Park Grove Library, Cottage Grove is offering a special night "Book Club Special Edition with William Kent Krueger." We are looking forward to discuss his book Ordinary Grace, which the Park Grove Library Book Club just finished reading and discussing. We are so excited that the Washington County Library and Park Grove Library has allowed this event to happen and they have stated that the funding for this event is possible due to money from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
We would love to have the community share this evening with us and cherish that we have this time with William Kent Krueger. Join us for some refreshment and a treat!
ALSO OUR MONTHLY BOOK CLUB WILL MEET Tuesday, November 18 we will discuss Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. We would love to have anyone join us for this discussion!
Monday, November 3, 2014
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Tuesday, October 28 Park Grove Branch Library Book Club discussed Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger. Fourteen members were present and all agreed this was a wonderful book.
One member said the book was "so descriptive." She liked how he used the train tracks in the story, about going somewhere and about Frank becoming a man. "Really touched my heart" another member commented and she enjoyed the scene at the end of the book where Frank and Jake were at the cemetery with their dad. "I appreciated how the book promoted forgiveness." We have a crisis, we are given grace, God is there to keep us moving and we have to get our strength from God someone said. One member said she liked "the iron in his father's voice" and the part written "smoke hung around his mother like she was on fire." Another shared that she could "envision the places and the boys. Also touched by the role of religion in helping cope with challenges." "I felt exactly what I could see, hear and smell while walking down the train tracks" a comment from a member. Many read the book a few times, even within the month!
We talked of two graces that were in the book, Awful Grace which Nathan Drum talks about "My father used to quote Greek Playwright Aeschylus. 'He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain, which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our own will comes wisdom through the awful Grace of God." The other Ordinary Grace, the grace that came in not big powerful ways. So simple even as Gus digging the graves so carefully and with concern for those who have passed. Nathan Drum visiting the families, even Warren Redstone's family when they were "talked about" in the community. Frank letting Warren Redstone walk away when the law enforcement were looking for him was one example and another was Jake's stuttering stopped. Ruth Drum's asking for just an ordinary grace after Ariel's funeral, given by Jake.
We talked about the roles played by the various characters, the red herrings, someone to dislike, questioning and prejudices. Was the setting New Ulm? Two members had their list ready to show evidence of why they thought it was New Ulm and many loved that part. Another member went to college there and was reading the book while in a COFFEE SHOP IN NEW ULM!
Many members loved this part in the book: "Loss, once it's become a certainty, is like a rock you hold in your hand. It has weight and dimension and texture. It's solid and can be asessed and dealt with. You can use it to beat yourself or you can throw it away."
We could put ourselves into this story and feel the connection. We felt the grief and the people coming together to help each other. A few of us thought this reminded us so much of To Kill a Mockingbird. This too, we felt, was a classic book. A book that reaches deep into your soul.
One member said the book was "so descriptive." She liked how he used the train tracks in the story, about going somewhere and about Frank becoming a man. "Really touched my heart" another member commented and she enjoyed the scene at the end of the book where Frank and Jake were at the cemetery with their dad. "I appreciated how the book promoted forgiveness." We have a crisis, we are given grace, God is there to keep us moving and we have to get our strength from God someone said. One member said she liked "the iron in his father's voice" and the part written "smoke hung around his mother like she was on fire." Another shared that she could "envision the places and the boys. Also touched by the role of religion in helping cope with challenges." "I felt exactly what I could see, hear and smell while walking down the train tracks" a comment from a member. Many read the book a few times, even within the month!
We talked of two graces that were in the book, Awful Grace which Nathan Drum talks about "My father used to quote Greek Playwright Aeschylus. 'He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain, which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our own will comes wisdom through the awful Grace of God." The other Ordinary Grace, the grace that came in not big powerful ways. So simple even as Gus digging the graves so carefully and with concern for those who have passed. Nathan Drum visiting the families, even Warren Redstone's family when they were "talked about" in the community. Frank letting Warren Redstone walk away when the law enforcement were looking for him was one example and another was Jake's stuttering stopped. Ruth Drum's asking for just an ordinary grace after Ariel's funeral, given by Jake.
We talked about the roles played by the various characters, the red herrings, someone to dislike, questioning and prejudices. Was the setting New Ulm? Two members had their list ready to show evidence of why they thought it was New Ulm and many loved that part. Another member went to college there and was reading the book while in a COFFEE SHOP IN NEW ULM!
