BookHub - Recently Updated Pages

News & Events

mistyC — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:50:16 CDT

A Library Blog
Check out this blog from Random House which is very useful for bookclubs : http://rhlibrary.wordpress.com/

Book Sale at Ipswich Library
The Friends of the Ipswich Library Service (FOILS) holds book sales every couple of months in the Library Courtyard on Saturday from 9:00am to 11:30am. The final book sale for this year will be held on the following date in 2008 :

6 December

Author Events

Try the Read Write Reviews

The Ipswich Library online catalogue now has a new feature which allows users to add book reviews and a star rating to books, DVDs, etc in our collection. To add a review, members have to register themselves for the first time. With active participation from library members, the catalogue promises to be a very useful resource for library users. As avid readers, we encourage you to use this new feature and submit your reviews. Welcome to the world of collective database building - and make your view count!

Home

mistyC — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:48:02 CDT

Welcome to BookHub - Ipswich Library's wiki support for readers and book clubs in Ipswich.
Joining a book club expands your reading horizons, and meeting other people with similar interests and discussing books are great ways to get back into the reading habit.
At Ipswich Library, we want to encourage adults to start reading again. So whether you're already a book club member, thinking of joining one, or thinking of starting one up yourself, BookHub is here to support you with the following services :

To access these services, please register your book club here at BookHub. To register, please email ilisweb@gil.com.au or call 3810 6773.

New Book Club!
Our new book club, "Between the Lines", meets once per month on the SECOND WEDNESDAY of the month. The next meeting will be on Wednesday 12 November from 6:00 to 7:30pm, on Level One in Study Room 2. For the next meeting we will be reading and discussing "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt. If you're interested in joining us, please call Colleen Gagen at 3810 6785 or email cgagen@ipswich.qld.gov.au

Ipswich Library and Information Service
45 Roderick Street
Ipswich 4305
Queensland
Australia

Our Book Clubs

mistyC — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:45:48 CDT

New Book Club!

The Ipswich Library book club, Between the Lines, met for the first time on Wednesday 9th July. If you're interested in joining us, come along to the next meeting :
Date : Wednesday 12 November 2008
Time : 6:00-7:30pm
Venue : Level One - Study Room 2, Ipswich Library (Queensland, Australia)
We will be discussing a book set title called "The Secret History". So come and join us! If you have any questions about the club please call Colleen Gagen at 3810 6785, or email cgagen@ipswich.qld.gov.au

Register your Book Club!
When you register your book club with BookHub, we can help you :

inform you of book events happening in and around Ipswich
create your own book club wiki (see here for Demo)
train your members to use the wiki
feature your book club here to enlist new members

Registered Book Clubs
Bibliophiles
This book club meets in the library every second Thursday of the month in Study Room 2 from 6:00 to 8:00pm. They comprise 10 members, and are not accepting any more.

Plaza LitLovers Book Club
Recently formed in May, the Redbank Plaza Library's book club meets every first Tuesday from 6:00 to 7:30pm. Please register your interest at the circulation desk at Redbank Plaza Branch Library or phone 3288 5411.

GNI Book Club
This book club meets outside the library every month.

625.19 Group
This book club is looking for people interested in discussing books on model trains. Please contact Mr Edward Ward at 34247678 for information.

Readers' Resources

IpswichLibrary — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:40:40 CDT

This page lists various resources useful to readers and book clubs.

Resources at Ipswich Library
Ipswich Library Catalogue
Digital Library Catalogue (downloadable audio books from Ipswich Library)

Author Lists
NextReads (subscribe to book reviews by email)
Novelist (great guide to fiction)
What Do I Read Next? (helps you find your nex t read)

Booklists
Big Book Club selections
Angus & Robertson Top 100
Oprah's Book Club
Overbooked

Virtual Books
Project Gutenberg (free online books)

Book Reviews
Review Sites
Mostly Fiction
Curled up with a good book

Reading Guides
Reading guides are designed to assist book clubs by providing specific discussion topics and questions for a given work.
Book Movement
BookGroup Buzz
BookMuse
Borders Book Club
Bestsellers
First Tuesday Book Club
Reading Group Guides
Amazon.com Book Clubs
BookLust
Reading Group Choices

Publishers' Lists
Allen & Unwin
Random House Reading Group
Penguin Group Reading Guides
Hachette Livre Australia

Running Book Clubs
Canadian Book Clubs
Book Clubs Resource
Bookclubs.ca
BookClub Starter Pack (First Tuesday)
Book Movement (Advice & Tips)
About.com : How to start a book club
About.com : How to lead a book club discussion
Reading Groups
The Reading Club
LitLovers

Books about Reading Groups
Titles in Ipswich Library

Other Sites
Bookcrossings
CAE Book Group
Slim Ink
Online Bookclub

New Fiction Titles

IpswichLibrary — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:05:57 CDT

September
Click here to see a list of New and Recently Released titles available at the Ipswich Library. This list is based on the NextReads newsletter, and contains book reviews, a view of the first chapter, as well as a link to the Library's Catalogue.

