The House at Sugar Beach, by Helene Cooper

People

Cooper Family: Calista Dennis and John Lewis Cooper Jr. Helene Sister – Marlene Step-siblings – Janice and John Lewis III (John Bull) Cousin – Vicky New “sister” – Eunice   Richard and Philip Parker – Helene’s school friends   Congo People – descendents of Freed American Blacks (not slaves) Country People – native Liberians   Government: President Tolbert Samuel K. Doe – overthrew Tolbert in 1980 Charles Taylor – overthrew Doe in 1989

 For discussion:

1. What did you think about the differences between the two groups – the Congo People and the Country People?  
1. Discuss Matilda Newport Day – December 1 – a day of Thanksgiving.   The myth was that Matilda, a colonial woman, blew up 100 African warriors.  The holiday was only celebrated by Congo People.
2. It was important to be an “Honorable,” which meant you could hold a government post.  Very few Country People had this title even though they may have had a much better education than a Congo Person.
2. On page 11 of the paperback, Helene wrote that “In Liberia, we cared far more about how we looked outside than about who we were inside.”  How was this evident or not as the memoir unfolded?
3. Right after the coup in 1980, Mommee took the girls to church which led to a disastrous outcome. Why do you think she did that?
4. Discuss Helene and her family’s change in status, from privileged elite Congo People to African refugees when they arrived in Knoxville.   How did they deal with this?
1. In that same vein, discuss their changed opinion of Knoxville –from an exciting vacation spot to a place where they had to live.
5. In 1981 Mommee went back to Liberia to live.  Why did she go?  Do you think that was the correct thing to do?
6. Discuss Eunice:
1. She decided to send Ishmael away so he would not be forced into the military.
2. How she felt when she first was sent to Sugar Beach and how she adjusted.
3. When family fled to the United States on May 16, 1980, Eunice stayed back to finish high school.  What did you think about this decision?
4. As the family was traveling to the airport, Helene was shocked at the hatred of the Country People.  How did Eunice handle these feelings?
5. How was she seemingly able to be satisfied with her life?
7. Multiple times Helene wrote about her coping mechanism when dealing with difficulty – she focused on something else, something minor.  How did this help her and hurt her?
8. When Helene went back to find Eunice and they were in the hotel room, Eunice referred to Helene as “Ma” which is a demeaning title.  Why did she do that? 
1. When Helene complained, Eunice’s response was that she called everyone that.  Did you believe her?
9. What did you think about Philip Parker and his decision to return to Liberia after completing his education in the United States?    How do you think Helene felt about her choices when talking with Philip?
10. How was your reading experience with this book?  Enlightening?  Enjoyable?

Room, by Emma Donoghue

Characters

Ma Jack Stillborn baby girl   Old Nick   Grandma Steppa/Leo Grandfather   Paul – brother Deana – wife Bronwyn   Officer Oh   Dr. Clay Noreen

For Discussion:

1. Discuss Ma and her rearing of Jack in Room.  Did she do a good job?  What was the wisest thing that she did?  How did you feel about her extended nursing of Jack?

2. Discuss the various characters and how they reacted to Jack:

• Grandma
• Steppa
• Grandfather (Can you understand his having to leave?)
• Officer Oh
• Dr. Clay and Noreen

3. Jack cut his hair on his own; no one suggested that he do so.  Why do you think he made that decision?

4. Can you understand Ma’s trying to take her own life?  What did she think would happen to Jack?

5. Would you have done anything different to help Jack’s entry into the world?

6. Did you like the ending?  Was it effective?

7. How do you think Ma and Jack will make out in the world? 

First Semester Success: Study Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Arden B. Hamer, is now available at wordassociation.com and amazon.com.

 

The Light Between Oceans, by M. L. Stedman

Characters
Janus Rock and related people	Port Partaguese
Tom Sherbourne Isabel “Izzy” Graysmark Lucy Violet   Ed Sherbourne – Tom’s father Cecil - brother   Franz Johannes Roennfeldt   Windward Spirit – supply boat Ralph Addicott Bluey Smart	Graysmark family Bill and Violet Hugh and Alfie – sons killed in war   Hannah Roennfeldt – Lucy-Grace’s mother Septimus Potts – Hannah’s father Gwen - sister   Sergeant Knuckey

For discussion:

1. Would you like to live isolated in a light house?  What about isolated but somewhere more luxurious and with less work?

2. Could you be like Izzy – not see her fiancé for six months and then, after a brief honeymoon, move far away from her family and friends? 

