Next Meeting’s Discussion: The Lost and Found Bookshop

The All Good Books club will meet in person (at 7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS) and online using the Zoom weblink https://tinyurl.com/AllGoodBooks-Wiggins

At 7:00 PM, on Thursday, January 17, 2022, the book club will discuss The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs. Jonathan Bacon will facilitate the discussion.

The publisher describes the book this way:

Somewhere in the vast Library of the Universe, as Natalie thought of it, there was a book that embodied exactly the things she was worried about.

In the wake of a shocking tragedy, Natalie Harper inherits her mother’s charming but financially strapped bookshop in San Francisco. She also becomes caretaker for her ailing grandfather Andrew, her only living relative—not counting her scoundrel father.

But the gruff, deeply kind Andrew has begun displaying signs of decline. Natalie thinks it’s best to move him to an assisted living facility to ensure the care he needs. To pay for it, she plans to close the bookstore and sell the derelict but valuable building on historic Perdita Street, which is in need of constant fixing. There’s only one problem–Grandpa Andrew owns the building and refuses to sell. Natalie adores her grandfather; she’ll do whatever it takes to make his final years happy. Besides, she loves the store and its books provide welcome solace for her overwhelming grief.

After she moves into the small studio apartment above the shop, Natalie carries out her grandfather’s request and hires contractor Peach Gallagher to do the necessary and ongoing repairs. His young daughter, Dorothy, also becomes a regular at the store, and she and Natalie begin reading together while Peach works.

To Natalie’s surprise, her sorrow begins to dissipate as her life becomes an unexpected journey of new connections, discoveries, and revelations, from unearthing artifacts hidden in the bookshop’s walls to discovering the truth about her family, her future, and her own heart.

Here are questions suggested by the publisher and borrowed from LitLovers (https://www.litlovers.com/):

1. After her mother dies, Natalie reflects: “No one knew what to say to people facing grief so big and shocking. Natalie wouldn’t know, either.” Is there a right thing to say in these moments? What would you do if Natalie were your friend?
2. “There was a book for everything. Somewhere in the vast Library of the Universe, as Natalie thought of it, her mom could find a book that embodied exactly the things Natalie was worried about.” Which books have helped you overcome difficult moments, or been a cure for your worries, or caused a revelation in your life? How do books help the different characters in this novel?
3. At Blythe’s funeral, her friend Frieda reads a passage from the children’s book Charlotte’s Web. If you could have any book be part of your memorial service, what would it be?
4. Natalie tells her mother that her schoolmates’ reaction to her non-traditional family—a single mother, grandfather, and grandfather’s Chinese girlfriend—makes her feel like a”freak.” How did growing up in this non-traditional family shape Natalie? How did being raised by a single father shape her mother Blythe’s life? What about Peach and Dorothy?
5. When Natalie finds out that her mother had taken a DNA test she thinks to herself: “Who were her ancestors? Oftentimes throughout her life, she’d felt like a stranger to herself. Was that the reason?” Does learning more about her family history—though the DNA test and other ways—help Natalie or Grandy Andrew? Do you know anyone who has had a similar experience uncovering their family history, either by DNA tests or more traditional methods?
6. Blythe finds running the bookstore “a grand adventure” but Natalie’s corporate work at the winery: “…was the opposite of a grand adventure. But then she would remind herself about the steady salary, the benefits, and the pension plan, and decide it was all worthwhile. Stability had its price.” Are you more of a Blythe or a Natalie in your approach to work? Does Natalie ultimately change her mind and come to accept the “grand adventure” of being a bookstore owner?
7. “Your mother used to say you’ll never be happy with what you want until you can be happy with what you’ve got,” Cleo tells Natalie. Do you agree? What does Susan Wiggs say about happiness throughout this novel? What does it mean that Grandy Andrew’s book about his life is called “A Brief History of Happiness?”
8. When they find the military medal hidden in the store’s walls, Grandy insists that they return it to the owner’s heirs despite their shaky financial situation: “After learning of its value, Andrew had toyed for the briefest of moments with the notion of selling it. But there was no profit in keeping something that rightfully belonged to someone else.”Would you have done the same?
9. When Trevor confesses the truth about his background to Natalie, admitting that he’s a”fraud” and a “hoax,” she tells him “For what it’s worth, it wouldn’t have mattered…I love what you’ve done with your life. You turned it into something really beautiful.” Would you have responded the same way? What did you think about Trevor once his deceptions had been revealed?
10. At the end of the novel, Susan Wiggs gives us an update on the characters’ lives. What do you think the future holds for Natalie and Peach? For Grandy Andrew? For the Lost and Found Bookstore itself?
11. Do you have a favorite local bookstore? What do you love about it?
    (Questions issued by the publishers.)
12. WHAT IS IT ABOUT BOOKSTORES? Why do you think so many authors use them as settings for their novels?

