Welcome to the KPL Book Club Blogspot

Welcome to the internet home of the Kilbourn Public Library (KPL) Book Club. The KPL Book Club meets at the library once a month. A book is chosen for each month and then members of the book club meet the last Monday and Wednesday of every month for lively discussion and treats. While we can’t offer you treats via the internet, this KPL Reads blog was designed for those of you who would like to participate in the book club but don’t have time to join us at meetings. Each month KPL staff will post discussion topics and questions to get you “talking”. Join in the discussion by adding a post to the blog. Click on the word comments below the post you want to "talk" about and write your comment. Be sure to check back often to see feedback and comments.

Monday, May 23, 2016

The Kilbourn Public Library Book Club is reading All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani for the June book selection.  In this spectacular saga as radiant, thrilling, and beguiling as Hollywood itself, Adriana Trigiani takes us back to Tinsel Town's golden age--an era as brutal as it was resplendent--and into the complex and glamorous world of a young actress hungry for fame and success.


Brimming with larger-than-life characters, both real and fictional--including stars Spencer Tracy, Myrna Loy, David Niven, Hattie McDaniel and more--it is the unforgettable story of one of cinema's greatest love affairs during the golden age of American movie making.


What made the Golden Age of Hollywood and the films it produced so alluring?  Why were the films particularly popular during the Great Depression?


Loretta is drawn to the movies at the age of four when she first appears in one. What compels her to such work?  What characteristics make her such a successful actress even well beyond the age when women usually struggled to work in Hollywood?


Examine the powerful and extensive relationship between Loretta and Clark Gable.  What is each drawn to in the other?  In what ways is their romance typical of or different from many in Hollywood at the time?  What limits the relationship?  What might explain the longevity despite these limits?


How is each of the men significant to Loretta----Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, David Niven--similar or different?  Why are there so few good husbands and fathers among the men of Hollywood?


What's the nature of being a fan of a movie star?  What does such a relationship provide despite its one-sided nature?  At what point might being a fan be unhealthy?


Let us know what you thing about All the Stars in the Heavens.

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