Many members loved this part in the book: "Loss, once it's become a certainty, is like a rock you hold in your hand. It has weight and dimension and texture. It's solid and can be asessed and dealt with. You can use it to beat yourself or you can throw it away."
We could put ourselves into this story and feel the connection. We felt the grief and the people coming together to help each other. A few of us thought this reminded us so much of To Kill a Mockingbird. This too, we felt, was a classic book. A book that reaches deep into your soul.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Tuesday, October 28 at Park Grove library we will be discussing William Kent Krueger's Ordinary Grace.
Published in 2013, this stand alone novel (verses his many fans favorite Cork O’Connor series) will have us in discussion BEFORE WE GET TO LISTEN TO WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER SHARE SOME DETAILS OF THIS BOOK! Monday, November 10 we will be able to hear from the author at Park Grove Library.
YES -- William Kent Krueger will be a visiting author open to the public at Park Grove Library in Cottage Grove, Monday, November 10.
Here is an excerpt from his web page about Ordinary Grace.
"That was it. That was all of it. A grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it. Yet I have never across the forty years since it was spoken forgotten a single word."
New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson's Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder.
Frank begins the season preoccupied with the concerns of any teenage boy, but when tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family—which includes his Methodist minister father; his passionate, artistic mother; Juilliard-bound older sister; and wise-beyond-his-years kid brother—he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years.
Told from Frank's perspective forty years after that fateful summer, Ordinary Grace is a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.
Published in 2013, this stand alone novel (verses his many fans favorite Cork O’Connor series) will have us in discussion BEFORE WE GET TO LISTEN TO WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER SHARE SOME DETAILS OF THIS BOOK! Monday, November 10 we will be able to hear from the author at Park Grove Library.
YES -- William Kent Krueger will be a visiting author open to the public at Park Grove Library in Cottage Grove, Monday, November 10.
Here is an excerpt from his web page about Ordinary Grace.
"That was it. That was all of it. A grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it. Yet I have never across the forty years since it was spoken forgotten a single word."
New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson's Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder.
Frank begins the season preoccupied with the concerns of any teenage boy, but when tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family—which includes his Methodist minister father; his passionate, artistic mother; Juilliard-bound older sister; and wise-beyond-his-years kid brother—he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years.
Told from Frank's perspective forty years after that fateful summer, Ordinary Grace is a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.
Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende
A few of the book club members had said they too have journaled in years past if not currently. Many said they had done this in their youth with the diary that has a lock and key. Many journal for therapeutic reasons which we felt Maya needed. In the beginning of the story, Maya writes "She handed me a hundred-page notebook so I could keep a diary, as I did from the age of eight until I was fifteen, when my life went off the rails. 'You're going to have time to get bored, Maya. Take advantage of it to write down the monumental stupidities you're committed, see if you can come to grips with them' she said {her grandmother Nini said}. Several of my diaries are still in existence, sealed with industrial-strength adhesive tape. My grandfather kept them under lock and key in his desk for years, and now my Nini has them in a shoebox under her bed. This will be notebook number nine. My Nini believes they'll be of use to me when I get psychoanalyzed, because they contain the keys to untie the knots of my personality; but if she'd read them, she'd know they contain a huge pile of tales tall enough to outfox Freud himself."
Maya's story has some tall tales but in this novel they are intriguing and at times, may be what some people really do go through with their life story. She is a survivor and the journey she took through this notebook, her notebook, proves that she is able to grow by telling her story.
Eleven people attended the discussion of the book and two shared they were not big fans of the book. "Half way through it was too dark and frustrating" one said, but others said it was interesting to learn about Chile, it's country and the people. They enjoyed how the author, Isabel Allende,"brings in so much politics, magic realist, religion, current events and so many other facets." "Flashbacks in the story were easy to follow, it was natural to hear story."
One person who wasn't sold on the book said that she abandoned reading it as it didn't feel authentic. It didn't sound like a voice of a teenager, felt older. This person, did apprediate "Popo" as a redeeming character.
Reading a book from Berkley area was what one person liked as she grew up in Hayward, close by. She said she knew of a house like Nini's and Popo's. She said the book had that "curiosity and able to dive back into the book; it was a good read for me." Someone found it curious and learned a lot of the politics from those years. Humorous at the end they said. It was a coming of the age book, dealing with loss and "who do I belong to, friends or family."
There were interesting characters in the book, including Brandon Leman, who she met in Vegas. "He used her, but protected her." Freddie "helped look out for her, like a brother. She cared about him and he cared for her." Daniel "Didn't like him, used her." another person wondered if they are going to get back together? Will there be a sequel?