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November’s Book Club Discussion

The All Good Books club will meet in person (at 7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS) and online using the Zoom weblink http://tiny.cc/Lui-Enough

At 7:00 PM, on Thursday, November 17, 2022, the book club will discuss Enough About Me by Richard Lui, Jonathan Bacon will facilitate the discussion.

What if your path to a more successful, healthy, and satisfying life is actually not about you? Enough About Me equips you with practical tools to find meaning and compassion in even the smallest of everyday choices.

When his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Richard Lui made a tough decision. The award-winning news anchor decided to set aside his growing career to care for his family. At first, this new caregiving lifestyle did not come easily for Lui, and what followed was a seven-year exercise in what it really means to be selfless.

Enough About Me also takes a behind-the-scenes look at some of the world’s most difficult moments from a journalist’s point of view. From survivors of terrorist attacks to victims of racial strife, Lui shares the lessons he learned from those who rose above the fray to be helpful, self-sacrificing, and generous in the face of monumental tragedy and loss.

Lui shares practical tips, tools, and mnemonics learned along the way to help shift the way we think and live.

December: No book club, December Break

In 2024, one of the first books we’ll discuss is The Lost and Found Book Shop by Susan Wiggs.

Read About “The Duchess”

The All Good Books group will meet on Thursday, August 18, 2022, at 7:00 PM to discuss The Duchess by Wendy Holden. The meeting will also be accessible on Zoom using this web link: https://tinyurl.com/AllGoodBooksDuchess

Eloise Snider will facilitate the discussion and all are welcome.

Here’s the Publisher’s summary of the historical novel:

It was a love so strong, a king renounced his kingdom—all for that woman. Or was she just an escape route for a monarch who never wanted to rule? Bestselling author Wendy Holden takes an intimate look at one of the most notorious scandals of the 20th century.

1928. A middle-aged foreigner comes to London with average looks, no money and no connections. Wallis’s first months in the city are lonely, dull and depressing. With no friends of her own she follows the glamorous set in magazines and goes to watch society weddings. Her stuffy husband Ernest’s idea of fun, meanwhile, is touring historic monuments.

When an unexpected encounter leads to a house party with the Prince of Wales, Wallis’s star begins to rise. Her secret weapon is her American pep and honesty. For the prince she is a breath of fresh air. As her friendship with him grows, their relationship deepens into love. Wallis is plunged into a world of unimaginable luxury and privilege, enjoying weekends together at his private palace on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Wallis knows the fun and excitement can’t last. The prince will have to marry and she will return to Ernest. The sudden death of George V seems to make this inevitable; the Prince of Wales is now King Edward VIII. When, to her shock and amazement, he refuses to give her up–or recognize that they are facing impossible odds–her fairy tale becomes a nightmare. The royal family close ranks to shut her out and Ernest gives an ultimatum.

Wallis finds herself trapped when Edward insists on abdicating his throne. She can’t escape the overwhelming public outrage and villainized, she becomes the woman everyone blames—the face of the most dramatic royal scandal of the twentieth century.

Keeper of Lost Things Discussion Questions

The All Good Books discussion group will meet this Thursday, August 20, 2020 on Zoom at 7 PM. We’ll discuss Ruth Hogan’s “The Keeper of Lost Things: A Novel.”

The main characters in the novel include:

Anthony Peardew: Owner of Padua and the Keeper of lost things; 68 when he interviewed Laura (several years ago).

Laura: Housekeeper at Padua, interviewed with Anthony on her 35th birthday.

Vince: unfaithful ex-husband of Laura, she met him when she was seventeen. Called himself Vince the Invincible.

Theresa: The love of Anthony’s life, deceased.

Charles Bramwell Brockley: cremation remains found in Huntley & Palmers biscuit tin

Freddy, the gardener. He had started working at Padua a couple of years prior to Laura. He was tall and dark, but not so handsome as to be a cliché. “faint scar which ran vertically between his nose and top lip.”

Felicity: Freddy’s apparent girlfriend.

Eunice: Responded to an ad to work for a publisher in May, 1974.

Bomber: Publisher and rescuer of Douglas, a crippled dog after being hit by a car.

Douglas: “small tan-and-white terrier with one ear at half-mast and a brown patch over his left eye.”

Portia: Bomber’s odious sister, wants Bomber to publish her book.

Godfrey and Grace: Bomber and Portia’s parents.

Sunshine: Laura’s new friend, age 19.

Stan and Stella, Sunshine’s parents.

The questions listed at the end of the novel include the first ten listed below with additional possible discussion questions following.

