Philly Book Club

You can count on me to count you in!

Ok....here is the list of people that have told me they are attending this month's meeting. If you are on this list and aren't coming, let me know. If you are coming, but aren't on the list let me know.

So far, here are the people that are interested:

Jason
George
ROb
Kevin
Gaby
Jane
April
Niff
Sutter
Ellen
Sandra (new member)

Including me, this is a group of 12. For this book, I think it will actually be a good size, only because the book isn't as packed with discussion material as Da Vinci was. If anyone disagrees, please post a comment and let me know!

On another note, I would like to welcome a new member to our group. Her name is Sandra and she discovered the book club while looking online for Da Vinci info. She emailed me and we have been exchanging back and forth for the past day. I believe that Sandra is going to add a great dynamic to our group. She belonged to a book club in NYC a while back and looks forward to joining ours. WELCOME SANDRA!

I will be posting discussion questions for THE READER sometime next week. I know that since this book has been a part of Oprah's Book Club (barf) there will be plenty of material out there for me to formulate questions. I think I will do the same thing as last time where I post 3-5 existing questions and I create 3-5 of my own questions that I think will help engage a good discussion. If anyone has questions in mind, please feel free to post them in a comment.

That is all for now.

HAPPY READING!

CHANGE OF DATE

Hello. Ok, I am changing the meeting date to Thursday, April 8th at 8:00 pm. I think this will be plenty of time to get the book read, and as Jane pointed out, there is a Pinback show on the 15th! Any objections or conflicts? If so post a comment.

Happy reading!

And the winner is....

Ok, so I don't know if there is a winner really. What I am thinking is that we may have found two books out of this month's ON DECK section. Let's read The Reader this month and White Noise next month. I know that I really want to read both, and it seems like that is the consensus.

I would like to schedule next months meeting tentatively for Thursday, April 15th. The only reason that I am hesitant to set this date in stone is because The Reader is relatively short and fast paced. I am thinking that people may finish it weeks before the 15th.....Any thoughts? If anyone already has an existing conflict, let me know.

The location is still undetermined at this point. I will keep everyone posted as soon as this changes.

Happy Reading!!!

Rock the Vote

Ok everyone, finally I have come up with four different ideas for next month's reading. I will post the choices and then you all will decide. To do that, just post a comment in this entry organizing the choices in order of your preference. This way, hopefully no one will really be let down! The choices are as follows:

1. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
(Click on the link to the left to read about the book)

2. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
(Click on the link to the left to read about the book)

3. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
(Click on the link to the left to read about the book)

4. White Noise by Don DeLillo
(Click on the link to the left to read about the book)

Ok, so these are the three choices for our reading. All three come highly recommended to me. They all will inspire great discussion material and are sure to prove for another enlightening meeting next month.

So now the decision rests in your hands. Post a comment and let's get this show on the road!

I'm a little verklempt! Talk amongst yourselves..I'll give you a topic: Rhode Island, it's not a road, nor an island...discuss!

Discussion questions as promised.

The first four I have concocted myself. The remaining three I took from Dan Brown's website. He actually has book club material posted and these three questions were a few among many.

1. What liberties do you feel Dan Brown took in elaborating on and embellishing history?

2. Do you sense a shift in tone in the novel when the reader finds out that Leigh Teabing had conned Bishop Aringarosa and Silas? The narrator tells us that the Bishop and Silas were completely innocent. Do you agree?

3. What research has this novel motivated you to do (if any) in regards to Christianity, Judaism, art history, Da Vinci, etc. (Bring anything with you that you have collected)

4. (Because I have no idea myself) Does it appear anywhere in the Bible that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute? (Can someone bring a Bible?)

5. Leigh Teabing Claims that the founding fathers of Christianity hijacked the good name of Jesus for political reasons. Do you agree? Does the author provide historical evidence to support this claim?

6. Would you rather live in a world without religion...or a world without science?

7. For most people, the word "God" feels holy, while the word "Goddess" feels mythical. What are your thoughts on this? Do you imagine these perceptions will ever change?

Again, these questions are just food for thought.

On another note, I would like to add another member to our discussion on Thursday. The one, the only George MacDonald (Big Dad) will be joining us....I actually first heard of the book from him. He was so emphatic about the novel that I knew I would have to read it at some point. Never would have thought I would be starting a book club with it....but hey here we are. For those of you who have not met my dad, I must say, he is the coolest man around. For those of you who do know this is true. See you all Thursday!

By the way, feel free to post a comment or two if you have other questions you would like us to ponder before Thursday.

Oh, isn't that convenient?! I was at the right place at the right time.

I have a few more things in place now.

TIME: 8:00 PM (ROb Weychert will be a smidge late)
PLACE: The cat filled apartment of your host (I will email you all my address...if anyone needs directions, let me know)
JOINING THE DISCUSSION:

Jason Santa Maria
ROb Weychert
Gaby Weychert
Kevin Cornell
April Donovan
Jane Murray

I will supply the coffee. If anyone wants to bring a dessert like food item that would be great.

CHECK BACK ON TUESDAY FOR DISCUSSION QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER.

Happy reading.