Join a Book Discussion Group this year

The Newport Public Library offers two book discussion groups that meet regularly at the library.

The Tuesday Afternoon Book Discussion Group meets (usually) on the 1st Tuesday of every month at 1:00pm. Luke Owens is the discussion leader and the group discusses a variety of books, both classic and contemporary. Their first meeting is scheduled for September 14th when they will be discussing A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt. A list of the rest of the titles chosen for the year is available here.

The Thursday Evening Book Discussion Group wiil begin on Thursday September 23rd at 7:00pm. Pat LaRose is the discussion leader and this group also looks at a variety of works, both ficition and non-fiction. They begin the year with a discussion of To Kill a Mockingbird, the Pulitzer Prize winning classic by Harper Lee. At the first meeting, the group will have the opportunity to weigh in on the rest of the titles chosen for the year. Some possible titles are listed here.

Both these groups offer lively discussion and good reading. Consider them when you are making your plans for the fall. Meg

Thursday Evening Book Group in Review - A Year's Worth of Books

The Thursday Evening Book Group met at the Blue Plate Diner for their annual July get-together. We discussed the book The Road Home by Rose Tremain and reviewed our reading for the past year. We were in agreement that this year's list was a good one, with variety and depth to the selections. When asked for favorites from the list, some had trouble deciding.

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay was a top choice for several members. Others enjoyed The Girls by Lori Lansens, Into the Forest by Jean Hegland, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout and one person chose The Road Home. No one chose any of the non-fiction selections as a favorite, but among them the stand-outs were The Widow Clicquot (about the lady who made champagne) by Tilar Mazzeo and American Made (about the WPA) by Nick Taylor.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our social evening, and as a added surprise we were joined by a former member who had moved away and was back for the summer. A great evening and a great year of book reading and discussion.

If this sounds enticing to you, perhaps you'd like to join us next year. We meet on Thursdays at 7 p.m., once a month, usually the third Thursday. We will meet again on September 23rd to discuss To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, in honor of the 50th anniversary of publication. At that meeting, we will review the list of possible selections for the next season, October through July.

Contact Pat LaRose (847-8720, Ext 103) for more information about the Thursday Evening Book Group. Contact Luke Owens (847-8720, Ext. 208) if you are interested in the Tuesday Afternoon group. PL

Join a Book Discussion Group at NPL

Do you belong to a book group? What was the best book your group ever read? The worst? Tell us a little bit about what you think makes a good book group. Would you like to be part of a Book Discussion group? The library has two really active Book Discussion Groups and they are both starting up again this fall.

The Thursday Evening Book Discussion Group begins this Thursday, September 17th, at 7pm in the Stride Room (lower floor of the library). The book they are going to discuss is The Girls by Lori Lansens. This is a novel about conjoined twins, and their lives together as they strive to be both sisters and individuals. Anyone who has read the book is welcome to attend.

After Thursday’s meeting, the list of book titles for the rest of the year will be decided. Stay tuned! If you have questions or want more details, email or call (847-8720, Ext. 103) Pat LaRose.

The Tuesday Afternoon Book Discussion Group alternates between reading classics and more modern works, often based loosely on a classic counterpart. Their first meeting was last week, September 8th, but they meet monthly and anyone is welcome to join. Their next meeting will be Tuesday, October 13th, from 1-3pm in the Stride Room. The book to be discussed in October is Foe by J. M. Coetzee. Foe is a reinvention of the story of Robinson Crusoe  If you have questions or want more details, email or call (847-8720, Ext. 208) Luke Owens.  Meg

Breakfast with Buddha - June's Book Discussion Title

Everyone in the group found something to like about Breakfast with Buddha by Ron Merullo, with mostly everyone really enjoying this selection. We agreed that while it may not be the exhaustive, comprehensive choice if you want to learn or practice Buddhism, reading this book is a good way to start thinking about how we live our lives, and how we might seek peace in spiritual but ordinary ways.