1. “When Laura is hired by Anthony Peardew on her thirty-fifth birthday, she thinks the job “had been the perfect present, and the beginning of hope.” What does Anthony see in Laura? Why are she and Padua perfect for one another? Is Laura in some way one of Anthony’s lost things?
2. What do you make of Eunice and Bomber’s relationship? Were you disappointed to discover that it would never be romantic?
3. Anthony reflects that “he could not regret his life without Therese. . . . To give up when she had died would have been the greatest wrong; to throw away the gift that had been snatched from her would have been an act of appalling ingratitude and cowardice.” How does that square with his solitary life, surrounded by his lost things? Is Anthony truly living without her, or is he merely existing? What do you think he would say?
4. Even her parents and brother seem to find Portia’s company almost intolerable. Is she in any way a sympathetic character? Does Portia evolve over the course of the novel?
5. When she handles Anthony’s lost things, Sunshine seems to know their stories, saying, “I can feel it. I don’t think it in my head, I just feel it.” Why do you think that is? What other aspects of this story seemed touched with the magical or otherworldly?
6. Why does Laura seem so reluctant to commit to her romance with Freddy? What was the turning point for her?
7. What finally quiets Therese’s mischievous ghost? Was she trying to teach a lesson to the living, or did she require their help in order to find peace at last?
8. Did Eunice do the right thing when she opened the windows of Bomber’s room? What would you have done if you were her?
9. Which of the stories of the lost things was your favorite? Have you ever discovered a lost thing and tried to discover its owner or learn more about it?
10. What do you think happens to the characters in this novel after it ends? What comes next in the lives of Laura, Freddy, Sunshine, and Eunice?
11. Laura refers to “The Truth Fairy had a very suspicious nature.” Who was the Truth Fairy?
12. What did Eunice find when she left her interview with Bomber? What’s it’s significance to the story?
13. What’s the story behind the lost blue-sky puzzle piece?
14. Bomber felt that “the wonderful thing about books was that they were films that played inside your head.” Do you agree? Is that always the case? Have you ever read a book then watched the movie adaption and been satisfied with both?
15. Eunice feels sad that “the best day of her life so far had been the last day of someone else’s, and all that had separated them had been a few feet of tarmac.” What happened? Theoretically, we all know that is possible, but has it ever happened to you?
16. The term codswallop is used several times throughout the book. What does it mean? Did you have to look it up? What’s a Ming-Mong? What’s a Dancing Drome? How do those terms appear in the novel? Were there other terms in the novel that you looked up?
17. What had Anthony lost and why was it important? Have you ever had a similar loss? Describe it.
18. At a point in the story, Theresa’s photo always appears face down. Why? When Laura replaces it in its upright position, she says “I hope to God you find each other,” and then wonders “to herself if that counted as a prayer.” What counts as a prayer? Who is the “each other” she refers to?
19. Why do you think the clock always stops at 11:55 pm? If it’s a windup clock, shouldn’t the stopping time vary?
20. Sunshine frequently refers to Anthony as St. Anthony. Who was St. Anthony and where did he come from? Did you look it up while reading the novel? Are you familiar with the Miracle Prayer to St Anthony? How does it relate to the novel’s plot?
21. What image did you initially form of Sunshine? Was that image changed during the marriage/burial service (where she spoke during the scattering of the ashes ceremony)?
22. Did it register that the author frequently uses alliteration in the novel? Did you find that fascinating or distracting? Too much or it didn’t even register with you?
23. One reviewer writes, “Bomber’s sister Portia’s never-ending homages to the classics of literature are side-splitting.” Do you agree?
24. The phrase “Where reason fails, chimera flourishes” appears in the novel. What do you think that means? How does it apply to the plot?
25. Several of the stories of the lost items are related in the novel. Did you assume they would all tie in at some point? Did they? Were you disappointed with any of the lost object stories? Which stories “stuck” with you? Which of the characters within the novel wrote the stories behind the lost objects?
26. Movies play a role in the novel. How? Did that add a level of meaning for you? Were you familiar with any of the movies mentioned? Which ones?
27. What happens at the conclusion of the novel? Were you satisfied or dissatisfied with the ending? Why?
28. Would you recommend “The Keeper of Lost Things” to a friend with similar literary interests? Would you like to read another Ruth Hogan book?

Thursday’s Discussion: Love Song of Queenie Hennessy

The All Good Books group will meet using Zoom at 7 PM this Thursday, July 16, 2020 to discuss The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce. It’s the sequel to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

Here’s a brief list of characters in the Queenie novel. Twenty-four possible discussion questions follow.