The Gargoyle - by Andrew Davidson
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
The Family Orchard: A Novel - by Nomi Eve
Consequences - by Penelope Lively
No Great Mischief - by Alistair MacLeod
The Songcatcher: A Ballad Novel - by Sharyn McCrumb
Liars and Saints: A Novel - by Maile Meloy
The Professor's Daughter: A Novel - by Emily Raboteau

The Secret History

IpswichLibrary — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:24:54 CDT

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The Secret History

Author Donna Tartt

Synopsis:

Set in New England, The Secret History tells the story of a closely knit group of six classics students at a small, elite Vermont college. One of the six students is the story's narrator, Richard Papen, who reflects, years later, on the situation that led to a murder within the group, implying such at the outset but otherwise revealing events sequentially.

Spoiler Warning: These questions may reveal important details about The Secret History. Finish the book before reading on.
1. Richard states that he ended up at Hampden College by a "trick of fate." What do you think of this statement? Do you believe in fate?

2. When discussing Bacchae and the Dionysiac ritual with his students Julian states, "We don't like to admit it, but the idea of losing control is one that fascinates controlled people such as ourselves more than almost anything. All truly civilized people--the ancients no less than us--have civilized themselves through the willful repression of the old, animal self" (p. 38). What is your opinion of this theory? Are we all atracted to that which is forbidden? Do we all secretly wish we could let ourselves go and act on our animal instincts? Is it true that "beauty is terror"?

3. "I suppose there is a certain crucial interval in everyone's life when character is fixed forever: for me, it was that first fall term spent at Hampden" (p. 80). Did you have such a "crucial interval" in your life? What/when was it?

4. In the idyllic beginning it is easy to see why Richard is drawn to the group of Greek scholars. It is only after they begin to unravel that we see the sinister side of each of the characters. Do you think any one of the characters possesses true evil? Is there such a thing as "true evil," or is there something redeeming in everyone's character?

5. In the beginning of the novel, Bunny's behavior is at times endearing and at others maddening. What was your initial opinion of Bunny? Does it change as the story develops?

6. At times Bunny, with his selfish behavior, seems devoid of a conscience, yet he is the most disturbed by the murder of the farmer. Is he more upset because he was "left out" of the group or because he feels what happened is wrong?

7. Henry says to Richard, ". . . my life, for the most part, has been very stale and colorless. Dead, I mean. The world has always been an empty place to me. I was incapable of enjoying even the simplest things. I felt dead in everything I did. . . . But then it changed . . . The night I killed that man" (p. 463). How does Henry's reaction compare to that of the others involved in the murder(s)? Do you believe he feels remorse for what he has done?

8. Discuss the significance of the scene in which Henry wipes his muddy hand across his shirt after throwing dirt onto Bunny's coffin at the funeral (p. 395).

9. List some of the signs that foreshadowed the dark turn of events. Would you have seen all the signs that Richard initially misses? Or do you believe Richard knew all along and just refused to see the truth?

10. Would you have stuck by the group after learning their dark secret?

11. The author states that many people didn't sympathize with Richard. Did you find him a sympathetic character?

12. What do you make of Richard's unrequited love for Camilla? Do you feel that she loved him in return? Or did she use his love for her as a tool to manipulate him?

13. Do you feel the others used Richard as a pawn? If so, how?

14. What do you feel is the significance of Julian's toast "Live forever" (p. 86)?

15. The author mentions a quote supposedly made by George Orwell regarding Julian: "Upon meeting Julian Morrow, one has the impression that he is a man of extraordinary sympathy and warmth. But what you call his 'Asiatic Serenity' is, I think, a mask for great coldness" (p. 480). What is your opinion of Julian?

16. Do you think that Julian feels he is somewhat responsible for the murder of Bunny? Is that why he doesn't turn the group in when he discovers the truth from Bunny's letter?

17. What causes Julian to flee? Is it because of disappointment in his young protegees or in himself?

18. While the inner circle of characters (Richard, Charles, Camilla, Henry, Francis, and the ill-fated Bunny) are the center of this tale, those on the periphery are equally important in their own ways (Judy Poovey, Cloke Rayburn, Marion, and so on). Discuss the roles of these characters.

