Little Bee by Chris Cleave

June's book club choice was Little Bee by Chris Cleave. We met again this month via Zoom (thank goodness for the options technology offers when pandemics strike~ and even more glad tidings for a large portion of our members being able to use these advances to keep our little book club going, even from afar!) It looks like next month will most likely be hosted much the same, but we'll keep you all in the loop as that time and date draw nearer.

Next up for July is Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell, with August's selection being This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. Due to heavy closings and slow re-openings, we continue to find it more challenging to get our customary supply of copies into the library and available to you in as timely a fashion as we'd like. That being said, going forward, Susan will be gathering copies with both the current and following month's reads in mind, in an effort to cover a few more bases. As a result, you many find you're being contacted more frequently than usual regarding book club selections~ please don't feel obligated to read ahead if you'd rather take the reading schedule as it comes, just know it may take awhile longer to get these books distributed.

Back to Little Bee~

The lives of a sixteen-year-old Nigerian orphan and a well-off British woman collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice. Two years later, they meet again... this story, and their friendship, starts there.

It was said in closing during our book club discussion that no other book as of late has divided us more in terms of how it was received, and subsequently scored, among our members. Normally, one would think that meant there were two distinct opinions, one that truly loved and appreciated the book, and the other that didn't care much for the read. In this case, however, the division mentioned referred more to how the plot, and especially the cast of characters, were perceived. It was widely agreed that Little Bee's character was very well developed and her story lines were preferred throughout. In the same way, with the exception of a few, Sarah's character and story lines felt disjointed, disorderly, and a bit unbelievable at times. No one particularly cared for Lawrence, and while Andrew's plight was understandable, we found his outcome excessive and improbable.

All that aside, we generally found that we liked Mr. Cleave's writing style. More specifically, he has an excellent way of crafting a sentence/scene/thought. While the overall score was low, and the majority voted they wouldn't recommend this book to a friend, we also recognized that despite all that, we still had a refreshing, thought-provoking conversation spanning the full hour's allotted time. You just never really know how book club will shake out!

A parting thought (and an incredibly insightful comment from the discussion) to weigh: Up until and outside of Little Bee's haphazard "escape" from the detention center early on in the book, what else of the plot could be considered believable?


At the end of every book club discussion we ask three questions and track the average answers:
Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"NO"
Would we recommend this to a friend to read? 
"YES"
Rate the book 1-4 stars with 1 being the lowest rating: 
  2.5 stars

2020-2021 Book Club Reading Schedule

The Night Birds by Thomas Maltman

The book selection for May was The Night Birds by Thomas Maltman, and as an added bonus, an arrangement was made in advance with Mr. Maltman to join us for our book club discussion (thank you Susan!)~ what a treat! With the author making an appearance, this book club played out a bit differently, with the emphasis being less on our members' conversations and reactions and more on a short introduction of the book from Mr. Maltman, followed by a Q and A. 

June's book club pick is "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave. We're hoping that by our next meeting date and time the current gathering restrictions will be lifted, but it's too early to tell just yet. We will keep you all informed about the details of our next discussion as they unfold. In the meantime, we hope you stay safe and healthy~ happy reading!

And we're off~

The Night Birds is the intertwining story of three generations of German immigrants to the    Midwest—their clashes with slaveholders, the Dakota uprising and its aftermath—is seen through the eyes of young Asa Senger, named for an uncle killed by an Indian friend. It is the unexpected appearance of Asa’s aunt Hazel, institutionalized since shortly after the mass hangings of thirty-eight Dakota warriors in Mankato in 1862, that reveals to him that the past is as close as his own heartbeat. 