• Queenie Hennessy: writer of letters to Harold Fry
• Harold Fry: the walker whose story is told in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
• David Fry: He likes unexpected adventure, very smart. “His intelligence is like a knife” (page 118).
• Napier: Harold and Queenie’s boss at the brewery.
• Finty – rubs off foil seals to see if she has won a vacation or prize or free vouchers for dining. Coordinates the party for the arrival of Harold Fry.
• Mr. Neville Henderson – won’t do crossword puzzles, because he may not be around for the answers. “The knuckles poked out and his sleeves hung loose as if Mr. Henderson had no more substance than a coat hanger inside a dogtooth jacket. His mouth was so blue, the lips looked bruised.” He stole a Purcell record and likes Queenie. His wife Mary, hired his best friend as her divorce lawyer. They “took him to the cleaners.”
• Barbara: Has two glass eyes, Albert Bates once loved her.
• The Pearly King: receives packages but almost never opens them. Says a lot of women loved him, hope they don’t all come to visit. Has an artificial arm. Never told his family he was in hospice.
• Sister Philomena: very spiritual nun at the hospice.
• Sister Lucy: youngest nun, naive, most active of nuns in helping patients, kind, puzzles puzzle her, no idea of distance from Kingsbridge to Berwick-upon-Tweed.
• Sister Catherine: nosey but always helps Mr. Henderson even when he doesn’t want help. Brought the word of Harold’s phone call to residents of the hospice. She brings in the mail bag each day.
• Sister Mary Inconnu: (Inconnu means “an unknown person or thing”). Types the letters to Harold for Queenie.
• The Lonely Gentleman: shows up in the Harold Fry story and on page 58.

Possible Discussion Questions:

1. How would you describe “The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy” to a friend to encourage them to read it? Would you encourage them to read it?
2. Are there specific passages that you underlined in the book? If so, what are they? Why do they have significance for you?
3. How do you imagine the novel be received and interpreted by a teenager? By someone in mid-life? Or by a senior?
4. Does your view of Queenie and Harold change as you read “The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy?” How?
5. Can “The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy” stand on its own? Would it be understood without the reader first reading “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry?”
6. On page 56 Queenie says, “I don’t know why some of these memories must remain so crystal clear. I recall one sliver and the whole picture comes rushing back, while other things, for instance, other things I would like to remember, are completely unavailable.” Why do you think that happens? Do you have a similar experience?
7. Why was Mr. Henderson so upset with Sister Catherine? See page 72.
8. Queenie’s mother told her (page 74), “There is no such thing as love at first sight. People get together because the time is right.” Do you agree?
9. What is bindweed and why does Queenie compare Napier to it? See page 78.
10. Does your view of Mr. Napier change at all in the second novel?
11. What is a rockery and how does it connect with Queenie’s statement on page 94, “I’d made my sea garden to atone for the terrible wrong I had done to a man I loved, I said. Sometimes you have to do something with your pain because otherwise it will swallow you.” Do you agree?
12. What is the color of Harold’s suit and why does the author keep referring to it (as on page 102)?
13. What is the meaning of the lesson of the peach on page 108?
14. “Waiting” is one of the themes in the book. What did you learn about “waiting” in the book and from life?
15. When Sister Lucy unveils the Harold Fry corner on page 122, Mr. Henderson responds, “Good grief…this is worse than Huis Clos.” To what is he referring? Did you look it up?
16. Sister Lucy is always removing pieces from the puzzle. Why does she keep dissembling the puzzle?
17. Who had the more difficult pilgrimage, Harold Fry or Queenie Hennessy?
18. On page 168 Sister Inconnu says, “The sky and the sun are always there. It’s the clouds that come and go. Stop holding on to yourself, and look at the world around you…. Those days are over too. So the only thing left for you to do now is to stop trying to fix the problem.” What’s the message in that exchange?
19. On page 173-176, Queenie relates the story of the day when the car sputters, she and Harold are lost on the highway and must walk back to Kingsbridge. Why does she describe that as a perfect day?
20. Queenie says (on page 200), “When you know a thing is wrong, you have to work very hard to stick with it.” What does she mean, and do you agree?
21. On page 263 Queenie reminisces that “my mind was caught up in thinking of ways to keep it safe. I was wrong, though, about the threat coming from wind or gulls. Five years ago, something else got it.” To what is she referring? Who “got it?” And what’s the life lesson?
22. Sister Mary Inconnu at one point (page 309) says, “Dear oh dear. We really should sit and laugh at trees more often.” What was that episode about?
23. Share your opinion: were Queenie’s letters to Harold written in Morse code or shorthand? Explain your opinion.
24. Besides “waiting” are there other themes throughout the book? Other lessons learned?

Discussion Questions for “The Confession Club”

The All Good Books discussion group will meet online today, April 16, 2020, using Zoom at 7 PM. We’ll discuss Elizabeth Berg’s novel, The Confession Club.

