What We Thought: December 6 by Martin Cruz Smith

December 6 by Martin Cruz Smith was the December monthly selection. Book club members were captivated reading from the point of view of Japanese citizens in 1941 about their behavior leading up to the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor. They were fascinated by how the people adapted to the shortage of oil created by the American embargo and wondered how charcoal-fired cars would be accepted and used in America.

The main character, Harry Niles, grew up in Japan and is the son of American Christian missionaries. He speaks fluent Japanese and moves effectively among the local residents and the westerners who live there. He appears to be most comfortable with the Japanese and their lifestyle even though the Japanese do not accept foreigners (gaijin) among them.

The discussion led members to mention books they have read that resonated with the author’s story. Perhaps the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the history of American-Japanese relations in World War II are difficult subjects to talk about directly and personally.

Books mentioned by members: We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese by  Elizabeth Norman, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, From Here to Eternity by James Jones, Kamikaze Diaries; Reflections of Japanese Student Soldiers by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, Last Train from Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back by Charles Pellegrino, One Second After by William R. Forstchen, Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff, and The Boys in the Boat by Daniel Brown.

What We Thought: The Last Child by John Hart

Who is the last child? The book club discussion of The Last Child by John Hart focused on 13-year-old Johnny Merriman’s dedication to the search for his missing twin sister Alyssa. His mother’s love for Johnny and how the recent tragic circumstances of her life interfered with the care of her son was another important part of the family’s story. Her missing daughter and the subsequent disappearance of her husband, which led to the loss of her family home, contributed to an unfortunate and toxic relationship with a former boyfriend and town bully.

The members were not very understanding of how the mother could have become dependent on drugs and alcohol, but then they came to the realization that people cannot truly know how they might deal with a horrific situation unless they have direct experience with it. Material things and attachments drop away until all that matters is love.

Johnny is by far the strongest character; he searches for his sister and takes care of his mother above all else. His mother becomes a heroine when she defies her abusive boyfriend to protect her son.

Book club members endorsed this book. All agreed that that Johnny’s story is profoundly enlightening despite the fate of Johnny’s twin Alyssa.

Have you read this book? What did you think? Please feel free to add your comments to the discussion...

This Month's Selection: The Last Child by John Hart

The Afternoon Readers Book Club will discuss The Last Child by John Hart on Tuesday, November 12, at 1:00 p.m.

 

Read along with the group and add your thoughts to the discussion in the comments!

From the publisher:

John Hart’s New York Times bestselling debut, The King of Lies, announced the arrival of a major talent. With Down River, he surpassed his earlier success, transcending the barrier between thriller and literature and winning the 2008 Edgar Award for best novel. Now, with The Last Child, he achieves his most significant work to date, an intricate, powerful story of loss, hope, and courage in the face of evil.

Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he’d been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is---confident in a way that he can never fully explain.

Determined to find his sister, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown. It is a desperate, terrifying search, but Johnny is not as alone as he might think. Detective Clyde Hunt has never stopped looking for Alyssa either, and he has a soft spot for Johnny. He watches over the boy and tries to keep him safe, but when Johnny uncovers a dangerous lead and vows to follow it, Hunt has no choice but to intervene.

Then a second child goes missing . . .

What We Thought: The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

The book club discussion of The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian this month centered on how the Lipton family -- newly moved to a small New Hampshire town from suburban Philadelphia -- were able to tolerate living in that old Victorian house with its bizarre wallpaper, hidden staircases, creepy dirt-floor cellar, and barricaded door that leads to who knows where. Members wondered why Chip and Emily were so friendly and open with a group of elderly women herbalists and not put off by their intense interest in the twin daughters, Hallie and Garnet.

Some members were bothered by the repetitiveness of Chip Lipton, a pilot suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after a crash, going over and over the events of the crash in his mind.

This story was very spooky and uncomfortable to read in the way the women were able to insinuate themselves in the lives of the Lintons and make them disregard eerie actions and motives of the women (and men) in the group. The Liptons didn't seem to wonder why the women were not fully accepted by or integrated into the social life of the town residents. Readers, however, were let into the secrets of the herbalists much more than the Liptons were, and some readers felt that the drugging and power of suggestion of the herbalists would explain how an already fragile family could be so easily deceived.

The Night Strangers is a classic ghost story and psychological thriller with witchcraft. The epilogue was unwelcome and unexpected. Members said that they were concerned about the feelings of the family and why they stayed in New Hampshire with the herbalists. This book prompted a lot of discussion but did not generate a feeling of satisfaction about the actions of any of the characters.

 

Have you read this book? Please add your comments to the discussion!

This Month's Selection: The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

The Night Strangers

by Chris Bohjalian

From the Publisher

From the bestselling author of The Double Bind, Skeletons at the Feast, and Secrets of Eden, comes a riveting and dramatic ghost story. 