19. The rights for The Secret History were initially purchased by director/producer/screenwriter Alan J. Paluka (All The President's Men, The Pelican Brief), and they are currently with director Scott Hicks (Shine, Snow Falling on Cedars). What are your feelings about making the novel into a movie? Who would play the main characters if you were to cast it?

20. What is the meaning of Richard's final dream?

(From : Reading Group Guides http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/secret_history1.asp)

About the book:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Tartt
http://www.geocities.com/soho/8543/dmain.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/donna-tartt
http://www.bookrags.com/biography/donna-tartt-aya/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_History

http://mysterycrimefiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_secret_history_by_donna_tartt

About the Author

Donna Tartt has written two novels concerning murders. The Secret History, her first, was a sensation. The book earned Tartt a staggering advance of $450,000, sold some one million copies, and was translated into twenty-three languages. After this tremendous debut, Tartt was silent for ten years. But in 2002, she reemerged with her second novel, The Little Friend, the story of twelve-year-old Harriet Cleve Dufresnes, who is intent on avenging the murder of her older brother. Writing in the New Republic, Ruth Franklin called Tartt "one of the most mesmerizing writers of her generation."

(From : http://www.bookrags.com/biography/donna-tartt-aya/)

Available Titles

IpswichLibrary — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:39:49 CDT

These are the State Library Bookset titles which are available for interlibrary loan. This is just a guide to give some indication on when titles can be expected to be available. This list will be updated monthly.

Available now (as at 4 September 2008) :
1. Bleachers / John Grisham
2. Cold mountain / Charles Frazier
3. Corner of your eye / Kate Lyons
4. The Da Vinci Code / Dan Brown
5. The great fire / Shirley Hazzard
6. Jane Eyre / Charlotte Bronte
7. March / Geraldine Brooks
8. One few over the cuckoo's nest / Ken Kesey
9. Pride and prejudice / Jane Austen
10. Sunset in St Tropez / Danielle Steel
11. Terry Pratchett snapshot / Terry Pratchett
12. The upside of down / Thomas Homer-Dixon

Overdue or Due in September 2008 :
This does not mean the books would necessarily be available after the due date.
1. Affection / Ian Townsend (Due 4/9)
2. Digging to America / Anne Tyler (Due13/8)
3. Dirt music / Tim Winton In use (Due 22/9)
4. Double homicide / Jonathan & Faye Kellerman (Due 19/8)
5. Elliot Roosevelt snapshot / Elliot Roosevelt (Due 27/8)
6. The house of the spirits / Isabella Allende (Due 24/7)
7. Idoru / William Gibson In use (Due 4/9)
8. The inheritance of loss / Kiran Desai (Due 22/9)
9. Jack Higgins snapshot / Jack Higgins (Due 20/8)
10. Love in the time of cholera / Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Due 19/9)
11. On the road / Jack Kerouac Overdue (Due 20/8)
12. Perfume : the story of a murderer / Patrick Suskind (Due 10/9)
13. Robin Cook snapshot / Robin Cook (Due 9/9)
14. Schindler's ark / Thomas Keneally (Due 30/9)
15. The shiralee / D'Arcy Niland (Due 22/9)
16. To the lighthouse / Virginia Woolf (Due 23/9)
17. Wuthering Heights / Emily Bronte (Due 25/8)

Due in October :
1. Daughter of fortune / Isabel Allende (Due 6/10)
2. Five quarters of the orange / Joanne Harris (Due 7/10)
3. In cold blood / Truman Capote (Due 1/10)
4. Kitchen privileges : a memoir / Mary Higgins Clark (Due 13/10)
5. The picture of Dorian Gray / Oscar Wilde (Due 9/10)
6. The rouseabout / Rachel Treasure (Due 13/10)
7. Women in love / D.H. Lawrence (Due 10/10)
8. The unknown terrorist / Richard Flanagan (Due 13/10)

State Library Titles

IpswichLibrary — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:37:02 CDT

The following book club set titles at the State Library of Queensland are available through interlibrary loans from the Ipswich Library. Sets can be borrowed for a period of 6 weeks. Please email fabdul@library.ipswich.qld.gov.au to request for book club set loans.

Click here to see which titles are currently available (ie not on loan). This list will be updated on a monthly basis.