3. Discuss the characters’ different childhood experiences and how it influences their decisions:

• Tom – father banished his mother, experiences with death in the war
• Septimus – sent as a young child to Western Australia alone for adoption
• Hannah and Gwen – losing mother at young age

4. Discuss the main characters.  Can you imagine or understand their feelings and emotions?

5. Why did Bluey turn in Tom and Izzy?  

6. Why did Tom write Hannah the first letter and then send the rattle?  Do you think he knew they would eventually be discovered through the rattle?

7. Discuss Hannah’s decision to let Isabel have Lucy-Grace.  Also, discuss her decision at the end to testify in support of Tom and Isabel.  Could you do either one of these things?

8. Consider Frank’s statement to Hannah about being happy. “I choose to, I can leave myself to rot in the past, spend my time hating people for what happened, like my father did, or I can forgive and forget.”   How did that influence decisions and events in the novel?

9. Why did Isabel suddenly change her mind and tell the truth when she was so close to getting Lucy back?

10. How do you think Lucy-Grace was eventually able to lead a normal childhood?  What part did Septimus play in her adjustment?

First Semester Success: Study Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Arden B. Hamer, is now available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

The Hundred Secret Senses, by Amy Tan

Characters
San Francisco – current day	Changmian - 1864	Changmian – current day
Olivia – narrator Parents – Jack Yee and Louise Kenfield Brothers – Kevin and Tommy   Kwan – half-sister George – Kwan’s husband Virgie – George’s cousin from Canada living with them   Simon Bishop – Olivia’s husband Elza – Simon’s deceased girlfriend   Samantha – Olivia and Simon’s daughter   Bob Laguini – Louise’s 2nd husband   Yin people	Miss Banner Nunumu    Yiban Johnson   General Cape   Lao Lu   Zeng   Missionaries	Big Ma – died in accident day Kwan arrived   Du Yun/Du Lili Buncake – Du Lili’s deceased  daughter   Kwan (Pancake)   Andy – Boston grad student         SPOILER ALERT!  Chart at end with reincarnations

 For discussion:

NOTE:  Page numbers are from paperback edition.

1. Miss Banner learned to sense the world like a Chinese person (sight, touch, hear, smell, taste) but was never able to eliminate “her American sense of importance.”  (Chapter 3, page 49)  How did this affect Miss Banner and Nunumu?

2. A visitor found Changmian populated and vibrant one month after the Manchu soldiers set fires at the cave entrances.  Were the people real or ghosts?  If real, how did they survive?  (Chapter 22, page 339)

3. Do you think Kwan is really Olivia’s half sister or was she switched with Buncake?  (End of Chapter 17)

4. What did you think about Simon’s sterility and Elza’s pregnancy?  At the end of the book he was not sterile and the doctor’s thought the diagnosis had been a mistake.  Did you think Elza was lying or that she was pregnant by someone else?

5. What is the difference between tradition and superstition?   (Chinese tying rooster to lid of coffin to help ghost body fly away and American tales about Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy)

 
6. The Chinese and Americans had different reactions after witnessing the accident on the way to Changmian.  Kwan says that in China, the driver is always at fault, but Olivia says that “A dead pedestrian is a dead pedestrian, no matter whose fault.”     Kwan told Olivia and Simon that, “In China you always responsible for someone else, no matter what.  You get run over, this my fault…”  (Chapter 14, page 199)    Can you understand this difference in view?  What is your opinion?

7. Would you be willing to go to Changmian and live and explore like Olivia and Simon?  Would Olivia have gone if she had known the actual conditions?

8. Did Kwan and Olivia really see ghosts?   At one point Kwan pretended to see Elza but Olivia really saw her and heard her say, “Simon, wait for me.”  What alternative explanations are there?  (Pages 105, 107)

9. Do you think Kwan has been reincarnated in Samantha?

Reincarnations: Olivia was Miss Banner Olivia; Elza was Olivia’s mother two lifetimes ago Simon was Yiban Johnson Kwan was Nunumu George was Zeng

Alphabet Mysteries, by Sue Grafton

Recurring characters: Kinsey Millhone   Henry - Landlord and friend Rosie – Bar owner and friend   Divorced husbands: Mickey Magruder Robert Dietz   Recurring elements: Index cards Functional and adaptive black dress VW Apartment behind Henry’s California Fidelity Insurance

 For discussion:

1.            “In my view, the delight of fiction is its enhancement of the facts and its embellishment of reality.  Aside from that – as my father used to say – ‘I know it’s true because I made it up myself’” (From “To the Reader” prologue of O is for Outlaw.)  Is this a good description of fiction?