In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire, a door has long been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts.
           
The home's new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten-year-old daughters. Together they hope to rebuild their lives there after Chip, an airline pilot, has to ditch his 70-seat regional jet in Lake Champlain after double engine failure. Unlike the Miracle on the Hudson, however, most of the passengers aboard Flight 1611 die on impact or drown. The body count? Thirty-nine – a coincidence not lost on Chip when he discovers the number of bolts in that basement door. Meanwhile, Emily finds herself wondering about the women in this sparsely populated White Mountain village – self-proclaimed herbalists – and their interest in her fifth-grade daughters. Are the women mad? Or is it her husband, in the wake of the tragedy, whose grip on sanity has become desperately tenuous?  

The result is a poignant and powerful ghost story with all the hallmarks readers have come to expect from bestselling novelist Chris Bohjalian: a palpable sense of place, an unerring sense of the demons that drive us, and characters we care about deeply.

The difference this time? Some of those characters are dead.

Have you read The Night Strangers? It's a spooky choice just in time for Halloween. Read it along with the Afternoon Book Club and comment on the discussion post on October 16th!

What We Thought: Swim Back to Me: Stories by Ann Packer

Book club members discussed characteristics of short story collections after reading this month’s selection, Swim Back toMe by Ann Packer. Members said that they enjoyed reading collections of short stories written by different authors or about different time periods in the same book. Most preferred light and humorous stories rather than depressing and dark ones. They agreed that the stories in Swim Back to Me show human nature and another part of our selves. Most of the members did not enjoy reading Ann Packer’s stories but they discussed her work in depth anyway.

 

Commenting about “Molten,” the story about a mother whose teenaged son has died, members discussed how, although a mother never gets over a loss like that, some stay bitter all of their lives and others are eventually able  to move on. Members speculated about the reasons a husband had for deserting both his first and second family without notice or explanation, in "Dwell Time". Perhaps he had post-traumatic stress disorder and when something triggered the behavior, he had no control over his reactions. They wondered why the first wife never told the second wife about what happened. No one spoke about the children and their feelings.

 

Although there was clearly no favorite story, some were drawn to “Jump” where a character who appeared to be uneducated and unmotivated was revealed to be totally different from a stereotype. The character in the story who had believed him to be one way was surprised and changed her reaction to him. This story could be expanded into a relationship between them.

 

Members said that they had to think more deeply about the stories and their implications to understand them. Feelings about the content of this collection were ambivalent but there was a spirited discussion and everyone expressed strong opinions.

Have you read Swim Back to Me or anything else written by Ann Packer? Please add to the discussion in the comments!

 

Here is a list of recently published short stories/essays for anyone looking to read more:

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

Runaway Stories by Alice Munro

Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell

Scenes From  Village  Life by Amos Oz

The Outlaw Album by Daniel Woodrell

Homesick by Roshi Fernando

Orientation by Daniel Orozco
Birds of a Lesser Paradise by Megan Mayhew Bergman
Pulse by Julian Barnes

Dear Life by Alice Munro

 

 

This Month's Selection: Swim Back to Me: Stories by Ann Packer

Swim Back to Me: Stories

by Ann Packer

Ann Packer is a talented archivist of family life, with its hidden crevasses and unforeseeable perils. In this collection of stories, Packer explores the moral predicaments that define our lives, the frailty of ordinary grace, and the ways in which we are shattered and remade by loss.

This collection is framed by two novellas. In the opener, "Walk for Mankind," Teenager Richard describes his bittersweet relationship with a rebellious, risk-taking 14-year-old Sasha, who has a clandestine affair with a drug dealer. Sasha's behavior is a reaction to her controlling father, an English professor who's spiraling downward professionally and personally. "Things Said or Done" is set three decades later, when Sasha, now 51 and divorced, has become Richard's caretaker, forced to deal with his self-destructive, narcissistic personality while recognizing the ways in which they are alike. 

With Swim Back to Me, Packer delivers shimmering psychological precision and page-turning drama: her most enticing work yet.

-- From the publisher's description
 

Have you read this? Read along with the Afternoon Book Club and comment anytime!

What We Thought: The Memory of Running

Combined Book Club Potluck!

This evening’s Book Club meeting began with a hot and cold dish supper enjoyed by everyone. Afternoon and Evening Book Club members look forward to the biennial event showcasing tasty treats including vegetarian casseroles and home style favorites of chicken, spicy sausage and other tempting ingredients.

After dinner the group moved from the Community Room to the Library’s  front room for desserts; decorated cake, trifle, cookies, and even chocolates and a discussion of author Ron McLarty’s The Memory of Running. This book evoked strong reactions and opinions about family issues and the treatment of psychiatric disorders during the past fifty years.

