What We’re Reading
Published 12:00 am Saturday, September 6, 2014
- What We’re Reading
We don’t know where summer has gone, but the calendar has turned to September and the school doors are open. Hopefully everyone had many opportunities to enjoy fun summer reading as much as you enjoyed our beautiful Central Oregon weather.
With the arrival of fall, book groups who took a summer hiatus will resume regular meetings.
The first Author! Author! presentation of the school year by the Deschutes Public Library Foundation will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25 at Bend High School, featuring Jess Walter, The New York Times best-selling author of “Beautiful Ruins.” Check with your local library for the full schedule or visit www.deschuteslibrary.org/events/authorauthor to purchase tickets.
“The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt
CRS Book Group
The CRS book group eats their way through their discussions, which they conduct over lunch. On the menu at their latest gathering was “The Goldfinch,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning third book by author Donna Tartt. Told through the eyes of Theodore Decker, a young man grappling with the heartbreaking loss of his brilliant, beloved mother, this is a story involving love, memory, art and mystery. Theo struggles with teenage delinquency as he seeks refuge with a less-than-perfect Park Avenue family, a kind antique restorer in Greenwich Village, and with his absentee father and his second wife in Las Vegas. The 784-page story of tragic loss connects not only with the heart but with the mind as well, with an international mystery about a missing painting to which Theo’s fate is hinged. The women of CRS, who found “The Goldfinch” incredibly well written, “enjoyed a wide-ranging discussion exploring the mixture of good/bad in lives and how nothing is ever all white or all black.”
“Me Before You” by Jo Jo Moyes
Chapter Chicks
Jo Jo Moyes’ intimate novel is built on the premise that sometimes love isn’t enough, and all our good intentions can’t alter the final outcome. Larger-than-life Will Traynor is left a quadriplegic and deeply depressed by an accident that requires 24/7 care. Louisa Clark, content with her bland life in a British village and in need of a job, takes a six-month assignment as Will’s caregiver, despite having no experience. After an uncomfortable start, their relationship becomes one of great caring and closeness. Lou tries to create adventures for Will to give him a reason to live. Exploring morally complex issues, Moyes creates a poignant love story in which providing happiness for a loved one can mean breaking your own heart. The Chapter Chicks spent much of their discussion on assisted suicide and all its ramifications, including impacts on family and friends. The difficult issues raised in the story provided for meaningful discussion for the Chicks, their conclusion being that “they are grateful to live in a state that honors choices at the end of life.”
“Caleb’s Crossing” by Geraldine Brooks
The Library Book Club
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks, who was one of the authors showcased in the Author! Author! literary series last season, has once again impressed the TLBC with “her meticulous research and ability to transmute bits and pieces of information into a world that draws the reader in as participant, not simply an observer.” One member commented, “The archaic language of Bethia’s narrative was authentic and surprisingly easy to read, but we all wished the author had included a glossary.” Set on Martha’s Vineyard in the 1660s, and inspired by a true story, “Caleb’s Crossing” is a fictionalized account of the bond between the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College in 1665 and Bethia, the young quick-minded daughter of a Calvinist minister. Brooks demonstrates the pressures put on individuals who were attempting to bridge cultural and societal gaps. The final verdict on “Caleb’s Crossing” by TLBC — “This was an exceptionally well-written book with a strong, engaging female character and a wealth of discussion points.”
BookMovement.com • An online resource for book groups
OK, book clubs, have we got a website for you. BookMovement.com is a comprehensive free website to help your club find great books more easily and manage club activities more efficiently. They provide lists of the best books for discussion, based on ratings from 35,000 clubs as well as book guides and other online tools to simplify club communications and activities. Happy reading!