The writing of the Oxford English Dictionary - nonfiction and historical fiction

 

The Professor and the Madman, Simon Winchester

The Dictionary of Lost Words, Pip Williams

Oxford English Dictionary “OED” First Edition – 70 years to produce, 12 volumes, completed 1928 Second Edition – 20 volumes, completed 1978
The Professor and the Madman – nonfiction	The Dictionary of Lost Words – historical fiction
James Murray – first editor Left school at age 14 - self-taught First lecture “Reading, Its’ Pleasures and Advantages” Interested in phonetics – symbols used to represent speech sounds in a language   Ada – second wife 11 children   Scriptorium – shed in back of home to work on dictionary   Bondmaid – only word lost   William Minor Surgeon, former military in America Asylum for the Criminally Insane, Broadmoor   George Merrett – killed by Minor Eliza Merrett – widow	Esme Nicoll Da – father  Lily – mother, deceased Megan – Esme’s daughter, adopted by Phillip and Sarah   Edith Thompson “Ditte” – godmother Elizabeth “Beth” – sister, A Dragoon’s Wife, 1907   Provided spoken words: Mrs. Ballard – cook Lizzie – servant Mabel O’Shaughnessy – market stall Tilda Taylor – actress, suffragette Bill – Tilda’s brother, Megan’s father   Scriptorium Dr. James Murray, editor Da – Mr. Harry Nicoll Murray daughters: Elsie, Rosfrith   Oxford University Press Mr. Hart – “Hart’s Rules,” In charge of printing dictionary Gareth Owen – compositor   Old Ashmolean – Dictionary Room – August 1901 Mr. Bradley – second editor Mr. Craigie – third editor Eleanor Bradley   Bondmaid – word that fell under table and was rescued by Esme

For Discussion:

The Professor and the Madman

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1.       Murray’s goal was to include all words written down, when written first, and a “passage quoted from literature that showed where each word was used first” (page 105).   That was followed by “sentence that show the twists and turns of meaning” (page 105).  Can you imagine undertaking such a task?

2.       Did you like the format of the book? 

a.       Beginning each chapter with a word and definition pertinent to that chapter.

b.       Ending the book explaining why the book is dedicated to George Merrett.

3.       Do you think Murray would have accepted Minor’s help if he knew the situation?  

4.       Minor contacted the victim’s widow and she agreed to visit him as well as accept money from him.   Were you surprised that she agreed to see him?  

 

 

The Dictionary of Lost Words

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition.

5. Which characters did you particularly like, or dislike?  How well did the author bring them to life?
6. Discuss Lizzie and Mabel O’Shaughnessy.  Lizzie told Esme, “Nothing I ever said has been written down” (page 103).  How did it make them feel when Esme wrote down what they said?  Also, Lizzie said she did needlepoint because “it proves I exist…Everything I do gets eaten, dirtied or burned – at the end of the day there’s no proof I’ve been here at all” (page 33).  Do you think someone could have those feelings today?
7. When Esme thinks about her daughter, the words “Her” and “She” are capitalized.  What did that signify?
8. At the end of the book, Esme and Lizzie took Women’s Words and Their Meanings to show Mr. Madden at the Bodleian Library.  Even in 1915 he told her the book was “of no scholarly importance” (page 338).  Esme replied, “It fills a gap in knowledge, and surely that is the purpose of scholarship” (page 338).  Were you surprised that nothing had changed since 1887?
9. What did you learn from this book about the evolution of women’s roles in the early 1900’s?  How important was the inclusion of women’s suffrage to the story of the dictionary?

 

 

10. Did reading this book make you think about words differently?
1. Page 89 – words only included in dictionary “if someone great had written them down.”
2. Page 127 – words “change as they are passed from mouth to mouth; their meanings stretch or truncate to fit what needs to be said.”
3. Page 129 – “A vulgar word, well placed and said with just enough vigor, can express far more that its polite equivalent.”
4. Page 181 – regarding swear words, “They are like bullets, full of energy, and when you give one breath you can feel its sharp edge against your lip.  It can be quite cathartic in the right context.”

 

From both books:

11. How does the way people speak and the words they use influence how you regard them?
12. These books presented two different narratives about the writing of the OED.   Did reading one make you want to read the other?  
13. Every year the OED adds words that have been adopted in our general conversation.   For 2023 some of the words are Krampus, flirtiness, dockie, figuralism, jailable, and live-fire.   They also updated the meaning of words such as curtsy, deprive, six-pack, flirtish.  What would James Murray think about this practice?

