The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Science and Medical non-fiction came to life for members of the Park Grove Library Book Club as we talked and discussed The Immmortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The leader had a question for us when we arrived.  Fourteen of us were at this discussion.

Some members said they had heard of HELA cells but didn't know the history behind it. Others had never heard of this.  Pre-cancerous screening has it's origins in these cells, one person shared.  Another said it is amazing how science has progressed, and now we have genetic testing!  Another said how primitive it was back in '51 -- you accepted whatever it was.  There was a movie about this, some have seen, and a member said it wasn't as much science in it.  They thought the science part was more interesting in the book.  The book was written with the family information, Henrietta's story and then the medical side of it.  They were woven together in the book and someone said, they needed to be told together in this format. 

Rebecca Skloot did extensive research into this, but one member said it was too long/too deep.  The book could have been condensed a bit.  Another said it was hard to get through all the science part of it.

One member said she was surprised at how racist medical field was, they were being taken advantage of.

The family knew so little about what had happened.  One member said she was "surprised by how much abuse all those kids suffered and they survived somehow.  I don't think that was typical for a lot of families." We found the daughter Deborah fascinating.

"There were ethical issues here, so much more than legal issues," someone said.  We talked about how laws has changed over time, looking through this material.  HPPA is one major change now, the need to consent and to inform people.  But, "you don't always know what you consent to."

We talked about using our medical information for "the better cause."  Will we always know what our medical information is being used for. Should it be used without consent?

We spent a bit of time discussing of whether it was right to earn money off HELA cells or any medical procedure.  The family never saw any money from it but some doctors or researchers did. Now many companies make lots of money off it.  How can you forecast the meaning of something down the line?  So many things have changed and were affected by the HELA cells.  We owe Henrietta Lacks a debt of gratitude, and Rebecca Skloot for telling the story.

Bohemian Flats by Marry Relindes Ellis

Finding good, local, historical fiction was the pleasure of our book club.  Many of us enjoy these books, but to find one that shared stories of the Mississippi in Minneapolis truly brought this story to life for us.  Fourteen members were present for this discussion at the Library.

One member said this is one of the top books we have read, a heartwarming historical fiction that left  us as all historical fiction do: learning more.   Another said it was easy to get into -- the characters were so believable and had such depth, they became very familiar.  Again, another person said I learned something that I knew NOTHING about in the Twin Cities, didn't know about "Bohemian Flats."  There wasn't a lot of humor in the story someone shared, but the bananas floating down the river made some chuckle!

One person said they felt the characters and the people of the Flats were like a melting pot, something they grew up with, in her local town, liked how food was shared, and like her town, the richer lived on the other side of town.  Another said the characters were well-investigated and another said well  researched.  A member brought up how the characters left everything they knew when they came here.  The characters felt far safer and loved than what people feel coming here now, a member stated.  Everyone has a story, something pushing them to leave their country.   "Hatred was a luxury that none of us could afford because at some point, every neighbor was needed, every skill contributed."  The novel was rich with history, including artwork discussion of Caravaggio's Raising of Lazarus.

We talked about the two families in Germany -- the Richters and the Kaufman's.   Annalies becomes a nun after Heinrich dies and two of the three sons go to America, one remains.  Heinrich wouldn't allow the girls in the family to go to school, but the boys could and the two, Raymond & Albert went to the Richters for help. They were a much more "open family" someone said.  In the Flats, women were the head of the household.  In Germany, Annalies was not the head of the household, but her husband Heinrich was.  He was hard, someone said, but he did have a conscience unlike his son, Otto.

Magdalena's story line was interesting, as she came from wealth, went through so much change and struggle.  She was welcomed in the Bohemian  Flats by the community.  The community there supported each other, and so different than what she felt in Germany.  Here she was looked at in regards for her wisdom and there she was thought of as a "witch."  Talked about her daughter's "gift" and someone said, "why have a gift if you couldn't do anything about it."

We also talked about Albert & Magdalena's move from the Flats to WI and how they made their home there.

The question was asked who you would like to meet in the book.  Some said Alzbeta as she was the salt of the Earth, another said Magdalena, as she was a helper, was down to earth, even though she grew up rich.

We felt the ending was very hard with Eberhard and then Raymond.  Talked about why Raymond kept that a secret - didn't want anyone to know Eberhard was a deserter. It left some with much sadness and disappointment.

A very good review was written by Mary Ann  Grossman -- click here for the review.  Another article that was found is here titled:  The Bohemian Flats:  "A quaint little village" or den of iniquity.  One more review by Peter Geye was found here

The real Bohemian Flats 

                                   

New Schedule for Book Club 2018-2020

Will be updated shortly

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

What a great discussion we had with The Nest!  Thirteen members were able to attend the meeting and most liked the book.

