My Life in Middlemarch, by Rebecca Mead

Review from Blogging for Books:
My Life in Middlemarch is an impressive book based on extensive research by the author.   I have not read Middlemarch for many years and, at the time of reading this book, did not remember much of the story.   The book might have been more engrossing if I had read Middlemarch first.  I did like the way the storyline and characters from Middlemarch were intertwined with both George Eliot’s and the author’s lives.  From my point of view as a reading professor and book discussion facilitator I particularly enjoyed all of the references to the act of reading a novel and how it is different each time it is read and also for different readers.   While not for pure pleasure reading, this book is insightful and worth the time.  I have received a free copy of the book in exchange for this review.  

Characters
Rebecca Mead	George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) 1819 – 1880	Middlemarch Published 1871-1872 in eight installments
Parallels to George Eliot: Author’s marriage similar to that of George and Lewes Both had stepchildren they had not met Parallels to Middlemarch: Had same life’s questions as characters	Robert Evans – father Isaac and Chrissey – siblings Fannie – half sister   Charles and Cara Bray – Local intellectuals in Coventry, England   Bird Grove in Coventry, England - moved here to help Mary Ann find a husband   Griff House – childhood home, 1841 given to Isaac and wife   George Henry Lewes – partner George’s children – Charles, Thorton, Herbert Three children by Agnes (George’s wife) and Hunt (lover)   John Walter Cross – 2nd husband   Alexander Main – summer 1871 – admirer - Wrote Wise, Witty & Tender Sayings, in Prose and Verse, Selected from the Work of George Eliot	Dorothea Brook Reverend Edward Casaubon   Will Ladislaw – Casaubon’s cousin, artist – marries Dorothea after Casaubon dies   Celia Brook   Dr. Tertius Lydgate - physician Rosamond Vincy - wife     Fred Vincy (Rosamond’s brother) Mary Garth - wife   Nicholas Bulstrode – banker   Reverend Camden Farebrother

For Discussion:
NOTE: The page numbers refer to the paperback edition of this book.


1. Have you read Middlemarch?  Do you agree with the assertion that it is one of the best novels ever written?  Why or why not?


2. The author wrote about reading and books.  Review the following quotes.  Which do you agree or disagree with?  Are there any that particularly speak to you?
a. "The book was reading me, as I was reading it." (page 5)
b. "Reading is sometimes thought of as a form of escapism....But a book can also be where one finds oneself..." (page 16)  What does the author mean by this statement?
c. "Books are less like babies, perhaps, than they are like adolescents: nurtured by motherly tenderness but very much their own person, then launched into the world to stand on their own."  (page 104)  How do you think an author feels when readers interpret a book differently than they do?  Do you think the author's interpretation is always the correct one?  Is there one correct interpretation?
d. "A book may not tell us how to live our own lives, but our own lives can teach us how to read a book."  (page 110)
e. "Certain genres of fiction derive their satisfaction from the predictability of their conclusion...But a successful realist novel necessarily takes unpredictable turns in just the way real life predictably must."  (page 113)   Is there one genre more valuable than another?
f. "Even the most sophisticated readers read novels in the light of their own experiences..."  (page 173)  Have you ever read a book twice separated by several years?  Was your reading experience different?  What about book group members?  Can you remember any discussion where there were different opinions about the main understanding of a book?


3. Regarding George Eliot:
a. The author made many references to George Eliot's appearance and her lack of traditional female attractiveness.  How do you think that influenced her as an author?
b. Eliot also did not have the traditional characteristics valued in a female ("charm and subservience" on page 129).  How did this affect her life and her writing?
c. What did you think of Eliot's decision to live with Lewes?  How hard would it have been to go against society, not to mention her family?
d. Were you surprised she married so quickly after Lewes death and to someone so young?
e. What did you think of Alexander Mains?  The author thought he was "creepy."  Why didn't Eliot have the same opinion?


4. Discuss your reading experience with this book.  Was it easy to follow?  Did you enjoy the experience?
*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.