Some potential discussion questions covering the first portion of the book follow (sorry, I didn’t find any discussion questions posted online and ran out of time to complete questions for the remainder of the novel).

Discussion Questions

1. How would you compare “The Confession Club” with the other two Mason, Missouri novels by Elizabeth Berg (“The Story of Arthur Truluv” and “Night of Miracles”)?
2. Who was your favorite character in the novel? Why?
3. Which confession from the novel was the most significant?
4. Why did John leave Chicago?
5. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be homeless? What are your thoughts?
6. Iris driving back from getting “black cake” recipe supplies thinks, “All hope is in the early morning.” What does that mean to you?
7. Explain why you think Joanie, a librarian, defaces a book she’s reading? She says, “you all know how I used to feel about people defacing books, but listen: It made it my book. It was me being me. I beat the hell out of that book, and it’s now the one that I love the best.”
8. In her confession, Joanie quotes Samuel Pepys, “Saw a wedding in the church. It was strange to see what delight we married people have to see these poor fools decoyed into our condition.” What does that mean to you? Why does Joanie quote it?
9. When first introduced to the Confession Club, Joanie says, “Talking about things you’re ashamed of is nothing to be ashamed of.” To which Maddy replies, “…anyway, isn’t listening to things like that what good friends do for one another all the time?” Do you agree? Do you have friends you can tell anything to?
10. What does “kissing the glass” mean and would you do it?
11. “The things people throw away! Iris thinks. She’d like to go to the dump, too. She does have an eye for what’s worth salvaging, or her consignment store never would have done so well. She can spin the word vintage with the best of them. And she has always had a great deal of appreciation for the odd adventure.” Do you enjoy salvaging at flea markets, antique shops and consignment shops? What’s something you found that you were really excited about?
12. Growing up we’re you taught that “Girls didn’t go after boys. Girls waited”? What does it mean and was that true when you were dating? Is it true now?
13. Iris has “heard often enough that one should not give money to the homeless, that one should instead direct them to a shelter where they might get help. But a woman she worked with who routinely gave money to people on the street said something else. ‘Isn’t it hard enough for them to even ask?’ she said. ‘Do I really need to tell them what to do with their lives when I know absolutely nothing about them? I just feel an obligation to try to help in some way. What else can I do to help someone?’” Do you agree? Have you given money or meals to the homeless or referred them to shelters? Which do you think is best?
14. In the novel, is a statement that “If there was anything Maddy learned after Arthur and Lucille took her in as a pregnant teenager, it was that families don’t have to be biological. She finds it hard to let go of the notion that you should matter to your father, though.” How did you react to that statement?
15. In a conversation with Maddy, Iris says, “I’ve learned that blaming doesn’t get you far. Self-reflection helps. Trying to change helps, too. But it’s hard, Maddy, I’ll give you that. It’s hard, but I think it’s worth it to try. Sometimes little successes here and there can all of a sudden…I don’t know…consolidate, I guess, and you see that you really are a different person.” What were the circumstances of the conversation? Do your life experiences suggest that Iris is correct?
16. In the novel, Maddy expresses concern that “if she spends too long with people, she will be found out.” What do you think she means and why does she have that fear?
17. Iris envies Nola for “her default setting of goodwill toward man, beast, or weather.” Why does that approach to life seem so easy for children and so difficult as we age?
18. Maddy reflects at one point on a conversation with Arthur while fishing about why people care what other people think. Arthur calls it a design flaw. What do you think?
19. After a time of self-doubt, Maddy thinks “You can’t ask your children to save you. But they do it anyway.” Do you agree? How do our children save us?
20. Why does John think that falling in love with Iris is bad news?
21. Gretchen says “We’re all mean to our mothers. It’s a daughter’s duty.” Is that true? Why?
22. Dodie suggests to Gretchen that she divorce her sons. Why and have you ever “divorce” someone mentally?
23. Ollie cautions John about going back to someone he’s hurt in the past to make amends. She says, “I had a good friend practically fall apart when her husband came back to see her to make ‘amends.’ There she was all fine in a new relationship, and here he comes, waltzing back into her life, looking real good, all cleaned up, and it just threw her for a loop….He comes in and says, ‘I’m sorry,’ and that makes him feel all good about himself and then he leaves again….” What do you think about someone reentering someone’s life just to clear their conscience?
24. How would you react if a close friend asked you to assist with his/her suicide? Would their age or health or pain level alter your response?
25. What was your reaction to the novel’s ending? Expected? Was it a surprise? Were you disappointed? Or pleased?
26. Which of the following best describes the novel? A roller coaster ride? A gentle float trip down a calm river? Walking through a corn maze? A Sunday afternoon drive down a known road? Running through a mine field with no mine detector?
27. Would you recommend the book to a friend? If so, why or why not?

