Author Topic: Suggestion Box for Future Book Discussions ~ (Read 283566 times)

Jonathan · « **Reply #1320 on:** October 16, 2014, 02:26:25 PM »

Let us know what books you've been reading that might make an interesting discussion. Our discussion leaders are always looking for good ideas.

Good questions, Barb, and interesting remarks. Just the kind to stimulate a discussion. I don't like to reply since the voting has started, but...could Harriet Beecher Stowe ever have dreamed that she was giving offence by portraying someone's humanity as she did with the Blacks? It was just what made her case so strong.

I know nothing of an Arab point of view. My reading has made me aware only of tribal and sectarian interests. And many tribesmen were soldiers of fortune. Good pay and the promise of loot could soon bring them on side. While the European Imperialists fought over the carcass of the Ottoman Empire. Others saw a Promised Land.

JoanP · « **Reply #1321 on:** October 20, 2014, 01:07:53 PM »

Whatever happened to the just-started vote for the November Book Club Online? We need to revisit the titles and perhaps add to them at another date. There was nothing that resembled a consensus. and it is too close to November 1 to come up with another slate. The VOTE has been suspended for the time being. We'll keep the suggested titles here and discuss them soon.

Hopefully you will be able to locate a copy of Richard Preston's The Hot Zone , which we have selected as a replacement for November.
This book is as topical as it was when first published in 1995. Nearly two decades later, Ebola has infected many hundreds of people in three countries across West Africa, in what is considered the worst outbreak in history. As fear over the deadly virus grows, we need a reminder of what we learned so long ago from Richard Preston's Hot Zone in 1995.

Post here if you might join the discussion of this book on Nov 1: http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=4472.0

marcie · « **Reply #1322 on:** October 20, 2014, 06:37:15 PM »

The HOT ZONE sounds good, Joan. I'll look for it at my library. It is certainly a timely topic and I'd like to learn more.

marjifay · « **Reply #1323 on:** October 21, 2014, 07:00:44 AM »

Re Hot Zone, I'll pass. I'm really tired of hearing/reading about Ebola.

Marj

ANNIE · « **Reply #1324 on:** October 21, 2014, 11:43:21 AM »

Me,too, Marj. Just not my cup of tea.

bellamarie · « **Reply #1325 on:** October 21, 2014, 12:30:34 PM »

I will pass on the Hot Zone as well. I just am burned out on it in the news. Too political as well, considering how it's been handled. Way too controversial for me.

Did I miss something?? What happened to voting on a book from the suggested titles?

JoanP · « **Reply #1326 on:** October 21, 2014, 02:48:27 PM »

You missed Post #1322, Bellamarie. Voting a title by our posters is just one way of selecting books for our discussions. This time it didn't work. We had insufficient interest in any particular title - very few voters...and each title only had a vote or two - certainly not enough on which to base a month-long discussion.
Another way is for one of our Discussion Leaders to propose a title and go with it. Another way is to consult with our Discussion Leaders for advice. That is how we came up with The Hot Zone. Right now there is strong interest in this book and the current epidemic.

We will look again at the proposed titles in the heading to try to decide which have sufficient interest to remain on the ballot for January. Maybe by then we can add some additional titles which indicate interest. (We are already working on a plan for December.)

salan · « **Reply #1327 on:** October 23, 2014, 04:43:10 AM »

I will pass on the Hot Zone. I, too, am tired of hearing about it & certainly don't want to read or discuss it.
Sally

JoanP · « **Reply #1328 on:** October 23, 2014, 01:49:21 PM »

From two of the comments here and in the Library, there seems to be some misunderstanding of what The Hot Zone is about...I am so sorry for not expressing it better and repeat the post submitted in the Library this morning...

It is understandable that some of you are not interested in joining November's Book Club Online discussion of Richard Preston's 1994 non-Fiction The Hot Zone. We understand that and respect that. Just to clear up a few misunderstandings ...this will NOT be a frenzied or a political discussion as some recent comments here suggest. Please give us more credit than that!

Richard Preston's book is an even, balanced discussion of the Ebola disease, and how it was contained in the 1990's when it spread from Africa to the United States. We are fortunate to have a scientist of 35 years at the National Institutes of Health leading this discussion (this is where you may have heard the nurse who contracted the disease is being treated today.) Another nurse of 30 years in an ICU has just joined the discussion. If you care to drop in and meet them yourselves, the Prediscussion of The Hot Zone can be found here.