Affection / Ian Townsend
The alchemist / Paulo Coelho
Alias Grace / Margaret Attwood
Almost French : a new life in Paris / Sarah Turnbull
Bleachers / John Grisham
The book thief / Marcus Zusak
The bridge of San Luis Rey / Thornton Wilder
Cold mountain / Charles Frazier
Corner of your eye / Kate Lyons
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time / Mark Haddon
Daughter of fortune / Isabel Allende
The Da Vinci Code / Dan Brown
Desert flower : the extraordinary journey of a desert nomad / Waris Dirie
Digging to America / Anne Tyler
Dirt music / Tim Winton
Disgrace / J.M. Coetzee
Double homicide / Jonathan & Faye Kellerman
East of Eden / John Steinbeck
Elliot Roosevelt snapshot / Elliot Roosevelt
The English patient / Michael Ondaatje
An equal music / Vikram Seth
Eucalyptus / Murray Bail
Five quarters of the orange / Joanne Harris
The floating island / Anna Ralph
A fortunate life / A.B. Facey
Girl with a pearl earring / Tracey Chevalier
The God of small things / Arundhati Roy
The great fire / Shirley Hazzard
The great Gatsby / F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Harmony Silk Factory / Tash Aw
Hit / Tara Moss
The hospital by the river : a story of hope / Catherine Hamlin
The house of the spirits / Isabella Allende
Howards End / E.M. Forster
Ice station / Matthew Reilly
Idoru / William Gibson
In cold blood / Truman Capote
The inheritance of loss / Kiran Desai
Jack Higgins snapshot / Jack Higgins
Jane Eyre / Charlotte Bronte
Journey to the stone country / Alex Miller
The kingdom where nobody dies / Kimberley Starr
Kitchen privileges : a memoir / Mary Higgins Clark
The kite runner / Khaled Hossein
Life of Pi / Yann Martel
A long long way / Sebastian Barry
A long way down / Nick Hornby
Love in the time of cholera / Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The lovely Bones / Alice Sebold
Mao's last dancer / Li Cunxin
March / Geraldine Brooks
Memoirs of a geisha / Arthur Golden
Mister Pip / Lloyd Thomas
The namesake / Jhumpa Lahiri
Nice try / Shane Maloney
The night ferry / Michael Robotham
Notes from a small island / Bill Bryson
On the road / Jack Kerouac
One few over the cuckoo's nest / Ken Kesey
Oracle night / Paul Auster
The other Boleyn girl / Phillippa Gregory
The other side of you / Salley Vickers
The pact : a love story / Jodi Picoult
Perfume : the story of a murderer / Patrick Suskind
The picture of Dorian Gray / Oscar Wilde
Pride and prejudice / Jane Austen
Purple hibiscus / Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Rachel's holiday / Marian Keyes
Ransom / Danielle Steel Remembering
Babylon / David Malouf
Robin Cook snapshot / Robin Cook
The rouseabout / Rachel Treasure
Salmon fishing in the Yemen / Paul Torday
The salt of broken tears / Michael Meehan
Schindler's ark / Thomas Keneally
The secret history / Donna Tartts
The shipping News / Annie Proulx
The shiralee / D'Arcy Niland
A short history of tractors in Ukranian / Marina Lewycka
A spy in the house of love / Anais Nin
The Sunday Philosophy Club / Alexander McCall Smith
Sunset in St Tropez / Danielle Steel
The tenderness of wolves / Stef Penney
Terry Pratchett snapshot / Terry Pratchett
Things fall apart / Chinua Achebe
Thompson gunner / Nick Earls
The time traveller's wife / Audrey Niffenegger
Time we have taken / Steven Carroll
To kill a mockingbird / Harper Lee
To the lighthouse / Virginia Woolf
True history of the Kelly Gang / Peter Carey
Twisted / Jonathan Kellerman
The unknown terrorist / Richard Flanagan
The upside of down / Thomas Homer-Dixon
Water for elephants / Sara Gruen
Women in love / D.H. Lawrence
Wuthering Heights / Emily Bronte

Last revised : 5 May 2008
http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/82414/SLQ_-_Book_club_sets_-_Alphabetical_list.pdf

BookClub Sets

IpswichLibrary — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:38:17 CDT

State Library of Queensland

As one of Queensland's public libraries, the Ipswich Library has access to Book Club sets which are available for loan from the State Library of Queensland. Currently there are almost 100 titles available at the State Library. The sets are available for a short term loan of 6 weeks. Please email ilisweb@gil.com.au for this service. There are limits to loans availability due to popularity.

Ipswich Library Sets
The Ipswich Library has 5 book club sets, comprising 10 copies of each title. The sets are available for loan to registered BookHub book clubs for 6 to 8 weeks.
Click here for more information.

