buddhism) an incarnate lama or highly respected religious teacher (often used as an honorific title).”
How did your parents show affection for you? Do you show it differently to your children? Why?
Why is Otto so angry?
When observing Amish and Mennonite farmers and their neat farms, Otto ponders the thought, “Would it (their sacrifice) earn them minds as clear as drinking water completely free of sidewalk grit? After they died would there be a special place reserved for them above the clouds, God smiling on them with a special affection…? And if so, what would be reserved for ordinary good folks…who’d given up nothing, but who’d done little harm and a fair amount of good in our years on earth? Was it all just a game, the winners being those who give up the most?” How do you respond to Otto’s reflection?
Otto talks about “the way you love a wife of many years” and ends with “”there is a part of her you do not know.” Say it isn’t true!
Why so much anger in America?
Who made better use of the hour before dinner, Rinpoche meditating or Otto flipping thru channels? Which would you normally do if left alone?
If you defined religion very broadly (e.g. football for Notre Dame as Otto suggested), what would your religion be?
Even as Otto mocks spirituality or Rinpoche’s way of thinking because it threatens him, what ideas do you mock? Any?
Is there an invisible barrier, such as Rinpoche describes in “his book” (The Greatest Pleasure) within the novel, that prevents you (and me) from the next spiritual level (refers to the story of the young man learning to play the piano)?
Any thoughts on the episode when Otto and Rinpoche go bowling? Does that really ever happen or is it just in novels and movies?
What did Buddha’s deathbed statement to his followers mean when he said “Work our your own salvation with diligence?”
How comfortable are you with Rinpoche’s view of Jesus Christ vs. the angry nun’s?
Any comments on the contrast between the Yanquis (Yankees) and the Mexicans that Otto encountered on his honeymoon? That is, “superiority” vs. “the world is enormous and mysterious?”
Why would a bar have a sign saying “Notre Dame Stop Importing Crime, Drugs, and Homelessness for Money?”
At the end of their Mexican honeymoon, what did Jeanne mean when she said, “No one runs away from anything here?”
Anyone want to talk about sex? Paraphrasing Otto’s mental journey, he asks, “Why was it always the middle-aged and old people, their sexual urges barely a shadow of what they had once been, their own guilt and regrets ballooning as they aged, who insisted on telling the young to abstain?”
Do you agree that as we eliminate “dirt from within the glass” (sex, food, anger, violence, greed) we simply add more “dirt” to the glass (pride)?
Any comments on the Buddhist prayer that begins, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought?”
Have you ever engaged in “people watching?” What have you observed contrasted to Otto and Rinpoche in their visit to downtown Chicago?
What does the engineering feat of changing the direction of flow of the Chicago River say about our approach to solving problems in this country? Anything?
What did you learn from Otto’s first yoga experience?
Have you ever tried abstinence to enhance an experience or pleasure? Would you consider fasting an abstinence to enhance worship or spirituality? Do you practice fasting?
What is the “blue space?” Have you ever been in the “blue space?” What’s it’s purpose? Does it need one?
Rinpoche says “Do not force information into your mind….you think too much it pushes you from God.” What do you make of that statement?
What’s your contract with God? Anything similar to “Don’t do anything evil during the week, go to church on Sunday, God will take care of the rest. Yoga classes optional?”
Why do you think the Duluth professor was so antagonistic and combative to Rinpoche?
If our armor is made of smartness or fear or anger or quiet or being nice or talking as Rinpoche suggests; what is your armor?
Do you agree or disagree (or both) with Rinpoche’s views about terrorism and this world?
Consider the “quiet space” that Rinpoche says some people have available in order to chose. Do you believe that some people do not have access to such a “quiet space?”
Do you agree that “inside the big world that you cannot control, you have the small world of you that you can control?” Is that the only answer to hunger, poverty, violence, terror and fear?
Rinpoche talks about God’s music as the love that moves everything, water, stone and air. Is that poetic license? Do you believe it?
How do you react now when you hear or read the words “bohling,” “meditation wife,” and “furniture golf?” What images and thoughts do they conjure up for you?
What were your thoughts and how were you effected when Otto and Cecelia with Rinpoche pass the spot where Ronald and Matilda Ringling died? Any reaction?
Have you ever felt the “subversion of time…the delusion of youth…that you believe you’d never reach middle age…the delusion of middle age…(that) you could go on more or less indefinitely the way things were?” What stage are you in now? How do you think you’ll face death? Like Otto’s Grandma May…or?
Ultimately, what is the message of the book? Has it changed you?
Finally, were you uncomfortable with the novel’s conclusion? What was your intellectual, emotional and spiritual reaction?
Don’t forget to join us on Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 7 PM (at the Leawood Pioneer Library) to discuss Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo. Merullo is “the critically acclaimed author of seven books, including the Revere Beach Trilogy, three novels about growing up in a tight-knit community outside Boston, and Golfing with God, a novel about a man’s unexpected spiritual journey. He lives with his wife and two daughters in eastern Massachusetts. (From the publisher.)”
I ran across a few questions at http://www.litlovers.com in their reading guide for Breakfast with Buddha. Here they are:
The big question, of course, is what does Otto Ringling come to learn—what are the spiritual insights he gains—and when does he begin to learn things? What’s the turning point? How is his life changed by this spiritual journey?
Talk about the book’s humor.
Pick out several passages which you found profound…which made you sit up and take notice…and discuss them.
Last Sunday, we held a discussion at the Community of Christ church (7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS) on the book/movie The Help. The All Good Books group read that book last year and discussed it at one of our book club meetings.
The discussion went well last Sunday, but we only scratched the surface, so we’ll continue the discussion at 9:30 AM this coming Sunday (September 18, 2011) in the Church Library. Come and join us.
Some of the questions I prepared to generate discussion are listed below. Come prepared to discuss these questions or anything else related to The Help.
In your view, what is the most important theme or message of the novel?
Who is your favorite character and why?
Should a person’s flaws (such as racist attitudes and actions) be excused because of community norms or the times in which they lived? Do you think the characters like Miss Hilly, Miss Elizabeth and Skeeter’s Mother (Charlotte Phelan) were consciously aware of their racism? Does our society, our community or church support a corresponding conscious or unconscious bigotry or intolerances today?
Do the novel and the movie reinforce stereotypes about the civil rights movement, the South and racism?
Are the relationships between people of color and white Americans significantly different today in your community compared to the historical time period of The Help (1960s)?
Why, in the novel, do white children raised and loved by Black maids grow up to become Miss Hilly? Will Mae Mobley follow the same pattern when she reaches adulthood?
What was your favorite scene in the novel? Did you underlined passages to remember or re-read?
In the movie (but not the book) Skeeter’s Mother, Charlotte Phelan, says “Courage sometimes skips a generation.” Do you agree? What’s the basis for your belief and Charlotte’s statement?
Elaine Stein (Skeeter’s editor) encourages Skeeter to “…get going. Before this civil rights thing blows over.” How did you react to that statement?
Miss Hilly is quoted by Pascagoula as saying “That a true Christian don’t give charity to those who is well and able. Say it’s kinder to let them learn to work things out theyselves.” Do you agree? Does your belief apply to those who are on welfare, food stamps, extended unemployment benefits or Medicaid?
In the movie one of the Black maids is quoted as saying “courage isn’t just about being brave.” What do you think was meant?
The All Good Books discussion group will meet on Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 7 PM at the Leawood Pioneer Library (just North of Town Center Mall) to discuss Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. Plan to join us!