As we went around our table, sharing our name and whether we liked the book or not and why, the first person said:  "I did enjoy the book, but was "pissed off" at Leo.  He definitely had that effect on people.  Another said they loved the book, and the sibling interaction kept their interest all the way through, and someone added that family dynamics were a big part of the book.  One member said she was surprised by the siblings, but they are who they are!  "Many of us have had this type of family after our parents died," someone mentioned and then a few chimed in with a "yes!"  There was humor in the book, someone said.

One person said the characters were not likable, they were whining a lot.  Someone said they liked the writing, but got bored with the story, thought they should have some real problems.  "They really didn't 'need' the money," she said, "and Leo showed them they didn't need it."  Another said "it seemed like "fluff" to me, how dysfunctional can it be?"  And one more said they didn't see the humor in the dysfunctional family, so she didn't really enjoy it.

The Nest was money set aside by their father, and available when the youngest was 40.  We discussed that they were all dependent on that money.  Did the father, when he set it up, plan it to be such a nest egg?

We talked about the characters -- there were 65 in all.  Click here for the link  We first talked about Francine, their mother.  We felt she was selfish and extremely sneaky.  She knew she wasn't a good mom and she didn't care. "The story of the birthday party, was one time I liked Leo." someone said.

Leo, another one said, "had two redeeming moments, the birthday party and at the end, when he turned away and left the sister have her happiness."  We wondered did she see him?  She tensed up, making some think she saw him.  But then she said she had seen him several times during the trip.  Bea, was the one who genuinely cared for him.  Did anyone really like Leo?  He was impulsive and he was charismatic.  "When Leo met with Nathan it was like looking in the mirror." was a comment from someone in the group.  "Leo saw Leo for what he was.  He thought he'd be golden and he wasn't, he was tarnished."  Leo was "into himself" and "self-serving."  It wasn't his fault for taking the money, someone said, it was their mother, she wanted to save her husband and her.  But Leo had the money and could have made it right, he took the easy way out.  Instead, Leo fled, he was use to running.  Another person commented, "old money, you don't have to work."

Jack, Leo's brother was an antique store owner, dealer, and such a liar!  What he did to Walker!  Walker gave him the benefit of the doubt.  Leo was the star of the show and Leo's little brother was not measuring up and could not come into his "own."

Bea did not find Jack as repulsive as the others did.  Surprised she wasn't so nurturing, she tried.  They didn't have a mother who was nurturing to teach them.  Most of the time in families, it is the oldest daughter who is the nurturer, but she didn't have that skill.

Melanie, the youngest daughter, was full of pretense.  She wanted to have everything.  Her husband was such a good influence.  She didn't need Jack to store her furniture after the house was sold.  She had her redeeming moment at that time. 

Stephanie was well-liked.  She had a big influence on Leo.  She tried to turn Leo around.  At the end Leo thought Stephanie was going to come after him.  They did really love each other.  She did, though, want to be alone, she didn't want any man.  She thought Leo was bad for her.  She was a great mom.

Matilda/Vinnie -- she ends up getting a big "nest" but blows it on family.  Kind of sad, she was going to buy boots to go up to her thigh.  The money never gives anything good, causes a lot of conflict.  Liked the Matilda/Vinnie part.  The statue with Tommy, same thing.  It was sentimental.  Don't put it above people, like money.

Many of us thought this will be a great movie.  Some may describe it about family, others about money.  Is Leo a believable character?  There is a Leo in every family, someone said, and it wasn't a well-rounded family.  All the partners were likable, much more than the siblings.

Book Club Selection for June & July 2018

We will meet off site for our Book Club Selection gathering, choosing books for the next couple of years for our group  If you would like further information on this meeting, please contact the librarians at Park Grove Library.  We will always welcome new members!

   May 22 --  New Book Club Selection by Members 

  June 26 --  The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
   July 24 --  The Bohemian Flats by Mary Relendes Ellis

Just a special note to book club members.  Would love to hear your thoughts & opinions on the book club, whether you were at the discussion or not!  Share what you thought about the book.  There is a spot under the post for comments, you can do a few different log-in programs or do it anonymously but feel free to write your name!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Thirteen members had a good discussion on this book, considering that almost all the members present were over 50!  Some members weren't too excited to read the book, but one person summed it up well, saying "It was very different than what I would have read, but that is why I joined a book club like this."  One member said "I wouldn't say I liked it one way or another, but it was fun to read.  I went to the movie and the movie was different, even with the author as one of the screenwriters."  One person said, "I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would, it was easy to read, even though it was other wordly!"  Loved what another member said:  "Happy, thanks to (person who recommended book), I could join in on conversation with my grand kids.  That was fun, they were impressed."

