Fall 2009 – Book Discussion Schedule

Fall  2009 Schedule

Book – Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Book Discussion – September 21

12:30 pm – Cuppa Cabeana (Library Learning Resource )

Online Book Discussion – September 28

7:00 – 8:00 pm

Look at Special Links

Click on: Facebook.com (SCC-Central Campus Library)

Log in and Click on the Discussions tab

or

Book Chat (on your right)

February 16th-“The Audacity of Hope” by Barack Obama

Below are comments from the SCC Book Corner Meeting and on Febraury 16th 2009.

• This book comes with a cute disclaimer. Obama tells readers that he does not have all the answers. He is merely taking a board look at policy issues in America, but at the same time he is revealing a part of himself.
• I love the moment when President Bush gave Obama advice about Washington. My favorite quote was “you’ve got a bright future,” said President Bush.  He hitted the hammer on the head with that comment.
• This book was more measured and cautious than his first book Dreams of My Father. The Audacity of Hope took me through a series on chapters about politics, faith, face, family, and an outline of what needs to change in America.
• I enjoyed the history lesson in this book.

 If you enjoyed The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama try……….

Dreams of my Father: a Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

E185.97 .O23

Change We can Believe In by Barack Obama

E901.1 .02 2008B  – Sound Recording

 

November 17th – Stephenie Meyer

Below are comments from the SCC Book Corner meeting on November 17, 2008.

• Twilight  (Book 1) is a story about two teenagers (Bella and Edward). What makes this novel special is that Bella Swan is a regular girl and Edward Cullen is a vampire. 
• No, the novels (total of four books*) will not win a stuffy literature contest. These novels are a fun and easy read. Please note that Eclipse Tops YALSA’s 2008 Teens’ Top Ten. Eclipse is Book 3 in the series.
• Our readers can’t wait to see the movie based on Book 1Twilight. (coming soon).
• Stephenie Meyer has given readers another viewpoint to the vampire world (good vampires and bad vampires). She is the Anne Rice* for today’s generation of vampire lovers.
• At times, Edward and Bella’s relationship can seem more like that of a father and daughter.
• I, Leverne McBeth, recommend the series to female readers of any age. There is no sex, drinking, or drug use in Twilight and New Moon. I don’t know about the other two books.

* Twilight series books are in print and available at the SCC Libraries.

1. Twilight        PS3563 .E947 T85 2006
2. New Moon    PS3563 .E947 N45 2008
3. Eclipse                 PS3563 .E947 E27 2007
4. Breaking Drawn    PS3563 .E947 B74 2008

*Anne Rice wrote the “VAMPIRE CHRONICLES” SERIES:

• Interview with the Vampire (also see below), Knopf (New York, NY), 1976.
• The Vampire Lestat (also see below), Ballantine (New York, NY), 1985.
• The Queen of the Damned (also see below), Knopf (New York, NY), 1988.  
• Vampire Chronicles (contains Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, and The Queen of the Damned), Ballantine (New York, NY), 1989.
• The Tale of the Body Thief, Knopf (New York, NY), 1992.
• Memnoch the Devil, Knopf (New York, NY), 1995.
• The Vampire Armand, Knopf (New York, NY), 1998.
• Pandora: New Tales of the Vampires, Random House (New York, NY), 1998.
• Vittorio the Vampire, Knopf (New York, NY), 1999.
• Merrick, Knopf (New York, NY), 2000.
• Blood and Gold, Knopf (New York, NY), 2001.
• Blackwood Farm, Knopf (New York, NY), 2002.
• Blood Canticle, Knopf (New York, NY), 2003.

October 20th – “The Maltese Falcon” by Dashiell Hammett

Below are the discussion questions from the SCC Book Corner meeting on October 20, 2008.

1. Why does Sam Spade take the case, even though her suspects that “Miss Wonderly” is lying?

2. Is Sam Spade a hero? How would you describe his personal moral code?

3. Why might Hammett avoid describing any of the novel’s murders and sexual scenes in detail?

4. What do the novel’s three women – Brigid O’Shaughnessy, Effie Perine, and Iva Archer- have in common?

5. What motivates Sam Spade to find the falcon?

6. At what point did you solve the crime?

September 15th – “A Day Late, A Dollar Short” by Terry McMillan

Below is the book discussion from the SCC Book Corner meeting on September 15, 2008.

These are my personal comments about this novel.

This is Terry McMillan’s fifth novel. Viola is the matriarch of the Price family. Viola is strong and loves her family. The Price family includes Cecil (former husband), Paris (oldest daughter), Lewis (only son), Charlotte (mid-daughter) and Janelle (youngest daughter). The children are grown, but Viola is always in their personal business. The family is very colorful; Terry covers teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, and sexual abuse in this novel.  I enjoyed this novel, because Terry gave each character a real voice. Paris is a control freak. Lewis has a good heart; but he is just lost. Charlotte is unforgiving and hard headed. Janelle is unsettled. This is a brief snapshot of an African-American family.

Author’s Quote:

“My hope for my readers is that broken relationships among family members might be looked at again.”

Terry McMillan

Leverne McBeth, Library Specialist (Central Campus)

August 25th – Tom Clancy

Below is the book discussion from the SCC Book Corner meeting on August 25, 2008.

 

 

I read “Red Storm Rising” by Tom Clancy (call number: PS3553.L245 R4 1987). These are my personal comments about this novel.

 1. Are characters and plot quickly revealed or slowly unveiled?

 

The characters are slow to develop in this novel, but the plot was quick. The (USSR) Soviet Union’s major oil refinery was attacked by terrorist. Now the USSR needs Persian Gulf’s oil fields and will create a war to get it.

 

2. Is there more dialogue or description?

 

This novel is more dialogue. There are a lot of conversions between US Commanders and military personnel, Soviet General and subordinates, and a US Meteorology Officer to a Naval Command Base.

