Us Against You, by Fredrik Backman

Hockey Teams

Others

Peter Andersson – General Manager Kira – wife, lawyer Maya – raped by Kevin Erdahl Leo – 12 years old Benji Ovich Mother Sisters – Katia, Adri, and Gaby Amat Fatima – mother, cleans rink Bobo Ann-Katrin – mother, nurse, cancer Hog – father Two younger siblings Vidar Rinnius – released early from facility to be goalie, Teemu’s younger brother, killed in accident Sune – previous coach, sick Elizabeth Zackel – head coach Heb team: David – coach William Lyt

Peter’s best friends: Tails – owns supermarket Hog Ana – Maya’s friend Amat’s best friends: Zacharias Lifa Councillors: Richard Theo Female politician – ax in hood of car Spanish-home-owning politician Ramona – owns Bearskin bar Five uncles The Pack: Teemu Rinnius Spider Woody Jeanette – teacher, martial arts teacher Alicia – 4 ½ years old, future hockey player

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1. What did you think about the various characters in the novel?  Were they portrayed as good, bad, or a complicated mix?  Consider Richard Theo, the Pack, Peter, the female politician, and others.
2. Elizabeth named Benji as team captain and told him, “…I’m giving you the thing you’re most terrified of: responsibility for other people” (page 193).  Following that, he and the team realize he has already become their leader.  Why did she pick Benji?
3. Why did the people in both towns care so much that Benji was gay?
4. David, coach of Hed team, felt that “…leadership is a matter of manipulating emotions to achieve results” (page 204).   Does this present a more negative view of leadership?   How effective were the various leaders in the novel?
5. Did you understand how sports was portrayed in the novel?  For example, the author wrote, “It’s easy for children to love hockey, because you don’t have to think when you’re playing it.  Memory loss is one of the finest things sports can give us” (page 17).  Is this true of all sports?
6. The other allure of sports that the author emphasized was that the team can become like a family, “(f)or anyone who needs an extra one or never had one in the first place” (page 332). And that “(s)ports carry the promise that we can have everything tonight.  Only sports can do that” (page 333).  Do you agree?  If you played a team sport did you experience this?
7. Do you think the dynamics in the Andersson family was fair?  Peter and Kira decided to stay in Beartown to fight for the team, but was this fair to Maya and Leo?  Maya told Peter she did not want to move because, “this is my town, too” (page 58).  How did this decision affect Leo?  What about Kira sacrificing her career for Peter and the team?
8. On page 63 the author wrote, “So if you want to understand their biggest stories, first you have to listen to the smaller ones.”   Do you agree?  What were the small stories in the novel that influenced the overall plot? 
9. If you did not read Beartown, did you feel caught up with the story line and characters?
10. There were many issues addressed in the novel including the following.  Were there too many?  How well did the author address each one?  Did you gain any new insights?
1. Friendship
2. Loyalty
3. Family vs. career
4. Social media
5. Sexuality
6. Treatment of rape victims
7. Justice
8. Mental health
9. Crowd mentality
10. Politicians – honest and dishonest
11. Death

11. Did you like the foreshadowing the author used?  Did it keep you interested in the story and wanting to see what happened?
12. Besides the foreshadowing, did you enjoy the author’s writing?  For example, on page 292 he led the reader to think something different had happened than where the story went when he wrote, “There’s a long period of silence.  Then a single shot echoes between the trees.”  The writer led the reader to think Benji committed suicide but that is not what happened.

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hard copy from amazon.com and hard copy from wordassociation.com.

The Power of Books and Reading

Many of the books and articles I read this summer emphasized the power of books and reading, and their influence in many people’s lives.  

• In The Wright Brothers, by David McCullough, he wrote that Wilbur Wright was injured as a teenager and, because of that, was not able to attend Yale as planned.  He stayed at home for three years and read.    His father, Bishop Wright, “a lifelong lover of books, heartily championed the limitless value of reading” (page 17).
• Scott Kelly wrote in Endurance that The Right Stuff, by Thomas Wolfe, changed the direction of his life.
• Many people involved in the space program such as Homer Hickam and Robert Goddard mentioned Jules Verne’s books From the Earth to the Moon and The War of the Worlds as an influence on their interest space exploration.
• Many successful women were inspired by the Nancy Drew series including Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg (“The Mystery of the Nancy Drew Pittsburgh Connection,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8-16-2019).

