#99: Main Street (7-8)

Discussion Questions (TeacherVision):
Chapter 7:
1. What is your opinion of Carol's poem? How does Lewis's inclusion of the actual lines shed an objective light on her personality?
2. What are the implications of Carol being a "woman with a working brain and no work"? (101) What are her options? How does she feel about these options?

Chapter 8:
1. How does Will respond to Carol's attempts to find out about his work? How does that reflect his opinion of her?
2. According to Vida Sherwin's report, what are some of Carol's faults? Is Vida really Carol's friend?
3. Why isn't Will bothered by Carol's feeling criticized by the town?

Vocabulary:
Chapter 7:
1. prodigality (103): wasteful extravagance; lavish generosity
2. sirocco (104): a windstorm that lifts up clouds of dust; a strong, hot wind
3: peroration (107): an oration delivered in grandiloquent style

#99: Main Street (5-6)

Discussion Questions (TeacherVision):
Chapter 5:
1. How does the newspaper article about Sam Clark's party differ from Carol's perception?
2. What does Carol find comforting about living in Gopher Prairie? How does this affect the way she sees the town and its inhabitants? What still bothers her?

Chapter 6:
1. What is Mrs. Bogart's true intention in visiting Carol? List her indirect insults.
2. How is Carol's party similar to Sam Clark's? How is it different? What do the guests think of the differences (both publicly and privately)? How does her party affect future parties?

Vocabulary:
Chapter 5:
1. effusively (74): uttered with unrestrained enthusiasm; gushily talkative
2. Thanatopsis (81): a view or contemplation of death
3. In this chapter, "rest-room" refers to a place to rest and relax, not to a bathroom.

Chapter 6:
1. gadding (86): being on the go for no real reason; gad- wander aimlessly in search of pleasure
2. spendthrift (89): one who spends lots of money
3. apoplectic (95): angry or furious to the point of not being able to move or speak

#99: Main Street (3-4)

Discussion Questions (adapted from TeacherVision)
Chapter 3:
1. How do the towns alongside the train tracks on the way to Gopher Prairie frustrate Carol? How does she talk herself out of this frustration?

Chapter 4:
1. Note Sinclair Lewis's use of internal monologue in the beginning of this chapter. What purpose does it serve? How does it help define Carol's character? Her struggles?
2. Why does Carol think she can slip through the streets unnoticed in Gopher Prairie? How do the grocer's comments reflect the personality of the town?

Vocabulary
Chapter 3:
1. stolid (37): immovable; unchanging
2. lugubrious (45): depressing; gloomy

Chapter 4:
1. passementeried (58): edged in fancy trim
2. troglodyte (63): a rude beast
3. flivver (66): slang: small, cheap, usually old automobile

#99: Main Street (1-2)

Discussion questions (from Teacher Vision):
Chapter 1:

1. What is the purpose of introducing Carol as a solitary figure in Chapter 1? What is your impression of her so far?
2. Why does she feel unfulfilled in her job as a librarian and in her intellectual life? Give examples of her dissatisfaction.

Chapter 2:
1. How does Will (Kennicott) make Gopher Prairie attractive to Carol?
2. Why are Will's persuasive efforts to get Carol to move to Gopher Prairie and be with him different and more successful than Stewart Snyder's were?

Vocabulary:
1. pedagocical (p. 23) - of or relating to pedagogy, which means teaching method or style of instruction
2. somniferous (p. 25) - sleep inducing, boring
3. syndicalism (p. 26) - set of ideas/movements that advocate brining industry and government under control of labor unions

Can someone tell me what "haremism" (p. 26) is? I tried to find the definition of it online, or any information at all that was relevant to what it means, but was unable to do so.

#99: Main Street (Intro.)

The next book on the list is Main Street by Sinclair Lewis.

Sinclair Lewis was born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota in 1885. In 1930, after writing five novels including Main Street, Lewis became the first American to win the Nobel prize in literature (info. found on first page of the book prior to the introduction).

The version of the book I am reading was published in 1998 and includes an introduction by Thomas Mallon (cover seen at left). It is 471 pages long.

Back cover summary: "The novel centers on an idealistic young woman who marries a country doctor and settles in Gopher Prairie, Minnesota. Caught between her desires for social reform and individual happiness, Carol Kennicott reflects a whole country hesitating between a new sophistication and it's traditional insularity."

I plan to finish this book by lunch time on February 11th, as that is when it's due back to the library. I will start discussion questions tomorrow.

Happy Reading!

The Shack (2)

I finished The Shack last night. I went back and looked at the so-called "spoiler" discussion questions, but actually didn't find them that intriguing.

Therefore, I'm going to just leave you to state your own thoughts/opinions/likes/dislikes/movements/meanings about the book. From that, maybe questions can be developed for more thorough discussion.

