Hellhound on His Trail, by Hampton Sides

Characters
SCLC	FBI	Others
Martin Luther King Coretta – wife Ralph Abernathy Andrew Young Jesse Jackson	J. Edgar Hoover Clyde Tolson – Life-long friend and 2nd in command Cartha D. DeLoach – 3rd in command Robert Jensen – FBI agent in Memphis	Prisoner #416-J a.k.a. Eric Starvo Galt a.k.a. James Earl Ray a.k.a. Ramon George Sneyd George Wallace Memphis Sanitation Workers Alexander Eist – guard in London jail Arthur Hanes – Ray’s U.S. lawyer Ray’s family: Jimmy, Jerry and John – brothers – all felons Marjorie – burned to death playing with matches Max –mentally disabled Susie – given up for adoption Lucille –mother – cirrhosis of liver Melba – mentally ill Buzzy – died in car accident Father – recluse in Missouri

For discussion:

NOTE:  All pages refer to the paperback edition of the book.

1.      Do you think MLK had an actual premonition of his death or was just being dramatic and knew that was a possibility? (page 218)

2.      Compare Coretta King with Jackie Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy.

 3.      Considering James Earl Ray:

a.       What was his main motive in life?

b.      Discuss his skill at breaking out of prison.

c.       Why did he close his eyes in the graduation photo?

d.      Why was Galt/Ray so interested in hypnotism?

e.       Why did he have his nose redone?

f.       Given his family background, do you think anything could have been done to help him and his siblings grow up differently and be productive citizens? (pages 336 & 337)

g.      Compare Ray’s life of multigenerational poverty with MLK’s Poor People’s Campaign. (page 336)

4.      Discuss the FBI under Hoover and the tactics used to follow criminals and regular citizens.

5.      Were you surprised by the SCLC leaders’ attitude after the assassination and the fact that they were not that interested in finding the individual killer but rather about the attitude in the country that wanted MLK dead?  (page 249)

6.      Did the fact that MLK openly had mistresses affect your opinion of him and his work?

a.       Did Coretta know?   If so, how did she deal with this knowledge?

b.      Consider MLK and Coretta’s marriage.   He was never home and had not provided for his family in the event of his death.

7.      What were your thoughts while reading this book?

a.       Did you enjoy it?

b.      Was it well written?

c.       What surprised you?

d.      Did you learn anything?

The Story of Charlotte's Web, by Michael Sims

Characters
E.B. White’s Life	Charlotte’s Web
Elwyn B. White (Andy) Katharine Angell Joel – son Roger – Katharine’s son Nancy – Katharine’s daughter Harold Ross – The New Yorker Ursula Nordstrom – editor Don Marquis – author Archy (cockroach) and Mehitabel (cat) – characters Garth Williams – illustrator Mary and Robert Gallant – bought the White’s farm	Charlotte Wilbur Templeton Goose Fern Avery – older brother Mr. Arable – father Mr. Zuckerman – Fern’s uncle, owns farm where Wilbur raised

For discussion:

1. Discuss White’s skill with the written word compared to his awkwardness with speaking his feelings.  He often wrote to Katharine to express his feelings instead of speaking directly to her.  These writings often were from an animal’s point of view.
1. Page 119 of hardback – letter from Daisy (family dog)  about Andy’s feelings about Katharine’s pregnancy
2. Page 117 of hardback – compared spider’s web to his connection with Katharine

2. How did White’s interest and fascination with animals influence his writing?

3. Discuss White’s portrayal of the animals and their thoughts in Charlotte’s Web.  For example:
1. Templeton, the rat, always was self serving and only helped others when it benefited him
2. Charlotte’s acceptance of death as a natural part of life

4. Do you think the concept of death was presented in a way appropriate for children?

5. Could you understand his feelings of duplicity when he took good care of his animals but then planned to slaughter one for food?

6. On page 203 (hardback) Sims wrote that the theme of Charlotte’s Web was “the joy of being alive, of reveling in the moment with visceral attention”.  Do you agree?  Were they any other themes you found in the book?  Anything you learned from reading Charlotte’s Web or the biography of E. B. White?

7. Discuss Ursula Nordstrom’s dedication to children’s literature and the importance she placed on the genre.
1. She was insulted when offered a new job in the adult section as a promotion.
2. Discuss her influence through the authors she edited: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Shel Silverstein, Maurice Sendak, Margaret Wise Brown, Margaret and H. A. Rey.