In opening our discussion, Mr. Maltman introduced himself to the group and then spoke for several minutes about the origins of The Night Birds. He shared that when he first heard of the Dakota uprising, somewhere during or just after his college years, he was shocked to learn that the story was true, but also that he had never heard of it before~ both of which sparked his curiosity and started him on a long journey of research and discovery. He told interesting stories of interviewing ancestors from both sides of the conflict and still finding a thriving divide among them where facts, blame, and the truth were concerned. He added that some parts of the novel pulled from his personal life as well, citing that the idea for Hazel's epilepsy came from his wife's diagnosis, immediately following a terrifying medical emergency just six months after they were married. When asked which of his books is his favorite, he laughed and replied, "That's like asking me which of my children is my favorite.", He added that The Night Birds, his first novel, was published 10 years ago, and yet he still today gets letters with readers' reactions, questions, and comments. In closing, he revealed his new book, The Land, will be coming out this October and is different from any other book he's written... which tends to be his habit. (P.S. I personally peeked at this new novel on goodreads.com and it looks like an excellent read! It may have already been added to my "Want to Read" list... just saying!) Overall, we found Thomas Maltman warm and engaging~ thoroughly pleased to hear our feedback and offer thoughtful answers to our questions. It was truly a fantastic way to spend an hour on a Tuesday afternoon.



At the end of every book club discussion we ask three questions and track the average answers:
Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"YES"

Would we recommend this to a friend to read? 
"YES"

Rate the book 1-4 stars with 1 being the lowest rating: 
3 Stars (interestingly, it received a wide range of ratings from 2-stars to 4-stars averaging out to 3-stars)

Thomas Maltman Scheduled to Zoom Meet With Our Book Club!

I just heard some great news from Thomas Maltman, author of The Night Birds which is our May book club read.  He has agreed to participate in our book club in May by Zoom Online/Telephone Meeting Service!  Our book club meeting date is Tuesday, May 12 at 4:00pm and we are planning to hold that meeting distantly again by using Zoom.  Mr. Maltman will be calling into our group meeting to talk a little about his book, The Night Birds and to answer questions from attendees.  So, everyone come prepared with a question for the author!

I will be sending out the instructions for people to dial into the meeting on their telephone or to connect via your computer, tablet or smart phone during the first week of May.  If you do not receive the information by this time, please give us a call at 218-346-4892 and I will make sure that we get that information to you.

We have a few print copies of The Night Birds available at the library that we can get to people through curbside pickup. The book is also available on Hoopla downloadable service which can be accessed through our website at www.perhamlibrary.org.  There was a few days when the title was not available on Hoopla because of an issue on Hoopla's end.  It is back up now, though. So if you tried Hoopla earlier and couldn't find the book, give it a try again!

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone (distantly) on Tuesday, May 12 at 4pm!

Educated by Tara Westover

April's book club selection was Educated, by Tara Westover. It seems the Coronavirus has touched so many and in countless ways~ this month we found our little book club is no exception! So we put on our thinking caps and came up with a method to hold our meeting, just via the comfort and safety of our homes, over the phone lines, and through the mostly trusty World Wide Web. Hip hip hooray for the ability to still host the meeting, and "cheers!" to everyone who joined in the discussion~ we had a great turnout! Just a heads up, it's very possible we may be doing the same meeting format for May's book club rendezvous as well~ stay tuned!

In other news, Susan has collected all the book club ballots for this next year's reading list and will compile them soon into the appropriate timetable. They'll be sent out via e-mail and/or through the mail, as well as posted on the library's website~ let us know if we miss someone! In the meantime, May's book club selection is The Night Birds, by Thomas Maltman (available on hoopla!), and it has been decided that June's selection will be Little Bee, by Chris Cleave. Happy reading!

Here we go~

Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. She prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag". In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

It's fair to say that our members found this book a heavy read, and thought it very similar to The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls and The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah. The majority of the group found the rife mental illness and subsequent abuse in this book hard to read, and difficult for some to understand how it went on for so long undiscovered and unchecked, especially in the late 1980's~ with so many bystanders looking on. It was frustrating at times to find Tara conflicted about whether or not to reestablish her family ties or to forge ahead on her own and build a new life with a new normal, free from the haunts of her home life. The choice seems so clear, and easy, for those of us who've thankfully never been in her situation. We found it a testament to the unparalleled child/parent bond, a common theme we've uncovered as of late. All that aside, we almost unanimously agreed that we're glad we read the book and considered it extraordinary for Tara to not only have escaped her childhood circumstances, but also to have worked as hard and to have come as far as she did on her own steam with very little support, encouragement, help, or acknowledgment. The group agreed this book was very well written and easy to follow~ two separate members added that they really liked the very last line of the very last chapter of the book... you'll have to give it a look to find out what it is!

