Do you belong to a book club or some group where you can discuss books? Finding the right club to join is often bit of a process since they can run the range from extremely laid back to highly intellectual. I think it's worth the search, however, because discussing a book with others can lend a whole new perspective that you otherwise would have missed. My book club falls somewhere in the middle of the two extremes and - while we always have fun - we definately have the best discussions when we disagree on whether we enjoyed the book!

One comment we often hear at the Reader Services desk is that choosing a book and finding discussion questions are the biggest challenges for a book group leader. We want to remind you that the Library has many resources to make this a lot easier. In the New Books area we have a cart of "Resources for Readers and Book Groups" that has print materials to look at, and there are tips and recommended titles on our web site under "Discuss Books" including a links to sites such as ReadingGroupGuides.com. Readers will also enjoy Book Group Buzz from Booklist - a highly readable blog about books and book discussions.

The Library also sponsors two book discussions which anyone is welcome to attend. They meet the second Tuesday of each month - at 10:00am and 7:00pm. A list of upcoming books they are discussing is online. A recent title that they enjoyed is The Florist's Daughter by Patricia Hample, a very honest portrayal of the relationship between a daughter and mother that generated great discussion about what makes us who we are (i.e. the town where we grew up, attitudes towards education and beauty, etc.). The author is a poet, so the writing is wonderful too. Some of the titles that have elicited the most "extreme" reactions are books about contemporary dysfunctional families, such as On Beauty by Zadie Smith or Saturday by Ian McEwan. The group realized anew how the author's tone can make a pivotal difference in enjoying the work.

If you're not in a book group, I encourage you to ask around and see if there's one you can join - or start one of your own!

marlise

If you're like me, you've been hearing more and more references to Web 2.0, and you may not know what it refers to. According to Wikipedia (which in itself makes use of Web 2.0 technology) it refers to "web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users." In other words, it's web sites that are interactive, and it has led to social networking sites such as MySpace, wikis that anyone can add information to, and blogs (like this one!) It has also allowed for numerous sites for book-lovers- like you. Probably the best known such site is LibraryThing, which was launched in August 2005 and featured on our blog this February. This is a site that will catalog up to 200 of your personal titles for free, as well as keep a list of books, suggest titles based on your catalog, and allow comments on others' profiles. Other similar sites exist, with Shelfari being perhaps the second best known. Slightly newer, it was launched in October 2006. Again, registration is free, but this site also allows for an unlimited number of books cataloged for no charge. Why not register for both and let us know which you prefer.
TJS

Here are some more titles that members of the Readers Advisory team have recently enjoyed:

The Eye of Jade Diane Wei Liang
The hero of Liang’s debut novel is Mei Wang, Beijing’s first female detective. When her uncle hires her to find a piece of Jade pottery from the Han dynasty, Wang uncovers political turmoil in both old and new China. Set in the 1990s, Eye of Jade treats the reader to wonderful descriptions of Beijing and fascinating cultural information. Read-alikes include Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Series and Elizabeth Lowell’s series on jewels.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Lisa See
Story chronicles the lives of nineteenth Chinese women with compelling historical detail of their friendships and total submission to their mothers-in-law and men ~ Carefully defined class distinctions ~ A poignant tale with a touch of suspense .

The Chameleon’s Shadow Minette Walters
Psychological thriller about a British lieutenant’s return home from Iraq and the devastating effects of war on his personality ~ Not this Edgar-Award winning author’s best, but the reader becomes deeply involved in the characters’ lives and cares about them.

Consumption Kevin Patterson
Patterson’s beautifully written novel takes place in a remote Alaskan village that is gradually becoming exploited for its natural resources ~ Victoria is a beautiful Inuit woman torn between her family and the modern/progressive “North.” As the novel’s heroine it is her life that mirrors the costs of cultural assimilations and its emotional toll on all involved.

Water for Elephants Sara Gruen
Story told in flashback by ninety-something Jacob Jankowski as he recalls his thrilling and often harrowing experiences with a traveling circus during the Great Depression. Though the ending is somewhat contrived, Gruen’s book illustrates the dependency between animals and humans and the hardships endured by young American men during the thirties and forties.

The Road Cormac McCarthy
Haunting, barely hopeful story of a father and son’s journey of survival in a post apocalyptic nightmare ~ McCarthy’s lean prose heightens the aura of devastation that permeates the novel and he forces the reader to ponder the slight thread existing between civilization and savagery.

A Thousand Splendid Suns Khalid Hosseini
An incredible chronicle of three decades of Afghan history played out in the lives of two women married to the same husband, and the eventual friendship that blossoms between Mariam and Laila ~ Another haunting classic from bestselling author Hosseini.

The Infidel Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Internationally renowned Ali recalls her early life in a traditional Muslin household in Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Kenya to her intellectual awakening and political activism in the Netherlands.

Burned Ellen Hopkins
Gripping story related in verse-form about a young girl reared in a fundamentally religious family, yet she, her mother and siblings suffer greatly at the hands of their abusive father/husband ~ No solutions are offered, but when Pattyn’s is sent away for the summer, she does experience love, acceptance and respect as a person.

Nickel and Dimed: On (not) Getting By in America Barbara Ehrenreich 305.569 EHR

Dated yet eye-opening account of how Americans have been become financially trapped ~ Rendered with humor and empathy, Ehrenreich’s book explores the lives of the “working poor” who continue to struggle to make ends meet despite working long hours.

Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express
Christopher Corbett 383.143 COR
It’s 1860 and the year of the Pony Express ~ A well researched and yet still tongue-in-cheek look at the myths and legends that abound with the service ~ Interesting facts about the America West, gold miners, Buffalo Bill Cody and much more are presented in this slice of Americana.

Siddhartha Herman Hesse

Hesse’s classic novel blending Eastern mysticism and Jungian psychoanalysis attempts to depict life as a journey of self-discovery, reconciliation, harmony and eventual peace with one’s self and the universe.