8. Discuss the influence of Don Marquis on E. B. White’s writing career.

9. What incidents or information from E. B. White’s life did you connect with when reading the book?

10. What is your favorite or most remembered childhood book?

Change of Heart, by Jodie Picoult

Characters
	Prison
June Kurt Nealon Elizabeth Claire Shay Bourne  (I. M. Bourne) Grace - sister Maggie Bloom –ACLU lawyer Mother – spa owner, ChutZpah Father – rabbi Christian Gallagher – doctor, Maggie’s boyfriend Father Michael Mather Walter Ian Fletcher – scholar, converted atheist Reverend Justus	Shay Lucius – AIDS Crash Calloway – bird, Batman and Robin CO Smythe CO Whitaker Warden Coyne Alma - nurse

For discussion:

1.      Discuss the characters.

a.       Did the author do a good job of developing the characters?

b.      Which character did you connect with? 

c.       Discuss Maggie and her issues with her body.   Was that realistic?  Were you dismayed to read that she was a size 14?

2.      What did you think of the “miracles” that Shay performed in prison?

a.       CO Smythe’s daughter and teddy bear filled with peanut shells

b.      The bubble gum

c.       Batman and Robin

d.      Lucius being healed temporarily

e.       At the trial – handcuffs and chains falling off still locked

3.      Do you think Father Michael should have revealed immediately that he had been on the jury?

a.       He felt guilty about sentencing Shay to death.  Do you think he should have felt so or not?

4.      Do you think a religious person would read this book differently than a non-religious person?

5.      How did Father Michael’s photo of he and his grandfather end up in Shay’s effects?  Do you think Shay recognized him all along?

6.      When did you start to suspect that Shay was not guilty of both murders?  That something else had happened?

7.      Did you like the ending when Claire’s touch revived her dog?  Was that a fitting ending?

8.      When Maggie first went to visit Shay in prison, she wondered “what would be the hardest luxury to leave behind.”  For Shay it was walking barefoot on grass.  What would you miss the most?

Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See

Characters
Shanghai	Los Angeles
Baba Mama Pearl May Z.G. Li – artist, Joy’s father Tommy Hu Betsy Howell Old Man Louie	Old Man Louie/Father Louie Yen-yen Pearl Sam May Vern Joy Uncles: Edfred (Fred) – in military - eventually had Japanese wife and became a dentist Wilburt Charley Joe – Joy’s friend at college Violet Lee and Rowland – students Leon – son China City: Tom Gubbins Christina Sterling Agent Sanders

For discussion:

1.       Discuss Pearl and May:

a.       Their relationship with each other and with their parents

b.      Their profession as “beautiful girls”

c.       Their ability to adapt to different situations

d.      May giving Joy to Pearl

e.      Their different paths in life

2.       When did you suspect that May was pregnant?  Were you surprised to find who the father was?

3.       Discuss the different versions of Old Man Louie in Shanghai and in China City in Los Angeles.  On page 158 (paperback) Pearl thought, “In Shanghai, we looked at Old Man Louie and saw what we chose to see…”   Have you had a similar experience in how you view people?

4.       What did you learn reading about the immigration experience?  Do you think it was accurately portrayed in the novel? 

5.       What did you think about the idea of paper sons?  Were you surprised to find out that Sam was a paper son?

6.       On page 72 (paperback) Pearl states, “When you don’t have much, having less isn’t so bad.”  Discuss how they adapted to poverty.  Do you think you could do the same or do we have too much?

7.       Discuss the relationship between Pearl and Yen-yen and how gradually they became friends.

8.       The author wrote, “When you lose your country home, what do you preserve and what do you abandon?”   Discuss the various characters and their relationship with their home country.

a.       Violet and Rowland Lee – students, trapped in U.S. when China closed

b.      People did everything they could to escape China and then tried to recreate their country here

9.       Can you understand May’s rationale for telling Agent Sanders about Sam?

a.       Can you understand Sam’s reaction to the threat of being sent back to China?

10.   This author is known for her Chinese historical fiction.  Did you like the way she blended facts with fiction?  Did you learn anything?

