The Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion Group is reading Roses by Leila Meacham for the February selection.  Spanning the 20th century, the story of Roses takes place in a small East Texas town against the backdrop of the powerful  timber and cotton industries.  With expert, unabashed, big-canvas storytelling, Roses covers a hundred years, three generations of Texans and the explosive combination of passion for work and longing for love. 

Cotton tycoon Mary Toliver and timber magnate Percy Warwick should have married but unwisely did not, and now must deal with the deceit, secrets, and tragedies of their choice and the loss of what might have been--not just for themselves but for their children, and children's children. 

Percy admits to Mary,  "I want to marry you because I love you.  I've loved you all your life, ever since you smiled at me through your cradle bars.  I've never considered marrying anyone else.  He's taken the concept of love at first sight to a new level--is it really possible to love someone the way he has, for you entire life?

Compounding the horror of Darla's suicide are the pink ribbons she left behind, the memory of which "writhed between (Mary and Percy) like a poisonous snake."  Roses and the colors pink, red, and white all have major significance in the story.  What kind of symbolism do we ascribe to objects and their colors today?  Why do you think that those objects that represent emotions are so important and powerful?

Had Mary and Percy married after all, do you think that their relationship would have worked out in the end?

Should Mary have revealed the necessary fraud she had to undertake to the nephew that she inadvertently insulted?  Should she have warned Rachel of the power of Somerset before cultivating her grand-niece's passion for farming?  What knowledge does the older generation owe its heirs, and when should that knowledge be passed down?

Let us know what you think of Roses!

The Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion Group is reading Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures by Emma Straub for the January selection.  This is the enchanting story of a Midwestern girl who escapes a family tragedy and is remade as a movie star during Hollywood's golden age.  Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures is also a story of family, ambition, and sacrifice.  This is a story about the power of illusion and the possibility of escape, about the expectations placed upon us by others and the identities we create for ourselves. 

How is Elsa's relationship with Gordon different from Laura's relationship with Irving, and how does Elsa/Laura's shifting identity affect her two marriages?

How do Laura's friendships contribute to her happiness?

What does Laura sacrifice for success?  Does her ambition affect her personal happiness?

Let us know what you think!

The Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion Group is again reading a selection of holiday books for the December get together.  Each person is choosing any holiday book they would like to read and we will have a short discussion on the books. 

We will also be watching the movie The Silver Linings Playbook.  This 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 16 at 6:00 pm and Wednesday, December 18 at 1:00 pm.  Join us for book discussion, a movie and snacks.

How do you feel about movies with a book tie-in?  Would you rather read the book first or watch the movie?

Do you know of any movies made from a book that you thought were really well done or any that you thought very poorly done?

What is your favorite holiday themed book?

Let us know what you think!
Happy Holidays!

We will be reading The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick for the November selection of the Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion Group. 

The Silver Linings Playbook is the riotous and poignant story of how one man regains his memory and comes to terms with the magnitude of his wife's betrayal.

During the years he spends in neural health facility, Pat Peoples formulates a theory about silver linings: he believes his life is a movie produced by God.  His mission is to become physically fit and emotionally supportive, and his happy ending will be the return of his estranged wife Nikki.

In this brilliantly written debut novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat's mind, deftly showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective.  The result is a touching and funny story that helps us look at both depression and love in a wonderfully refreshing way.

How does the book redefine happy endings?  What makes Pat so determined to believe that every cloud has a silver lining?

How does Cliff use the Eagles' playbook to teach Pat about the real world?  How do the Eagles bring unity to Pat's family?

Think about the book's closing scene.  How has The Silver Linings Playbook inspired you in your life?

Let us know what you think.

The Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion Group is reading A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris for its October selection.  A Touch of Dead is a collection of short stories about Sookie Stackhouse.  Author Charlaine Harris says that some of these short stories are totally light-hearted and some are more serious, but they all shine a light on a little facet of Sookie's life and times that haven't been recorded in the books.