Other suggestions
If your club is having difficulty getting hold of book sets, you might want to consider other options, such as :
1. Reading different books of :

Same Author - books by the same author eg. Tim Winton, Margaret Atwood
Same Genre - books from the same genre eg. Fantasy
Same Theme - books on the same subject/theme eg. Biography

2. Hire Book Sets
Some book clubs use a fee-based service to hire books. This can provide a wide choice of titles, with guarantee for delivery at the right time. Most services also offer discussion notes. An example of such a service is the CAE Book Groups.

3. Buy Your Own
Visit a local bookstore to buy your own copy. Some book suppliers offer discounts to customers buying multiple copies or purchasing titles in a book promotion such as The Big Book Club.

Ipswich Library Titles

IpswichLibrary — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:36:13 CDT

The Ipswich Library has the following book club sets that are available for loan to registered BookHub book clubs. Each set comprises 10 copies, and are available for loan for 6 to 8 weeks.
The titles below link to discussion notes.

Kingdom where nobody dies

IpswichLibrary — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:52:09 CDT

Author Kimberley Starr

Synopsis : Twenty years after the first boy vanished along the Brisbane River, psychologist Madeleine Jeffries is called home to help untangle a chain of similar disappearances. To do so she must confront secrets and guilt from her own past. The Kingdom Where Nobody Dies is an exploration of grief, responsibility and repercussions, and the way childhood actions can echo throughout our lives.

Discussion Questions : Readers’ Notes for Book Groups : http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/bccwr/community/documents/obob_reader_notes.pdf

About the book :
7 April 2005 - The Kingdom Where Nobody Dies was chosen for the One Book One Brisbane campaign 18 April 2005. The Kingdom Where Nobody Dies was nominated for the Dobbie Award for a first novel by an Australian woman author.

About the Author Kimberley was born in 1970 and lives in Brisbane with her family.

The Kingdom Where Nobody Dies won the Queensland Premier's Literary Award for Best Emerging Author and is her first novel.
From http://users.bigpond.net.au/elliget/kimse/home.htm

Discussion Notes

IpswichLibrary — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:18:29 CDT

To help our book clubs have a more effective discussion, this page links to information relating to the following book club set titles available at Ipswich Library. Included are a synopsis of the story, discussion questions, information about the author, and other details pertaining to the book.

The Dive from Clausen's Pier

IpswichLibrary — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:17:10 CDT

The Dive from Clausen's Pier

Author Ann Packer

Synopsis:
Carrie Bell's relationship is falling apart quietly when her fiancé, Mike, in an effort to kick off a day at the park with friends, dives headfirst into shallow water. In most disintegrating romances that have lingered for many years, it usually takes something mundane -- another lover, a new job in a distant city -- to bring on the end. In Ann Packer's first novel, "The Dive From Clausen's Pier," Mike's tragic accident, one that renders him a quadriplegic, brings on a much more uncertain, and painful, dilemma. Carrie must choose between her loyalty to Mike and her own freedom.
(From : http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2002/04/26/packer/index.html )

Spoiler Warning: These questions may reveal important details about The Dive from Clausen's Pier. Finish the book before reading on.