Part of the book goes back in time, to the 80's to time spent in the arcade.  One member said she was there "a blast from the past!"  I did this.  A few members said they couldn't relate to the book as they were not there during this time period, they were busy working, going to school and raising families.  

We talked about the book having similarities with the Willie Wonka - searching for the "golden egg."  We also talked about the competition that was started by Ernest Cline when the book first came out.  He gave away a vintage DeLorean click Here for the link to learn more about this story.  Another great reference is this link.

There was discussion about the person who was in a wheelchair, their part in the video game.  They had a feeling of running, a sensitivity, which must have been a good thing.  Wade had a richer, deeper life from it.  He didn't have much until the first key.  It was the have/have nots.

We talked about the benefits of the school, no bullying was there.  It was good to be able to escape the Stacks, and not be influenced by drugs.  OASIS -- you can go to any imaginary world.  We talked about the Stacks, the reason why the book was set the way it was (energy crisis).

We talked about the avatars, who are you really talking to?  Could be someone completely different than you suspect.  We also talked about the fact that giving a physical appearance, does that give us "false clues?"  Wade had a crush on Art3mis.  They all wanted to win for the right reasons.  It bound them together.  Wade knew all the songs, music, movies and took people working together to do it!  In the movie they were spoon-fed the answers, vs. in the book, they had to go through OASIS to find the answers.

March 27 House Rules by Jodi Picoult

House Rules was our book this month, with a dozen of us having a great discussion.  All of us loved it or at least liked it to some degree.  Some one said that Jodi Picoult is a good researcher for her books. Most had read a few of her books, one member has read all her books.

The author used different characters to tell the story, their perspective, and some of us even noted the font was different on each chapter.   The multi-viewpoint novel was a bit confusing for one person, but another shared, at least in this book, they stated the name above each chapter.  One member said she liked the different narratives, it gave you a broader sense of what everyone felt.

One person said at first they weren't sure about it, but when the mystery part of the book came in they wanted to know more

The story is about a young adult who has Asperger's, and one person said Jodi Picoult did a good job of showing us the inside of the brain of an austic child.  One member said that Jodi added so many components of Asperger's, this is not the norm.  Some had family members who were autistic and could relate to that part of the story.  We talked about the causes of it, what really does cause it?  A member said "why do we have to have all our shots at once."  We talked about the "other child" like Theo, the one who doesn't have autism.  "It must be extremely hard to not disadvantage the 'normal' child (per sake of conversation), giving a lasting impact.  It becomes a family issue, impacts in extreme ways."  Another member said they wanted to find out "what happened to Theo, we don't know for sure what happened."

One of the questions for the book club was about this statement Jacob said: "The concept of Asperger's is like a flavoring added to a person and although my concentration is higher than those of others, if tested everyone would have traces of this condition too."  We talked about how we do have to some degree, some of the frustrations and struggles they go through.  A lot of people have anxiety.  A simple one, which Jacob found he needed to do, was to have your money in order, facing the right direction.  Some of us could attest, we needed to do that too.

Another book club question was "Mark Maguire perceives as a "Get out of Jail Free card' (p285), whereas a defender general observes that "Vermont's decidedly crappy when it comes to psychiatric care for inmates" (p231) and Neurodiversity Nation believes "neurotypicals' are trying to 'destroy diversity' for autistic people (p321).  Who is the closest to the truth?  What kind of social provisions are made for Jacob at home, at school and in the wider community?  Are they excessive, inadequate or inappropriate?"  We had some great conversation on this. One person said we can do and should do more to help make accommodations, working to the norms; there should be a way.

Character Emma Hunt -- she is a determined advocate for her kids.  Jacob described his mother as a champion.  Made the house rule:  Clean up your messes, tell the truth, brush your teeth twice a day, don't be late for school, and take care of your brother, he's the only one you've got.

Character Jacob Hunt -- doesn't get "social aspects", super amazing at remembering facts, sees things in black and white.

Jacob doesn't have to put time into relationships, he doesn't need to.  Your heart determines so much to do, what you do, it is a blessing to be detached, 'Oh, oh well, that just the way it is." No emotional meltdown, too, is that a blessing, not to have that?  We have the ability to process, he can't chose it, so it is a disadvantage to it.  The disadvantage outweighs the "blessings."

The house rules -- take care of your brother.  Jacob knew he had to take care of his brother.  He never was asked directly, who did it.  Jacob thought Theo had done it.

We thought the book would have been so different with out the forensic component.  Again, like a member said, we missed not having a judgement, what happened?  At the end of the book, it said "Think whatever you want.  The only thing that really matters is this:  I'd do it all over again."  Jacob loved his brother Theo and house rules, take care of your brother.