 

All agreed that the author wrote a beautiful story about difficult subjects. There was enough humor to lighten up the overall sadness of the character’s lives. Familiar locations in Rhode Island enhanced the background of events as the characters moved through the highs and lows of life.

The story revolved around family and the love and devotion of parents and children as well as goodness radiating from all of them. The Memory of Running is a story of hope and resilience that exists throughout experience despite life’s trials.

This quote from one of the group inspired Book Club members and was a fitting conclusion to the evening’s program, “In a dog-eat-dog world, Smithy wore Milk-Bone underwear.”

This Month's Selection: The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty

This month is the special Combined Book Club Potluck meeting, when Evening Readers and Afternoon Readers get together for supper and conversation. The Combined Book Club Potluck is Tuesday, August 20, at 6:00 p.m.

 

Bring a dish to share that night, or join us on the blog the next day!

 

This month's selection is The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty. Here's what some reviewers have said about this debut novel:

 

"Smithy is an American original, worthy of a place on the shelf just below your Hucks, your Holdens, your Yossarians." —Stephen King
"Endearing . . . it’s a ride worth taking." —USA Today
"In The Memory of Running, professional actor and long aspiring novelist Ron McLarty has invented a character so fully and elegantly defined that the book soars with originality and life." —San Francisco Chronicle
"Captivating . . . McLarty unspools passage after passage of devastating grace and melancholy, and his taciturn hero hooks himself to your heart." —Entertainment Weekly
"Riders who hop onto the back of Smithy Ide's bike and ride America with him will cherish the journey. I loved this sad, funny, life-affirming novel." —Wally Lamb

 

Click here to read an excerpt from The Memory of Running.

What We Thought: The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

The book club discussion emphasized how much freedom the three pre-adolescent boys -- main characters in the story -- enjoyed on board the Oransay. They were unsupervised, for the most part; took advantage of the run of a cruise ship; and suffered little consequences of their actions.

 

Book club members contrasted the boys’ coming of age stories with the likelihood of such activities today. Now children are closely regulated and supervised. Young children would never be dropped off to travel alone on a long ocean voyage without a strict schedule and accountability. People spoke fondly about their own lives growing up and how they were able to freely roam for extended periods of time. As long as they were home in time for dinner and not caught doing anything forbidden, everyone was satisfied. There was also talk about the secret lives of children.

 

Although the book is fictional, the author actually did travel as a young boy on the real-life Oronsay from Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) to London. Ondaatje says that the characters and events in the book are not real, but one could wonder how much in life is remembered and how much is imagined? It might be that people can’t or don’t wish to be certain of their own life story. This is a great story for reflection about childhood behavior and the effect it has on adult life. A quote from The Cat's Table:

"Over the years, confusing fragments, lost corners of stories, have a clearer meaning when seen in new light, a different place."

Have you read The Cat's Table? Please tell us your thoughts. You do not have to be a member of the group to comment on the blog!

This Month's Selection: The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

The Cat's Table

by Michael Ondaatje

In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the “cat’s table”—as far from the Captain’s Table as can be—with a ragtag group of “insignificant” adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship crosses the Indian Ocean, the boys tumble from one adventure to another, bursting all over the place like freed mercury. But there are other diversions as well: they are first exposed to the magical worlds of jazz, women, and literature by their eccentric fellow travelers, and together they spy on a shackled prisoner -- his crime and fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever.

By turns poignant and electrifying, The Cat’s Table is a spellbinding story about the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood, and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage.

Have you read this? Read along with the Afternoon Book Club and comment on the discussion post next week!

What We Thought About: Fresh Disasters by Stuart Woods

A lively discussion of author Stuart Woods and Fresh Disasters (Putnam, 2007)dominated June’s Afternoon Book Club meeting. A majority of the group wholeheartedly enjoyed reading about lawyer Stone Barrington and his exploits and romances. Readers new to Stuart Woods liked the book, as well as those who were already fans.

It was said that although Woods writes great stories, he is not necessarily a prize winner. He has a devoted following and his books consistently are best sellers. The books are predictable, easy to read and very entertaining and spicy. Readers pick up the books and read them to the end eager to find out what happens to the characters. Even though his fiction is a welcome escape from everyday life some members said that there was enough realism to hold their attention. The consensus was that reading anything by Stuart Woods is a guilty pleasure without the guilt.

One member did say that Stone Barrington was not like any lawyer that she had ever worked for. Perhaps this was wistful thinking on her part! Another member of the group remarked that while she was reading one of Woods' books on a plane flight another passenger approached her reading the same book in Italian.