There are multiple reasons to read including pure pleasure, escape, knowledge, inspiration, comfort, and many more.  The benefits of reading include developing critical thinking skills, empathy, an extended attention span, as well as the previous list.   We often don’t know the influence something we read will have on our lives in the near or far future.  So – just keep reading!

The Glass Universe, by Dava Sobel

People

Vocabulary

Dr. Henry Draper Anna Palmer Draper – funded research Edward Pickering – director of Harvard College Observatory, 1877-1919 Lizzie – wife William Pickering – Edward’s younger brother, first director Southern Hemisphere Observatory Solon Bailey – found site for Southern Hemisphere Observatory, 2nd director Catherine Wolfe Bruce – funded 24” telescope and more Williamina “Mina” Fleming – started as maid, developed classification system for stars, discovered 10 novae and 300+ variable stars 1906 granted honorary membership in Royal Astronomical Society Had 30-year career Antonia Maury – Henry Draper’s niece; Vassar grad; studied physics, astronomy and philosophy; expanded Fleming’s classification system Henrietta Swan Leavitt – Radcliff alumna, discovered thousands of variable stars Annie Jump Cannon – first female to examine stars at night by telescope Margaret Harwood - 1912 – first recipient Nantucket Maria Mitchell Assoc. fellowship 1915 – first woman in charge of independent observatory Dr. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin – discovered stars the same in chemical composition, different in temperature in 1925

Photometry – measurement of brightness of stars Polaris – North Star, basis for brightness scale Mizar – star in handle of Big Dipper Nova – new or temporary star Eros – newly discovered asteroid in 1898

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition.

1. Discuss the pace of the advancement of the women in the book.
1. Miss Cannon – 1896-1897, first time woman used telescope herself (page 75)
2. Antonia Maury – 1897, first time woman credited with authorship in Annals of the Harvard College Observatory (page 79)
3. Mina Fleming – 1899, named curator of astronomical photographs, the first woman to hold a title at observatory, college or university (page 89)
4. Margaret Harwood – 1915, first woman in charge of an independent observatory (page 167)
5. 1930 – women did not have to resign when married (page 228)
6. 1938 – Harvard officially named Annie Cannon as Astronomer and Curator; Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin as Phillips Astronomer (page 244)
7. 1956 – Harvard named first woman as full professor (page 258)
2. Until 1930, if a woman married, she had to quit the observatory.   Why do you think the women were so dedicated to their science? 
3. After WW I, some scientists wanted to exclude scientists from enemy countries from postwar professional societies (page 173).  Do you think they should have been excluded or was the advancement of science more important? Warner Von Braun once worked for the Nazis but was instrumental in our space exploration program and landing man on the moon.
4. What did you like or not like about this book?  What did you learn?  
5. If you did not like it, why do you think it received as average review on Amazon of 4 ½ stars?

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hard copy from amazon.com and hard copy from wordassociation.com.

The Martian, by Andy Weir

Ares 3

On Earth

Mark Watney – stranded on Mars Commander Melissa Lewis – husband Robert Beth Johanssen Rick Martinez – piloted MDV, wife Marissa, son David Alex Vogel – wife Helena Dr. Chris Beck Hermes – rocket ship MDV – Mars Descent Vehicle MAV – Mars Ascent Vehicle Hab Sol – One day on Mars, 24 hours and 39 minutes earth time

Venkat Kapoor – director of Mars operations, handled all direct communication with Watney Teddy Sanders – NASA administrator Mandy Park – monitoring satellites around Mars, discovered Watney alive Annie Montrose – director of media relations Bruce Ng – director of JPL Mitch Henderson – Ares 3 flight director Rich Purcell – astrodynamicist, plan to send Hermes back to rescue Watney Cathy Warner – CNN reporter Dr. Irene Shields – flight psychologist China: Guo Ming – director National Space Administration Zhu Tao – under-director

For Discussion:

NOTE: The page numbers are from the paperback edition.