The Story of Arthur Truluv

The All Good Books book club will discuss Elizabeth Berg’s The Story of Arthur Truluv” this Thursday, June 20, 2019. The meeting will be held in the Community of Christ Church Library (7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, Kansas) at 7 PM. All are invited to attend.

The novel is described (on http://www.Goodreads.com) as: A moving novel about three people who find their way back from loss and loneliness to a different kind of happiness. Arthur, a widow, meets Maddy, a troubled teenage girl who is avoiding school by hiding out at the cemetery, where Arthur goes every day for lunch to have imaginary conversations with his late wife, and think about the lives of others. The two strike up a friendship that draws them out of isolation. Maddy gives Arthur the name Truluv, for his loving and positive responses to every outrageous thing she says or does. With Arthur’s nosy neighbor Lucille, they create a loving and unconventional family, proving that life’s most precious moments are sweeter when shared.

Discussion questions for The Story of Arthur Truluv are available on the publisher’s website.

January Discussion: “With Love, Wherever You Are”

The All Good Books group will discuss With Love, Wherever You Are
by Dandi Daley Mackall at our next meeting on Thursday, January 17, 2019.

As usual, we’ll meet at the Community of Christ Mission Road Congregation (7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS) at 7 PM.

Here are some discussion questions that appear in the back of the book as published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Discussion Questions

1. A pivotal experience in her childhood made Helen resolve she’d grow up to be a nurse, while Frank followed his father’s footsteps into medicine. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? What experiences or family influences shaped your vocation?
2. When do you think Frank actually fell in love with Helen? When did Helen admit that she’d fallen in love with Frank?
3. Faced with the prospect of being separated by the war, Frank and Helen made a swift decision to marry. Would you have been among the friends who cheered them on or those who asked if they’d lost their minds? Why?
4. Both before and after their wedding, Helen and Frank had moments of doubt about their marriage, especially about how well they truly knew each other. What things would you list as essential to know about another person before marrying? What kinds of things can be learned over time?
5. Having only letters to connect them for weeks and even months left Helen and Frank vulnerable to misunderstandings. Once, as she endured long days with no word from Frank, Helen filled in her own assumptions about what he was thinking and feeling, only to learn that he hadn’t received her letters at all. In Helen’s place, would you have jumped to the same conclusions? Can you think of a time when you constructed your own story about another person during a gap in communication? How much of what you believed was the truth?
6. Frank showed his jealousy a couple of times, most notably over Colonel Pugh and the trip to Paris. Helen also admitted her jealousy over Nurse Becky and Marie, the young French patient in Marseille. How did they handle moments of jealousy? Have you ever been jealous—of a spouse, a friend, a family member? How did you handle it?
7. What characteristics would you say are necessary for an enduring marriage? Which of these did you see Frank and Helen exhibiting, or learning, throughout the story? Where did they still need to grow?
8. Faced with the prospects of battles and bombings, Frank wondered, “What was it that made one man buck up, another act heroically, and another give in to terror?” How would you answer his question?
9. Frank came to find comfort and courage from a verse of Psalm 23: “I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” How do you respond to fear?
10. Frank was quick to tell others that Dotty and Jack were the heroes in his family—not him. Why do you think he was reluctant to take on a “hero” label? How would you define a hero, and who has been one in your life?
11. For much of the story, Helen lived by the motto “God helps those who help themselves.” But when she’s forced to acknowledge how much is out of her control, Naomi advises her that a better motto might be “God helps most when you admit you can’t do it on your own.” Which motto do you believe and live by?
12. This novel is fiction, but based on the experiences and letters of the real-life Frank and Helen Daley. How much do you know about your parents’ or grandparents’ histories? Can you think of any family stories that would make good fiction? If you were to write those stories, where might you have to use your imagination to fill in gaps or flesh out the details?
13. In her note to readers, the author makes a distinction between some true and invented pieces of this story—for example, Dotty’s story adheres to the facts, but in real life, Bill Chitwood wasn’t blinded, and Major Bradford didn’t exist. As a reader, did it matter to you to learn that some of the characters were invented or their stories changed? Why or why not?
14. During World War II, Japanese and German citizens living in the US fell under cruel suspicion, and overseas, Helen faces some of the same prejudice because of her ability to speak to wounded German soldiers. In her place, how would you have responded to such suspicion? Would you have had difficulty caring for enemy soldiers?
15. Helen and Frank were part of what’s been called “the Greatest Generation.” What qualities have earned them this title? What names have you heard for your generation? Do you think the perception of your generation is justified?
16. Helen and Frank wrote to each other as many as three times a day, but slow and waylaid mail often meant long gaps in communication. Censorship made it hard to freely say all they might have wanted to. How different might their story have been if they’d had access to today’s instant communication? What difficulties due to their separation would have remained the same? With our new technology and the ability to stay in touch virtually all over the globe, do you think we’ve lost anything?

