Agawam Pageturners Book Club's Discussion of The Uncommon Reader

The group had an enjoyable discussion of The Uncommon Reader, the book about the Queen of England discovering the pleasures of reading. Everyone loved the book. The first person wished she wrote down all the books the Queen was reading. Another person commented how people assume things about you when you change something about yourself. The staff at Buckingham Palace thought the Queen was showing signs of Alzheimer's disease because of her lack of interest in things before such as meticulous appearance and dress. They had been replaced by her interest in reading. One person laughed that even the dogs were jealous of the Queen's reading. After all, she said, reading is a selfish pleasure. Another person commented that she thought the title should have been the Queen's metamorphosis. One person observed that this book explains why people read, and the benefits of reading. Another person commented that the Queen the more the Queen read the more human she became, more common. Someone observed what the real Queen thinks about this fictionalized account of the Queen's life. One person said that writing makes you aware of how words should go together. Another person stated that the Queen slowly changed with books. One person it took her a while to realize the book was humorous and that the author created a caricature of the Queen. Everyone felt the Queen was insular and mechanical before she started reading books. There was a long, controversial discussion about a scene on eavesdropping on the Queen and whether this is ever appropriate or not. There was no resolution to this discussion. On another note, people commented on the real Queen and indicated that they felt sorry for her in her isolation. Going back to discussing the book, no one in the group predicated the surprise ending (which shall remain a surprise for those who want to read the book)! It was a very lively, interesting discussion.

Agawam Pageturners Book Club's Discussion of Kabul Beauty School

The group had a lively discussion about Kabul Beauty School. It is a true story of an American woman who goes to Afghanistan to found a beauty school, so the Afghani women might learn a trade and have a means of support. Some people were impressed with Deborah, saying she did not give weighty analysis to her proposition. She just went over the pass and did it. Some called her Crazy Deb and a dingbat. Some wondered if she was going over there for altruistic reasons or to escape her own life. Some called her flighty, especially marrying an Afghani man after twenty days and not realizing he already had one wife. The group also pointed out that she was careless in the market place, and with her dangerous neighbors. She put other people in jeopardy. Another women pointed out what was going to happen to the bride that was not a virgin that she wrote about. She did help the bride hide this fact from her family and her husband, but one member was concerned since this book has been published, couldn't the bride somehow be found out, and her life jeopardized? The positive thing people felt about Deborah was that she planted a seed of equality for women in Afghanistan. The women who graduated from the beauty school were able to give money to their husbands, in a way that did not diminish their husbands self-esteem. Everyone in the group was grateful that they live in the United States and not Afghanistan. Overall a thought provoking discussion.

New Books Purchased in February

Here are the books the library purchased in February: Adult, Children's, Teens.

Night Bookers Book Club's Discussion of My Antonia by Willa Cather

The group had an interesting discussion of My Antonia. The leader of the group enjoyed the book, especially the descriptions of the Nebraska scenery in the late 1800s, and the strong character of Antonia. Some couldn't put it down. Others thought it was difficult to get into, and that it dragged. Everyone loved Antonia and the other strong women in the book, Lena and Tiny, who were successful in San Francisco. The group thought Jim, the narrator of the book, was always in love with Antonia. Some thought the woman he chose to be his wife was like Antonia, her own person. Some thought Jim made a poor choice in choosing his wife. Some people thought the book was a slice of American history, and that Willa Cather was a good writer because she wrote what she knew about. Someone commented about the picnic scene. She said she could have stayed there forever. People found it interesting even though Antonia had a spiteful mother, she was a great mother. When she had her first baby out of wedlock she was not ashamed. She was proud of her life and proud her child. She did not need Jim (not the father of her child) to marry her. The group then spent some time talking about Antonia's father. He was very sensitive, and did not adjust well to life in Nebraska. Some thought he might have, had there not been so much poverty. They wondered how he picked his wife, since she was so different from him, but the book said the marriage was arranged. There was a debate as to how he died, suicide or murder. More people thought it was suicide. The group then talked about the different contrasts in the book. One person read a quote about two luminaries on the opposite ends of the world. She believed this referred to Jim and Antonia. Other contrasts included the country girls and the city girls. The boys liked the country girls better. Then there was a discussion of the wolf story, about two immigrants in their old country who were driving a wedding party, while being pursued by a pack of wolves. Eventually, they threw out everybody, including the bridge and groom, and saved themselves. They had to leave their country after that. People wondered what that had to do with the book. Some thought it was just a fable. People wondered why there were not more details about certain things, such as the grandparents. One woman brought up that she thought she reading short stories until she came to the part when family moved into town. Then she thought the book became more cohesive. Another woman said that Jim was writing from his memory about Antonia, and memory tends to be selective. It will remember some things in great deal, and other things not at all, or just briefly. Everyone agreed that the book had a happy ending. Antonia is surrounded by many children, and has a loving husband. People agreed that Antonia was a happy person who had a spark, and she was always proud and never ashamed. They think she was happy because she lived life the way she wanted to. Overall, a great thought provoking discussion about the classic My Antonia.

January's New Books

Here are the books the library purchased in January: Adult, Children's, Teens.