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Characters
Trask	Hamilton	Others
Cyrus – father Alice – second wife Adam – first son, born to first wife Charles – second son Cathy Ames – married Adam Caleb (Cal) Aaron Fraternal twins	Samuel – father Liza – mother George Will – second son, successful business man in Salinas, CA Tom Joseph – favored son Una Lizzie Dessie – never married, owned dress shop in Salinas Olive – mother of narrator Mollie	Mr. Edwards – whoremaster Faye – madam, killed by Cathy/Kate Joe Valery – Cathy/Kate’s assistant Mr. and Mrs. Bacon – county supervisor Abra – daughter, father wanted a son Lee – Chinese cook for Trasks in Salinas, CA

For discussion:

1. Think about the characters. 
1. What were their motivations?
2. How did their life experiences form their adult personalities?
3. Who did you like, not like?  Why?

2. Discuss Lee.  He was highly educated yet spoke pidgin.  Why?

3. Lee said of Samuel Hamilton that he was, “one of the rare people who can separate your observation from your preconception.  You see what is, where most people see what they expect.”  What examples can you think of where people see only what they expect?  How can we counter this natural human trait?

4. Discuss the relationship between Charles and Adam compared to Cal and Aron.  What similarities and differences did you observe?

5. When Cal gave Adam the gift of $15,000, were you surprised at Adam’s reaction?  Why did he react that way?  Why then did Cal react the way he did. 
1. What did you think when Cal burnt the money. 

6. In chapter 47, section 3, Aron reflected that he had made a mistake sexually. What was it?  Why did he do it?

7. Discuss the end where Cal took Aron to Kate’s.  Why did he do that?  Were you surprised that he did so? 
1. Discuss Aron’s reaction.  Why did he enlist in the military?
8. Were you surprised at the end when Cal ended up with Abra?  Why do you think Abra loved Aron first? 

9. Discuss the word timshel, thou mayest.   What was the importance of this word?  How does it pertain to the novel and characters?
1. Lee said, “that word carried a man’s greatness if he wanted to take advantage of it.”
2. Timshel was the second to last sentence in the novel and the word Adam spoke to Cal when he confessed to taking Aron to Kate’s.

10. Think about your reading experience.  Was it enjoyable?  Why or why not?

11. Do you think John Steinbeck had a message he wanted the reader to understand after reading this novel?  What message or understanding did you take away from your reading?

A Reliable Wife, Richard Goolrick

Characters
Part I: Wisconsin - Fall 1907	Part II: St. Louis - Winter 1908	Part III: Wisconsin - Winter/Spring 1908
Ralph Truitt Emilia – wife Francesca – daughter, scarlet fever Antonio – son of Emilia and piano teacher Mr. and Mrs. Larson Catherine Land Alice –sister India – friend, got arsenic and cure	Tony Moretti (Antonio) Catherine Alice Pinkerton Agents: Mr. Malloy and Mr. Fisk	Ralph Catherine Antonio/Tony

For discussion:

1.       Discuss each character:

a.       What were their motives?

b.      What was their history?

c.       How did their history influence their current personality?

d.      Who was the most sympathetic?  The most and least likeable?

2.       Does Catherine’s need justify her becoming a whore?  Contrast this to Alice – the author stated that she was worse than Catherine because she did not need to become a whore (page 172 of paperback.)   Does need justify the action?

3.       Why do you think Alice rejected Catherine after all Catherine had done for her?

4.       Discuss Antonio’s relationship with Ralph.  Was he taking out his anger at his mother on Ralph?

5.       On page 266 of the paperback, Antonio reflected on how he had hurt Catherine repeatedly and how he was sorry.  Is this a comparison to Ralph and Antonio?

6.       Discuss the terrible things people did in the town (murder, suicide, man ate dictionary and died [page 213], Mr. Larson amputated his hand, etc.)  Why did they do this?  Can you understand their actions?

7.       When did you begin to suspect that Catherine and Tony had planned the events from the beginning?

8.       Did you like the way the author withheld Catherine’s story until toward the end of the novel?  Did that add to your enjoyment?

9.       How was Ralph able to forgive Catherine at the end of the novel?  He stated (page 291) that he had always known about Catherine and Antonio.  How do you think he was able to forgive her and continue to live with her?

a.       On page 280 the author wrote that Ralph would also have forgiven Antonio.  Is this realistic?

10.   On page 281 the author wrote that this was “just a story about despair.”  Did you find any joy or redeeming qualities in the characters and story line?

11.   The author is a male.  Did this surprise you?