The Signature of All Things, by Elizbeth Gilbert

 

Characters
Philadelphia	Tahiti – sailed November 1851	Holland – 1854 and beyond
Henry Whittaker Beatrix van Devender Alma (Plum) – born 1800 Polly > Prudence (Our Little Exquisite)   Hanneke de Groat   George Hawkes – publisher of botanical journals   Retta Snow - friend, married George   Author Dixon – tutor, Prudence’s husband   Ambrose Pike   Dick Yancey – ship captain	Reverend Wells Wife and daughter live in Cornwall   Sister Manu   Tomorrow Morning   Roger – dog   The Hiro Contingent	Dr. Dees van Devender – uncle   Roger - dog   Hortus Botanicus   Alma became Curator of Mosses   Alfred Russell Wallace   Charles Darwin

 

For Discussion:
NOTE: All pages are from the hardback edition of the novel.

1. How did Henry's early life shape him as an adult?  How did it shape his role as a husband and father?
2. Why do you think the family so readily took Prudence in as part of their family?  Was it reasonable to think that Alma would accept her as a sister immediately?
3. How did Alma feel when Prudence was nicknamed "Our Exquisite One?"  Was that fair to her?  Why did her parents not understand how hurtful that was?
4. Discuss how much was expected of Alma compared to Prudence.  After Beatrix died Alma took over her mother's role while "Prudence had no value to Henry."  (page 151)
5. Were you surprised when Alma turned the estate over to Prudence after Henry's death?  Why do you think she did that?
6. Were you surprised when Hanneke said to Alma, "But everyone has been careful with you already, Alma...Perhaps they have been careful with you for too long."  (page 319)  Did this feeling surprise you?  How had people been "careful" with Alma?  How had they not?
7. Why didn't Hanneke tell Alma about Prudence, George and Retta earlier in the story?  (page 315)  How would this knowledge have changed the story?
8. What do you think was the motivation behind Dixon and Prudence's chosen lifestyle?  Alma thought "There was something about Prudence's manner of living that looked, to Alma's eyes, suspiciously like pride, even vanity."  (page 187)  Do you think it is really a sacrifice if you boast about it?
9. Was there perhaps a connection between Prudence's early childhood and her adult life of chosen poverty and deprivation?
10. Do you think Alma should feel guilty about Ambrose's death?  Why or why not?
11. How did your opinion of Ambrose change as you read the book?
12. When Alma arrived in Tahiti all of her belongings were stolen, but no one seemed alarmed or concerned about getting them back for her.  Then some things mysteriously returned while other things were taken.  How would you feel if you lost all of your belongings?  How would you adapt to having nothing of your own that was special?
13. Was Tomorrow Morning a good or evil character?  Explain.
14. How can you explain the attachment between Uncle Dees and Roger?
15. Discuss Alma's Theory of Competitive Alteration.  Do you think she should have published it earlier?  Did you like Wallace's explanation of the "Prudence Problem" - that a supreme intelligence gave humans their minds, not natural selection (pages 493&494)?
16. Did you like the writing?  Discus in particular:

• The frequent inclusion of dates.  Did that help you follow along?
• Telling Henry's story "while we wait for the girl to grow up and catch our interest again."  (page 7)
• How the author speaks with the reader.  (see above quote)

*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your Frist Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociaiton..com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the above right link.

 

 

 

 

 

The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey

 

Characters	Miscellaneous
Mabel Jack   Faina   Benson family: George Esther Garrett – youngest son Two older sons   Ada – Mable’s sister	Snegurochka, The Snow Maiden – Russian fairy tale   Siwashing – Indian term meaning to camp in woods with no tent or other comforts   Ptarmigan (TAHR-mi-gun) – grouses living in cold, northern regions with feathered feet

 