1. The crew were four months into their trip back to earth before they were told that Watney was alive back on Mars.   Should they have been told sooner?
2. Consider Mark Watney.  How realistic do you think his character was?    Were his problem-solving skills realistic?   Was it realistic that he was able to maintain his sense of humor?
3. Previously this summer we read Moon Shot, by Deke Slayton and Alan Shepard, and Endurance, by Scott Kelly.  What did you read or learn in these books that added to your understanding of this fiction book?  When Watney needed some encouragement as he was getting ready to leave to meet crewmates, he asked himself, “What would an Apollo astronaut do?” (page 268).
4. Did you understand Teddy Sanders decision to not try the “Rich Purnell Maneuver” to save Watney?  What would you have decided and why? 

5. The crew did not hesitate about their desire to go back and rescue Watney.  Were you surprised? How do you think you would react if you were in their families’ position?   Discuss the different reactions of their families:
1. Robert, Lewis’ husband said, “I understand why you’re doing all this.  Still, from a selfish point of view, I miss my wife” (page 243).
2. Marissa, Martinez’s wife, said, “You volunteered to extend the mission five hundred and thirty-three days…asshole” and “your son…won’t have any memories of you” (page 249).
3. Johanssen’s father asked her, “Why would you do that to your mother?” (page 251).
6. Johanssen was picked to be the one to survive if there was a catastrophe because she was the youngest and smallest and would need the least amount of food.  It was revealed she would be expected to eat her crewmates if it came to it.  What did you think about that?
7. At the end, the author changed style twice.  On pages 309 and 310 he told the story in the third person, referring to Watney as “the traveler.”  On pages 323 and 324 he again wrote in the third person and referred to Watney as “the astronaut.”  Was this an effective writing device?  Did you like it or not?
8. How realistically do you think the novel portrayed Mars explorations and the personalities of all people involved?
9. In the last seven paragraphs, Watney addresses the issue of the cost of rescuing him.   Did you like this ending of the book?

*****

First Semester Success: 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hardcopy from amazon.com and hardcopy from wordassociation.com.

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Characters	Locations
Kathy H. – narrator, carer for 11 years, age 31 when telling story Ruth Tommy Hailsham: Miss Geraldine – favorite guardian Miss Lucy – thought students not being taught enough, should be told the truth Madame – took best art work for Gallery Miss Emily - head guardian Chrissie and Rodney – at The Cottages, thought they saw Ruth’s “possible” in Norfolk	Hailsham Through age 16 Guardians Collection chests The Exchange The Sales The Cottages There for two years after Hailsham People left to become carers or donors Norfolk

 For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition of book.

1. The reader is told the destiny of the Hailsham students on page 81.  Were you surprised or did you figure it out before that?  How well did the author plant clues to keep you interested without explicitly giving the information?
2. What affect did not knowing anything about the outside world have on the students? 
3. Did you agree with Miss Lucy that the students should be told more about their purpose in life?
4. Discuss the ongoing relationship among Kathy, Ruth and Tommy.   Why did each behave the way they did?  Why did Ruth always seem to cause conflict?
5. The purpose of encouraging art and collecting the best work for The Gallery was to show others that the children had souls.  Did you agree with this?  Did it give them false hope?
6. Kathy noticed that couples at The Cottages patterned their behavior after couples on TV shows (page 120) and after a while Ruth changed how she interacted with Tommy to match.  Did you find this surprising?  In the novel it was in the early 2000’s.   What TV couples were they modeling?  If children had no other role models, what would they learn today from watching how couples and friends interacted in the media?
7. Did your opinion of Madame change at the end of the novel, particularly when reading her interpretation of why she cried watching Kathy dance to song as a young girl.  She told her, “And I saw a little girl, her eyes tightly closed, holding to her breast the old kind world, one that she knew in her heart could not remain…”  (page 272).
8. As she was leaving Kathy and Tommy, she said, “You poor creatures” (page 272).  How did this make you feel?  How did it affect Kathy and Tommy?
9. Was it kind or cruel to raise the students at Hailsham where it was, “…demonstrated to the world that if students were reared in humane, cultivated environments, it was possible for them to grow to be as sensitive and intelligent as any other ordinary human being” (page 261)?  Why was this not popular with the citizens in the country?
10. What did you think about the idea that the students were cloned from “trash” instead of a productive person?
11. On page 96, Kathy directly addresses the reader and identifies the reader as another donor, “I don’t know how it was where you were but at Hailsham…”  Did you pick up on this?  Does it make a difference in your understanding of the story?
12. Did you know the basic premise of the story before beginning the novel?  (In my edition of the of the book there was no plot summary on the back cover.)  What difference did prior knowledge of the story, or lack of prior knowledge, make to your reading experience?
13. Do you often read dystopian novels?  Do you like the genre?  If not, did you like this one?
14. The blurb on the front of my paperback edition says, “The best novel of the decade.” by Time magazine.  Do you agree?   Why was the novel so highly regarded?