“With Love” in January

The All Good Books group will discuss With Love, Wherever You Are
by Dandi Daley Mackall at our next meeting on Thursday, January 17, 2019. No meeting is planned for December 2018.

Description: Everyone knows that war romances never last . . .
After a whirlwind romance and wedding, Helen Eberhart Daley, an army nurse, and Lieutenant Frank Daley, M.D. are sent to the front lines of Europe with only letters to connect them for months at a time.

Surrounded by danger and desperately wounded patients, they soon find that only the war seems real—and their marriage more and more like a distant dream. If they make it through the war, will their marriage survive?

Based on the incredible true love story, With Love, Wherever You Are is an adult novel from beloved children’s author Dandi Daley Mackall.

As usual, we’ll meet at the Community of Christ Mission Road Congregation (7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS) at 7 PM.

Discussion questions will be posted in December.

Killers of the Flower Moon Discussion

The All Good Books group will discuss Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann at our next meeting on Thursday, November 15, 2018. As usual, we’ll meet at the Community of Christ Mission Road Congregation (7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS) at 7 PM.

The following discussion questions are drawn from the publisher’s site (https://bit.ly/2qzeRVZ):

1. What do the contemporary media reports on the wealth and lifestyle of the Osage reflect about white perceptions of Native Americans (pp. 6–7; pp. 76–77)? In what way do they lay a foundation for the way the murders and mysterious deaths were treated by law enforcement?
2. What was your first impression of William Hale (p. 17)? How does Grann bring to life his strengths and appeal, as well as the darker side of his nature? What qualities does he share with people who achieve power and influence today?
3. How did you respond to the description of law enforcement in America during the 1920s (p. 19)? What elements most shocked or surprised you? What made the situation in Osage County particularly chaotic? What effect did this have on the investigations into the deaths of Anna Brown and Charles Whitehorn?
4. What does Grann’s account of the relationship between the United States government and Native Americans contribute to your understanding of the country’s history (pp. 37–44)? How did government policies affect individuals like Mollie and her family? What does Grann capture in his description of Lizzie’s death: “Lizzie’s spirit had been claimed by Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior, and by Wah’Kon-Tah, the Great Mystery” (p. 36)?
5. Discuss the circumstances that distinguished the Osage from other Native American tribes, including the actions taken by tribal leaders early in the century; the influx of white settlers and oil prospectors; the granting of headrights; and the guardianship system (pp. 78–80).
6. What is the significance of the murder of Barney McBride, the oilman who went to Washington to seek help for the Osage (p. 68) and of W.W. Vaughan, the attorney who worked with private detectives investigating the murders (p. 93–4)?
7. What does Grann’s portrait convey about J. Edgar Hoover (p. 107)? What traits stand out and what do they foretell about Hoover’s future as director of the FBI?
8. In what ways does Tom White combine the qualities of the Old West and of the modern bureaucratic system Hoover is trying to create? How does this influence the steps he takes in investigating the murders? How do the various views of White, including the stories of his childhood and his work as a Texas Ranger (pp. 137–153), shape your impressions of him? Would you define him as the hero of the book?
9. How were manufactured evidence, suborned testimony, and false confessions used to divert the FBI investigation? What role did independently hired private eyes and informants play in the search for the truth?
10. The crimes in Osage County involved many levels of deception and betrayal. In addition to the actual conspirators, who else either directly profited from the crimes or was silently complicit in them? In what ways did accepted mores encourage the corruption that plagued the investigation?
11. What role did new methods of criminal investigation play in uncovering the guilty parties? In addition to introducing up-to-date forensic science, how did Hoover use the case to transform the Bureau of Investigation and simultaneously enhance his own image?
12. During Hale’s trial, a member of the Osage tribe said, “It is a question in my mind whether this jury is considering a murder case or not. The question for them to decide is whether a white man killing an Osage is murder—or merely cruelty to animals” (p. 215). Why does this observation resonate beyond the immediate circumstances?
13. Perhaps the most chilling aspect of Killers of the Flower Moon is the marital and familial connections between murderers and their victims. What explains Ernest Burkhart’s actions even as he remained married to and had children with Mollie? How does Grann bring to life the particular horror of crimes committed within a family and a close-knit community?
14. What does the evidence Grann uncovered when he visited Osage County in 2012 reveal about the lasting legacy of the “Reign of Terror”?
15. Killers of the Flower Moon combines the fast pace of a true-life murder mystery with the scope and detail of a narrative history. How does Grann integrate these different aspects of the book?
16. We are familiar with many American crimes and criminals during the early twentieth century from movies, books, and television shows. Why do you think the story of the Osage murders hasn’t received similar attention?
17. Are there recent examples of racial prejudice and injustice that parallel those described in Killers of the Flower Moon? What has changed about the approach taken by law enforcement? About the attitudes expressed by the white community in the face of racial or religious discrimination? In what ways have things remained the same?