For Discussion:
NOTE: page numbers are for paperback edition

1. Discuss how Mabel survived and thrived in Alaska.  On page 331 she reflected that she "was making do, and somehow it suited her."  Could you survive in the wilderness or any other difficult environment and situation?
2. How accurately do you think the author described life in Alaska during that time period?  Would you have considered moving there?
3. Discuss how Jack and Mabel handled difficult situations:
1. (Page 85) Jack had to remove himself from the situation, for example when Mabel lost the baby or when relatives said nasty comments about her.
2. (Page 315-316 and 330) Mabel always let her emotions brew all day and then shared bad news at dinner.  Jack just wanted to eat his warm meal in peace and Mabel knew it was a bad habit.
4. In her letter to Mabel, Ada wrote that she wanted to change the ending of The Snow Maiden and "have everyone live happily ever after.  We are allowed to do that, are we not, Mabel?  To invent our own endings and choose joy over sorrow?" (page 129)  Were any of the characters able to do this?  Do you think it is realistic?
5. Discuss the different characters:
1. What did you think about Esther?  Was it realistic that she and Mabel became good friends?  Would you like a friend like Esther who would just take charge?
2. Were you surprised that Garrett and Faina fell in love?  Given that they spent so much time in nature, were you surprised they did not realize that Faina could get pregnant?
6. As you were reading, did you think Faina was real or a product of Mabel and Jack's imagination the way Mabel invented fairies as a child and insisted they were real, or the "winter madness" that Esther thought?
7. When Jack found Faina's father dead, was he right in honoring his word and not telling Mabel?
8. How do you think Faina survived alone in the woods?
9. Did you think Mabel reading The Snow Maiden as a child with her father influenced her in any way?
10. Discuss the end of the story, particularly the fact that Faina had a baby like a normal human but then, at the end, just disappeared into apparently think air, leaving all of her clothes behind.
11. Did you like the mix of reality and fantasy?  Why or why not?
12. This novel was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2013.  Why do you think it was being considered?  Do you think the honor was justified?  Why or why not?

*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.

 

 

 

The Men Who United the States, by Simon Winchester

Part	People, events, etc.
Preface  The Pure Physics of Union	“America is, after all, a nation founded as a home for the single simple idea of universal human freedom.” (page xvi)   The guiding question the author wanted to answer in the book is, “just how has it [the U.S.] managed to adhere, to keep itself annealed into one for all the years and decades since?”  (page xvi)
Part I When America’s Story was Dominated by Wood 1785 – 1805	Thomas Jefferson – 1785 – Land Ordinance, the ability to own land Thomas Hutchins – first Geographer of US 1803 – Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark Frederick Jackson Turner – history professor – significance of frontier to American character Plains Indians Sacagawea
Part II When America’s Story Went Beneath the Earth 1809 – 1901	Robert Owen – Welsh Socialist, New Harmony William Maclure – Geology’s Founding Father Important for educational reform and geology David Dale Owen – geologist, influence in surveying the nation Joel Walker – first western traveler South Pass – Oregon Trail Topographers – West Point Grads – John Fremont Four Great Surveys of the West – 1867 George Wheeler – Survey of One Hundredth Meridian John Wesley Powell – Rocky Mts.  and Grand Canyon Clarence Rivers King – Fortieth Parallel - also solved Great Diamond Fraud Ferdinand Hayden – Yellowstone – preservation efforts William Henry Jackson – photographed Yellowstone Thomas Moran – painted and sketched Yellowstone
Part III When the American Story Traveled by Water 1803 – 1900	American Canal Era Fall line “Canals changed social fabric of the nation” (page 195) Loammi Baldwin Sr. and Jr. – senior built first successful canals Lowell Mill Girls – work reforms for women Erie Canal Hudson-Mohawk Gap – only major gap through Appalachian Mts. Chicago Sanitary Canal – second, larger canal built to take away sewage from Lake Michigan Asian Carp are using canal to invade lake Michigan Mississippi River
Part IV When the American Story was Fanned by Fire 1811 – 1956	United States National Road – started by Jefferson – 28 years to complete John McAdam – Roads made of “macadam” Steam John Fitch – true inventor of steam engine Robert Fulton – received credit for invention John Stevens – father of American railroad   As a result of railroads: Pocket watches Time zones New skill sets New business management ideas Idea of “vacation” Resorts Prosperity of towns along rail line Decline of towns not along rail line Division of North and South Outcome of Civil War Theodore Dehone Judah – promoted railroad Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads Chinese immigrants and importance to building railroads Automobiles Major Dwight Eisenhower Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways   Thomas Harris MacDonald – Interstate Highway System Gave roads federally designated numbers NS – odd numbers EW – even numbers Lower numbers east and north Major routes ended in 5 and 0 Great Diagonal Way – Chicago to LA #66 Charles and Frank Duryea – Duryea Wagon Company   1984 – Office of Road Inquiry – “Get the farmer out of the mud.” Became Bureau of Public Roads Calbraith Rogers – first to fly across country, fall 1911
Part V When the American Story was Told Through Metal 1835 – Tomorrow	Samuel Morse Hiram Sibley – Western Union Telegraph united East and West, ignored southern part of country Sibley squash – most remembered accomplishment Alexander Graham Bell Telephone - led to electronic world George Westinghouse Thomas Alva Edison – light bulbs – Menlo Park – direct current Nikola Tesla – alternating current – electrocuted Topsy, circus elephant F.D. Roosevelt – New Deal Morris Llewellyn Cooke – electrified American farmlands Guglielmo Marconi – inventor of wireless telegraph Reginald Fessenden – AM radio 1914 – first radio station – Madison, Wisconsin 1920 – first official station – KDKA Pittsburgh, PA Original purpose of radio was to make money David Sarnoff – RCA and NBC Arturo Tocanni – European symphony conductor brought to America Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier – 3oo,ooo listeners to boxing match Walter Winchell – gossip show Orson Welles – War of the Worlds Later moved to television William Siemering – Public Service Radio – 1945 NPR – 1971 Johnny Carson Television unified country but different  than previous inventions which let people communicate one-on-one This let everyone share a single mass culture Results of TV – Families viewed together Everyone flushed toilets at same time Rush of electricity demand when shows ended Furniture TV dinners New vocabulary (boob tube, couch potato) Influence on political elections Cable TV – watchers now split into subgroups, all watching individually Internet Joseph Lichlider – started with a memo in 1963 Vint Clef Robert Kahn Web – 1991 - Tim Berners-Lee