It was a mystery of how Manuel fit into the situation with Nini in her earlier years. Some of us thought there might be some previous connection. It was also a mystery about Officer Arana. There were twists and turns in the story that kept you intrigued and wanting to find out how it ended.
From a 19 year old who struggles to survive we see emergence as she tries to find her way in the world. Along the journey Allende brings characters that help her, each with their own story and path. From the Chiloe, secluded island, to Chile to California, our journey in this book takes us to a place where we see healing and empowerment.
One member of our Book Club shared a video of Isabel Allende speaking at Ted Talks. Click here for that message.
Maya's story has some tall tales but in this novel they are intriguing and at times, may be what some people really do go through with their life story. She is a survivor and the journey she took through this notebook, her notebook, proves that she is able to grow by telling her story.
Eleven people attended the discussion of the book and two shared they were not big fans of the book. "Half way through it was too dark and frustrating" one said, but others said it was interesting to learn about Chile, it's country and the people. They enjoyed how the author, Isabel Allende,"brings in so much politics, magic realist, religion, current events and so many other facets." "Flashbacks in the story were easy to follow, it was natural to hear story."
One person who wasn't sold on the book said that she abandoned reading it as it didn't feel authentic. It didn't sound like a voice of a teenager, felt older. This person, did apprediate "Popo" as a redeeming character.
Reading a book from Berkley area was what one person liked as she grew up in Hayward, close by. She said she knew of a house like Nini's and Popo's. She said the book had that "curiosity and able to dive back into the book; it was a good read for me." Someone found it curious and learned a lot of the politics from those years. Humorous at the end they said. It was a coming of the age book, dealing with loss and "who do I belong to, friends or family."
There were interesting characters in the book, including Brandon Leman, who she met in Vegas. "He used her, but protected her." Freddie "helped look out for her, like a brother. She cared about him and he cared for her." Daniel "Didn't like him, used her." another person wondered if they are going to get back together? Will there be a sequel?
It was a mystery of how Manuel fit into the situation with Nini in her earlier years. Some of us thought there might be some previous connection. It was also a mystery about Officer Arana. There were twists and turns in the story that kept you intrigued and wanting to find out how it ended.
From a 19 year old who struggles to survive we see emergence as she tries to find her way in the world. Along the journey Allende brings characters that help her, each with their own story and path. From the Chiloe, secluded island, to Chile to California, our journey in this book takes us to a place where we see healing and empowerment.
One member of our Book Club shared a video of Isabel Allende speaking at Ted Talks. Click here for that message.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Tuesday, August 26 Potluck Gathering and Book Selection
UPDATED SEPT 8, 2014
At our household, we squeeze so much into the last few days of summer, trips to the MN State Fair, The Minnesota Renaissance Festival and Prescott Muddy Waters to hear the Scottie Miller Band, including a Tuesday night with the Park Grove Book Club selecting books for the upcoming 2 YEARS! After helping our two college bound daughters settle into their apartments we now will look forward to reading some books, my hubby on his kindle and me the ones selected by book club!
Our Book Club Selection for September and August have been changed.
Tuesday, Sept 23 Maya's Notebook by Isabelle Allende
Tuesday, Oct 28 Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
At our household, we squeeze so much into the last few days of summer, trips to the MN State Fair, The Minnesota Renaissance Festival and Prescott Muddy Waters to hear the Scottie Miller Band, including a Tuesday night with the Park Grove Book Club selecting books for the upcoming 2 YEARS! After helping our two college bound daughters settle into their apartments we now will look forward to reading some books, my hubby on his kindle and me the ones selected by book club!
Our Book Club Selection for September and August have been changed.
Tuesday, Sept 23 Maya's Notebook by Isabelle Allende
Tuesday, Oct 28 Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Rachel Joyce's novel The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was liked by all 12 members attending our July, 2014 meeting.
The people Harold Fry met on his journey were "ordinary people, doing ordinary things" someone commented and another "the journey is the point of the book." Another stated it was a "slow start but enjoyed it and the many facets of his walk. I am a walker and I'm like that, the part of the places it takes you in your mind."
One person said they kept re-thinking parts. "Harold had a purpose to redeem himself, the book was slow going, but people who he met seemed to have it together and weren't perfect" another member mentioned. "Cried at the end" another said.
Being from Ireland, one member commented she could easily visualize all these details, "so enjoyed every moment."