I will read through the discussions over the weekend in case questions develop and will post them on Sunday. On Monday I will do an intro to the next list book, Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. If you aren't ready to post about The Shack yet, that's fine. The comment sections will always be open and I can always create a new discussion post later on.

If you'd like more formal discussion questions, here are some links:

• For more broad discussion questions, visit: "Book Club Discussion Questions"
• For extensive, chapter-by-chapter discussion questions, please click HERE.

The Shack (1)

Last night I started reading The Shack. It was hard to put it down and go to sleep. I am only to Chapter 6, but will likely finish the rest today.

I am not going to post discussion questions until after I have completed the book. The discussion questions I would like to use have a "spoiler-warning" at the top, meaning you should wait to finish the book before reading the questions.

However, please feel free to post comments to this post about your general thoughts about the book, how it moved you, and so forth. In the meantime, below are some factoids and quick reviews of the book.

Factoids:

Author: William P. Young - (from the back cover) Mr. Young was born in Canada and raised by missionary parents in New Guinea. (from Wikipedia) Mr. Young initially only printed 15 copies of the book for family and friends, but was urged to get it published. Unable to find a publisher, he published the book himself in 2007 and through word-of-mouth praise it was number 1 on the New York Times Bestseller List (trade paperback, fiction) by June 2008.

Page count: 248 pages (including afterwords)

Reviews:

"The Shack is the most absorbing work of fiction I've read in many years. My wife and I laughed, cried, and repented of our own lack of faith along the way. The Shack will leave you craving for the presence of God."

~Michael Smith, recording artist (from the back cover)

"This story reads like a prayer- like the best kind of prayer, filled with sweat and wonder and transparency and surprise. If you read one work of fiction this year, let this be it."

~Mike Morrell, Zoecarnate.com (from back of cover)

"Reading The Shack during a very difficult transition in my life, this story has blown the door wide open to my soul."

~Wynonna Judd, recording artist (from the back cover)

"This is probably the most profound and best book I have ever read in my entire life. It has brought me totally back to God. I have never felt better. I totally identified with Mack and the Great Sadness which has been in my life also."

~"The Time Keeper 'Dave,'" reviewer on amazon.com

"The Shack is a one of a kind invitation to journey to the very heart of God. Through my tears and cheers, I have been indeed transformed by the tender mercy with which William Paul Young opened the veil that too often separated me from God and from myself. With every page, the complicated do's and don't that distort a relationship into a religion were washed away as I understood Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the first time in my life."

~Patrick M. Roddy, ABC News Emmy Award winning producer

#100: Midnight's Children (8)

From litlovers.com: "Midnight's Children is a novel about India, and attempts to map the modern Indian mind, with all its contradictions. How much difficulty have you had in addressing the novel from a Western perspective? Is there an 'otherness' which makes it hard to assimilate, or are the novel's concerns universal and easily understood?"

I have completed Midnight's Children. I enjoyed the book, especially the varied ways Rushdie wrote and told the story, and overall found the story interesting. But I also found little meaning within it. I do not blame the character, who feared absurdity, but rather my lack of knowledge about the trials and tribulations of India. With a better understanding of the happenings in India that Rushdie correlates with Saleem's life, I probably would have done much better in understanding the meaning and references of this book.

Although I didn't completely understand the story of Saleem as it refers to India, I did like some of the ways in which Rushdie explained the workings of life: the cooking of emotions into food, the way in which a family affects a person and a person affects a family, and further how a country affects a person and a person affects a country.

I also find interesting the (important?) role that women play throughout the story. In a nation where the rights and powers of women have journeyed a rocky road, it is interesting that Saleem was so affected by them.

• From greatbooks.org: "Are the women Saleem loves an integral part of his story or distractions from it?"
• From litlovers.com: "'... is not Mother India, Bharat-Mata, commonly thought of as female?' asks Saleem; 'And, as you know, there's no escape from her' (p. 465). Elsewhere he speaks of '...the long series of women who have bewitched and finally undone me good and proper' (p. 276). To what extent are women 'held for blame' for Saleem's misfortunes?"

Tonight I will start The Shack by William P. Young. If I'm like others who have read it before me, I should have it done by the end of the week if not sooner. For the next few days I will provide space for discussion about The Shack and then we will move on to the next list book, Main Street by Sinclair Lewis.

#100: Midnight's Children (7)

I am almost finished!

Towards the end of Book 2, the story of Saleem changes greatly. He loses his telepathic abilities and gains an incredible sense of smell, one that not only allows him to smell "material" scents but also emotion.

In the beginning of Book 3, the character of Saleem that we have known so far in the novel is replaced by a new personality. Saleem's body stays the same, but his purpose and personality are vastly different. As this story is meant to correlate the story of India, do you think he becomes someone new because he becomes a "citizen of Pakistan" (p. 403)?

