Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Stout

Stories	Characters
Pharmacy	Olive and Henry Kitteridge Son – Christopher Denise and Henry Thibodeau Jim O’Casey Jerry McCarthy Daisy Foster
Incoming Tide	Patty Howe Kevin Coulson
The Piano Player	Angela O’Meara Malcolm Moody Walter Dalton
A Little Burst	Christopher Suzanne (Dr. Sue) - wife
Starving	Harmon and Bonnie Daisy Foster Nina White
A Different Road	Olive and Henry Doctor and nurse Robbers: Blue-Mask and Pig-Face
Winter Concert	Jane and Bob Houlton The Lydias – Alan and Donna Granger (Bob had an affair, visited woman in FL)
Tulips	Louise and Roger Larkin Doyle – son, killed wife Henry – stroke, in nursing home
Basket of Trips	Marlene Bonney – husband Ed (deceased) Ed Junior and 2 daughters Kerry – cousin – had affair with Ed
Ship in a Bottle	Anita and Jim Harwood Julie – 21 – wedding canceled by finance Winnie – 11
Security	Christopher Ann – 2nd wife – pregnant Theodore – in preschool Annabelle Sean O’Casey
Criminal	Rebecca Brown Reverend Brown – father David – boyfriend
River	Jack Kennison – widower Henry – died

For discussion:

1. Did you like Olive and Henry?  What overall picture did you develop of Olive and Henry throughout the book?
1. Do you think Olive was a good mother to Christopher?  Discuss the following quotes from the book:
2. Page 71, wishing she would say the following to Sue:  “...deep down there is a think inside me, and sometimes it swells up like the head of a squid and shots blackness through me.  I haven’t wanted to be this way, but so help me, I have loved my son.”
3. Page 157:  left Christopher sleeping in his crib and went down the street to talk to the neighbor.  
2. Discuss the relationships between the husbands and wives in the stories:
1. Olive and Henry
2. Harmon and Bonnie (“Starving”)
3. On page 68 Olive describes life as a series of “big bursts” and “little bursts.”  Do you think this is a good description?
4. In the story “A Different Road,” discuss Henry and Olive’s reactions during and after being held hostage at the hospital.  Will they recover?  Discuss Olive’s feelings toward the boy (page 124).
5. Why did Olive damage Suzanne’s sweater and steel her bra and shoe on the day she married Christopher?
6. How would you react if you had spilled down your shirt like Olive did in “Security” and your children did not tell you?   What was Olive’s reaction and why did she react that way?
7. On page 257, widowhood is described as a “contagious disease,” and women whose husbands were still living tended to avoid widows.  Can you relate?

Discussion Guide - Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese

Characters
Missing Hospital, Ethiopia	Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, New York	Miscellaneous
Sister Mary Joseph Praise Thomas Stone Marion Shiva ShivaMarion Matron Dr. K. Hemlatha (Hema) Dr. Ghosh Rosina Genet Zemui (Genet’s father) Almaz (Ghosh’s servant) Gebrew Nurse Probationer	Deepak Thomas Stone	Sister Anjali Thomas Stone’s parents: Justifus Stone – syphilis and alcoholism Hilda Stone George Ross – Thomas’ guardian after parent’s illness and death

For discussion:

1. Discuss Matron’s deception of the supporting churches regarding how their money was spent.  Do you think this was justified?
2. Discuss the Nurse Probationer.  She was proficient at book knowledge, but did not have “Sound Nursing Sense.”   What do you think is the balance between book knowledge and instinct in professional success or any other situation such as motherhood?
3. Discuss the minor sub-plot of the Nurse Probationer.  How was she able to come into her own?
4. Discuss the parable of the slippers on pages 350 & 351 on the paperback edition.  How does this story explain life?
5. Did you like the inclusion of the detailed medical information along with the story?  Did this add or detract from your enjoyment of the novel?
6. How do you think the early illness and death of Thomas Stone’s mother shaped his adult life?  How did his own illness and abandonment of his father affect his life?
7. In the operating room, Thomas always advocated “words of comfort” in the care of a patient.  Does his behavior regarding his sons contradict this feeling for the individual?
8. Think about all of the events that were a result of Shiva having sex with Genet.  What do you think would have happened if this initiating event had not happened?  Do you think Marion was right not to tell anyone?
9. On page 27, Sister Mary Joseph Praise thought Thomas Stone had acted correctly on the ship when he “did the wrong thing…in pursuit of the right thing.”  Do you think it is excusable to do something wrong in order to achieve something that is right?
10. Marion stated that he and Shiva “…had an unfair advantage on the rest of the world” because of their bond.  Do you agree or disagree?  Why?  (page 301)
11. At the end, Marion felt that he and Shiva were reunited into ShivaMarion and that Shiva lived in him (page 640).  Do you find this an interesting way for him to continue with his life?
12. Were you surprised that Marion went back to Ethiopia?
13. Did you “like” the ending where Shiva died?