Why is Carrie unable to cry until Mike awakes from the coma [p. 9, 65]?
What effect does Rooster have on Carrie’s emotional turmoil during Part One? Is Rooster fair in his attack on Carrie outside the library [p. 85-87]?
When Carrie and Mike see the bride and groom on TV in the hospital, Carrie thinks: “If his next words were Let’s get a minister over here and get married tomorrow, I would say yes” [p. 101]. What feelings are driving her at this point? What might have happened to Carrie and Mike if Mike had persisted in getting married after the accident?
What does Mike mean when he says: “It was like we were already married—we’d gone too far” [p. 413]? What went wrong or changed in Carrie’s and Mike’s relationship? Did Carrie or Mike change, or did their circumstances change, or both?
Carrie tells the reader: “For him [Mike], it was all about the future. For me, the past” [p. 77]. How does Carrie’s past inform her present? What do each of the three memories of her father mean for Carrie [p. 31]? What Carrie does not remember about her father is “nearly infinite. . . . A whole book of things, an entire encyclopedia, a volume that I tried and tried to fill at the Mayers’” [p. 31]. Might Carrie have stayed with Mike and the Mayers for longer than she would have because she was trying to fill the void left by her father? What influence does Carrie’s memory of her father have on her decision to leave Madison—and then, ultimately, to return? By returning, is Carrie escaping her father’s legacy?
When she leaves Madison, Carrie seems to believe that people are defined by the actions or perceptions of other people. She says: “Because we were caretakers of each other’s habits and expressions, weren’t we, witnesses who didn’t just see but who gave existence?” [p. 142]. Remembering Kilroy’s touch, she says, “How extraordinary . . . that someone could touch you and make you into something” [p. 367]. Carrie’s mother asserts that “people aren’t defined by what they do so much as they define what they do” [p. 354]. Are people defined by what they do, or by how others perceive them, or by neither? Does Carrie’s opinion on this topic change by the novel’s end?
How does Mike’s family react to his accident? How do his friends react? What about Carrie’s outward behavior in reaction to Mike’s tragedy makes her behavior so surprising to their families and friends? Are there typical or expected ways people react to tragedies like this? What do deviations from this expected behavior signify?
Carrie explains her love for sewing: “It was the inexorability of it that appealed to me, how a length of fabric became a group of cut-out pieces that gradually took on the shape of a garment” [p. 12]. How is the process of sewing, and Carrie’s own projects with expensive silk fabrics, a metaphor for Carrie’s emotional evolution? Does playing pool have a similar meaning for Kilroy?
Is it Jamie’s call that propels Carrie to finally return home, or is some other event the catalyst for her return? Does guilt or obligation play a role in Carrie’s decision to stay in Wisconsin? Is she trying to prove something to herself or to others? Is she acting truly selflessly? Is she settling, giving up, or being true to herself?
Could Carrie properly be called a heroine? What would have been the heroic path for her to take?
Carrie poses the question: “How much do we owe the people we love?” [p. 147] When she leaves Madison, she seems to view the answer as an all-or-nothing proposition: “What I had discovered was that I couldn’t give up my life for Mike—that’s how I saw it at the time, that’s the choice I thought I had to make. And because I couldn’t give up everything, I also thought I couldn’t give up anything” [p. 147]. Does Carrie see her answer differently at the end of the novel? What does Carrie give up for Mike? Did she need Kilroy in order to have something other than herself to give up for Mike? What does Kilroy owe his parents? Can love be separate from obligation? How might Jamie’s or Rooster’s or Kilroy’s definition of love differ from Carrie’s definition?
How do the tones and styles of Part One and Part Three reflect Carrie’s different state of mind before her time in New York City and afterward?
What is Carrie looking for in a relationship? What characteristics of Kilroy attract Carrie that were or are absent in Mike?
Is Carrie’s resolution of her relationship with Kilroy satisfying? By “being there” in Carrie’s life, what does Kilroy teach Carrie about herself? What does Lane teach Carrie about herself?
Is the resolution to the mystery surrounding Kilroy satisfying? Is “the tragedy named Mike” different for Carrie than for Kilroy [p. 400]?
Why are the minor characters of Harvey (Mike’s new roommate in the hospital) and Harvey’s wife [pp. 220-221] so significant to the novel’s themes of love, obligation, and choices?
Mike and Rooster theorize about the irony in names such as the dentist, Dr. Richard Moler, or the orthopedist, Dr. Bonebrake [p. 20]. Do the names in the novel—Carrie Bell, Kilroy, Rooster—have any ironic meaning?
While Mike literally dives from Clausen’s Pier, who figuratively dives from Clausen’s Pier? What metaphoric images does the title conjure up for the reader before and after reading the novel?
Envision an inverted version of The Dive from Clausen’s Pier written from Mike’s point of view in which Carrie had been the one to have had the accident. How might their lives have played out differently? What does this exercise reveal about their relationship and Carrie’s character?

(From : http://www.annpacker.com/reading_group_guides)

About the Author
Ann Packer grew up in California and attended Yale University and The Iowa Writers' Workshop. She has received a James Michener Award and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. Her stories have appeared in Ploughshares, The New Yorker and in Prize Stories 1992: The O Henry Awards. She has previously published a story collection, Mendocino and Other Stories. Ann Packer lives in northern California with her family. Her second novel Songs Without Words was published in 2007.
http://www.identitytheory.com/people/birnbaum58.html
http://www.annpacker.com/

The Book Thief

IpswichLibrary — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:26:23 CDT

The Book Thief

Author Markus Zusak

Synopsis:

Liesel Meminger is only nine years old when she is taken to live with the Hubermanns, a foster family, on Himmel Street in Molching, Germany, in the late 1930s. She arrives with few possessions, but among them is The Grave Digger's Handbook, a book that she stole from her brother's burial place. During the years that Liesel lives with the Hubermanns, Hitler becomes more powerful, life on Himmel Street becomes more fearful, and Liesel becomes a fullfledged book thief. She rescues books from Nazi book-burnings and steals from the library of the mayor. Liesel is illiterate when she steals her first book, but Hans Hubermann uses her prized books to teach her to read. This is a story of courage, friendship, love, survival, death, and grief. This is Liesel's life on Himmel Street, told from Death's point of view.