At the end of every book club discussion we ask three questions and track the average answers:

Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"YES"
Would we recommend this to a friend to read?
"YES"
Rate the book 1-4 stars with 1 being the lowest rating:
  3.5 stars (a lot of 3 and 4 stars were awarded, with a couple 2's mixed in).

Date and Venue Change for the April Book Club Meeting!

I just wanted to drop in and let everyone know that the Perham Library Book Club will be holding their first ever (!) Telephone/Online discussion. Since the Library building is currently closed due to the COVID 19 pandemic and the need to reduce face-to-face social interaction, we thought that we would try an alternative meeting style. On Thursday, April 9 we will be meeting via telephone and online means to discuss our next book, Educated by Tara Westover.  Email and mail notifications have been sent out to everyone with the details of how to connect with us on April 9. If you didn't receive the information or have a question, please give me a call at the library. 

We will not be voting for our 2020/21 reading list at the April 9 meeting since we don't know how many people will be able to participate.  So, if you haven't already, please either vote online for your list of 12 titles (the ballot is located on our website on the Book Club page) or give me a call at the library to give me your selections over the phone. If possible, I'd like to have all votes in by Tuesday April 7. Stay safe and healthy!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

The book club selection for March 2020 was Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens. How lovely to see at least one snow bird has returned (Hi Mary!) to the fold! That must mean spring is upon us, right?

As promised, the nominations for this year's reading list were distributed to the members in attendance with the intention that we will be voting at our next meeting on April 14th. Not to worry if you weren't able to join us for March's meeting. We have some extra copies available at the circulation desk free for the taking, and we are also happy to mail and/or e-mail out copies if you'd prefer. Additionally, within the next week or so, we will have the nominations posted on the Perham Library's website and you are most welcome to peruse them at will and cast your vote there! Happy voting! 

Back to the book~ 
WARNING SPOILER ALERT: The discussion summary contains a major spoiler, so beware!

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So, in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.

When the introductory discussion question was asked of how people liked the book, an immediate response from several members was "I absolutely loved it," followed closely with, "I really didn't care for it" from a few additional members. Wow! What excellent fodder for first-rate conversation! Kya was a universally well liked leading lady. Our members found her fascinating and likable, adding that there must have been an internal battle of sorts going on inside of her, the natural instincts and desires of a human soul warring with her wild and turbulent roots. There seems to be a consensus that this book was very well written, especially with it being the author's first novel; however, the ending wasn't unanimously well-received by the group. Several people said they didn't like that Kya was the one who ended up murdering Chase. They thought that since Chase was the undesirable man that he was, it would have been better, and also believable, if someone other than a key character had killed him (no one wanted Tate to have killed him either). On the flip side, it was suggested that Kya, having lived alone in the marsh most of her life, influenced by nature and all it's hard truths, would naturally feel she had no other choice, maybe even that it was the logical choice, for her to permanently remove Chase from her life~ a poetic justice kind of ending. All present were pleased that in the end Kya found happiness and contentment, and while most didn't like that she killed Chase, the group could agree she had a valid reason to do so, and were relieved that she wasn't convicted of the crime. 

Can someone remind me (or chime in) on why they didn't like that Kya was the killer? Was it because we liked her too much to think of her capable of such an act? Or because the timeline itself was possibly improbable? A mix of the two or something altogether different?

At the end of every book club discussion we ask three questions and track the average answers:

Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"YES"
Would we recommend this to a friend to read?
"YES"
Rate the book 1-4 stars with 1 being the lowest rating:
  3 stars (alot of 3 stars were awarded, with a couple 4's and 2's mixed in).