Discussion Guide - The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein

Characters

Denny Swift Eve Zoe Enzo Eve’s parents: Trish and Maxwell (The Twins) Friends – Mike and Tony Annika Lawyer – Mark The evil zebra

 

For discussion:

1.   What was your favorite scene in the novel?

2.   Did you like the technique of making Enzo be the narrator?  Would the story have worked if the narrator was one of the humans?

3.   Do you think dogs or other animals can really understand humans and have the desire to communicate with them? 

4.   Discuss Enzo’s more human characteristics.

a.       His feelings after Eve died (and his animal reaction of chasing and eating the squirrel ) [page 165]

b.      Advising people to learn to listen (page 102)

5.   Can dogs and other animals sense things that humans cannot?  Enzo smelled Eve’s cancer well before anyone made a diagnosis.

6.   What did you think of Enzo’s description of communication, “…there are so many moving parts.  There’s presentation and there’s interpretation and they’re so dependent on each other it makes things very difficult.”  (page 5) Was this a good analysis?

7.  What did you think about Enzo’s analysis of his death?  He said about Denny, “He needs me to free him to be brilliant.”  (page 5) 

8.   The author wrote, “A true hero is flawed.  The true test of a champion is not whether he can triumph, but whether he can overcome obstacles – preferably of his own making – in order to triumph.”  (page 135)  Do you agree?  What do you think about the obstacles “being of his own making?”  Can you name anyone who you think is a hero?  Does he or she fit this description?

9.   About a champion, he wrote “It makes one realize that the physicality of our world is a boundary to us only if our will is weak; a true champion can accomplish things that a normal person would think impossible.”  (page 65)  Do you agree?

10.One of Denny’s favorite statements was “…that which we manifest is before us.”  (page 43)  What did he mean?  Do you agree?

11.The author stated that women and dogs feel pain the same (“tap directly into the pain” page 62) whereas men “are all filters and deflectors and timed release.”  (page 63)  Is this an accurate description?  Do you think there is a difference in how men, women and dogs experience pain?

12.  Regarding the evil zebra, at the end Enzo realizes that the zebra is, “not something outside of us.  The zebra is something inside of us.  Our fears.  Our own self-destructive nature.  The zebra is the worst part of us when we are face-to-face with our worst times.  The demon is us!”  (page 264)  Do you agree?  Can you think of any examples from other books you have read where the characters were their own worst enemies?

13. There were many comments in the book about life in general.  What comparisons were made between driving a race car and life?  Can you add others?

Discussion Guide - Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell

For the College Reading and Learning Association, One Book-One Conference, 2010

People, places, theories and events
Introduction – The Roseto Mystery
Roseto, Italy to Bangor, Pennsylvania
Part One – Opportunity	Part Two - Legacy
Chapter One – The Matthew Effect Canadian hockey players and birthdates	Chapter Six – Harlan, Kentucky The Howards and the Turners Culture of honor Experiment conducted on culture of honor at Univ. of Michigan by Cohen and Nisbett
Chapter Two – The 10,000 Rule Bill Joy – rewrote UNIX The Beatles – Hamburg, Germany Bill Gates Seventy-five all time richest people – 14 from America born between 1834 – 1840 Silicon Valley entrepreneurs –  1953 - 1956	Chapter Seven – The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes Korean Air flight 801 – August 1997 Mitigated Speech Hofstede’s Dimensions – individualism-collectivism scale Power Distance Index (PDI)
Chapter Three – The Trouble with Geniuses, Part I Christopher Langan Lewis Terman and his Termites	Chapter Eight – Rice Paddies and Math Tests Rice paddies and rice farmers Western agriculture – machine oriented; Rice farming – skill oriented Characteristics of work of rice farmer: 1.)connection between work and reward, 2.) complex work, and 3.) autonomous Positive correlation between willingness to work and math success
Chapter Four – The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 2 Chris Langan and family background Robert Oppenheimer and family background Practical intelligence Parenting philosophies – concerted cultivation and accomplishment of natural growth	Chapter Nine – Marita’s Bargain KIPP Academy
Chapter Five – The Three Lessons of Joe Flom Joe Flom – lawyer Lesson One: The Importance of Being Jewish Lesson Two: Demographic Luck Lesson Three: The Garment Industry and Meaningful Work Louis and Regina Borgenicht and family tree
Epilogue
Daisy and Donald Nation, Faith and Joyce, Malcolm