 

This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger

 

Characters
Lincoln Indian Training School	People met along the journey
Odie O’Banion – alias Buck Jones Albert O’Banion Moses Washington – couldn’t speak Emmy Frost   Thelma and Clyde Brickman Herman Volz – carpentry shop and boy’s advisor Vincent DeMarco – staff, abused students, died by falling into quarry Cora Frost – homemaking skills, Emmy her daughter, killed by tornado   Hector Bledsoe – farmer, boys worked in hay field   Albert Seifert – local banker, scout master, transferred for refusing to foreclose on farms   Billy Red Sleeve – disappeared, body found in quarry	Abigail – girl at clothesline, Odie took clothes and left money   Jack – one eyed “pig scarer” – forced boys to work, kept Emmy in house, shot dead by Odie   Forrest “Hawk Flies at Night” – Sioux Indian, discovered Emmy could talk Sioux   Sword of Gideon Healing Crusade Sister Eve – gave people hope Sid – trumpet player and business manager Dimitri – cook Whisker – piano player Lucifer – rattlesnake   Hooverville Powell Schofield Sarah – wife Alice Beal – mother Children – Marybeth, Lester and Lydia Captain Bok Gray   Saint Paul Gertie Hellmann – told would offer help Flo – waitress, partner Wooster Morgan – boat storage and repair shop Truman Waters – Flo’s brother, towboat Kids – John Kelly (Shlomo Goldstein), Mook, Chili One-eyed Jack – met at post office   Saint Louis Aunt Julia – Odie’s mother Dolores Sword of Gideon Healing Crusade

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition.

1.       Did this book give you any insight into how American Indians were treated?  What were your thoughts about the Lincoln Indian Trading School?  Later on in the novel, when they were on the road, Odie reflected that at least they had beds, a roof over their heads and  somewhat regular food.

2.       What did you think the story was behind Jack, the pig scarer, Sophie and Angel?  What about the bed in the attic that was slashed and destroyed?

3.       Did you think Sister Eve was real or a hoax?   What did she think and how did she justify what Sid did, paying off the people who had been previously healed?

4.       Discuss Emmy and her “fits”.   It seems like she knows or senses things during the episodes.   For example, when the group decided to stay with the revival for a while and they went to tell Emmy, she had been sleeping and when they woke her, she said “I knew that” (page 204).  Also, after they had found the Indian skeleton, she woke up from an episode and said, “They’re dead.  They’re all dead…I couldn’t help them, I tried but I couldn’t.  It was already done” (page 292).   They found out later that 38 were killed there.  How did she know this?  

5.       Sister Eve told Odie that Emmy was able to see into the future and make slight changes.   That is why Odie did not fall all the way into the quarry but was stopped by an outcropping, the bullet missed Jack’s heart by an inch, and Albert was able to stay alive long enough for the snake serum to arrive and save him.  These three things were all related to Odie and averted a tragedy.  How important was this to the story? 

6.       Mose was very quiet and withdrawn after finding and visiting the Indian graveyard.  Odie realized he had no family to remember.  When Sister Eve told each of them what they were seeking, she told Mose that he “was looking for who he was” (page 271).  Sister Eve also told him that his Sioux name was “Amdacha…Broken to Pieces” (page 271).  How did Sister Eve know this?  How did this information help us understand Mose?

7.       Why did Odie give all of their money to the Scholfields?  He felt “that giving Mr. Schofield that money had felt so good, so intoxicating, that if I’d had enough, I would have done my best to save them all” (page 316).  Why didn’t he think of his brother and friends and how much they needed the money? 

8.       When one-eyed Jack ran into Odie at the post office in Saint Paul, he told Odie that he had saved him.  He had quit drinking and found and reunited with Aggie and Sophie.   Did you want more information about this part of the story?

9.       Did the like the ending – how everything was wrapped up in the Epilogue? Did you have any questions left unanswered?

10.   Which were your favorite characters in the story?  What did you like best about them?  Aside from the Brickman’s and DeMarco, were there any villains?