Harold Fry wasn't on a religious quest. He traveled 87 days, 627 miles. Someone mentioned he was empty inside, he needed to go to his "well." We discussed would we do what Harold Fry did -- go just like that on a snap decision? We are ordinary, someone mentioned, but yet are all extra-ordinary. Aspects of our character maybe extra-ordinary at one point, at one time in our life. He met people that shared that quality.
Not all of us, but most of us liked Maureen and her story. She finally saw that Harold wasn't the only one that made mistakes in their family. Felt as a young child David was very disrespectful and rude. We have a level of respect demanded by us and Harold/Maureen didn't demand it. Maureen allowed David to be nasty to Harold. We also liked that absence makes the heart grow fonder, which it did for both Harold and Maureen. When we read later in the book, that David had died by suicide we were shocked. Another "I literally cried when I read his son died of suicide, it explains so much." Only one person had that part of the storyline figured out.
In the end of the book, through Harold's long journey some were a little "let-down" and sad with the ending. Someone mentioned, though, that Queenie couldn't comment, yet we know that the pink quartz that Harold brought her, gave her "happiness." We were frustrated by the lack of story behind Queenie, but excited to hear there is a book coming out in October by Rachel Joyce "The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. Click here to go to the author's web page and the information of this story.
One member shared this favorite part of the book: "Harold passed office workers, dog walkers, shoppers, children going to school, mothers and buggies, and hikers like himself, as well as several tourist parties. He met a tax inspector who was a Druid and had not worn a pair of shoes for ten years. He talked with a young woman on the trail of her real father, a priest who confessed to tweeting during mass, as well as several people in training for a marathon, and an Italian man with a singing parrot. He spent an afternoon with a white witch from Glastonbury, four bikers looking for the M5, and a mother of six who confided she had no idea life could be so solitary. Harold walked with these strangers and listened. He judged no one, although as the days wore on, and time and places began to melt, he couldn't remember if the tax inspector wore no shoes or had a parrot on his shoulder. It no longer mattered. He had learned that it was the smallness of people that filled him with wonder and tenderness, and the loneliness of that too. The world was made up of people putting one foot in front of the other; and a life might appear ordinary simple because the person living it had been so doing so for a long time. Harold could no longer pass a stranger without acknowleding the truth that everyone was the same, and also unique; and that this was the dilemma of being human." Quoted from Chapter 15 Harold and the New Beginning
August 26
Book Selection for following year
September 23
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kruger
October 28
Maya’s Notebook by Isabelle Allende
November (to be determined)
Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
The people Harold Fry met on his journey were "ordinary people, doing ordinary things" someone commented and another "the journey is the point of the book." Another stated it was a "slow start but enjoyed it and the many facets of his walk. I am a walker and I'm like that, the part of the places it takes you in your mind."
One person said they kept re-thinking parts. "Harold had a purpose to redeem himself, the book was slow going, but people who he met seemed to have it together and weren't perfect" another member mentioned. "Cried at the end" another said.
Being from Ireland, one member commented she could easily visualize all these details, "so enjoyed every moment."
Harold Fry wasn't on a religious quest. He traveled 87 days, 627 miles. Someone mentioned he was empty inside, he needed to go to his "well." We discussed would we do what Harold Fry did -- go just like that on a snap decision? We are ordinary, someone mentioned, but yet are all extra-ordinary. Aspects of our character maybe extra-ordinary at one point, at one time in our life. He met people that shared that quality.
Not all of us, but most of us liked Maureen and her story. She finally saw that Harold wasn't the only one that made mistakes in their family. Felt as a young child David was very disrespectful and rude. We have a level of respect demanded by us and Harold/Maureen didn't demand it. Maureen allowed David to be nasty to Harold. We also liked that absence makes the heart grow fonder, which it did for both Harold and Maureen. When we read later in the book, that David had died by suicide we were shocked. Another "I literally cried when I read his son died of suicide, it explains so much." Only one person had that part of the storyline figured out.
In the end of the book, through Harold's long journey some were a little "let-down" and sad with the ending. Someone mentioned, though, that Queenie couldn't comment, yet we know that the pink quartz that Harold brought her, gave her "happiness." We were frustrated by the lack of story behind Queenie, but excited to hear there is a book coming out in October by Rachel Joyce "The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. Click here to go to the author's web page and the information of this story.