2.            Discuss Kinsey’s thinking style – index cards, letting mind wander.    Why was this effective for her? 

3.            All of the novels are set in the 1980’s before all of the electronic devices and advancements we have today.  How did this add or detract from your enjoyment of the novels? 

4.            If you read more than one, did you like the series effect?  For example, Kinsey ages one year for every two and one-half books.

5.            One similarity between Sue Grafton and Kinsey is the absence of parents at a young age.  Kinsey’s parents were killed when she was 5 and she was raised by an aunt.  Sue Grafton’s parents were both alcoholics and she basically raised herself.    How do you think Sue Grafton’s childhood influenced her portrayal of Kinsey?

6.            In the beginning, what wise decisions did the author make when writing the first book that allowed her to continue for 23 books so far?

7.            What do you think will happen when the author reaches ‘Z?’

8.    In Kinsey and Me, Sue Grafton credits S. S. Van Dine with the definitive list of characteristics for a successful detective story (American Magazine, 1928).   Did you find these elements in the novels that you read? 

1. Reader must have equal opportunity to solve mystery.
2. No tricks or deceptions for reader than those shared by detective.
3. No love interest.
4. The detective is never the culprit.
5. Crime must be solved by logical deductions.
6. There must be a detective who detects.
7. There must be a corpse.
8. Crime must be solved by regular thinking – nothing supernatural.
9. Only one detective.
10. Culprit must be fairly prominent in story.
11. Servant cannot be culprit.
12. Only one culprit.
13. No secret societies, etc.
14. No pseudo-science – murder and solution must be rational and scientific.
15. Solution should be apparent after crime solved.
16. No long descriptive passages
17. No professional criminal
18. Crime should never be an accident or suicide
19. Motives for crime should be personal
20. No self-respecting detective novelist would use any of the following: identify culprit by cigarette butt, forged fingerprints, barking dog does not solve crime, crime done by twin, hypodermic needle or knockout drops.

Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara

Military Leaders
North	South
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain ·         Tom – younger brother John Buford John Reynolds – turned down command George Meade – Commander of Union Army Winfield Scott Hancock	Robert E. Lee James “Pete” Longstreet   George Pickett Pickett’s Brigade Commanders: ·         Lewis Armistead – friend of Hancock ·         Richard Brooke Garnett – Jackson tried to court-martial  Garnett ·         Kemper ·         Pettigrew (July 3) ·         Trimble (July 3)   Richard Ewell Ambrose Powell Hill J. E. B. Stuart Jubal Early   Arthur Fremantle – English observer

For discussion:

1. The Southern soldiers had a difficult time fighting in Pennsylvania because they saw a big difference between defending and invading.  Why was this important to them?  Do you think it made a difference in their dedication to the war?

2. Discuss the different views between the Northern and Southern soldiers about why they were fighting.  The North thought it was about slavery but the South did not.

3. Discuss Garnett and his loss of honor because of Jackson’s attempt to court-martial him.  How did this affect Garnett’s behavior in battle?

 

4. Discuss Fremantle and his idea of the South and the war.  He thought the South had the same values as France – tradition, breeding, dignity, love of land.     He thought the South would win the war, even after Gettysburg.  How could he come to such an incorrect conclusion?

5. Chamberlain thought there were two things a leader had to do: 1.) care about your men’s welfare and 2.) show physical courage.  How did he display these two qualities?  Did the other leaders:  Lee, Longstreet, etc.?     Are the same qualities important in other situations such as business or politics?

6. Why was Robert E. Lee such a revered leader in the South?   Longstreet told Fremantle that, “The secret to General Lee is that men love him and follow him with faith in him.  That’s one secret.  The next secret is that General Lee makes a decision and he moves, with guts,…”

7. Consider Longstreet’s disagreement with Lee about charging the center of the Union Line on Friday, July 3 (Pickett’s Charge) at Cemetery Ridge.  This was a great loss to the South and many feel a defining battle of the Civil War.  Should Longstreet have refused or argued further with Lee?  Was there anything Longstreet could have done?

8. On the second day, following orders, Longstreet sent Hood into battle in Devil’s Den that both he and Hood knew would lead to death.   How could Longstreet give such an order and how could Hood follow it?