For discussion:
1. Do you think the  fact that the author became an American citizen as an adult or the fact that his wife is Japanese influenced his interpretation?  If so, how?


2. In Part IV, the author listed many that happened as a result of railroads and in Part V he did the same with television.  Do you agree?  Anything you would add?


3. If you have ever taken a road trip, what are your early memories of road trips on the Interstate Highway System?


4. What are your early memories of watching television?  What is the most memorable event you watched on TV?


5. Which of? the five parts did you find most interesting?  Why


6. What did you learn that you did not know before?


7. Review the guiding question in the Preface that the author wanted to answer with this book.  Did he answer it?  If so, how?


8. Using Amazon's five-star rating system, how many stars would you give this book?  Why?


9. Discuss your reading experience.  Did you like the way the author organized the book?  Would you have done anything differently?
*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.

The Book of Strange New Things, by Michel Faber

REVIEW: I am not sure what to think about this book, especially the religious emphasis.  I wanted to keep reading and I wanted to know what would happen, but sometimes I skimmed in order to keep moving along.  The end left me wanting to know what happens next to everyone.  The author crafted the ending he wanted, but I wanted another chapter or two!  Also, my Christian beliefs played a large part in my understanding and reading experience.  I wonder how a non-Christian would experience the book.  Would they understand the biblical references, but also how important would that be to the enjoyment of the book?  Given my questions, this would be a great book for a discussion!  In the end, I feel this was a very intriguing book, it kept my interest and provided hours of enjoyment.  I received a free copy of this book in exchange for this review.       

Characters
Home	Oasis
Peter Bea Joshua (cat)   Mirah – Muslim woman – victim of domestic violence – friend of Bea	Peter Tuska – pilot Billy Graham – BG – engineer Arthur Severin – engineer – diabetic – died while at Oasis Moro – engineering technologist and cook Werner Frank Tartaglione – linguist – disappeared Alex Grainger – pharmacist – driver Marty Kurtzberg – Prior Baptist missionary  – disappeared   Oasans Jesus Lover One, etc.

For Discussion:

NOTE: All page numbers refer to the hardback edition.