In relation, from greatbooks.org: "Why is Saleem known as Buddha during his phase as a soldier in the Indian-Pakistani conflict?"

Vocabulary of the day:

• exegete: an interpretor or teacher of sacred lore (p. 338)
  
• In relation, from litlovers.com: "What role does mythology play in giving form to events in the novel?"

#100: Midnight's Children (6)

I'm still not quite done with Midnight's Children, but will definitely have it finished by the end of tomorrow, if not by lunch tomorrow. I was trying to rush myself a bit and I've decided not to do that anymore. I know I won't get all 100 books read in one year, so there's not point in trying- especially when I'm trying to enjoy this endeavor and get more out of it than just running through the pages.

Question of the day:

• From litlovers.com: "how much affection is there between fathers and sons" in this novel? "Why is Saleem so drawn to father-figures?" Although there may be more to come, "what does (Saleem) gain from" his real father and the adopted fathers he's had so far (through the chapter titled "Movements Performed by Pepperpots")?

Quote of the day:

• "A death makes the living see themselves too clearly; after they have been in its presence, they become exaggerated" (p. 203).
  

Vocabulary of the day:

• perfidy: treachery; betrayal of trust; violation of promise or vow (p. 245 and many other times in Book 2)
• atavistic: to resemble one's grandparents or great-grandparents more than one's parents (p. 281)
  
• solipsistic: with consideration only for one's own interest (p. 291)

#100: Midnight's Children (5)

In the beginning of the chapter of Book 2 titled "Accident in a Washing-Chest," Saleem (through a question regarding Padma) says that he has "miracle-laden omniscience" (p. 170). Omniscience is defined as the state of having infinite knowledge, of being all-knowing or infinitely wise.

Contradictory to this, later in the chapter we discover that Saleem, as a young boy, was not sure of much at all. He is questioned by his friends, who have already determined what they want to be when they grow up, about what he wants to be and although he is not given the chance to answer, he wouldn't have anything to tell them anyways.

However, this changes after the accident in the washing chest. During his silent punishment, Saleem begins to hear voices and it is through these voices that he feels he has finally found his purpose. Unfortunately, when he shares this revelation with his family they are outraged and think he is joking. He is punished and later says, "It was just fooling, Amma. A stupid joke, just like you said."

Litlovers.com states: "he never arrives at a certain image of himself without being thrown into chaos again (see above). But a child on an advertising hoarding is described as 'flattened by certitude (p.175).'"

These two statements present conflicting opinions about certainty and about purpose. So, in Saleem's case, is there value in being uncertain and are there benefits of uncertainty? If so, what are the values and benefits?

#100: Midnight's Children (4)

The "hole" in the chest of Saleem's "grandfather," Doctor Aadam Aziz, is mentioned several times in Book 1. In Book 2, it is mentioned again on p. 157:

"...sometimes, through a trick of the light, Amina thought she saw, in the center of her father's body, a dark shadow like a hole."

What do you think this hole symbolizes?

In relation (from Spark Notes study questions), what role does religious imagery play in this book?

Quote of the Day:

"...when I saw your picture, you had become so transparent
I could see the writing from the other side coming right through your face!" (p. 157)

#100: Midnight's Children (3)

I decided that my posts are too long/long-winded, so in the future there will be far less commentary and the posts will be limited to one to three questions, rather five or six. Sorry for the overwhelming nature of the blog so far, but I hope it will improve as I get the hang of it.

Here are two questions I cut from yesterday and put for today:

• From litlovers.com: “Midnight’s Children is clearly a work of fiction; yet, like many modern novels, it is presented as an autobiography. How can we tell it isn’t? What literary devices are employed to make its fictional status clear?"


• We find out at the end of Book 1 that the family members that Saleem has described in such detail are not actually his ancestors. However, he continues to speak of them as his real family. Why do you think he does this?

I'd also like to add the following based on my reading of Chapter 1 ("The Fisherman's Pointing Finger") of Book 2:

• From greatbooks.org: "What is the significance of Saleem growing up in Methwold's Estate?" And how does his perception of the first days of his life relate to his later feeling that a lot of what goes wrong in his country is his fault? (Remember that he parallels his life with the life of independent India)

#100, Midnight's Children (2)

I’m sure none of you will be surprised, but I may have been a bit ambitious when I said I would read Book 2 (260 pages) of Midnight’s Children over the weekend. Pretty much, with my kinda busy day on Saturday and my lazy day on Sunday, I only completed Book 1.