9. Chamberlain felt responsible for his younger brother, Tom, and couldn’t stop thinking about how he had told him to fill a hole in the line that put him at risk.  Do you think that having Tom so close was helpful or a distraction to Chamberlain?

      10. Did this book give you a different or more rounded view of the Civil War than you had before?   Were you able to visualize  Gettysburg? 

 

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

Characters

Lance Nick Dunne – writer, owns bar with sister

Margo – twin sister
Father – Alzheimer’s – Comfort Hill Assisted Living
Maureen “Mo” – mother – Died of cancer

Amy Elliott Dunne - writes personality quizzes

Rand and Mary Beth Elliott – writers – lost seven babies before Amy
"Amazing Amy” series

Andie – Nick’s mistress

Tanner Bolt – lawyer

Betsy Bolt - wife

Ellen Abbott – TV host

Friends of Amy:

Hilary Handy – Amy accused her of stalking
Tommy O’Hara – Amy accused him of rape
Desi Collings – ex-boyfriend from high school, murdered
Jacqueline Collings – Desi’s mother
Noelle Hawthorne – neighbor, mother of triplets
Jeff and Greta – steal Amy’s money when in Ozarks

For discussion:

1.            What did Amy and Nick each expect from marriage?  Where they realistic?

·         Nick’s parents divorced and Amy’s apparently had a strong marriage.   Did this have any influence on their marriage?
·         At one book launch party Amy reflected, “People say children from broken homes have it hard, but the children of charmed marriages have their own particular challenges.”   What do you think?

2.            Who was the real Amy?

·         Discuss her relationships with her “friends.”

3.            Discuss Amy parents.

·         Whenever Amy did something, “Amazing Amy” did it better or correctly.    How did this influence Amy?
·         Did her parents influence the adult Amy would become?  How or how not?
·         Do you think that they exploited Amy?
·         Amy was the only surviving child after seven still births or miscarriages (all girls, all named Hope).  How did this    affect Amy and her parents?

4.            Discuss Nick and his behavior after Amy was missing.  Discuss his inappropriate smiling and reactions.  He blamed this on his father – do you agree?  Is there a correct way to act in this type of situation?

5.            Do you think Nick should have figured out Amy’s yearly anniversary treasure hunt clues?   What did the obscure clues and his non-understanding indicate about their personalities and marriage?

6.            Discuss the secondary characters.  Who was sympathetic and who was not?

7.            What do you think will happen to Amy and Nick’s child?  What will happen after the book ends?

8.            Why is this book such a phenomenal hit?  It is the book that every other suspense novel is compared to and books are referred to as “the next Gone Girl.”

9.            Did you like the writing style and the way the author organized the book?  Why or why not?

The Widow of the South, by Robert Hicks

Carnton Plantation   Field hospital after Battle of Franklin	McGavock family: Carrie Colonel John Hattie Winder Deceased children – Martha, John Randall, Mary Elizabeth   Mariah – Creole Slave/Companion Theopolis - son
Sgt. Zachariah Cashwell	Confederate soldier from Arkansas – picked up colors in battle At Carnton after injured in Battle of Franklin   Jerod – friend
Lt. Nathan Stiles	Union soldier from Ohio Professor at Indian site
Griffin	Joseph – father Becky – daughter Eli – son, friend of Ab Wills and Winder
Baylor	Will “Cotton Gin” – Becky’s boyfriend

For discussion:

1.            In chapter 3, Cashwell explains why men were willing to fight.  He explained that they either forgot the possibility of death or convinced themselves that they “didn’t matter in this world.”    He explained that “I was insignificant like everyone else and it was this insignificance that made me strong.”   Does this help you understand how so many were willing to face probable death in the battles?

2.            How did Cashwell’s willingness to die make him stronger?  How did his childhood (father killed, mother abandoned him and ran away with preacher) affect him as an adult?

3.            Discuss Carrie McGavock. 

·         How did she cope with the deaths of her children? 
·         Why didn’t she take the laudanum like many of the other women?  
·         Why did she collect the laudanum she did not take and how did this help her?
·         In chapter 11, when she knew her house would be a field hospital, she stated that “I had power.  I had a power others did not.”  And, “Death could not make me afraid anymore.”

4.            Consider the relationship between Cashwell and Carrie. 

·         Why did she keep him at the plantation for so long? 
·         Why did she beat him with his crutch in chapter 25? 
·         What was their connection with each other?

5.            Cashwell also had a unique relationship with John McGavock.  In chapter 32 John told Cashwell his life story. 

