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Books I Read in 2009
Last year I read the following books because Reading Group Guides provided a place for discussion and because friends read with me. Thank you.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Elephant Song by Wilbur Smith
'The Shadow of the Wind' --Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington -
City of Thieves by Benioff
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
The Lymond Chronicles - SERIES by Dorothy Dunnett
Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Olive Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories by Elizabeth Strout
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Dracula Bram Stoker
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
The Red Pony and The Pearl - Two Novellas by John Steinbeck
Travels with Charley: In Search of America
John Steinbeck
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, by Katherine Howe
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Middlemarch by George Elliot
March by Geraldine Brooks
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland
The Killer Angels by Shaara
Three Cups of Tea
Sarah's Key
The Stone Diaries
War and Peace= Tolstoy
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Faith of My Fathers by John McCain
ATONEMENT
Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington -
City of Thieves by Benioff
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
The Lymond Chronicles - SERIES by Dorothy Dunnett
Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Olive Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories by Elizabeth Strout
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Dracula Bram Stoker
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
The Red Pony and The Pearl - Two Novellas by John Steinbeck
Travels with Charley: In Search of America
John Steinbeck
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, by Katherine Howe
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Middlemarch by George Elliot
March by Geraldine Brooks
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland
The Killer Angels by Shaara
Three Cups of Tea
Sarah's Key
The Stone Diaries
War and Peace= Tolstoy
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Faith of My Fathers by John McCain
ATONEMENT
Blog Archive
About Me
reading schedule
- November side reads - Tortilla Flat, Travels w/Charley by John Steinbeck and Cormac McCarthy triology
Combined book discussions
Posted May 13, 9:28 AM
June-Lori-Rhett Butler's People and Water For Elephants
July-Cindy-Lisey's Story-Stephen King and Warlock
Aug-LeeAnn-A Prayer for Owen Meany-John Irving
Sept-Zorro-East of Eden by John Steinbeck and m-Into the Wild
Oct-Dee-The Friday Night Knitting Club-Kate Jacobs and The Time Traveler’s Wife
Nov-Pam-Oystercatchers-Susan Fletcher and Atonement
Dec.-Ramona-The Last Promise-Richard Paul Evans and A Thousand Splendid Suns
Jan 2009-M-Peony in Love-Lisa See and Babs-Three Cups of Tea:One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by: Greg Mortenson
June-Lori-Rhett Butler's People and Water For Elephants
July-Cindy-Lisey's Story-Stephen King and Warlock
Aug-LeeAnn-A Prayer for Owen Meany-John Irving
Sept-Zorro-East of Eden by John Steinbeck and m-Into the Wild
Oct-Dee-The Friday Night Knitting Club-Kate Jacobs and The Time Traveler’s Wife
Nov-Pam-Oystercatchers-Susan Fletcher and Atonement
Dec.-Ramona-The Last Promise-Richard Paul Evans and A Thousand Splendid Suns
Jan 2009-M-Peony in Love-Lisa See and Babs-Three Cups of Tea:One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by: Greg Mortenson
Discussion Schedule for Someday
Feb-Zorro -March,Geraldine Brooks
March-Marion- Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
April-Barb-River God-Wilbur Smith
May-M-A Fine Balance-Rohinton Mistry
June-Lori-Rhett Butler's People
July-Cindy-Lisey's Story-Stephen King
Aug-Leeann-LeeAnn-A Prayer for Owen Meany-John Irving
Sept-Babs-Three Cups of Tea:One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by: Greg Mortenson
Oct-Dee-The Friday Night Knitting Club-Kate Jacobs
Nov-Pam-Oystercatchers-Susan Fletcher
Dec.-Ramona
Jan 2009-Karin
Feb. 2009-Lynne
March 2009-Michaela?
April 2009 Niki
Someday club - 2007
Jan 2007-The Innocent Man-John Grisham
Feb 2007-The Pact-Jodi Picoult
March 2007-The Heart is a Lonely Hunter-Carson McCullers
April2007-Fall on your Knees-Anne Marie McDonald
May 2007-The Glass Castle-Jeanette Walls
June 2007-The Shack-W. Paul Young
July 2007-The House of Seven Gables-Hawthorne
August 2007-Angry Housewives Eating BonBons-Lorna Ludvick
September2007-Rise and Shine-Anna Quindlan
Wicked-Gregory Maguire
October 2007-The Passion of Artemisia-Susan Vreeland
November 2007-A Thousand Splendid Suns-Hosseini
December 2007-The Diana Chronicles-Andrew Morton
March-Marion- Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
April-Barb-River God-Wilbur Smith
May-M-A Fine Balance-Rohinton Mistry
June-Lori-Rhett Butler's People
July-Cindy-Lisey's Story-Stephen King
Aug-Leeann-LeeAnn-A Prayer for Owen Meany-John Irving
Sept-Babs-Three Cups of Tea:One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by: Greg Mortenson
Oct-Dee-The Friday Night Knitting Club-Kate Jacobs
Nov-Pam-Oystercatchers-Susan Fletcher
Dec.-Ramona
Jan 2009-Karin
Feb. 2009-Lynne
March 2009-Michaela?