Spoiler Warning: These questions may reveal important details about The Book Thief. Finish the book before reading on.

Discuss the symbolism of Death as the omniscient narrator of the novel. What are Death's feelings for each victim? Describe Death's attempt to resist Liesel. Death states, "I'm always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both." (p. 491) What is ugly and beautiful about Liesel, Rosa and Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenburg, Rudy Steiner, and Mrs. Hermann? Why is Death haunted by humans?
What is ironic about Liesel's obsession with stealing books? Discuss other uses of irony in the novel.
The Grave Digger's Handbook is the first book Liesel steals. Why did she take the book? What is significant about the titles of the books she steals? Discuss why she hides The Grave Digger's Handbook under her mattress. Describe Hans Hubermann's reaction when he discovers the book. What does the act of book thievery teach Liesel about life and death? Explain Rudy's reaction when he discovers that Liesel is a book thief. How does stealing books from the mayor's house lead to a friendship with the mayor's wife? Explain how Liesel's own attempt to write a book saves her life.
Liesel believes that Hans Hubermann's eyes show kindness, and from the beginning she feels closer to him than to Rosa Hubermann. How does Hans gain Liesel's love and trust? Debate whether Liesel is a substitute for Hans's children, who have strayed from the family. Why is it so difficult for Rosa to demonstrate the same warmth toward Liesel? Discuss how Liesel's relationship with Rosa changes by the end of the novel.
Abandonment is a central theme in the novel. The reader knows that Liesel feels abandoned by her mother and by the death of her brother. How does she equate love with abandonment? At what point does she understand why she was abandoned by her mother? Who else abandons Liesel in the novel? Debate whether she was abandoned by circumstance or by the heart.
Guilt is another recurring theme in the novel. Hans Hubermann's life was spared in France during World War I, and Erik Vandenburg's life was taken. Explain why Hans feels guilty about Erik's death. Guilt is a powerful emotion that may cause a person to become unhappy and despondent. Discuss how Hans channels his guilt into helping others. Explain Max Vandenburg's thought, "Living was living. The price was guilt and shame." (p. 208) Why does he feel guilt and shame?
Compare and contrast the lives of Liesel and Max Vandenburg. How does Max's life give Liesel purpose? At what point do Liesel and Max become friends? Max gives Liesel a story called "The Standover Man" for her birthday. What is the significance of this story?
Death says that Liesel was a girl "with a mountain to climb." (p. 86) What is her mountain? Who are her climbing partners? What is her greatest obstacle? At what point does she reach the summit of her mountain? Describe her descent. What does she discover at the foot of her mountain?
Hans Junior, a Nazi soldier, calls his dad a coward because he doesn't belong to the Nazi Party. He feels that you are either for Hitler or against him. How does it take courage to oppose Hitler? There isn't one coward in the Hubermann household. Discuss how they demonstrate courage throughout the novel.
Describe Liesel's friendship with Rudy. How does their friendship change and grow throughout the novel? Death says that Rudy doesn't offer his friendship "for free." (p. 51) What does Rudy want from Liesel? Discuss Death's statement, "The only thing worse than a boy who hates you [is] a boy who loves you." (p. 52) Why is it difficult for Liesel to love Rudy? Discuss why Liesel tells Mr. Steiner that she kissed Rudy's dead body.
How does Zusak use the literary device of foreshadowing to pull the reader into the story?
Liesel Meminger lived to be an old woman. Death says that he would like to tell the book thief about beauty and brutality, but those are things that she had lived. How does her life represent beauty in the wake of brutality? Discuss how Zusak’s poetic writing style enhances the beauty of Liesel's story.

Interesting facts about the book:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_Thief

About the Author
http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/resources/MZ-TheBookThief.pdf
http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/display_title.asp?ISBN=9780330364263&Author=Zusak,%20Markus

Salt of Broken Tears

IpswichLibrary — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:06:54 CDT

Salt of broken tears/ by Michael Meehan

The Salt of Broken Tears

Author Michael Meehan

Synopsis :
The arrival of a young woman on a remote family farm in outback Australia turns the lives of its inhabitants upside down, a situation that becomes further complicated by her subsequent disappearance, leaving behind only a bloodied dress, sparking the young heir to the farm to undertake an epic odyssey in search of the truth.

Discussion Questions : Not Available

About the book : This was Meehan’s first novel. The Salt of Broken Tears was published by Vintage in 1999 and won the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the 2000 New South Wales Premier's Awards. It was also shortlisted for the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction in the 2000 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.

