need ideas for books to read

We need suggestions for books to read next. It would be nice to pick 4-5 books so we are covered for a few months. Let's collect ideas for books and we'll put them to a vote in a week or so.

more questions on The Help

Here are a couple other questions for discussion-

1. Do you think this book is worth the hype? It was published about 2 years ago and is still on the bestseller list.

2. How do you see the characters trying to break out of their "defined" roles in society? What happens when they "rock the boat"?

Getting to know you.....

Introductions-
While we are waiting for everyone to read (or reread in my case) The Help, let's get acquainted a little bit. Not everyone knows each other but you all know either me or Jessica. So here are some simple questions- answer which ones you want to.

1. Name, where do you live? Family? Job?

2. How do you know others in the group?

3. Do you have a Kindle, Nook or some other e-reader? Do you use it like you thought you would? Will you buy the book group selections or only get them from the library?

4. What types of books do you read? Where/when do read most often?

5. What are some of the favorite books you've ever read?

6. What is the best book(s) you've read in the last few months?

Feel free to add any other questions!! Look for this post and the comments on it under the members tab above ( I hope that works!)

Questions for The Help

Here are some questions for first book- The Help. Feel free to add comments and questions of your own.

1. Who was your favorite character? Why?

2. How much of a person’s character do you think is shaped by the times in which they live?

3. Do you think Minny was justified in her distrust of white people?

4. Do you think that had Aibileen stayed working for Miss Elizabeth, that Mae Mobley would have grown up to be racist like her mother? Do you think racism is inherent, or taught?

5. From the perspective of a 21st century reader, the hair shellac system that Skeeter undergoes seems ludicrous. Yet women still alter their looks in rather peculiar ways as the definition of “beauty” changes with the times. Looking back on your past, what’s the most ridiculous beauty regimen you ever underwent?

6. The author manages to paint Aibileen with a quiet grace and an aura of wisdom about her. How do you think she does this?

7. Do you think there are still vestiges of racism in relationships where people of color work for people who are white? Have you heard stories of someone who put away their valuable jewelry before their nanny comes – so they trust this person to look after their child, but not their diamond rings?

8. What did you think about Minny’s pie for Miss Hilly? Would you have gone as far as Minny did for revenge?

First two books- The Help and Sarah's Key

Vote is over- First two books are Sarah's Key and The Help.

Since some of you have read The Help already, let's get a head start and do that book first.

I'll post questions about The Help soon and start posting questions about Sarah's Key the first week of February.

Let's see where this takes us! Happy Reading.

Information on Suggested Books

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay 

De Rosnay's U.S. debut fictionalizes the 1942 Paris roundups and deportations, in which thousands of Jewish families were arrested, held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver outside the city, then transported to Auschwitz. Forty-five-year-old Julia Jarmond, American by birth, moved to Paris when she was 20 and is married to the arrogant, unfaithful Bertrand Tézac, with whom she has an 11-year-old daughter. Julia writes for an American magazine and her editor assigns her to cover the 60th anniversary of the Vél' d'Hiv' roundups. Julia soon learns that the apartment she and Bertrand plan to move into was acquired by Bertrand's family when its Jewish occupants were dispossessed and deported 60 years before. She resolves to find out what happened to the former occupants: Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski, parents of 10-year-old Sarah and four-year-old Michel. The more Julia discovers—especially about Sarah, the only member of the Starzynski family to survive—the more she uncovers about Bertrand's family, about France and, finally, herself. Already translated into 15 languages, the novel is De Rosnay's 10th (but her first written in English, her first language). It beautifully conveys Julia's conflicting loyalties, and makes Sarah's trials so riveting, her innocence so absorbing, that the book is hard to put down.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

What perfect timing for this optimistic, uplifting debut novel (and maiden publication of Amy Einhorn's new imprint) set during the nascent civil rights movement in Jackson, Miss., where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. Eugenia Skeeter Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing about what disturbs you. The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies and mistrusts enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who's raised 17 children, and Aibileen's best friend Minny, who's found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams. Assured and layered, full of heart and history, this one has bestseller written all over it.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Neuroscientist and debut novelist Genova mines years of experience in her field to craft a realistic portrait of early onset Alzheimer's disease. Alice Howland has a career not unlike Genova's—she's an esteemed psychology professor at Harvard, living a comfortable life in Cambridge with her husband, John, arguing about the usual (making quality time together, their daughter's move to L.A.) when the first symptoms of Alzheimer's begin to emerge. First, Alice can't find her Blackberry, then she becomes hopelessly disoriented in her own town. Alice is shocked to be diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's (she had suspected a brain tumor or menopause), after which her life begins steadily to unravel. She loses track of rooms in her home, resigns from Harvard and eventually cannot recognize her own children. The brutal facts of Alzheimer's are heartbreaking, and it's impossible not to feel for Alice and her loved ones, but Genova's prose style is clumsy and her dialogue heavy-handed. This novel will appeal to those dealing with the disease and may prove helpful, but beyond the heartbreaking record of illness there's little here to remember.

Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg

A high school reunion and all of its attendant dramas is the backdrop of Berg's rose-tinted latest (after Home Safe). For Dorothy Shauman, her 40th reunion is the chance to finally hook up with her high school crush. She prepares weeks in advance for the big night, strange as that may seem, preening in front of the mirror. As Berg surveys the gamut of emotions felt by Dorothy and some of her classmates, she zeroes in on an array of stereotypes—the hot girls, the jocks, the in crowd, the out crowd—and considers what makes each one tick, offering the vanilla revelation that the person on the inside doesn't always match the person on the outside. It's cleanly plotted, ably written, and sure to appeal to boomers staring down the barrel of their own 40th reunions.

Ford County by John Grisham

Returning to the setting of his first novel, A Time to Kill, longtime bestseller Grisham presents seven short stories about the residents of Ford County, Miss. Each story explores different themes-mourning, revenge, justice, acceptance, evolution-but all flirt with the legal profession, the staple of (former attorney) Grisham's oeuvre. Fans will be excited to settle back into Grisham's world, and these easily digestible stories don't disappoint, despite their brevity. Full of strong characters, simple but resonant plotlines, and charming Southern accents, this collection is solid throughout; though his literary aspirations may seem quaint, Grisham succeeds admirably in his crowd-pleasing craft while avoiding pat endings or oversimplifying (perhaps best exemplified in "Michael's Room," which finds a lawyer facing the consequences of successfully defending a doctor against a malpractice suit). As always, Grisham balances his lawyerly preoccupations with a deep respect for his undereducated and overlooked characters.

Let's try this for 2011

Hey everyone!
Finding a time to get together for book group has become increasingly difficult. Let's try having an online book group. Anyone can be a part of this- in fact, the more, the merrier! This way, you can comment at any time on any book or you can even skip a book if you just didn't have time to read it. For those people in the Denver area, we can pick a date to meet just to meet but all of the "business" will happen online.

This is how it might look- we'll vote on book choices and set up the reading list for the next month or so (hopefully by January 15th) Start reading the book and try to finish by the end of the month. (Let's pick a short book first) We'll post some questions to start the discussion and then we'll see what happens. Anyone can post or ask questions.

First let us know if you are interested in being a part of this. Then, send us a couple of book selections you might be interested in having the group read for the first couple months. We'll take a quick vote to get the first two books to start and then go from there.