Breakfast with Buddha was a quick, light read in many ways. The main character of Otto is well written. Otto is presented as a good man - husband, father, person - who is seeking something, but he hasn’t quite figured out what yet. As a result of his road road trip to North Dakota with Volya Rinpoche, he learns how to seek. Rinpoche’s philosophy is a mixed bag of Eastern religions, and not strictly Buddhist. Some participants liked that ecletic approach. Merullo uses his story to explore deep human issues in an accessible and even humorous way, making it easy for readers to open up to alternative thinking, as he pits the skeptic Otto against the guru Rinpoche.

Even those who faulted the book as predictable in plot and bordering on pop psychology, did enjoy the amusing moments, and the descriptions of the road trip across the mid-west, with the savory stops in wayside eating places an interesting sideline. Readers enjoyed the bowling alley and miniature golf scenes, too. You will have to read this book to find out why.

Our Thursday evening group is wrapping up this year’s list next month with M.F.K. Fisher’s The Art of Eating. We will meet at a local restaurant (TBA) for the discussion and a pay-your-own-way dinner.

We do not meet in August, but will resume for another 11 months of reading in September. Please consider joining us. PL

Five Skies - April's Book Discussion Title

The Thursday Evening Book Group discussed the Reading Across Rhode Island selection for 2009 at their latest meeting. Ron Carlson’s novel Five Skies was chosen this year for the project, which aims to get everyone in the state reading the same book. This story of three men working on a construction project to build a daredevil’s ramp over a gorge in Idaho is a study in characterization, setting, relationships, male psychology, loss, and redemption.

Darwin is a man who recently lost a wife, he is the cook and foreman of the project. Arthur is a big burly guy who is AWOL from his previous life and also mourning the loss of his brother. Ronnie is a younger man who is struggling to find direction after years of bad judgment and some jail time.

Members liked the slow revealing of the characters’ backgrounds, the great descriptions of the physical surroundings, the gradual bonding of the men. Our group is all women at this time, and most of us had trouble with the mechanics of the work. Some questioned whether the author was correct in his depictions of the carpentry and engineering behind the building of the ramp; others were completely unfamiliar with the tools and equipment, making it difficult to get the full sense of what the men were accomplishing.

We discussed this as a “man’s book” that women could still like, due to the sensitive portrayals of the men. Men often don’t speak of feelings, but this book showed how men can relate to other men. Members saw a special fondness for Ronnie exhibited by the two older men. Readers rooted for Ronnie to overcome his obstacles, and were touched by the sense of responsibility for him that the older men exhibited. One reader suggested that a way of looking at the story, is that the building up of Ronnie was for the older men, the healing balm for their own losses, as the building of the ramp and learning the work, was the healing catalyst for Ronnie.

Short of giving away the ending, let’s just say, all were stunned by the final pages, yet somehow redemption and dealing with loss does lead to a resolution for the characters. The big sky, in all its renditions, remains as a powerful force. PL

Loving Frank - March's Book Discussion Title

The Thursday Evening Book Club met in March to discuss Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. Our discussion was lively as we both agreed and disagreed on different aspects of this book. In this, her debut as a novelist, Horan tackled the scandalous story of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah (pronounced “may-mah”) Borthwick Cheney. Focusing on this short chapter in the life of architect Wright, Horan does a deft job of capturing the mores of the times, which was media hungry for scandals involving famous people, not unlike today, but which was overly critical of women in such affairs, especially when children were abandoned, as was the case with Wright and Cheney.

Horan brings in issues of the restrictions on women, and the new ideas that were surfacing, using the character of Ellen Key, a Swedish philosopher. They met and Mamah ultimately became an American translator for Key’s books. An interesting point brought out in our discussion was the idea that Mamah might have found a way to fulfill her aspirations and passions without leaving her family for Frank Lloyd Wright. Edwin, her husband might have been boring to Mamah, but he was very supportive.

For those who are interested in learning more about Frank Lloyd Wright, there are several other biographies, books on his architecture, and an autobiography available through the library. For those who enjoyed the fictional presentation of his story, there is a new novel by T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Women, which broadens the story to talk about the other women in Wright’s life. PL