It must be said that a few members of the group were not enthusiastic supporters but confessed to finishing the book and did appreciate the mass market appeal of the author. This anonymous quote from one of many Internet sites sums up the general feeling of the Afternoon Book Club about Stuart Woods and Fresh Disasters.

“I will confess to being a fan of Stuart Woods' novels. I know that he is literary popcorn, that’s one of the reasons I like his stuff. When I pick up one of his books, I know I’m in for a good, fast, tight read. It’s perfect beach reading. I have read almost all of his books, and I realized something: This guy writes well across a variety of genres. In all of his books the characters come alive, and I care about them. That is perhaps the hardest thing to do as a writer. Yes, I realize that it’s not Shakespeare or Salinger; still, I am always interested in what Stone Barrington, Will Lee or Holly Baker is up to now. Does anyone else share this guilty pleasure?”

The answer as far as the Holmes Public Library Afternoon Readers Book Club is a resounding “Yes!”

This Month's Selection: Fresh Disasters by Stuart Woods

At the request of mystery-reading members of the group, this month we are reading Fresh Disasters by Stuart Woods. From the publisher:

With his last book, Dark Harbor, Stuart Woods proved once again that he is the master of the offbeat thriller. Now he outdoes himself with Fresh Disasters, the newest edition of the Stone Barrington series.
Stone embarks on his most dangerous adventure yet when a chance encounter with the wrong man sends him straight into the heart of New York's Mafia underworld.
With the often hilarious action, razor-sharp characters, and crackling dialogue that are his hallmarks, Fresh Disasters is Stuart Woods at the pleasurable height of his storytelling powers.

Add your comments to the discussion online starting June 11th!

The Columbus Affair = Dud

Book Club members met to discuss best-selling author Steve Berry’s 2012 historical thriller, The Columbus Affair. All agreed that the book was a disappointment. The story about the hidden history of Christopher Columbus was repetitive and too long -- 80 chapters of 3 to 4 pages each. Some said that it didn’t hold their interest enough to care about the ending and was not even interesting as a thriller.

The discussion generated by the book was about life in Third World countries compared to that in Western Europe and the United States and how the quest for power and control generates violence and unequal economic circumstances.

This quote by Confucius emphasizes the author’s passion and dedication to history that is at the heart of his writing, “Study the past if you would define the future.”

Have you read The Columbus Affair? What did you think?

We are looking forward to a discussion about another popular author at the next meeting on June 11 when we read Fresh Disasters by Stuart Woods. Woods' suave hero, Stone Barrington, takes on organized crime in this exciting story.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane Discussion

A crime lost to time. A secret buried deep. One book unlocks an unimaginable truth. A novel about a contemporary family connection to the Salem witch trials and a physick book containing secrets and lost knowledge.

The Afternoon Book Club (ABC) met Tuesday afternoon, April 16, for an interesting discussion of April’s book selection, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. Assorted witch hats were available for club members who forgot to bring their own! The group generally agreed that the novel was an interesting read. Everyone had positive comments. One said that it was "wordy" in the beginning but then became more complex as the story moved along in the second half. The tie between actual historical characters and the author’s own personal connection to them enhanced the believability of the fictional story.

An interview with author Katherine Howe in the Boston Globe, “Boston’s Weirder Past,” was discussed in relation to the novel. The author said that her intention in The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane was to show that almost all of the people involved in the Salem story, town officials and residents believed that witchcraft was real and what it looks like if having a witch trial was a reasonable thing to do. The author’s latest book The House of Velvet and Glass tells the story of a Boston family and their involvement in spiritualism after the sinking of the Titanic. One hundred years ago, interest in the paranormal was mainstream in Boston. Meeting times for séances appeared in the newspapers right along church service times.

The discussion continued with comments about local connections and personal stories about ghosts and haunted locations in Halifax. Many of these stories were familiar to members. Some spoke about premonitions as well. It was decided that spiritual beliefs will always be recognized and present in society.

One of several favorite quotes from the book discussed by ABC members was the following:

“But, remember, just because you don’t believe in something doesn’t mean it isn’t real.”

Have you read The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane? Please feel free to share your comments!

This Month's Selection: The Columbus Affair by Steve Berry

This month we are reading The Columbus Affair by Steve Berry.

Join us May 14th at 1 pm for a face-to-face discussion or read along with us and add your comments to the discussion online starting May 15th.

From Random House:

A family’s secret, a ruthless fanatic, and a covert arm of the American government—all are linked by a single puzzling possibility: What if everything we know about the discovery of America was a lie? What if that lie was designed to hide the secret of why Columbus sailed in 1492? And what if that 500-year-old secret could violently reshape the modern political world?

Read an excerpt to see how you like the beginning. Pick up your copy at the Holmes Public Library and share your thoughts!