Best books of 2011

December's Book Bites discussion was about the best books you've read this past year.  (They do not have to be new books.)
My two fav's were:
1.  The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian.  A nice marginally creepy book involving a plane crash where 39 people die, a town of Stepford like wiccans all named after different herbs and spices, and a door in the basement bolted shut with 39 carriage bolts.
2. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.  Wow, when I finished this one I wanted to turn around and just start it all over again.  Inter connected stories that form a picture of where we have been and where we might end up.

And I have to give a shout out to One Day by David Nichols--not necessarily the best book I've read, but it had quite an effect on me.  Emotionally I carried it around with me for days.

Whiskey Rebels discussion

Book Bites is returning from it's summer vacation!  We will be meeting at the library  on Thursday November 10th at 4:30 to discuss The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss.  If you are unable to make that meeting, or just can't wait to get started, I would love to start a discussion here!  Here are some questions to get us started:

1. Andrew Maycott believes “The American novel, if it is to be honest, must be about money, not property. Money alone– base, unremarkable, corrupting money” (page 30). Do you agree? By his definition, is The Whiskey Rebels an American novel? Why or why not?

 2. Captain Ethan Saunders implores us, “Look beneath and you may find several things that surprise you” (page 63). If we take Ethan’s advice and look beneath or past his scheming, his impropriety, and his status as a “ruin of a man,” what do we find? How and why are honor and reputation intertwined?

3. Through her reading, Joan Maycott discovers: “When my empathy for a character led me to weep or laugh or fear for her safety, I spent hours determining by what means the novelist had effected this magic. When I cared nothing for suffering and loss, I dissected the want of craft that engendered such apathy” (page 23). How does David Liss engender empathy or apathy for his characters? Did you sometimes feel both empathy and apathy for the same character?

4. En route to the Pennsylvania frontier, Phineas tells Joan “The West changes you. . . . I’m what the West made me, and you’ll be what it makes you” (page 84). Is this true? If so, how does the frontier change Joan? Phineas? What does this say about free will and choice in relation to place and circumstance?

5. Examine the characterizations and the roles of women in The Whiskey Rebels. What similarities do you find? What differences? Are they victims?

6. Mr. Brackenridge defines himself as a patriot– one who “does not make the principles of his country conform to his own ideas” (page 188). How else is patriotism defined or demonstrated in this book? How would you define patriotism? Who else in The Whiskey Rebels is then a patriot?

7. Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, William Duer, and Joan Maycott have varied theories on the American economy, the Bank of the United States, and the excise tax. For instance, the Bank is either a great boon for the nation, a terrible disaster for the nation, or an opportunity to be exploited. Talk about their differing perspectives in relation to the events of The Whiskey Rebels. Who do you think is right? Do these debates continue today?

8. Discuss the principle of justice and its relation to revenge, integrity, inequality, and the law in The Whiskey Rebels. How does Joan Maycott justify her revenge against Alexander Hamilton?

9. Why does Captain Saunders not allow his slave, Leonidas, to purchase his freedom and later “simply neglect[s] to inform” him that he is a free man? What does liberty mean to Captain Saunders? Joan Maycott? Leonidas? Cynthia Pearson? The newly formed United States? 
10. Lavien believes “It is only in the eyes of one another that inequality lies” (page 94). Who else, besides Lavien, serves as a moral arbiter in the novel? What examples of presumed superiority and/or civility can be found in The Whiskey Rebels? What examples can you find of an impossible tension between greed and civility, wealth and humanity?

Zora Neale Hurston discussion September 2011

Anyone up to re-discuss Hurston?  Here are some of the themes we discussed five years ago:

• Autobiography vs. Fiction

• How fictionalized is her autobiography, how autobiographical is her fiction?  (For example, where and when was she born?)

• Religion/God
• Originally, I read Dust Tracks on a Road, her autobiography, and I completely missed the implications of the last line.  Anyone else read it?
• Race issues (or lack of)
• Dialogue written in dialect (I am planning on listening to the audio book of Their Eyes Were Watching God as recommended by a friend.)
• Journeys

Any comments?

Welcome to the BOOK BITES blog!

Book Bites reading group has been meeting at the Key West branch of the Monroe County Public Library in Florida for five years this month!  We started in September 2006 by discussing Florida writer Zora Neale Hurston.  The original concept for Book Bites was more of a reading group as opposed to an "all read the same book" club.  Of course it has varied through out the years, sometimes discussing just one book, sometimes discussing an entire genre.  But we are still meeting almost every month at the library in Key West.  I am hoping this blog will expand the monthly discussions to include those who are not able to make it to the library, or even those who  do not live in Key West.  So please join us at the Library or online!