11.   Did you like the last paragraph where Odie, as the narrator, writes, “Some of what I’ve told you is true and some…well, let’s just call it the bloom on the rosebush.”  He ended, “Far better, I believe to be like children and open ourselves to every beautiful possibility, for there is nothing our hearts scan imagine that is not so” (page 444).  What was your favorite part of the story?  What did you want to be true or possible?  Upon reflection, did this change how you thought about the novel and the story?

Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson

 

Characters
Then	Now
Coventina Brown “Covey” Mathilda – mother, disappeared Johnny “Lin” Lyncook – father Pearl – family helper   Gibbs Grant - boyfriend   Bunny – Covey’s friend   Clarence Henry “Little Man” – was to marry Covey   “Short Shirt” Higgins – tried to poison Percival, took suspicion from Covey for Little Man’s death Percival Henry – Little Man’s brother   Eleanor (Covey) – raped by boss, gave daughter up for adoption   Eleanor Douglas “Elly” – killed in train crash, Covey took her identity	Eleanor Bennett – Covey Bert Bennett – Gibbs Bryon – son  Benedetta “Benny” – daughter   Lynette – Bryon’s girlfriend   Marble Martin – Eleanor’s daughter given up for adoption, cookbook author Husband – deceased Gio – son, boarding school   Etta “Bunny” Pringle – distance swimmer   Charles Martin - lawyer

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2022 paperback edition.

1.       As you were reading the book, who did you think the characters were in the Prologue?   How long did it take for you to figure out who everyone was?

2.       What was the message Pearl was sending Covey with the lilac flowers on top of the wedding cake?  “Finally, Covey understood what she was looking at.  It was a small consolation, but it was something” (page 120).

3.       Who did you think poisoned “Little Man?”  Why did Pearl have the bottle of poison?  We did not find out until the very end of the novel that it was Bunny who poisoned his champagne.  Were you surprised?  Bunny and Covey kept that secret for ever – would it have changed anything if the truth were known years later? 

4.       When Eleanor was pregnant with her first daughter, she was taken in by nuns who gave her no choice but to give up the baby for adoption.  How would keeping the baby have changed both Eleanor’s and Marble’s life?

5.       Eleanor decided the baby deserved “something that Eleanor was not.  Eleanor wanted to keep her baby, but she saw that who you knew yourself to be on the inside was not the same as how others saw you” (page 182).   Did you understand her decision?

6.       Twice the author used the phrase “kissed her teeth.”   What action do you think this is?

7.       Who do you think is responsible for the rift between Benny and her parents?  When she told her parents, Byron also did not reach out to her.   Given Eleanor’s history, do you think she should have been more understanding?   Who is to blame?

8.       At one point, Benny crashed a AAA meeting because she was looking for a place where she was unconditionally accepted.  She “was tired of having her authenticity as a person called into question simply because she did not fit the roles that others wanted her to play” (page 214).   It seemed that Eleanor could have easily understood this feeling.  Why do you think she did not?

9.       Discuss Byron.  He came and stayed with Eleanor and “did everything for his mother while Benny was off who know where” (page 224).   Did you understand his resentment?  Was there anything he could have done?

10.   Upon reflection after both of his parents passed away, Byron wondered “if his parents gave him a gift or did him a disservice to make him think all these years that he was something special” (page 278).  Now that he was alone, he didn’t “know anymore if his life has really made that much of a difference to anyone or anything” (page 278).  What insight did this give you into his character in the novel?   Did you think he was making a difference in the world?

11.   Did his repeated experiences of being pulled over while driving for no reason give you insight and any understanding of this situation faced by black males today?

12.   Was Eleanor right to keep the secrets from her husband and children for her entire life?

13.   Did you like the ending of the novel, the way many of the stories were wrapped up and resolved.   For example, what did you think of Mathilda’s story?  Would that have changed anything for Covey if she had known what had happened to her mother and that she had planned to come back for her?

14.   The Black Cake and recipe were the thread running throughout the novel and united several of the characters including Benny and Marble at the end.  Were you tempted to try the recipe?  Does your family have any food traditions?