1. Why did Bea get disqualified for the trip but Peter did not?
2. Consider when Peter met the Oasans for the first time.  When he looked at one of their faces, he "couldn't decide it on its own terms; he could only compare it to something he knew" (page 102).  Can you imagine being in a similar situation in which you had no frame of reference?  How do you think you would react?
3. As you were reading, how did you handle the letters 't,' 's' and 'ch' when the Oasans spoke?  Did that increase your understanding of how a child struggles when they are learning letter sounds? 
4. Peter did not like how the Oasans had to struggle when saying the word "church" so he tried to get them to say "our haven" instead.  How much do names matter?  How do you feel when someone mispronounces your name?
5. Discuss what it means to be happy.  On pages 174-175 Peter was thinking about situations when people seemed happy but were not and also when they said they were truly happy in difficult situations.  For example, on the day when Peter proposed to Bea, everything went wrong and yet Bea said it was the happiest day of her life.
6. What did you think of Peter as a pastor and missionary?  Consider his eulogy at Severin's funeral and his decision to live among the Oasans instead of living in his car like Kurtzburg.
7. When Peter learned that Bea was pregnant, why did he feel so little emotion?
8. What do you think was happening to Peter and the other inhabitants of Oasis?
9. What was happening back on earth and why?
10. Do you think a Christian and non-Christian will read this book differently? If so, how?
11. Did you like the ending?
12. Discuss your reading experience in general.  Did you like the book?  Were you able to relate to the characters?  What questions did you have while reading?

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.

What Alice Forgot, by Liane Morarity

 

Characters

Alice Nick Children:  Madison (Sultana) (5th grade), Tom (4th grade), Olivia (Kindergarten)   Elisabeth – sister Ben – husband   Barb Jones – Alice and Elisabeth’s mother Roger – husband - Nick’s father   Gina (deceased) and Mike – former neighbors and best friends of Alice and Nick   Sophie – Alice’s best friend 10 years ago   Dominick – Alice’s boyfriend, school principal   Jane Turner – lawyer   Kate Harper – mother at school   Frannie Jeffrey – honorary grandmother Phil Peyton – deceased fiancé Mr. Moustache – Xavier   Dr. Jeremy Hodges – Elisabeth’s therapist

 

For discussion:
NOTE: All page numbers refer to the paperback edition.


1. As you were reading, who did you think Gina was?  What different scenarios did you imagine?


2. Did you like the technique of revealing the characters and story line through Elisabeth's homework journal to Dr. Hodges and Frannie's letters to Phil?  Why did you think this was effective or not?


3. Do you think Nick would be able to reconcile with Alice if she never got her memory back but he still remembered everything?


4. On page 359, when Alice felt her memory returning she thought, "She just couldn't decide if she should resist or encourage it."  What did you think she should do?


5. On page 386 Alice wondered if she had not visited Elisabeth much because she, Alice, "was so busy.  Busy, busy, busy."  Can you relate?  Also, when Elisabeth had her family she was becoming busy.  Can we resist always being busy?  How?


6. What would you be surprised about if you were in the same position as Alice and forgot the past 10 years of your life and then had to figure out what was happening?


7. How have you changed over the past 10 years that your 10-year-younger self would find surprising?  Not surprising?


8. This was a fun, enjoyable book, but it also dealt with serious life issues.  Did it make you think about some of these issues on a different or deeper level?  Some of the issues I thought it addresses were:

• Dealing with death (Barb when first husband died, Frannie after fiancé's death)
• Infertility
• Infidelity
• Forgiveness
• Miscarriages
• Hope (Elisabeth and insemination results)
• Being busy/mindfulness
• Divorce and children
• How we treat each other
• Sisterhood/friendship
• Parenthood/raising children
• Teenagers

*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on upper right link.

 

 

 

Peter Pan Must Die, by John Verdon

NOTE: I received this free book from Blogging for Books in exchange for writing a review on their website.  My review is as follows:

I have been reading either college essay exams or books for my two book groups, so I considered this book a mini vacation from my required reading.  It has been quite a while since I have read a pure detective mystery and I loved every minute of this reading experience!  The author, John Verdon, provided insight into the personalities of the characters, particularly the main character, Dave Gurney, and his wife Madeline that made them fascinating and helped me care about them.  He also provided insight into Dave’s thought process and motivation that was quite interesting.  Besides having an enjoyable reading experience I learned how detectives might go about solving cases as well as insight into my own thinking.  The solution was ingenious and thought-provoking!  I strongly recommend this book to mystery lovers as well as someone who wants an enjoyable, thoughtful read where they will gain knowledge and insight.  Please visit my blog, ReadtoEnrich.blogspot.com for a list of characters and discussion questions.    This book was provided free in exchange for my review.