For discussion:

1.      1.  Malcolm Gladwell explains outliers as being the result of opportunity and cultural legacy.  Do you agree?  Are there other factors?

2.     2.  In chapter two, Gladwell proposes that after basic ability, time on task is what makes the difference.  Is there an example from your life that confirms this idea?  How does this relate to our jobs in education?

3.       3. Discuss the importance of opportunity to the success of outliers.  What unusual and/or extraordinary opportunities did you have?

4.     4.  In Chapter Four, Gladwell writes about “practical intelligence.”   How can we help developmental students learn this knowledge?

5.       5. Discuss the two parenting philosophies discussed in chapter 4: concerted cultivation and accomplishment of natural growth.  How were you raised?  How have you raised your children?  Have you seen any examples of these two styles when working with your students?

6.       6. Discuss the idea of “meaningful work” in chapter five.  As educators, we definitely feel we are doing “meaningful work.”  How has this affected your family and yourself?

7.       7. Discuss conversation within different cultural contexts, specifically transmitter orientation (responsibility of speaker to be clear and concise) and receiver orientation (responsibility of listener to understand what is being communicated).  How can this be a factor in classroom communication?

8.       8. In chapter nine, Gladwell states that our academic year is based on the theory that the mind needs to rest and that is mirrors the American agricultural year.   Contrast this to the Asian nations’ year-round work ethic.  Do you think Gladwell’s references to American farming and Chinese rice farming valid?

9.       9. Discuss Chris Langan and Robert Oppenheimer’s experiences in college.

a.       How do their different experiences relate to their backgrounds?

b.      What would have happened to Langan at your institution?

c.       How can we help our students navigate and work within the system?

10.   10. Are there other factors that contribute to success that Gladwell didn’t consider?

Discussion Guide - Nickel and Dimed

Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich

Chapter and Location	People and employment
#1 – Serving in Florida	Hearthside: Billy – cook Gail – waitress and trainer Lionel – Haitian busboy Phillip – top manager Stu – assistant manager Jerry’s (waitress): Vic – assistant manager George – 19-year-old Czech dishwasher Jerry’s motel (housekeeping)
#2 – Scrubbing in Maine	Woodcrest Residential Facility – dietary aid The Maids: Ted Holly – ill, injured on job
#3 – Selling in Minnesota	Menard’s Hardware Wal-Mart

For discussion:

1.    Discuss the importance of transportation to job opportunities.  Did transportation issues play a role in your job choice?

2.    Review the author’s various housing locations.  What worked and what didn’t.  Would you be able to adapt?

3.    Discuss people’s reaction to those employed in minimum wage jobs.  For example, review the discussion on pages 99 – 100 about how cleaning people are viewed by others.

4.    The author was faced with several incidents where she had to make a decision to act or not.  Why do you think she reacted the way she did in each instance?  What do you think she should or could have done?

a.    In chapter 1 when George was accused of stealing supplies (pages 40 & 41)

b.    In chapter 2, when Holly fell and was injured

5.    Also in chapter 2, why do you think Ted’s approval means so much?

6.    Review the hiring process described on pages 149.  How is this different from the hiring process for your current job?  How does this process play into the entire minimum wage culture?

a.    Discuss the real reason behind pre-employment tests.  (See page 59.)

7.    She lists several consequences of working minimum wage jobs.  Do you see how this can happen?  Why?

a.    Page 106 – “tunnel vision,” work issues loom larger than life

b.    Page 117 – “…feel like a pariah.”

8.    On page 177 she describes a theory that women shoppers like to shop because they can “behave like brats” and have someone else pick up after them.  Do you agree or not?  Why?

9.    In the second-to-last section, “Evaluation,” review why minimum wage workers do not either demand higher pay or leave for a better paying job (pages 204 - 210).  Are you able to understand this reasoning?

10.  What did you learn from this book?  Do you now view minimum wage earners differently than before?