One member shared this favorite part of the book: "Harold passed office workers, dog walkers, shoppers, children going to school, mothers and buggies, and hikers like himself, as well as several tourist parties. He met a tax inspector who was a Druid and had not worn a pair of shoes for ten years. He talked with a young woman on the trail of her real father, a priest who confessed to tweeting during mass, as well as several people in training for a marathon, and an Italian man with a singing parrot. He spent an afternoon with a white witch from Glastonbury, four bikers looking for the M5, and a mother of six who confided she had no idea life could be so solitary. Harold walked with these strangers and listened. He judged no one, although as the days wore on, and time and places began to melt, he couldn't remember if the tax inspector wore no shoes or had a parrot on his shoulder. It no longer mattered. He had learned that it was the smallness of people that filled him with wonder and tenderness, and the loneliness of that too. The world was made up of people putting one foot in front of the other; and a life might appear ordinary simple because the person living it had been so doing so for a long time. Harold could no longer pass a stranger without acknowleding the truth that everyone was the same, and also unique; and that this was the dilemma of being human." Quoted from Chapter 15 Harold and the New Beginning
August 26
Book Selection for following year
September 23
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kruger
October 28
Maya’s Notebook by Isabelle Allende
November (to be determined)
Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Of the thirteen members at Book Club in June, twelve liked the book. One person said they didn't like it, but they felt they knew more about Afghanistan and its people from the book.
We talked about the title of the book and it's meaning. Most agreed that the book portrays what a family is and there were many examples of family {consider non-related as family as well} and the echo is that it affects the whole family. What one person may do has consequences down the line and affect us for generations. The moral complexity of each person affects a whole family. Another thought on the title was that it was calling out and seeing it reflected in various things.
The book has so many characters; each chapter was a new story with new characters, "I liked that." someone stated. Someone wished there had been more of Abdullah's storyline through-out to the very end, including how he met his wife or how he came to America. That part was "so central to the beginning" of the story someone commented. One person said "excellent storytelling" and another said it was "disjointed and frustrating, figuring out who was talking." Another agreed and said it was hard to also figure out what their relationship to others was.
One person said they "Didn't find it an emotional book, it was good book, but I wasn't immersed in it." Another person said they "felt emotion" and related to what was happening to the women and children and what is going to happen. "Felt a lot of empathy" was one comment. One person stated they were crying in different parts of the book.
We felt there was a lot of caregiving going on: Abdullah/Pari; Parwana/Masooma; Nabi/Mr. Wahdati; Pari/her mother Nila and several more. We felt so bad at the end that Pari didn't get to say what she really wanted to say to Abdullah. He did hum a song that she knew but it was still sad that he didn't know her because of his condition. He did keep the feathers, although she didn't remember them, she knew that HE remembered HER all those years and saved them for her.
We like the story with Pari, Abdullah's daughter and that finally she connected with other family, her aunt and cousins.
We also noted that in this book and the past few books, we have read about Rumi. Who, according to Wikipedia was born in 1207 and died in 127. He was a 13-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian and Sufi mystic.
Most people stated they liked the book, but liked his other books better. We agreed he is a very talented writer!
We talked about the title of the book and it's meaning. Most agreed that the book portrays what a family is and there were many examples of family {consider non-related as family as well} and the echo is that it affects the whole family. What one person may do has consequences down the line and affect us for generations. The moral complexity of each person affects a whole family. Another thought on the title was that it was calling out and seeing it reflected in various things.
The book has so many characters; each chapter was a new story with new characters, "I liked that." someone stated. Someone wished there had been more of Abdullah's storyline through-out to the very end, including how he met his wife or how he came to America. That part was "so central to the beginning" of the story someone commented. One person said "excellent storytelling" and another said it was "disjointed and frustrating, figuring out who was talking." Another agreed and said it was hard to also figure out what their relationship to others was.
One person said they "Didn't find it an emotional book, it was good book, but I wasn't immersed in it." Another person said they "felt emotion" and related to what was happening to the women and children and what is going to happen. "Felt a lot of empathy" was one comment. One person stated they were crying in different parts of the book.
We felt there was a lot of caregiving going on: Abdullah/Pari; Parwana/Masooma; Nabi/Mr. Wahdati; Pari/her mother Nila and several more. We felt so bad at the end that Pari didn't get to say what she really wanted to say to Abdullah. He did hum a song that she knew but it was still sad that he didn't know her because of his condition. He did keep the feathers, although she didn't remember them, she knew that HE remembered HER all those years and saved them for her.
We like the story with Pari, Abdullah's daughter and that finally she connected with other family, her aunt and cousins.
We also noted that in this book and the past few books, we have read about Rumi. Who, according to Wikipedia was born in 1207 and died in 127. He was a 13-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian and Sufi mystic.
Most people stated they liked the book, but liked his other books better. We agreed he is a very talented writer!
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