Characters

Dave Gurney – retired detective Madeline – second wife – counselor at crisis center Danny – Dave and Madeline’s son – deceased at age 4 – automobile accident when Dave was watching  him Kyle – son by first wife – Columbia law student   Jack Hardwick – retired detective, Esti Moreno – BCI investigator, dating Jack   Lex Bincher – lawyer working with Jack to free Kay Spalter   Carl Spalter – murdered executive and prospective politician Kay Spalter – second wife - convicted of killing Carl Alyssa – daughter  by Carl’s first marriage – drug addict Jonah Spalter – Carl’s brother – Cyberspace Cathedral Mother  to Carl and Jonah – murdered in senior living home   Michael Klemper – Mick the Dick – Senior Investigator on Spalter case   Adonis Angelidis – Donny Angel – mob boss – murdered by Peter Pan   Petros Panikos – Peter Pan   Brian Bork – RAM-TV   Malcolm Claret – Dave’s therapist   Minor Characters: Paulette Purley – cemetery manager Frank McGrath – manager of apartment building Carol Blissy – manager of senior living home Freddie – witness against Kay who disappeared Balo – in apartment next to crime scene

For Discussion:

NOTE: All page numbers refer to the hardback edition of the book

1. Discuss Dave’s reasons for pursuing the case.  He felt it was an intellectual challenge or puzzle to be solved.  Madeline thought he was driven by the idea of risk.  (Chapter 10, Page 60)

2. What did you think of Claret’s analysis of Dave’s motivation?  On page 257 (Chapter 37) he stated that “So this obsessive need of yours to atone for Danny’s death, to deal with your guilt by exposing yourself to the risk of being killed…it’s terribly selfish, isn’t it?”

3. Consider Dave’s explanation of how witnesses can be wrong.  In chapter 39, page 271 he stated, “We don’t think what we think because we see what we see.  We see what we see because we think what we think.  Preconceptions can easily override optical date – even make us see things that aren’t there.”  Do you think this is correct?  Can you think of any examples, either from the news or from your own experience, to prove or disprove this idea?

4. In the midst of the investigation while Dave was gathering information he reflected that, “Too much was happening too damn fast.  It was as though his brain couldn’t contain another speck of information, and every time something new got jammed in, it shoved something out the other side.”  (Chapter 39, Page 272)  Have you ever felt like this? 

5. What did you think about the idea of “pattern resonance” where we make connections unconsciously between things that are somewhat similar but not overtly so?  (Chapter 52, page 356)  How did this help Dave solve the mystery?  Can you think of any examples from your own thought processes?

6. Why did Brian Bork run the promotion ads for the fictitious show earlier than agreed upon?  Did you think this was realistic?

7. Several times the author described Madeline as able to compartmentalize her life (Chapter 44, Page 309 and Chapter 45, Page 315).  Are you able to do this?  Do you want to be able to do this?

8. The author noted that being in law enforcement changes people by “nourishing certain traits: skepticism, calculation, insularity, toughness.”  (Chapter 34, page 235)  He continued that different people react differently to these and have either positive or negative outcomes.  Can you see how this could happen?  What could police departments do to help their officers survive and thrive in difficult situations?

9. As a college professor, I often remind my students about the importance of sleep and the need to give information time to become consolidated into your long-term memory.  Gurney thought that dreams were the result of “the nightly filing and indexing process the brain employs in the movement of recorded experience from short-term to long-term memory” (Chapter 54, page 365).  Do you think this is correct?  Can you see how this would be important to a detective trying to solve a case as well as a student studying for an exam?

10. As you were reading, who did you think was the murderer?  What clues led you to your conclusion?

11. Did you like the ending and the explanation of the solution to the case?  Was it satisfying?  Compare this novel to other mysteries you have read and the way the solution was revealed.

12. Discuss your reading experience. 

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.   Click on link to upper right to go to Amazon page.