This Book Will Save Your Life - Questions

Hello,

Just a few questions today to think about for Thursday:

- This books title makes a grand claim, do you think the book could change you life? Why?
- Do you think A.M. Homes, a female writer, convincingly portrays a middle-aged male narrator? Are there any points you found particularly convinsing?
- What has precipitated Richard's mid-life crisis? Have you experienced a similar turning point in your life?
- "Richard thinks of the house on the hill, of moving back, of being alone. He cannot bear the idea of going back to what was, spending the days home doing nothing." Instead, at book's end, we find him "floating, waiting to see what happens next". What do you think happens to him?

See you all on Thursday!

Questions from PPH bookclub.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - May Book Club

First we have to thank Kathryn Williams for bringing a very delicious cheese cake which was enjoyed by everyone!

Almost everyone got through this months book, some people have even read it twice! On the second reading and after having watched the online bookclub it was felt that more could be found in the book.

We all thought that Jean Brodie was an "interesting" character, she seemed to have some very odd relationships with the men and also the girls in her life. We weren't sure why she seemed to have lots of holiday romances but the two men in the school with whom she could have a proper relationship with she shied away from. We weren't sure if this had anything to do with her first romance, and the fact that he had been killed in a situation outside her control. This lack of control could have then created the creature Jean Brodie became in this novel.

Jean Brodie seems to have been very egocentric, setting up situations to please herself not caring about the lives of those around her. In some cases she seems to be actually living through the girls, especially when it comes to a sexual relationship with the art teacher.

When it comes to the "betrayal" we were sure it wasn't actually a betrayal, but really a protection of the new Brodie set. We felt that the girl who let Miss MacKay know about Jean Brodie's facist side was doing so for the right reasons.

It was felt that the writing style was very sparse with no waste. Some people enjoyed this style along with the lack of a strong plot structure. Others felt they didn't get on with this style.

Overall we gave this book a 5 out of 10 with a pretty even spread of marks from 2-7 out of 10.

May Book Club

Hello,

Here are some questions to get you thinking about this months bookclub choice.

- What is Miss Brodie's "prime"? What does she mean by the term and why is it so significant?
- We know Miss Brodie through the eyes of the girls, primarily Sandy. How does their perception of her change by the time they're 17 years of age ... and also when they are even older?
- When she is finally betrayed, was the one who did so right or wrong? What prompted the girl to tell Miss MacKay what she told her? Was it a betrayal?
- In the final analysis, how do you come to think of Miss Brodie? Is she a noble figure? A tragic one? A visionary? Is she silly? Is she dangerous or well-meaning? What impact did she have on her girls, lasting or short-term?

See you all next Thursday!

Questions from LitLovers.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Hello,

Here's a quick video discussion on our book of the month for you to look at and think about:

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/firsttuesday/s2686642.htm

The Shack - April Book Club

Firstly we made some decisions regarding the choosing of books after September when the current choices run out. We have decided that three months before the books are due to run out we will choose three more months worth. So for example, in June we will pick the next three for October, November, and December. We also decided that everyone who wants to should suggest a book, then we'll vote on the list and the three with the most votes will be the next three books to read. I hope this is ok with everyone, if it doesn't work out we can choose another method!

Secondly we discussed what i think was the least enjoyed book so far!

Having said that some people would reread The Shack to get a little more out of it having read and discussed in in bookclub. We also decided that this might only be a book we recommend to people we know have religeon of some kind because it would be more likely to appeal to them.

We all thought the message was essentially good, but the book was not very well written and felt a little preachy. It was felt that as with religeon people find what they need within this book, so we all had very different opinions on it.

We felt that Nan was the person God wishes us all to be, she was loving and open and forgiving. We wondered why Mack chose not to bring her with him to the Shack given his knowledge that she was very religious.

Our average mark was 5 out of 10 with marks ranging from 0 to 7.

April Book Club

Hello everyone,

I hope you're all well into the next bookclub book! Here are some questions you might like to think about:

- Were you drawn in by the plot?
- How is Young's description of God different from your concept of God? What parts of his description did you like and what parts didn't you like?
- Does the theological incorrectness bother you, or does it even matter since it is a work of fiction?

I'd also like to say thank you for all the suggestions for books for the months after September. I need to collect them all together, then we can have a discussion about them later on.

Questions from PPH bookclub.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - March Book Club

This book divided the bookclub into those who read it as a book that should be historically accurate, and those who felt it was more about friendship. It was said in the meeting that it could be read with the head or with the heart.

Some readers thought it would be read differently by people who had prior knowledge of the topics in the novel, like Auschwitz and the Nazi's. We weren't sure if prior knowledge would have a positive or negative effect on how you felt about the book. In fact it might be a prompt to younger people to talk about the war, so might be a good idea for school children studying the war to start with something like this.

We were also uncertain about the naivety of Bruno, we came to the conclusion that it was necessary for the story and could be realistic given that children from earlier generations were naive for longer.

Overall we would recommend this book to other people and we gave it an average of 8 out of 10!