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, by Jennifer Chiaverini

 

Elizabeth Keckley George – son of Alexander Kirkland (rape) James – husband, deceased   Emma – friend and seamstress   Clients: Varina Davis Mary Jane Welles – wife of Secretary of Navy Margaret Cameron - wife of Secretary of War Adele Douglas – widow of Stephen Douglas   Virginia Lewis – landlady   Garland family – former owners Miss Ann   Martha – friend from slavery days   Contraband Relief Association 1862 – 1865 Founded by Eliabeth and 40 women from her church   James Redpath – editor, G. W. Carleton and Co. Publishers   Bishop Daniel Payne - Wilberforce University in Ohio Offered Elizabeth position as head of the Department of Sewing and Domestic Sciences

Mary Todd Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Willie – son, deceased Robert – son, college, fought in war, became a lawyer Tad – son, died 1871   Emilie Helm – Mary Todd’s sister, widow of confederate general   Kate Chase – insulted Mrs. Lincoln, became social rivals Salmon Chase – father, Secretary of Treasury, Chief Justice Supreme Court   Cabinet Members and others Mary Todd had feuds with or did not like: Salmon Chase John George Nicolay – president’s personal secretary William Seward – Secretary of State Andrew Johnson General McClellan General Ulysses S. Grant   Jefferson Davis Varina – wife   William H. Herndan – Lincoln’s law partner, wrote book about Lincoln   Mr. Keyes and Mr. W. H. Brady – offered to sell clothing and jewelry

Behind the Scenes: or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House, Elizabeth Keckley, 1868   Herndon’s Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, William Herndon and Jesse W. Weik, 1889

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2016 paperback edition.

1.       At the beginning of the war, it was thought it would only last a short period of time and recruits were only enlisted for 90 days.  Given that we know the length of the conflict and the massive number of deaths, how well did the author describe the feelings of the day?

2.       Mary Todd was criticized for her lavish spending, both on the restoration of the White House and, later, on herself.   Was this criticism justified or did she have a duty to keep up appearances?

3.       Even during the war, she continued to spend large amounts of money on her clothing.   Why was she not able to control her spending?

4.       Did you know that her family were all from the south and that her brother, three half-brothers and three brothers-in-law were serving in the Confederate Army?  In the south, where she grew up, she was considered a traitor.  How was she able to handle this conflict?

5.       Were you surprised that Elizabeth lied about being married to George’s father in order to get a pension?  Her advisors told her that George had earned the pension for her and two ministers vouched that she was telling the truth.

6.       Elizabeth kept following and visiting Mrs. Lincoln at the expense of her own business.  Was Mrs. Lincoln selfish or just unable to see the problems she was causing Elizabeth?

7.       The Contraband Relief Association decided to take a collection in the colored churches with the proceeds going to Mrs. Lincoln, but “she did not want to accept help from Negros” (page 301).   Why do you think she resisted this help?

8.       Many people who Mrs. Lincoln thought would help her actually betrayed her.  For example, letters she wrote to Mr. Keyes and Mr. Brady about selling her clothes and jewelry ended up being published in the newspaper and further damaged Mrs. Lincoln’s reputation.  Why was she not able to see what would happen?  Why did people treat her this way?

9.       Elizabeth wrote in the preface to her book, “Mrs. Lincoln, by her own acts, forced herself into notoriety.  She stepped beyond the formal lines which hedge about private life, and invited public criticism” (page 311).  Was this fair?

10.   Mrs.  Lincoln’s letters were published in Elizabeth’s book even though she expressly asked that they not be.  Her editor, Mr. Redpath, thought the letters were essential and that the entire book would improve Mrs.  Lincoln’s reputation.  What did you think?

11.   The book was not well received by both Mrs. Lincoln’s supporters and those who disliked her as well as the colored people who were afraid they would not be hired for fear they would write a book.   Was this understandable?  Fair?

12.   What did you think of Robert’s care for his mother?  He had her declared insane and committed from 1875 to 1876. Was he correct in his actions?

13.   Did you learn anything new about this period in our history?

As Bright as Heaven, by Susan Meissner

 