You may have heard Sheperd Smith's comments last week in which he explained why some may regard this as a political issure...in a balanced way. You may find this three minute video of interest:

Ebola in the US.

marjifay · « **Reply #1329 on:** December 30, 2014, 10:11:56 AM »

the link to a new library section led to this December, 2009 page.

ginny · « **Reply #1330 on:** December 30, 2014, 11:13:04 AM »

Where are you seeing this link, Marj?

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1331 on:** March 31, 2015, 12:38:37 AM »

Keep Quiet, Lisa Scottolini's new novel. It is nothing like the female law firm books. Some of my friends said they couldn't put it down; the husband on one friend read it in four days. It was not that compelling to me, but it is a page turner. Every one of us can identify with the characters. Have you ever made a seemingly small decision and a day or month or years later thought about what a disaster it could have been? This story is about such a decision.

LS writes an interesting story and about family relationships that all have some tension between them. It's a perfect book discussion book.

I don't want to give the story away, but if you are interested in more details here is the Amazon review link. Be careful, there may be some spoilers in the comments.

http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Quiet-Lisa-Scottoline/dp/1250010098

Jean

bellamarie · « **Reply #1332 on:** April 07, 2015, 11:52:06 AM »

My granddaughter who is a Sophomore in college just finished reading the book:

Educating Esme' Diary Of A Teacher's First Year by Esme' Raji Codell

http://www.amazon.com/Educating-Esm%C3%A9-Teachers-Expanded-Edition/dp/1565129350

My granddaughter is in early childhood education courses, and raved about this book. It is in the form of epistolary, the author's diary, a style of writing which I happen to love.

I have not read this book yet, but intend to very soon. Please alert me privately, ASAP if this could be our July teacher read.

PatH · « **Reply #1333 on:** April 07, 2015, 03:08:50 PM »

Bellamarie, that looks like a very good book, and it's available both as a paperback and in my library system. Somebody has to check it out to see if it would work well in our style of discussion--not all good books do--and someone has to be willing to lead it. So stay posted.

What is a teacher read? I'm puzzled by the term.

bellamarie · « **Reply #1334 on:** April 07, 2015, 03:56:44 PM »

I saw a post stating a book about "teaching" is scheduled for July. (a teacher read) The title was not told to us just yet. I don't want to read this book now, if it is indeed the book scheduled for July.

Thanks PatH., for your response. Sorry about the term I used. I simply meant, reading about a teacher.

ginny · « **Reply #1335 on:** April 14, 2015, 12:19:41 PM »

Absolutely right, too. I'm amazed you remember that as it was only mentioned briefly in the Library, good for you! It's not Educating Esme, which looks absolutely fabulous, by the way, I may need to have that, too, but if the book is nominated, I'll let everybody know. I always thought Up the Down Staircase was an hilarious take on what teaching was at one time. That author, sadly, just died. Loved that book but was teaching in a similar situation at the time, so it really resonated.

Yes we are planning a teacher read for July 7-31, and since we've all had a teacher at one point or the other in our lives, or our children have had teachers, or we may have been (or may still be) one ourselves, we all have had our lives touched in one way or another by a teacher, and we should have plenty of opinions about this one: good or bad.

I hope the book we've chosen is a good one, and will spark a lot of discussion and maybe some debate. More on that in a couple of weeks.

Thank you for noticing.

bellamarie · « **Reply #1336 on:** May 11, 2015, 07:24:20 PM »

Good to know, thank you, Ginny. I will be anxiously awaiting to see the title.

The book I mentioned, Educating Esme' Diary Of A Teacher's First Year by Esme' Raji Codell, is a very short book. I actually began reading it on a Sunday morning, and then finished it on Monday. It is very much worth reading, IMO.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1337 on:** May 08, 2016, 01:36:59 AM »

Ginny - i too read Up the Down Staircase my first year of teching. I was renting and boarding with a retired Latin teacher and I can picture sitting in her living room laughing outloud at the antics in the book. It may have been the first book I ever laughed outloud at while reading.