 

3. Is the focus on a single character or on several whose lives are intertwined?

 

This novel is focused on several difference characters (Officer Mike Edwards, General Pavel Alekseyve, and Commander Daniel McCafferty). In some form or fashion the characters do intertwine mainly during battle. The characters do not carry over into Tom Clancy’s other books.

 

4. What is the author’s intention in regard to story line?

 

Greed is the root to all evil acts.

 

5.  What other book(s) by Tom Clancy is similar to this book?

 

“The Sum of All Fears”  

 

This book is available at the SCC Central Campus Library

(call number: PS3553.L245 S8 1991).

 

Leverne McBeth, Library Specialist – Central Campus

July 21st – “Who Moved My Cheese” By Spencer Johnson

Below is the book discussion from the SCC Book Corner meeting on July 21, 2008.

Some book reviewers do not understand the “hype” behind this small book. What people call “hype”, Spencer Johnson M.D. is calling “success”. Many companies and colleges are buying up copies of this motivational book and handing them out to their employees and students.

This small book (94 pages) is divided into two parts. The first part is the story behind the story (foreword by Kenneth Blanchard). The second part is a meeting between high classmates. This is the beginning of our story. A tale about a maze, two mice, two little people, and cheese is formed.  

Everyone reacts to change one way or another. The two mice and two little people are examples of our personalities during change. The maze is a representation of our environment. The cheese is a representation of happiness or success.

What do you think? Post your comment to this blog.

Leverne McBeth, Library Specialist

SCC Library – Central Campus

 

June 16th – “Tis” by Frank McCourt

Below is the book discussion from the SCC Book Corner meeting on June 16, 2008.

Comments from readers:

• The book was very sad.
• I have mixed feelings about this book. I kept hoping for a clear ending or a positive outcome for Frank, but I could not find one. Frank drank too much, but seems like a good teacher. He was a better teacher than a father, son, or husband.
• Frank’s writing style was easy to read. I laughed, cried, and screamed my way through this book.
• Now, I want to read “Angela’s Ashes” and “Teacher Man”. I want to read “Angela’s Ashes” to find out how Frank became so bitter at the world. I want to read “Teacher Man” to find out why Frank became a teacher.
• This book is good read for SCC students. Frank had to overcome many things to achieve his education and dreams. This book inspired me.

Leverne McBeth, Library Specialist

SCC – Central Campus

 

SCC Cherokee Book Club – Gregory Maguire

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

 

Below are the discussion questions from the Chapter Two meetings on May 22nd and 29th.

 

1.  How has your view of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West), the Wizard and Galinda (Glinda) changed after reading Elphaba’s side of the story, The Wizard of Oz? 

 

2.  After seeing another side of the story, do you have a new favorite character or least favorite character?

 

3.  The color green can have many (sometimes clashing) connotations: luck, envy, inexperience, greed, new life, etc.  This color is used throughout the novel (in Elphaba’s skin color, the City of Emeralds, the green potion bottle Elphaba’s father used to suppress her mother).  Do you see any symbolic significance in the novel where the color green is used?

 

4.  How does the theme of misunderstanding and being careful not to judge a book by its cover come into play in this novel?

 

5.  The novel, Wicked, has been made into a successful Broadway musical, with plans for a motion picture based on that musical to be released in the next few years.  What actors do you believe would play the parts well?  Would they be similar to or different from the actors who played in the original film, The Wizard of Oz?  Why?

 

The next book will be The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

The meetings will be on Thursday, June 12 at 12:30 and Thursday, June 26 at 3:00

in Study Room 105 of the Cherokee Campus Library.

 

Submitted by Tanya Newman, Library Specialist (Cherokee County Campus Library)

May 26th – Eric Dickey

Below is the book discussion from the SCC Book Corner meeting on May 26th 2008.

I read two book by Eric Jerome Dickey.

Friends and Lovers

I like Eric J. Dickey’s novels because he offers real characters and believable dialogue. The characters become a part of my life, I can image myself living in L.A. and witnessing the drama of love and life. Tyrel is a computer-company executive whose career is far more stable than his love life. His best friend, Leonard, is an aspiring comedian who seems poised for stardom, though also remaining unhappily single.

When the two men meet Debra and Shelby, it seems that their luck has taken a dramatic turn for the better. Debra is an OB-GYN nurse and falls in love with Leonard. It takes Tyrel and Shelby, a flight attendant, a little longer to start a romance. The novel does have some twists and turns that I will not spoil for you. I give this novel a gold star. Eric J. Dickey has a wonderful way to create a storyline for any type of character. When I read Debra’s thoughts and voice, I can’t believe that a male author created her.

Cheaters

Cheater is a very sexy novel. One again Eric J. Dickey takes reader into the Los Angeles singles scene. This novel contains seduction, betrayal, heartbreak, revenge, and true love.

Stephan Mitchell and his best friends Jake and Darnell are living well with good jobs and beckoning futures. For Stephan and Jake call themselves players and have plenty of beautiful women to call me. Darnell is married. He has kept his marriage vows despite some rough going.

Chante Marie Ellis and her best friends Karen and Tammy are true blue soul sisters. Closer than close, going way back, they’ve stayed tight while each has found love, lost love, gone looking for love, and sworn off men forever.

While Jake plays the field and Darnell struggles with temptation, Stephan starts seeing his life more clearly. And as the price of playing the game and paying the consequences starts crashing down around them all, they discover what happens when the game stops.

I love the way Eric J. Dickey paints a moral picture without beating the message over the reader’s head. AIDS, abortion, education, and family life are brought up by the characters in this novel.  It’s amazing how the actions of a father can affect the son years later. A give this novel a gold star.

Leverne McBeth