Charlaine Harris is a New York times bestselling author who has been writing for over twenty years.  Harris created The Sookie Stackhouse urban fantasy series about a telepathic waitress who works in a bar in the fictional Northern Louisiana town of Bon Temps.  The first of these, Dead Until Dark, won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Mystery in 2001.  Each book follows Sookie as she tries to solve mysteries involving vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures.  The Sookie Stackhouse series proved to be so popular that the HBO show True Blood is based upon these books.

A Touch of Dead includes five short stories about Sookie Stackhouse.  In the order in which they occur in Sookie's life the stories are:

"Fairy Dust" is about the fairy triplets Claude, Claudine, and Claudette.  Following the murder of Claudette, Claude and Claudine seek Sookie's help in determining the guilty party.

In "Dracula Night," Eric invites Sookie to Fangtasia for the celebration of Dracula's birthday, an annual event that makes Eric almost over the top with anticipation, since Dracula is his hero.

The news of her Cousin Hadley's death reaches Sookie in "One Word Answer."  She's informed of Hadley's demise by the half-demon lawyer Mr. Cataliades, who has a loathsome driver and an unexpected passenger in his limo.

"Lucky" is a light-hearted story set in Bon Temps.  Witch Amelia Broadway and Sookie are on the hunt to find out who's sabotaging the town's insurance agents.

On Christmas Eve, Sookie receives a very unexpected visitor in "Gift Wrap."  She's been alone and feeling a little sorry for herself, when a wounded werewolf supplies her with a satisfying gift. 

Let us know what you think of A Touch of Dead.

Have you read other Sookie Stackhouse books?

If so, what do you like about this series?

The Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion Group is reading Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante for its September selection.  Alice LaPlante is an award-winning writer of both fiction and nonfiction. She teaches creative writing at Stanford University.  Her debut novel Turn of Mind became a New York Times, NPR, and American Independent Booksellers Association bestseller within a month of release. 

Dr. Jennifer White is sixty-four-years-old, suffering from Alzheimer's and a person of interest in the death of her best friend, Amanda.  Her days are filled with a reality that blurs and fades and sometimes is intensely real.  The police suspect Dr. White is involved in Amanda's murder.  She's an orthopedic surgeon and four of Amanda's fingers have been removed with surgical precision.  But is someone with advanced dementia capable of committing a skillful murder without being detected?

The story is told through Dr. White's eyes.  It's eerie to be inside the head of someone whose reality changes from day to day.  We meet her children, her caregiver, and through the visions she experiences, her husband, parents and Amanda herself.  As the disease progresses, we are drawn more and more into the complex, disturbing world inhabited by Dr. White.

Did you find Alice LaPlante's protrayal of the mind of a woman with Alzheimer's disease credible?  Why?  Did this book give you a greater understanding of Alzheimer's disease?

How would you describe the character of Jennifer White?  How does she change--and how does she remain the same--as her Alzheimer's disease gets worse?

What did you think of Dr. White's husband James?  How did your impression of James change as the story progressed? 

Dr. White says she was "a reluctant mother."  Did her children care about her?

What was your impression of Amanda O'Toole?  As the story progressed what did you learn about her?  Why do you think that Amanda and Dr. White had such a close relationship?

Let us know what you think of this haunting novel.

The Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion Group is reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern for its August selection.  The Night Circus is Morgenstern's debut novel that was published in September 2011.  Associated Press calls this novel "Magical.  Enchanting.  Spellbinding.  Mesmerizing."

The circus arrives without warning.  No announcements precede it.  It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.  Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements.  It is called Le Cirque des Reves, and it is only open at night.  

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors.  Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing.  Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance. 

The Night Circus is not written in a linear timeline.  Did you find the structure of the book disorienting? 

The novel frequently changes narrative perspective.  How does this transition shape your reading of the novel and your connection to the characters and the circus?  Why do you think the author chose to tell the story from varied perspectives?

Between the chapters that tell  the story of The Night Circus are descriptions of the circus itself, written as if you are visiting it right now.  What do these chapters add to the story?

Why are Frederick Thiessen and the reveurs important to the story?  Why do you think some people were so entranced by the circus that they devoted themselves to following it around?

What did you think of Marco and Celia's relationship?  Why did they fall in love?

Let us know what you think of The Night Circus.