Next Book Discussion: The House in the Cerulean Sea

The next All Good Books club meeting will include a discussion of The House in the Cerulean Sea by T J Klune on Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 7 PM. We’ll meet in the Community of Christ Church Library (7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS) and the discussion facilitator will be Joyce Meredith. No Zoom option will be available. We hope to see you face-to-face!

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Updated All Good Books Schedule with Books to Discuss

At last Thursday’s All Good Books Club meeting we settled on the following list of books to discuss. The books are divided into three categories as shown below: scheduled with dates set, those scheduled but dates not set, and a listing of those books suggested for further consideration.

New All Good Books Meeting Schedule

Thursday, March 16, 2023, at 7 PM – A Christmas Memory by Richard Paul Evans

Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 7:00 PM – The House in the Cerulean Sea by T J Klune

Thursday, May 18, 2023, at 7:00 PM – Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

Thursday, June 15, 2023, at 7:00 PM – Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

Added to the reading list but no dates set yet.

(TBD) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

(TBD) The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather

(TBD) Maureen: A Harold Fry Novel by Rachel Joyce

Additional Suggestions Received:

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine byGail Honeyman

How to Stitch an American Dream by Jenny Doan

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Open Season by C.J. Box

The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin

The Keeper of Lost things by Ruth Hogan

The Night of Many Endings by Melissa Payne

The Summer I turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Walk by Richard Paul Evans 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Last Letter from Your Lover by JoJo Moyes

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather

River of Gods: Genius, Courage, And Betrayal in The Search For The Source Of The Nile by Candace Miller

What Have You Read That You Love?

The ALL GOOD BOOKS CLUB will meet on Thursday, February 16, 2023 for a sharing meeting. Everyone is invited to bring 2-3 of their favorite books to recommend and we’ll make a new reading list for future meetings. The book club will start at 7:00 PM in the Community of Christ Church Library (7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS). Attendance on Zoom will also be available (https://tinyurl.com/BookClub0216)

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Woman reading an open book with abstract lights and glows.

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?

“Last Boat Out of Shanghai” Discussion

This evening’s meeting has been postponed to October 20, 2022, at 7 PM because many of our regular members are unavailable to meet this evening. All book titles will be moved forward one month to accommodate.

The All Good Books club will meet in person (at 7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS) or online using the Zoom web link (https://tinyurl.com/lastBoat) to discuss Helen Zia’s novel Last Boat Out of Shanghai.

The discussion will occur (now) on Thursday, October 20, 2022, at 7 PM CDT.

The book recounts the real-life stories of four young people caught up in the mass exodus of Shanghai in the wake of China’s 1949 Communist revolution. Marge Trinkl will facilitate the discussion. Join us in person or online!

If you’re now planning ahead for November, the book club will meet on November 17, 2022, at 7 PM to discuss Enough about Me by Richard Lui.

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.

All Good Books Group – New Schedule

The All Good Books group will meet on the following dates for the rest of the year and discuss the books listed. All meetings are held in the Church Library of the Mission Road Congregation of Community of Christ (7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS)

7:00 PM, June 16, 2022: How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith (Jane Landrum will introduce the book)

7:00 PM, July 21, 2022: Keep Sharp by Sanjay Gupta (Tom Jowett will introduce the book)

7:00 PM, August 18, 2022: The Duchess by Wendy Holden (Eloise Snider will introduce the book)

7:00 PM, September 15, 2022: The Last Boat Out of Shanghai by Helen Zia (Marge Trinkl will introduce the book)

7:00 PM, October 20, 2022: Enough about Me by Richard Lui (Jonathan Bacon will introduce the book)

7:00 PM, November 17, 2022: The Lost and Found Book Shop by Susan Wiggs (TBD)

December: No book club, December Break

All Good Books Returns!

The All Good Books group will resume meeting (after a long hiatus due to COVID) on May 19, 2022, at 7:00 PM in the Church Library of the Community of Christ Mission Road Congregation (7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS). Jane Landrum is the new facilitator for the group with Jonathan Bacon assisting.

For the first meeting, everyone is invited to share a book report, a quote, or an interesting idea from the best, most recent book you’ve read.

Bring a friend, and come prepared to just talk about books for an hour or so and learn what everyone else has been reading!

ALL GOOD BOOKS Group – Meets This Week with a New Format

At the suggestion of several members, the All Good Books group will take on a new format beginning this month. While we’ll discuss Kristin Hannah’s novel, “The Great Alone,” we’ll also open the meeting for “book reports” by anyone attending.

If you’ve read a book that you loved or disliked, come prepared to share your comments about the book.  For the foreseeable future, we won’t schedule books to read months in advance, instead, we’ll go month to month based on recommendations by members.

So, if you’ve been reading something you’d like to share with the group, please plan to attend on Zoom at 7:00 PM this Thursday, February 18, 2021. The Zoom link used for all Mission Road Congregation meetings will also be used for the book club.

ALL GOOD BOOKS CLUB NOVEL FOR FEBRUARY

The All Good Books club will discuss “The Great Alone” by Kristin Hannah on Thursday, February 18, 2021. The book club currently meets on Zoom.

“The Great Alone is a story of survival; the main characters must survive in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness and survive an abusive and volatile family situation. Ernst, the father, is a deeply flawed man. He prefers the company of survivalist and doomsdayer “Mad Earl” to that of the more optimistic townspeople. Cora, the mother, clings to the memory of the man he was before his time as a Vietnam War POW.

“Thirteen-year-old daughter Leni is caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, and has little choice but to go along, hoping that the move to Alaska will promise a better future.

“Author Hannah paints a vivid and memorable image of a family and a community making a living and surviving out in the wilderness. The small community she depicts is sparse, but vibrant, providing warmth and softening the edges of the harsh Alaskan landscape.”

Start reading now and join us on the 18th to discuss “The Great Alone.