Characters
1918-1919	1925-1926
Pauline -mother (died) Thomas – father Henry – deceased baby Evelyn “Evie” – 15 Maggie – 12 Willa – 6   Grandpa and Grandma (Eunice) Adler – Quakertown Jane – Pauline’s sister   Uncle Fred – Bright Funeral Home (died)   Mrs. Landry – housekeeper Mrs. Brewster – does hair and makeup   Sutcliff Accounting – neighbors Roland and Darla – parents Charlie (died) Jamie   Evelyn – school Mr. Galway – teacher (died) Gilbert Keane – student (died)   Willa – school Florence “Flossie” Gretchen Weiss – German (died)   Maggie – school Sally (died) Wendell Ruby	Thomas Evelyn “Evie” – medical school, psychiatrist Maggie – did make-up and hair Willa – singer “Polly Adler”   Alex - Leo   Ursula Novak   Cal Dabney – Alex’s father Rita and Maury Dabney – parents   Darla and Roland Sutcliff Jamie   Palmer Towlerton – courting Maggie   Dr. Bellfield – Fairview Hospital Conrad Reese Sybil – patient   Silver Swan – speakeasy Mr. Trout Albert Lila – singer Mr. Weiss – rescues Willa when club raided   Landmark Club Lila

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the paperback edition.

1.       When we first met Maggie, she was in school and having trouble with math.   She was hesitant to ask Evelyn for help because, “asking my sister for help is like asking to be stung by bees.  Somehow she makes me feel stupid.  I don’t think she means to, but she does” (page 61).  Have you ever felt that way when asking for help?  Do you think you ever made someone else feel that way?  How can you avoid that?

2.       Could you understand Maggie’s actions when she took the baby?   When she looked back, the sister had disappeared.   What about when she lied and said she could not remember the address when she went back to check on the family?

3.       The afternoon after she took Alex, Maggie went to the church to tell Mrs. Arnold the partial truth.  She thought, “I suddenly realize sometimes things aren’t simple.  Sometimes you do a bad thing for good reasons.  Sometimes you do a good thing for a bad reason” (page 150).  Did Maggie do a good thing, a bad thing, or something in between?

4.       Did you understand Eunice Adler’s response when she said no to Pauline’s request to return to Quakertown during the Spanish Flu because she was protecting her other daughter and baby?   Did you understand Thomas blaming Pauline’s mother then for her death?

5.       Maggie had conversations with the bodies she was working on in the embalming room.  Did this surprise you?  Do you think you could do that type of work?

6.       Did you like the ending and the way everything was wrapped up?   For example, Willa still sneaking out to sing in a speakeasy and Evelyn is married and taking care of her husband’s first wife.

7.       Do you think you would have read this book differently before COVID?

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers

 

Characters

John Singer   Spiros Antonapoulos   Jake Blount   Kelly family: Father – watch repair, took in borders Mother Mick – 12 years old Bubber Ralph – baby Hazel – second oldest Bill – oldest Etta   Dr. Benedict Mady Copeland Daisy – wife, deceased Portia – Kelly’s cook Highboy – Portia’s husband William “Willie” – works in New York Café kitchen, in jail due to fight over a girl Hamilton Karl Marx “Bubby”

New York Café Bartholomew “Biff” Brannon Alice – wife, deceased   Lucile – Alice’s sister “Baby” Wilson – groomed to be child movie star   Sunny Dixie Show – carnival, rides Patterson – owner   Mr. B. F. Mason – pretended to be from government signing people up for pensions, really a thief   Harry Minowitz – Mick’s schoolmate, Jewish   People who visited Singer on a regular basis: Dr. Copeland Mick Kelly Jake Blount Biff Brannon

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2000 paperback.

1.       Discuss Mick and her outside and inside worlds.  “School and the family and the things that happened every day were in the outside room.  Mister Singer was in both rooms.  Foreign countries and plans and music were in the inside room” (page 163).  Did you understand her feelings?  Why was Singer in both rooms?

2.       What did you think about Mick hosting a prom party?  Would you have been willing to take such a risk in high school?

3.       At the party, Mick and Harry Minowitz went off along and had sex.  As a result, Harry left home because he was afraid his mother would be able to tell what he had done.  Could this have been avoided at the time?

4.       Did you see it coming when Bubber shot Baby Wilson?  Bubby ran away and, when Mick found him, she made up a story about the electric chair and then going to Hell.  His father thought it was deliberate (page 170).  Did you think he meant to shoot her?  Was it his fault?

5.       Discuss Dr. Copeland.  His mother was born a slave and his father was a preacher.  He worked for 10 years to become a doctor, returned to the south, and, while taking care of people “went endless from house to house and spoke the mission and the truth” (page 143).  He also hit his wife with a poker.  What did you think his mission was?  Does his violence toward his wife affect your opinion?