Jean

hats · « **Reply #1338 on:** January 31, 2017, 04:49:25 AM »

For those of you who travel, what is Scotland like? Is it as green as Ireland? Is there pink heather on the sides of the roads? In "Midwinter" by John Buchan, there is a walker. He sees not one landmark along the way. So, he focuses on people passing by. Then, he sees an unfortunate and cruel act happening. If while walking, I lifted my eyes for a moment and stopped looking for the most beautiful rose or the prettiest fall tree whom would I see or meet? Would love to read this one with a group. The cover alone whets my appetite.

PatH · « **Reply #1339 on:** January 31, 2017, 09:15:22 PM »

Hi, hats. Someone else will have to answer your question about Scotland, since I've never been there. I've read books by John Buchan, though, and like them, but I haven't read that one. If you've ever seen the movie The 39 Steps, he wrote the book. I see Midwinter takes place in 1745, but in some places the Scottish landscape hasn't changed much. I'll try to get hold of a copy to see if it would make make a good discussion, and report back here.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #1340 on:** February 02, 2017, 04:26:35 PM »

I live here but I haven't read that John Buchan book, though we did watch the old film of 39 Steps quite recently.

I will try to think of any other books that might fit with this. One book that I love (and the film is also brilliant) is Compton McKenzie's Whisky Galore - but it's not exactly about the scenery.

Rosemary

Jonathan · « **Reply #1341 on:** February 03, 2017, 12:18:58 PM »

Hi, hats. So nice to hear from you. I think I would like to read Midwinter. Something about Scotland? The Cranford discussion got me going on all kinds of things, like watching Mrs Brown last night, with Judi Dench as Queen Victoria. She fell in love with Scotland, and made a record of it in her book, Highland Journal. For a difficult time she refused to return to England. I believe, if I remember correctly, it was her publisher who persuaded her to come back to Windsor Castle. She was outselling Dickens with her Journal and her readers wanted her back.

Jonathan · « **Reply #1342 on:** February 03, 2017, 12:25:54 PM »

You've got me going. I've just found a book on my shelf that I must read. How the Scots Invented the Modern World, The true story of how Western Europe's poorest nation created our world and everything in it.

Let's get a discussion going. MIDWINTER sounds so seasonal.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #1343 on:** February 03, 2017, 01:11:09 PM »

I have been looking at a few lists and these books are possibles:

Sunset Song - Lewis Grassic Gibbon

Whisky Galore - Compton McKenzie

The Quarry Wood - Nan Shepherd

I have only read Whisky Galore, which is brilliant and very funny in a kind of Brigadoon manner. A friend of mine loves Sunset Song, which is hugely popular and is now a set book for most schools. Nan Shepherd has been 'rediscovered' and acclaimed for her writing about Deeside and her affinity with nature. There is also, of course Walter Scott, but so far I've never got very far with any of his novels. I did, however, go to a talk about Scott during which the director of the Scottish Storytelling Centre read from one of the books - might have been Ivanhoe - and it was hilarious. He piled on the already plentiful melodrama and had us all in stitches. So maybe I'm just reading Scott wrong.

Rosemary

Rosemary

Dana · « **Reply #1344 on:** February 09, 2017, 12:52:36 PM »

I've read that book, "How the Scots Invented the Modern World"....a fellow Scot gave it to me.....its great for the Scottish ego, absolutely everything of any importance was started one way or another by Scots.......that was my take away from it anyway, and I really enjoyed the book!!

Frybabe · « **Reply #1345 on:** February 09, 2017, 02:04:20 PM »

You just reminded me Dana, as I fish around for something other than Scifi to read, that I downloaded from somewhere a book called Scottish Inventors: How Scotland Invented Everything. It was written by Callan G. Anderson. I looked him up. It turns out that he as written quite a few "books", mostly in the business arena. Three of his titles, aside from his Scottish Inventors, stand out - Dyslexia Not for Dummies, The Accidental Arsonist, and Cigar Smoking for Beginners. I'm guessing the guy has a sense of humor. BTW, they are more like long essays, not books. I just discovered that his Scottish Inventors is only 55 pages long. Well!

kidsal · « **Reply #1346 on:** August 16, 2017, 03:43:19 PM »

Whisky Galore was made into a very funny movie. Always remember the checkpoint on the beach as if the enemy couldn't Come in at any point aLong the beach. The residents were salvaging booze from a shipwreck!

Frybabe · « **Reply #1347 on:** December 03, 2017, 05:52:27 PM »

I think that Angle of Repose is worth a book discussion. I am not that far in, but it has all kinds of things to talk about, including the huge argument over the author's use of materials from Mary Hallock Foote's writings.