Reviews : http://www.arcadepub.com/book/index.cfm/GCOI/55970100481280

More about the book :
http://www.bookworm.com.au/shop/scditem.asp?ProdID=22579
http://www.colloquy.monash.edu.au/issue012/pritchard.pdf
http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Books/Default.aspx?Page=Book&ID=9780091839130

About the Author Michael Meehan has a Personal Chair in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University. He holds a BA (Hons) from Monash University and a PhD from Cambridge University, both in the field of literature, and has an LLB from the University of Adelaide. Professor Meehan has taught and published across a range of disciplines, including literary studies, law, commerce and legal studies, and is a prize-winning novelist, with novels published in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. He recently completed two terms as Head of the School of Communication and Creative Arts. He has a new novel, Mount Deception, coming out with Allen & Unwin in October 2008. From http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/icg/youth08conf/

Eucalyptus

IpswichLibrary — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:52:48 CDT

Eucalyptus

Author Murray Bail

Dustjacket synopsis:
"On a property in western New South Wales a man named Holland lives with his daughter Ellen. Over the years, as she grows into a beautiful young woman, he plants hundreds of different gum trees on his land. When Ellen is nineteen her father announces his decision: she will marry the man who can name all his species of eucalypt, down to the last tree.

"Suitors emerge for all corners, including the formidable, straight-backed Mr Cave, world expert on the varieties of eucalypt. And then walking among her father's trees, Ellen chances on a strange young man who in the days that follow tells her dozens of stories set in cities, deserts, faraway countries... "

Eucalyptus is Bail's best and most moving novel. It is both a modern fairy tale and an unpredictable love story played out against the spearing light and broken shadows of country Australia. Its intricate narrative is interwoven with ideas about art, feminine beauty, landscape and language. Haunting and mesmeric, Eucalyptus illuminates the nature of story-telling itself."

About the Book/ Book Reviews :
Amazon
Complete Review
Wikipedia
ASBS Newsletter
Sydney Morning Herald

Awards :
Nominated for International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, 2000
Winner of the 1999 Miles Franklin Award
Winner of the 1999 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book
A New York Times Notable Book of 1998

About the author :
Wikipedia
Complete Review

Secret Life of Bees

IpswichLibrary — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:37:12 CDT

Secret Life of Bees

Author Sue Monk Kidd

Synopsis:
Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in-mother", Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free from jail. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina -- a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Mary (Black Madonna).

Spoiler Warning: These questions may reveal important details about The Secret Life of Bees. Finish the book before reading on.

How would you describe Lily's feelings about her mother? Did they change throughout the novel? How did hearing that her mother left her affect her perception of her mother?
Do you belive T-Ray's account of what happened when Lily's mother died?
Did your opinion of T-Ray change when August told Lily about how much he used to love her mother? Does Deborah's abandonment explain or excuse T-Ray?
Do you agree with Lily that people would rather die than forgive? Does she forgive her mother? T-Ray? Herself?
What do the bees mean to the story? What is "the secret life of bees?"
Do you think race was portrayed realistically in The Secret Life of Bees? What do you think Sue Monk Kidd was saying about race in this novel?
Why did Rosaleen spit on the men's shoes? What are the ways the characters in the novel confront injustice? How do you think we should deal with injustice? Do these kinds of prejudices still exist today?
What was your reaction to Lily's relationship with Zach? What do you think happened to them in the future?
Talk about the sisters. Who was your favorite? Do we all need a wailing wall, like May? Why do you think June was cold toward Lily? How would you describe August?

What role did the Black Madonna play in their community? What do you think about the legend of the Black Madonna?

More Discussion questions at :
Reading Group Guides
SparkNotes
BookBrowse

Interesting facts about the book:
In addition to being a New York Times bestseller, The Secret Life of Bees has been selected by Good Morning America's "Read This!" Book Club. It won the 2003 Southeastern Book Sellers Association Award for Best Fiction Novel.
The Secret Life of Bees has been adapted into a film directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Dakota Fanning portrays the main character and narrator Lily Owens, and Jennifer Hudson portrays Lily's caregiver and only friend, Rosaleen. The Boatwright sisters—August, May and June—will be played by Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keys respectively. Hilarie Burton will play Deborah Owens and Paul Bettany will also play T Ray, Lily's abusive father. Production began on January 7, 2008, in Lumberton, North Carolina. It will be released on October 17 2008.

About the Author
http://www.suemonkkidd.com/Author.aspx
http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=820
http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm?author_number=820