April 2009 Niki
Someday club - 2007
Jan 2007-The Innocent Man-John Grisham
Feb 2007-The Pact-Jodi Picoult
March 2007-The Heart is a Lonely Hunter-Carson McCullers
April2007-Fall on your Knees-Anne Marie McDonald
May 2007-The Glass Castle-Jeanette Walls
June 2007-The Shack-W. Paul Young
July 2007-The House of Seven Gables-Hawthorne
August 2007-Angry Housewives Eating BonBons-Lorna Ludvick
September2007-Rise and Shine-Anna Quindlan
Wicked-Gregory Maguire
October 2007-The Passion of Artemisia-Susan Vreeland
November 2007-A Thousand Splendid Suns-Hosseini
December 2007-The Diana Chronicles-Andrew Morton
Discussion Schedule for 40 Somethings
 |
Jan – The Goodbye Body
Feb – Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Mar – Jane Eyre or Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Apr – The Killing Hour or Then There Were None
May – The Eyre Affair
June – Water For Elephants
July – Since You’re Leaving…
Aug – East of Eden
Sept – Into the Wild
Oct – The Time Traveler’s Wife
Nov – The Fifth Vial
Dec – A Thousand Splendid Suns
Feb – Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Mar – Jane Eyre or Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Apr – The Killing Hour or Then There Were None
May – The Eyre Affair
June – Water For Elephants
July – Since You’re Leaving…
Aug – East of Eden
Sept – Into the Wild
Oct – The Time Traveler’s Wife
Nov – The Fifth Vial
Dec – A Thousand Splendid Suns
How to Lead a Book Discussion
- Read the book - This may seem obvious, but it is the most important step, so it is worth stating. It is a good idea to plan on finishing the book a little earlier than you might otherwise so that you have time to think about it and prepare before your book club meets.
- Write down important page numbers - If there are parts of the book that made an impact on you or that you think may come up in discussion, write down the page numbers so that you can access the passages easily while preparing and leading the book club discussion.
- Come up with eight to ten questions about the book - Check out our ready-to-go book club discussion questions on best sellers. Print them out and you are done with this step. Want to come up with your own questions? Check out the tips for writing book club discussion questions below.
- Let others answer first - When you are asking questions, you want to facilitate discussion, not come off as a teacher. By letting others in the book club answer first, you will promote conversation and help everyone feel like their opinions matter.
- Make connections between comments - If someone gives an answer to question 2 that connects well with question 5, don't feel obligated to ask questions 3 and 4 before moving to 5. You are the leader and you can go in whatever order you want. Even if you go in order, try to find a link between an answer and the next question. By connecting people's comments to the questions, you'll help build momentum in the conversation.
- Occasionally direct questions toward quiet people - You don't want to put anyone on the spot, but you want everyone to know their opinions are valued. If you have a few talkative people who always jump right in, directing a question to a specific person may help draw out the quieter people (and let the loud people know it is time to give someone else a turn).
- Rein in tangents - Book clubs are popular not only because people like to read, but also because they are great social outlets. A little off topic conversation is fine, but you also want to respect the fact that people have read the book and expect to talk about it. As the facilitator, it is your job to recognize tangents and bring the discussion back to the book.
- Don't feel obligated to get through all the questions - The best questions sometimes lead to intense conversations. That's a good thing! The questions are there as a guide. While you will want to get through at least three or four questions, it will probably be rare that you finish all ten. Respect people's time by wrapping up the discussion when the meeting time is over rather than pushing on until you finish everything you planned.
- Wrap up the discussion - One good way to wrap up a conversation and help people summarize their opinions of the book is to ask each person to rate the book on a scale of one to five.
Tips:
- When writing your own book club discussion questions, avoid questions that are too general, like "What did you think of the book?" Also avoid questions that have yes or no answers. You want to ask questions that are open ended and help people talk about themes and how the book relates to deeper issues.
- Do not make dismissive statements toward other people's comments. Even if you disagree, take the conversation back to the book rather than saying "That's ridiculous," etc. Making people feel embarrassed or defensive is a sure way to shut down the conversation.
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