*****
First Semester Success: 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hardcopy from amazon.com and a hardcopy from wordassociation.com.  

The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe

NOTE: This follows the space theme my groups have been reading as this year, 2019, is the 50th anniversary of man's first walk on the moon.

The Mercury Seven

Others

Scott Carpenter – 2nd man to orbit (3 times) Rene – wife Gordon Cooper, 4th man to orbit (36 hours, 22 orbits) Trudy – wife John Glenn - first man to orbit earth Annie – wife Virgil “Gus” Grissom – second man in space, died in Apollo 1 Betty – wife Walter Schirra – 3rd man to orbit (6 times), only one to fly in all three programs Alan Shepard – first man in space, 9 hours on moon with Apollo 14 Two sides to personality – Icy Commander and Smilin’ Al Louise Brewer – wife Deke Slayton – heart problems, became Coordinator of Astronaut Activities, would fly Apollo program

Pete Conrad- rebelled against testing for Mercury Seven, was not selected Chuck Yeager – “…the most righteous of all the possessors of the right stuff…” (page 35) Glennis - wife Pancho’s Fly Inn Tested men for astronaut position: Lovelace Clinic – physical Wright-Patterson Air Force Base – psychological Yuri Gagarin – Russian, first man in space Gherman Titov – Russian, 17 orbits around earth Robert Gilruth – head of Space Task Force Joe Walker – NASA X-15 pilot Bob White – Air Force X-15 pilot

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are for paperback edition.

1. In chapter IV when the pilots were called to the Pentagon for briefings about Project Mercury, administration worried that no one would volunteer for fear it would harm their career, but instead 56 out of 69 men who were at the meetings volunteered.   Could you understand what personality traits made them volunteer?
2. Joe Walker and Bob White, both X-15 pilots, were amazed that people were so excited about the Mercury astronauts when they did not actually fly.  They felt the planned landing, in water, was embarrassing.  Did you understand the publics excitement?  Why do you think the test pilots never got the recognition the astronauts did?
3. Discuss John Glenn.  He acted and spoke entirely differently than the other six and was always putting himself in the position to be selected to go to space first.  When he was not the be the first, he started to lobby to change the decision, but in Robert Gilruth’s judgement the decision was correct and it stayed.  Was there anything John Glenn could have done differently?
4. Did you think the peer vote was a fair way to decide who would go first?  It worked against Glenn even though he might have been the most dedicated.
5. Grissom and Glenn were polar opposites when it came to family time.  Glenn traveled home to be with his family most every weekend, while Grissom “…meant to be a family man, but somehow his career, or something, always got in the way” (page 92).   Grissom barely lived with his wife after marriage and did not see his first child until six months old and when Betty was in the hospital for 21 days, he visited one day.  Could there be a happy middle ground?
6. What did you think about Annie Glenn and Betty Grissom?   Annie had a bad stutter and John protected her from the media (chapter 12, pages 250-251).  Compare that to Betty Grissom who thought that the government was reneging on the “Military Wives Compact” when Gus did not receive much recognition after his flight due to the suspicion of his error. 
7. There were many unspoken rules described for the military people in the book.   Do you think they are in effect today?
1. It was the unofficial protocol that the officer’s wives did not discuss their fear of death (page 9)
2. Having the right stuff (page 18)
3. Flying & Drinking and Drinking & Driving (page 103)
4. Military Wives Compact (122)
5. The Cape was off limits to wives (page 129)
6. Konakai Séance where test pilots come to a common position (page 134)