·         What was it about Cashwell that made both Carrie and John confide in him?
·         When thinking about John, Cashwell thought that, “Something had happened to that poor son of a bitch.  Or he’d done something I didn’t want to hear about.”   What was it?

6.            Discuss Mariah. 

·         Why did she stay with Carrie after the other slaves were freed and left? 
·         She had a special connection with the most severely wounded soldiers – they realized they were going to be restricted for the rest of their lives by their injuries and felt a connection with Mariah.  Why?  (Chapter 34)

7.            Who was Theopolis’ father?

8.            What was Baylor’s real purpose in wanting to destroy the burial field and plant on it?

9.            Did the author do a good job combining the true story with some fictional details?  

10.          Did this novel give you any insights into the Civil War and/or A Team of Rivals by Doris Kerns Goodwin?

Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Abraham Lincoln	Edward Bates	Salmon P. Chase	William H. Seward
Dad – Thomas – illiterate but “born storyteller” Mother – Nancy Hanks Stepmother – Sarah Sister – Sarah – died as young adult Ann Rutledge – first love Mary Todd – wife Sons: Robert Todd Edward (died 1850) William (died 1862) Thomas (Tad) Joshua Speed  - best friend John Nicolay – private secretary John Hay – 2nd assistant Vice Presidents: 1st term – Hannibal Hamlin 2nd term – Andrew Johnson	Attorney General Julia – wife Parents died early in his life, Bates and siblings sent to live with relatives	Treasury Department Chief Justice of Supreme Court Widower Kate – daughter William Sprague – Kate’s husband Parents died early, Chase sent to strict boarding school Minor speech defect Edwin Stanton – friend Anti-slavery	Secretary of State Frances – wife Thurlow Weed – campaign manager Husky speaking voice Defining moment – Seward and family traveled south, witnessed slavery and came home
Other Cabinet Members:	Cabinet Members, 2nd Administration	Union Generals	Confederate Generals
Simon Cameron – Secretary of War Edwin Stanton – replaced Cameron as Secretary of War 1862 Cable Smith – Secretary of Interior Gideon Wells – Secretary of Navy Montgomery Blair – Postmaster General (1964 resigned)	James Harlan – Secretary of Interior William Pitt Fessenden – Treasury (replaced Chase) Hugh McCulloch – Treasury, 2nd term William Dennison – Postmaster General	Sherman McClellan - dismissed Scott Ulysses S. Grant Fremont – dismissed McDowell Henry Halleck John Pope Ambrose Burnside – replaced McClellan	Robert E. Lee Stonewall Jackson – died in battle James Longstreet

For discussion:

NOTE:  All page numbers refer to the paperback edition.

1.            Discuss how Lincoln handled the early defeats in his political career.  How was this important to his later success?

2.            Discuss how the three losing candidates reacted to Lincoln’s nomination for president.  Can you, in particular, emphasize with Seward?

3.            Do you agree with Lincoln’s rationale behind the selection of his cabinet?

·         Do you think he made wise choices?

·         Review how he convinced Seward and Chase to accept.  (pages 317 & 318)

4.            Discuss Chase’s bid for the presidency in 1864 at Lincoln’s expense.  Did this alter your opinion of either Chase or Lincoln?

·         What did you think about Chase’s repeated letters of resignation?  What do you think his thoughts were when Lincoln accepted the fourth one?

5.            What did you think about General McClellan and his actions both regarding the battles and his vocal opinion of Lincoln?

6.            Discuss Lincoln’s decision making process.  Consider how he used the cabinet, asking each to make an individual decision and send him a written response.

·         He often let others think they had made the decision or had an influence when in fact he had already made the decision.  (see page 412)

7.            Discuss Lincoln’s preparation for the Emancipation Proclamation.

·         He waited for an army victory to be sure country’s mood was receptive.

·         His calculated reply to Greeley’s letter in order to educate public on link between emancipation and getting more soldiers.

8.            Contrast the political debates of Lincoln’s time with today’s political campaigns.

·         For example – 4 hour speeches were the norm; newspapers reported biased accounts depending on their political leaning

9.            Consider the public interest in the 1850s compared to today.  In 1850, ¾ or population voted.  What made the difference in the amount of interest and participation?

10.          Discuss Lincoln’s gift of storytelling and how he used that to his advantage.

11.          Lincoln repeatedly took responsibility for the mistakes of others.  How effective was this to his leadership?  (see pages 345 and 413)

12.          What characteristics made Lincoln a great leader?   Would he be as great today?