6.       What did you think about Dr. Copeland talking about Karl Marx and socialism at his Christmas party? 

7.       Why do you think Jake talked so much to Singer when he could not hear him or understand everything he said?

8.       Why were so many people drawn to Singer?  How did he affect the people he came in contact with?  Biff, when thinking about Singer asked himself, “why did everyone persist in thinking the mute was exactly as they wanted him to be” (page 224).  Why do you think this was?

9.       Why was Spiros Antonapoulos in the novel?   What did we learn from him about Singer?

10.   Why did Singer commit suicide?

11.   McCullers was 23 when she wrote this novel, her first one.  How was she able to have such insight into people as well as the plight of African Americans in the 1930s at such a young age?

12.   Martin Luther King organized a march on Washington for jobs and freedom for his race in 1963.  This book was written in 1940 and Dr. Copeland and Jake discussed just such an event (pages 301-305).  Where do you think the author got this idea?

13.   This novel was named to both the Modern Library’s “100 Best English Novels of the 20^th Century” and Time magazine’s “100 Best English Novels 1923-2005.”  Why do you think it was accorded these honors?

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin

 

Characters

Fikry, A. J. Nic – wife, deceased Island Books   Ismay Evans-Parish – Nic’s sister, teacher, directs school plays Daniel Parish – husband, A. J.’s friend, novelist   Chief Lambiase   Amelia Loman “Amy” – sales rep for Knightley Press   Maya Tamerlane Firky – toddler left in bookstore, adopted by A. J. Marian Wallace – mother, suicide   Tamerlane – by Edgar Allan Poe   Leonora Ferris – author, The Late Bloomer Leon Friedman – pen name

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2014 paperback edition

1.       One of the customers, Mrs. Cumberbatch, wants to return The Book Thief because it was narrated by Death, it kept her up reading all night, and the novel made her cry.  What did you think of her complaints?  What would make you return or throw away a book?

2.       Could you relate to A. J.’s complaints about Maya – “She’s worse than a puppy…She’s not potty trained and I have no idea how to do that…We talk about Elmo, and I can’t stand him…She’s totally self-centered” (page 60 and 61)?

3.       He also complained that “she always wants to read the same book.  And it’s like, the crappiest board book, The Monster at the End of the Book” (page 61).  What was your favorite book as a child?

4.       There was lots of quotes about books and reading, such as “Sometimes books don’t find us until the right time” (page 92).  Have you ever experienced something like that – feeling a book was yours to read at exactly the right time in your life?

5.       Firky said “You know everything you need to know about a person from the answer to the question, What is your favorite book?” (page 87).  What is your favorite book and what does it say about you?

6.       Discuss Leonora Ferris/Leon Friedman and the book The Late Bloomer.  The book was fiction, but to help it sell Leonora called it a memoir and hired Leon to portray the author at signing events.   Was that deceitful? 

7.       Did you think it was Leonora who read at the wedding (page 157)?  If so, why would she be invited to do so?

8.       Discuss the storyline of the book, Tamerlane, throughout the novel.   Ismay stole it and gave it to Marian Wallace to sell.  Then Lambaise found it and the sale funded A. J.’s surgery.  Why didn’t Marian sell the book?  Did this storyline add to the novel?

9.       Firky was very upset when his mother gave him, Amelia, and Maya e-readers.  He said to her, “do you even understand that that infernal device is not only going to single-handedly destroy my business but, worse than that, send centuries of a vibrant literary culture into what will surely be an unceremonious and rapid decline?” (page 217).  Do you agree?  Do you prefer actual books or e-readers?  Why?  What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

10.   After his surgery A.J. preferred to read short stories because of his decreased attention span.  He told Maya, “novels certainly have their charms, but the most elegant creation in the prose universe is a short story” (page 246).  Do you agree?  Do you like short stories?  Why or why not?

11.   The chapter titles are short stories that A J. describes.  Why do you think he is creating the list?  Have you read any of the stories?  Was that an effective way to introduce each chapter?

12.   When Ismay and Lambiase were thinking about running the bookstore they discussed the following.  Do you agree?

a.       “There ain’t nobody in the world like book people.  It’s a business of gentleman and gentlewomen.” (page 254).

b.       “I like talking about books with people who like talking about books.  I like paper.  I like how it feel…I like how a new book smells, too.”  (page 255)

13.   What helped the new book store be a success?

14.   Did you like the ending?