8. Discuss the role of the wives in the Mercury Project.  Would this still happen today in the military?
1. Most of the astronauts wondered, “What possible difference could a wife’s attitude make about an opportunity for a giant step up the great ziggurat?” (page 90).
2. It was felt that, “…marital discord was a major cause of erratic behavior among pilots and often led to fatal accidents” (page 114).  Is it fair to put this blame on the wife?
3. In the Life articles, “The main thing was not to say or do anything that reflected badly upon your husband” (page 125). 
9. The astronauts were compared to the single-combat warriors of the Middle Ages (page 96) and because of this they had immunity to many of the standards the test pilots were held to.  Was this fair?
10. Initially the astronauts were trained using techniques focused on “de-conditioning, de-sensitizing, or adapting out fears” (page 144).  How was this different from the operant conditioning (avoidance of pain) and eventually the classical conditioning (rewards) used to train the chimpanzees?
11. What exactly is the right stuff?

*****
First Semester Success: 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hard copy from  amazon.com and a hard copy from wordassociation.com.   Click on the upper right link.

Endurance by Scott Kelly

NOTE: To celebrate man's first walk on the moon fifty years ago, my book groups are reading books about space.

People

International Space Station

Scott Kelly Leslie – 1st wife, divorced Samantha and Charlotte – daughters Amiko – 2nd wife Mark Kelly – twin brother Gabby Gifford – wife Richie – father, alcoholic and abusive Patricia – mother, became policewoman when boys 11 years old Tom Wolfe – author of The Right Stuff

Anton Shkaperov Samantha Cristoforetti Terry Vitts Mikhail (Misha) Kornienko – spent year with Kelly Gennady Padalka Scott Kelly – March 27, 2015 – March 1, 2016 Kjell Lindgren – first time in space Kimiya Yui – first time in space Oleg Kononenko Sergey Volkov – took over command when Kelly left Andreas (Andy) Mogensen – 10 days on ISS Aidyn Aimbetov – 10 days on ISS Arrived December 15, 2015: Yuri Malenchenko – Russian Tim Kopra – American Tim Peake - English

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition.

1. What did Scott learn from his mother’s decision and training to be a police officer?
2. Discuss the importance of traditions to the astronauts.  For example:
1. Russians standing in specific boxes outlined on ground and answering “We are ready for the flight” when asked (page 35),
2. Americans playing lowball poker in Operations and Checkout Building until the commander loses (page 35),
3. Russians peeing on right rear wheel of bus at specific place on way to launch pad (page 36),
4. And the final wave before entering the space craft (page 49).
3. Have you always wondered about how astronauts went to the bathroom?  Was your curiosity satisfied?
4. Starting around 2000, the requirements to be an astronaut changed from an emphasis on piloting skills to the “ability to perform a lot of different jobs and to get along well with others” (page 57).  Were you surprised by this?  What do you think would be the most important characteristic for an astronaut?
5. On the space station, the astronauts time was organized in short increments using the Onboard Short Term Plan Viewer (OSTPV), where a “dotted red line moves relentlessly across the OSPTV window in my laptop, pushing throughout the block of time mission control has estimated for each task” (page 81).  How would you like to live like that?
6. Discuss the writing.  Did you like the format of the writing, with the chapters alternating between the space station and his path to get there?  What did you think about the entries from Kelly’s dream journal to introduce each chapter on the ISS?
7. Kelly wrote that personal idiosyncrasies are magnified on the ISS.  For example, Tim Kopra always repeated what was said (page 381) and Lisa Novak was obsessive (page 296).  What character trait of yours would be more noticeable in space?   What character traits would drive you crazy in others?
8. When keeping track of their time on the ISS, Misha kept track of the number of days left to be there but Scott kept a tally of the number of days he had been there.  Discuss the difference in philosophy keeping track of the time.  How would you keep track?
9. What do you think his biggest adjustment was upon his return to earth?

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hard copy from amazon.com and hard copy from wordassociation.com.   Click on the upper right link.