Monday Evening Book Group

Snow falling on cedars

2010-11-22T05:55:00.000-08:00

The Monday evening book group had a good discussion of David Gutterson's Snow falling on cedars. Some of the issues we discussed were the structure of the book and how skilled the author was in the use of flashbacks and also the power of the courtroom scenes. The issue of the detention of Japanese Americans during World War II and it s relevance today also provoked lively discussion. Next month will be a book on a lighter note Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

As I lay dying

2010-10-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

The Monday evening book group had our annual "challenge" book this month in Faulkner's As I lay dying. We had a good turnout of those who had managed to read through Faulkner's sometimes difficult prose and we were left in admiration of his skill as a writer and his ability to portray the trials and tribulations of the Bundren family. We were impressed by the poetry in Faulkner's language even as he depicted the lowest levels of society in his fictional Mississippi county. All in all a tough read but a worthwhile one.

Shanghai girls

2010-09-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

This book generated a lively discussion. Our group enjoyed the fact that they learned a lot about China during the period before and after World War II. Some criticism was attached to the ending but the author is apparently working on a sequel. The book did create unforgettable characters in Pearl and Mae and the family dynamics gave us a lot of scope for discussion

Crocodile on the sandbank

2010-08-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

This delightful book by Elizabeth Peters was greatly enjoyed by the members of the Monday evening book group. We enjoyed the humor of the redoutable Victorian character Amelia Peabody and the depths of the knowledge of Egyptology displayed by the author. This book is the first in the Amelia Peabody series and some of our members are resolved to read further in the series. Amelia provided an interesting contrast with the other Victorian heroines we have met recently in Wilkie Collins' The woman in White

Frank Lloyd Wright and his women

2010-07-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

The group had a very interesting discussion on T.C. boyle's book The women which dealt with Frank Lloyd Wright and the four women in his life. The book centered particularly on one of his wives Maud Miriam Noel who most of us did not find a particularly sympathetic character and we were also intrigued about the reverse chronology that the author employed. This book complemented our previous reading of Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. Did his tumultuous love life make him a better architect we wondered.

Woman in white

2010-06-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

Wilkie Collins' Woman in white was a very popular book with the group this month. For once we had no quibble about the ending and the way the author resolved all the plot lines. We felt that for a book written in 1860 it still felt amazingly contemporary. It justly deserves its reputation as being one of the precursors of the modern thriller. We are not sure about the musical however. Has anyone seen it?

Revolutionary Road

2010-05-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

We had a terrific discussion on the book and the movie Revolutionary Road which, though published in 1961, is still amazingly contemporary. There were so many issues to discuss in this book, freedom, marital relations, love, women's rights. Most of our participants could whole heartedly recommend this book. The weird thing is how much the author resembles Leonardo DiCaprio. Check out the biography of Richard Yates A tragic honesty by Blake Bailey to see what we mean.

The Sunday Philosophy Club

2010-04-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

Our group enjoyed The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith. We felt it was a delightful celebration of the "alien culture" of Edinburgh though perhaps not quite up to the standard of McCall Smith's other series The Number One Ladies Detective Agency. We enjoyed the slow pace of the book and its quiet humor with its many philosophical meanderings. Those of us who have not read ahead in the series are looking forward to doing so.
Next month will be a new departure for us to read Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates and also watch the movie and then discuss both. This book was written while the author lived in Mahopac so it should make for a great discussion. Copies of both book and movie are available at the circulation desk for check out

Was it the book or the weather?

2010-03-03T06:48:00.000-08:00

Well for the first time in over five years of this book club's existence we had a zero turnout for our meeting on Monday. Of course many of us were still digging out from the latest snowstorm but I also heard some negative comments about Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong even though it was voted as one of the most popular books by readers in a BBC poll a few years ago. Maybe we have overdone it on World War 1 novels this year with Itani's Deafening and Pat Barker's Regeneration both of which we discussed a few months ago.
However I very much enjoyed Birdsong and would love to discuss it with someone so catch me at the library or post to this blog with your thoughts.
Next month's book will be a complete change of pace with a whimsical contribution from Alexander McCall Smith The Sunday Philosophy Club. Hope to see some of you then.
Sheelagh Kaplan

Upcoming choices

2010-02-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

Here are our choices for the next few months. Note there are two Mondays that we will be meeting on the second Monday of the month because of holidays and that will be July and September. Any other suggestions are welcome.
March 1st 2010 Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

April 5th 2010 The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith

May 3rd 2010 Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (book and movie)

June 7th 2010 The woman in white by Wilkie Collins

July 12th 2010 The women by T.C. Boyle

August 2nd 2010 Crocodile on the sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

September 13th Shanghai girls by Lisa See

Molokai

2010-02-02T14:55:00.000-08:00

We all thoroughly enjoyed the book Molokai by Alan Brennert. It was a heartwarming story drawn from a grim topic - the leper colony on the island of Molokai. Some of the things the group enjoyed about the book were the well rounded characters and the depiction of Hawaii at a time of change between the native culture and the influences from the United States. Highly recommended by us all I believe.
Watch out for our new list of choices coming in the next few days and any suggestions for future books are welcome.

Sorry I missed it

2010-01-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry I missed the discussion on Monday about Alex and me. Hope it went well. I was visiting family in a very cold Atlanta. Any of you out there who went to the meeting, let me know how it went. See you in February.
Sheelagh Kaplan

good discussion

2009-12-08T07:29:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a great turnout and a very good discussion of Nancy Horan's book Loving Frank. The consensus of the group appeared to be that we did not sympathize with the main character, Mamah's, decision to abandon her very young children to run off with Frank Lloyd Wright. The group as a whole did feel that the author did a good job of working within the framework of known facts and creating a believable character out of the little that is known about Mamah Borthwick. Future reading on this topic would seem to include T. C. Boyle's new book The women which deals with all the women in Frank Lloyd Wright's life.
For those of you looking for reading suggestions check out the new feature on the library's catalog called Hudson Valley reads where you can sign up for various email updates on current and forthcoming books and authors.
Next month on Jan 4th we change gears and read Alex and me about a very smart parrot. Don't forget to call the library if there is a weather issue when the group is scheduled to meet.
Happy holidays
Sheelagh Kaplan