A cast of characters from the book follows. This list is also drawn from the publisher’s website.

Cast of Characters

The Family
Mollie Burkhart, a wealthy Osage woman whose family was targeted

Anna Brown, Mollie’s oldest sister, a divorcee who spent a lot of time in the reservation’s rowdy boomtowns

Lizzie, Mollie’s mother, deeply attached to Osage traditions even as the world around her changed; she suffered a slow, inexplicable death

Rita, Mollie’s sister, and her husband, Bill Smith

Ernest Burkhart, Mollie’s white husband, the father of her three children, and her official financial guardian

Bryan Burkhart, Ernest’s younger brother

William Hale, Ernest’s uncle, a self-made man of great wealth and staggering power; revered by many people as “King of the Osage Hills”

Margie Burkhart, the granddaughter of Mollie and Ernest Burkhart; she shared her father’s memories of the “Reign of Terror” with Grann as well as stories about Mollie’s and Ernest’s lives in later years

The Bureau of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover, the twenty-nine-year-old newly appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation; he saw the Osage cases as a way to redeem the bureau’s bad reputation and advance his own career

Tom White, an old-style frontier lawman and former Texas Ranger who was put in charge of the investigation

John Wren, recruited by White, he was then one of the few American Indians (perhaps the only one) in the bureau

Other Characters
Barney McBride, a white oilman who sought help for the Osage

W.W. Vaughan, a lawyer who worked closely with private detectives trying to solve the Osage cases

James and David Shoun, local doctors (and brothers)

Scott Mathis, owner of the Big Hill Trading Company and a close friend of both Mollie Burkhart and William Hale; he managed Lizzie’s and Anna’s financial affairs and administered Anna’s estate

James Bighart, the legendary chief of the Osage who negotiated the prescient treaty with the government to retain mineral rights for the tribe

George Bighart, James’s nephew who gave information to W.W. Vaughan

Henry Roan, briefly married to Mollie when they were young; he borrowed heavily from William Hale and made Hale the beneficiary of his insurance policy

Additional discussion questions are available from the PBS NewsHour/New York Times book club (https://nyti.ms/2zBPMxA) as listed below.

1. Before starting “Killers of the Flower Moon,” had you ever heard of the Osage murders? If so, how did you learn about them, and what did you know? Do you think this history should be taught in schools?
2. Grann begins the book with a line describing the flowers spread over the Oklahoma hills where the Osage Indian nation resided — and how those flowers break and die in May. How does this line set the tone for, and introduce the subject of, the rest of the book?
3. The first character we meet is Mollie Burkhart, whose family becomes a main target of the Osage murders. How does Grann signal to us early on what the murderer may be after?
4. Grann describes the discovery of oil on Osage land as a “cursed blessing.” How do you think it’s a blessing, and how is it a curse?
5. How trustworthy do you find the different authorities that appear throughout the book to investigate the murders? Authorities such as William Hale, who Grann initially describes as a “powerful local advocate for law and order,” as well as the frontier lawmen, the brothers who conduct autopsies of the bodies, the local sheriff and, later, the F.B.I.?
6. As you reach the halfway point of the book, who do you believe is responsible for the killings? Why?
7. Osage “headrights” — or the money received by members of the tribe, or by white guardians, from mineral royalties — soon become central to the book. Grann writes: “Although some white guardians and administrators tried to act in the best interests of the tribe, countless others used the system to swindle the very people they were ostensibly protecting.” Which sectors of society abused these guardianships? How was this able to happen?
8. Why do you think the F.B.I. pursued the case of the Osage murders? What did you learn about the birth of the agency?
9. At this point in your reading, what do you think these murders say about America’s history with Native American people?
10. As the F.B.I. solved the case, what was the mythology of the bureau that J. Edgar Hoover was trying to create? What parts of the agency’s investigation of the Osage Murders were left out of the story?
11. Grann begins the third section of the book with the words: “So much is gone now,” including oil fields and boomtowns. But he also writes that the Osage nation has recovered in the decades since the murders, and today is a vibrant nation that’s 20,000 people strong. What do you think Grann wants us to take away from this?
12. Grann ends the book with a quote from the Bible about Cain and Abel: “The blood cries out from the ground.” Why do you think he chose to close the book this way?