About the book: http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/novelreadings/a-kind-of-investigation-into-a-life-wallace-stegner-angle-of-repose/

About the author: https://wallacestegner.org/bio.html

Angle of repose is an actual scientific term. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/angle_of_repose

About Mary Hallock Foote, including links to some of her stories: https://americanliterature.com/author/mary-hallock-foote

hats · « **Reply #1348 on:** November 28, 2018, 11:47:59 AM »

There is a new book out by Barbara Kingsolver. The title is Unsheltered. I've only read the cover flap. It seems like a title with which any person might identify with and discuss. Wish me luck. I hope to fall in love with it for a little while.I might need a kleenex.

bellamarie · « **Reply #1349 on:** December 01, 2018, 07:16:18 AM »

Let us know how it goes hats.

hats · « **Reply #1350 on:** January 11, 2019, 01:29:32 PM »

I didn't finished it. I had to take "Unsheltered" by Barbara Kingsolver back to the Public Library before finishing it. It seemed like another very good book written by her. I hope to get it again one day and finish it. I suppose it's about our American Dream failing us. I feel terrible writing that last sentence. Anyway, I'm glad to know Barbara Kingsolver is still writing and publishing.

PatH · « **Reply #1351 on:** January 12, 2019, 11:40:48 AM »

That's so frustrating, hats. I've occasionally kept a book overdue a day or two to finish it, but it's too expensive to do often

Frybabe · « **Reply #1352 on:** January 12, 2019, 12:57:53 PM »

In addition, our library recently changed their rules for overdue payments, from a small accumulation to not being able to borrow another book until the overdue on the previous is paid. No more accumulations allowed. We were getting way too many people who let their overdues accumulate. We even had a few that would max their minimum overdue and then borrow someone elses card and proceed to do the same. Over a year ago, they tried sending overdue charges to a collection agency. I doubt that worked out very well, but by the time they decided to try that there were a bunch of people with large overdue book and movie charges. Considering the overdue charge is 50 cents a book and a dollar for movies, the overdue charge goes up fast.

nlhome · « **Reply #1353 on:** January 12, 2019, 10:28:39 PM »

Funny about overdue fees. Libraries in our area are considering dropping the fees altogether. For some, the cost of trying to collect the money is as much as the fines. And some libraries do not get to keep their fines for the library, but the money instead goes to the municipality general fund, so if they can find another way to keep books in circulation, they do that instead. And, of course, at least in our system, the ebooks and audiobooks from Overdrive just automatically "return" themselves when the time is up, so there is never a fine.

PatH · « **Reply #1354 on:** January 12, 2019, 11:57:33 PM »

Our fines are $1 a day, though they give you a day's grace. And I think you can't borrow more until you've paid.

I would not letting you borrow more would keep the books circulating.

hats · « **Reply #1355 on:** January 13, 2019, 01:28:33 AM »

Path and nlhome, I didn't realize it. Library fines and rules are very diverse and expensive. Yikes! Our library is experimenting with hearing technology.

Aberlaine · « **Reply #1356 on:** January 15, 2019, 02:54:50 PM »

Our library charges $.25 per day per book, but we're allowed to sign a book out up to three times for a month at a time. Unless someone else has a hold on it. I get only older books from the library so I usually don't have any trouble finishing them in two months. I'm usually trying to read three books at a time. Right now I'm reading Britt Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman (for my monthly book group), Sycamore Row by John Grisham and The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott.

hats · « **Reply #1357 on:** January 15, 2019, 02:59:37 PM »

I haven't read F. Backman's novels yet. I want to read one of his books so badly. I must remember to put one on hold.

bellamarie · « **Reply #1358 on:** January 15, 2019, 04:10:45 PM »

Our library just started doing away with any late fees what so ever. They used to not charge seniors for late fees, now it is everyone, but if you do not return the book, you will be charged to replace it.

hats · « **Reply #1359 on:** January 16, 2019, 04:45:02 AM »

I believe the library is worth all that it gives to the public. So, I don't worry about overdue charges. Therefore, I am not able to state the exact fines. When I worked at the library, I knew to the exact penny the charges. I had to because of the work at the Circulation Desk. I'm a person who does not worry about cost if you have what I like whether books or something else in a store or on line.

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Author Topic: Suggestion Box for Future Book Discussions ~ (Read 283566 times)