The Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion is reading Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray for the May book selection.  A mom in her early fifties, Clover knows she no longer turns heads the way she used to, and she's only really missed when dinner isn't on the table on time.  Then Clover wakes up one morning to discover she's invisible--truly invisible.  She panics, but when her husband and son sit down to dinner, nothing is amiss.  Even though she's been with her husband, Arthur, since college, her condition goes unnoticed. 

Her friend Gilda immediately observes that Clover is invisible, which relieves Clover immensely--she's not losing her mind after all!--but she is crushed by the realization that neither her husband nor her children ever truly look at her.  She was invisible even before she knew she was invisible.

What do you think of Clover's life early on in the book?   Is it one with which you can identify?

When Clover realizes she is invisible, she is frightened.  How might you feel if you became invisible and your family didn't notice?  Or do you think they would?

Her best friend Gilda notices immediately that Clover is invisible.  What does this say to you regarding family vs. friends? 

What do you feel was the most important lesson Clover's invisiblilty taught the rest of the characters?

Let us know what you think about this witty and thought-provoking novel.

The Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion is reading The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli for April.  In this superb novel, American photojournalist Helen Adams is drawn to the turmoil of the Vietnam War, which cost her brother his life.  While her lens soon makes her as famous as her pictures, Helen survives by taking cues from the jungle-savvy colleagues, who are her paramours.  But she must learn for herself the real trick of her trade:  how to find truth amid the fog of war. 

Tatjana Soli paints a searing portrait of an American woman's struggle and triumph in Vietnam, a stirrring canvas contrasting the wrenching horror of war and the treacherous narcotic of obsession with the redemptive power of love.  Readers will be transfixed by this stunning novel of passion, duty and ambition among the ruins of war. 

The novel begins with the fall of Saigon, and then moves back in time twelve years to the beginning of the war.  How do you think this structure contributed to your experience of the novel?  Did this glimpse of Helen in 1975 influence how you related to her character at earlier points in her life?  Did knowing the outcome affect your judgement of her actions and the action of those around her?

Throughout the novel, Helen finds herself in love, and loved by , two very different men.  How would you  characterize each of her relationships?  Did you prefer Helen in one relationship over the other?   What are each relationship's strengths and weaknesses?   Which man do you ultimately believe is Helen's great love?

What do you think the future holds for Helen at the end of the novel?  For Linh?

Let us know what you think of The Lotus Eaters.

The Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion has chosen the book Room by Emma Donoghue for the March selection.

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the world...It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn.  At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it's the prison where she has been held for seven years.  Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space.  But with Jack's curiosity building alongside her own desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.

Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating--a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.

Why do you think the author chose to tell the story of Room through Jack and not through an omniscient, third-person narrator?

Which elements of Jack's developmental delays and/or his integration issues surprised you most?

Did you find yourself wanting to know more about Old Nick?  If so, why do you think this is?

Let us know what you think of Room.

Our February book selection is Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua.  At once provocative and laugh-out-loud funny, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother ignited a global parenting debate with its story of one mother's journey in strict parenting.  Amy Chua argues that Western parenting tries to respect and nurture children's individuality, while Chinese parents typically believe that arming children with skills, strong work habits and inner confidence prepares them best for the future.

Achingly honest and profoundly challenging, this book is one of the most talked about books of our times. Pick up a copy of this book at the library and let us know what you think.

What is your overall reaction to Battle Hymn of the Mother Tiger?  Are you appalled or impressed, in agreement, disagreement...or something else?

Is this a parenting manual?  Are Western parents too soft on, or too permissive toward, their children?  Does Amy Chua offer an alternative parenting model?

Do you agree or disagree with Chua's criticisms of various aspects of Western culture---Facebook and junk food being two examples?

What do you predict for Chua's daughters?  Do you think they will raise their childen with the same strict standards their mother applied to them?

The Kilbourn Public Library Book Club is reading A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick for January.  USA Today calls this book "A killer debut novel...Suspenseful and erotic...(A) chillingly engrossing plot...Good to the riveting end."

He placed a notice in a Chicago paper, an advertisement for "a reliable wife."  She responded, saying that she was "a simple, honest woman."  She was, of course, anything but honest, and the only simple thing about her was her single-minded determination to marry this man and then kill him, slowly and carefully, leaving her a wealthy widow, able to take care of the one she truly loved.

What Catherine Land did not realize was that the enigmatic and lonely Ralph Truitt had a plan of his own. And what neither anticipated was that they would fall so completely in love. 

Filled with unforgettable characters, and shimmering with color and atmosphere, A Reliable Wife is an enthralling tale of love and madness, of longing and murder.

The novel's setting and strong sense of place seem to echo its mood and themes.  What role does the wintry Wisconsin landscape play?

Catherine imagines herself as an actress playing a series of roles, the one of Ralph's wife being the starring role of a lifetime.  Where in the novel might you see a glimpse of the real Catherine Land?  Do you feel that you ever get to know this woman, or is she always hidden behing a facade?

Did you have sympathy for any of the characters?  Did this change as time went on?

Let us know what you think!

This month the Kilbourn Public Library is doing something special for the December book club get together. We will be choosing from a selection of holiday books to read. Members will read their chosen book and we will have a short discussion on the titles we read.


We will also be watching the movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The movie is based on the book of the same name that we read for our November selection.

Anyone is welcome to join in this holiday book reading and movie night. Stop by the library or bookmobile and pick a holiday book to read. Or just come and watch the movie with us. We will be meeting on Monday, December 17 at 6:00 p.m. and Wednesday, December 19 at 1:30 p.m. Join us for book discussion, a movie and snacks.

What is your experience with movies with book tie-in? Would you rather read the book first or watch the movie? 
Do you have know of any movies made from a book that you thought were really well done or any that you thought were very poorly done?

What is your favorite holiday themed book?

Let us know what you think!
Happy Holidays.

The Kilbourn Public Library Book Club has chosen Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer for its November book selection.  Boston Globe calls this book--"Energetic, inventive, and ambitious...an uplifting myth born of the sorrows of 9/11."

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret mission that will take him through the five boroughs of New York.  His goal is to find the lock that matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11.  This seemingly impossible task will bring Oskar into contact with survivors of all sorts on an exhilarating, affecting, often hilarious, and ultimately healing journey.

Oskar is an unusually precious child.  Do you find him sympathetic or annoying?  Or both?

Were there any passages or scenes that you remember well or particularly liked?

Do you find the illustrations, scribblings, over-written texts, etc. a meaningful, integral part of the work?  Or do you find them distracting and gimmicky?  Why are they there?

Let us know what you think.