However, that doesn’t change my plan of posting related to Book 1. So, here goes…

• I’ve found myself chuckling at times throughout my reading of Book 1. Do you think I am misreading, or do you think that under the air of seriousness that there is actually a bit of humor to the story? After all, the main character’s birth at the midnight hour of independence is kind of a farce.
• What do you think of Rushdie’s quirks of combining words to make new words (p. 45: “lowaslow”) and removing commas from groups of items/descriptors (p. 80: “father Kemal Butt”)? Padma doesn’t think he is moving quickly enough through his story, but by removing pauses, isn't a sense of urgency created? I wonder if that urgency will continue now that he has been born?
• In the chapter titled “The Perforated Sheet,” we read the story of the strange courtship (can we call it that?) of Saleem’s (non-biological) grandparents. What do you think about the recurrence of this in Amina Sinai’s life as a technique used to learn to love her husband?
• Related to the above: Is the story of the perforated sheet one that also (in addition to the story of Saleem's life) parallels the independence of India?

I hope these questions refer to things you may not have noticed when reading. I don’t want to be dull or dense, so hopefully that hasn’t happened yet!

I still plan to finish Midnight’s Children by the end of the week (at least by the end of Sunday), but will change my schedule to accommodate the reading of The Shack. After that I will move to the next list book, Main Street by Sinclair Lewis.

Please feel free to answer the questions above or add questions/topics of your own.

#100: Midnight's Children (1)

The first book I am (we are) reading on the Top 100 List is actually #100 on the list (as we are reading the list from #100 to #1). The book is Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie.

I am just pages away from finishing Book 1, or the first section. I am hoping to have Book 2 done by the end of the weekend (yes, I know that's like 260 pages) and the rest of the book finished by the end of the week. I understand that this may be moving a little fast for many of you, but the beauty of this blog is that the discussions will be available for you whenever you are ready.

The discussion today will focus on Book 1. I will share some words I've looked up to help me better understand the story and descriptions, as well as a quote I really enjoyed. Please comment with any additional words you've looked up or quotes that struck you.

• On page 4, Rushdie says he will "work fast, faster than Scheherazade." He is referring to a story from Persia, where the king would marry a virgin and then kill her the next day. The king did this after finding out his first wife had betrayed him. He killed three thousand women this way before Scheherazade, against her father's wishes, volunteered to spend the night with the king. That night she told him a story and as morning broke, he asked for another. She replied that she could not tell another until the next night. She continued this for 1,001 nights and eventually became his queen, escaping death through her own portrayal of a Persian book called The Thousand Myths.
• Following the above quote, Rushdie/Saleem uses the word "absurdity" in the following way: "... if I am to end up meaning- yes, meaning- something. I admit it: above all things, I fear absurdity." Unbeknown to me before looking this up, absurdity not only means inconsistent or illogical, it also refers to being in a state of existence that is meaningless. Knowing that, I too fear absurdity.
• Saleem talks extensively about his grandfather, Doctor Aadam Aziz, and especially about the man's nose. One of the way he describes it is "cyranose" (p. 8). This likely refers to Cyrano de Bergerac, who was a French dramatist who portrayed himself with an overly large nose. Many years after Cyrano de Bergerac, there was a muppet with a foot-long nose that was a poet and was called Cyranose de Bergerac, but I'm sure Rushdie was referring to the former rather than the latter.
• Awesome descriptive quote: "his voice crackling like an old radio because decades were rubbing up against each other around his vocal chords" (p. 38)
  

Over the weekend I hope to develop some more thorough discussion points that I've been turning over in my head regarding the content of Book 1. I hope to get those posted by the end of the weekend for discussion the beginning of the week, followed by discussion points for Book 2, Book 3, and the book as a whole. My personal plan is to start the next book, Main Street by Sinclair Lewis, on Monday, January 19, but we shall see about that. I want to read as many books as I can, but I also don't want to lose out on the content because I am speeding through.

So, my plans are fairly tentative, but hopefully will be more firm as I brainstorm and focus on the discussion plan a bit more this weekend... or maybe we'll just continue to wing it and see what grand ideas we can come up with through spontaneous discussion topics.

For anyone who is wondering, I will also be creating a posting so that there is room for discussion of The Shack. That will be an open discussion and I will not post anything specific because I have not read it yet.

Happy reading over the weekend!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Family of Reading Nuts book blog!

This blog stems from my personal blog, as well as a family blog, where I announced at the beginning of the year my goal of reading all the books from a top 100 book list and invited family and blog visitors to join me.

There have been comments about having discussions about the list books, and other books, but rather than trying to discuss the books amongst my regular postings, my Mom (fellow reader and blogger) and I thought it would be great to start a book blog.

This blog will be a work in progress until I can figure out a discussion schedule for the list books. As I develop a plan, please stay tuned for daily (hopefully) postings of vocabulary and references made in the current list book. I will also be making space for discussions on non-list books.

If you would like to receive the posts for this blog by e-mail, please let me know and I will set you up.

I look forward to where this goes and hope it will be a place of learning and lively discussion.

Happy reading,
Your Bookworm Administrator