New Providence Memorial Library's Online Reading Group discussion

I am in the middle of reading Mrs. Kennedy & Me, a memoir written by Clint Hill who was one of 2 main Secret Service agents in charge of the first lady's safety while she was in the White House and beyond. I am enjoying Mr. Hill's tone of respect tinged with affection. It is reminiscent of earlier times when the President's security detail did not have wild parties and nobody got into the front door of the White House.

This book has made me think about this week's question which is how does the way the characters see themselves differ from how others see them? And how do you see them?

Mr. Hill describes how Mrs. Kennedy cherished her freedom and as a student in Paris would stay up all night and sleep late into the afternoon. On the famous state trip with her husband, her movements were closely supervised and strategized in advance so that there would be no unknowns. This was hard for her to accept and she had a few slips on the trip where she wandered off on unplanned excursions that she was chastized for. I was surprised to learn that she was such a rule-breaker b/c she just seemed too much like a proper lady to do that.

What about the characters in your books?

I am currently reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. I am actually listening to it from the audio book from the library; the reader is wonderful. Joe Kavalier suffers from discomfort due to his foreigner status and is unsure of his grammar, which makes him feel awkward in social situations. He is also somewhat taciturn by nature. However we see him as someone that people gravitate to and truly like. The author does facilitate this feeling by having people say they like him fairly regularly, but even without that you feel a kinship and sympathy for him. He is a good person who would be very interesting to know.

I just finished Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. Laura seems to be a docile and agreeable woman, except when her children are concerned. Then she becomes the alpha female, opposing her husband and ornery father-in-law.

This week's question:
This book has made me think about this week's question which is how does the way the characters see themselves differ from how others see them? And how do you see them?

I do not read memoirs as a rule, however, years ago I read "Wait Till Next Year" by Doris Kearns Goodwin and really liked that book. However, around that time I also read reports of the author's plagiarism which was very disappointing to me.

Judy wrote: "I just finished Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. Laura seems to be a docile and agreeable woman, except when her children are concerned. Then she becomes the alpha female, opposing her husband and orner..."

Judy - I remember that after I read "Mudbound" I closed the book and thought: "This is what I read discussion titles for." No idea now why I thought that but I remember the feeling that I really liked it. This was 5 years ago for the New Providence discussion group.

I'm reading Emma by Alexander McCall Smith, which is part of the Austen Project, a modern retelling of Jane Austen's novels. I have not read the original Emma but plan to do so when I finish this book so it will be interesting to compare. In McCall Smith's retelling, Emma presents herself as someone who tries to matchmake and steer her friends in certain directions, even if they disagree. It was pretty clear that she's self-centered and does not have her friends' interests in mind. I just came to a discussion among the staff who are preparing for one of Emma's dinner partys and one of them says (of Emma) "spoiled little baggage. Too much money. Too much time on her hands. And attitude too." Exactly what I was thinking. I'm looking forward now to reading the original.

I'm currently reading "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce and it's about a man who is walking 500 miles to see his friend who is dying. He's walking because he thinks this will extend this woman's life or cure her of her cancer.
The characters he meets along the way, for the most part, think he is courageous and doing a great thing, however, because he started this walk as a spur-of-the- moment impulse, I don't agree with some of the other characters assessment. Only time, and pages, will determine if I agree when I finish this book.

little bee
the nightingale
all the light we cannot see







books that are written from different points of view, either in 1st or 3rd person perspective, are a great way to view the different characters as multi-dimensionally as they would be in real life.

i think all of us see ourselves as a certain way, which may be very different from others view us. and we have different personas depending on where we are...our "work", "family" and "friend" selves. (my kids tell me i'm much nicer to my friends than i am to them...LOL.) we are who we are, essentially, but can present, and be seen, in different ways.

how does the way the characters see themselves differ from how others see them? And how do you see them?
I'm currently reading The Residence: inside the private world of The White House by Kate Andersen Brower. I'm amazed at how discreet the longtime servants of the White House are. Even after retirement many of them refused to speak with the author. They feel their loyalty is still to the first families they have served. Some don't even tell anyone where they work. I wish we as a nation had that kind of respect for others.

Marilyn wrote: "This week's question:
This book has made me think about this week's question which is how does the way the characters see themselves differ from how others see them? And how do you see them?

I do..."

OK, I missed that scandal....Doris Kearns Goodwin plagiarizing? Say it ain't so! Actually, that's a whole different question which should appear here at some point about whether or not you read memoirs. I have a friend who reads exclusively non-fiction but will not read memoirs b/c she doesn't see that other people's lives are that interesting. My life, she's right. Mrs. Kennedy's life, not so much....

Dawn wrote: "I'm reading Emma by Alexander McCall Smith, which is part of the Austen Project, a modern retelling of Jane Austen's novels. I have not read the original Emma but plan to do so when I finish this b..."

Have only read the original. It sounds as if McC Smith is verbalizing what we and the staff are thinking but would never say. Emma is rather pushy and not very self-aware but then if she were, there wouldn't have been a book. She gets it by the end, tho and everything turns out OK.

Judy wrote: "I just finished Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. Laura seems to be a docile and agreeable woman, except when her children are concerned. Then she becomes the alpha female, opposing her husband and orner..."

So it sounds as if Laura might be suffering from some personality illusions or at least maybe the people around her are startled when she morphs into the alpha female motivated by the most important things in her life?

Phyllis wrote: "how does the way the characters see themselves differ from how others see them? And how do you see them?
I'm currently reading The Residence: inside the private world of The White House by Kate An..."

Yes, I'm seeing the same attitude with Mr. Clint Hill who was so loyal and so discreet about his relationship with Mrs. Kennedy. You can feel his real affection for her and her family.

Too deep for me, folks. My thrillers (latest read Steve Berry's "The Patriot Threat") and cozy mysteries (just finished Jenn McKinlay's "Book, Line, and Sinker") rarely tend to get that deep. Mostly story told from author's (outside) or main character's point of view, so not too many dissenting opinions.

Hi Everyone! Glad this group is back. I just finished reading Liane Moriarty "Big Little Lies" best selling author of The Husband's Secret. I had every intention to find this ho-hum and discard after my 50 page rule. WRONG! I was addicted way before that. This follows three women at a crossroad in their lives, where little secrets are actually the most lethal. I could identify with each women, as well as the other characters in the book. Well, NOT Perry, the scum bag that he is...oops! That is the secret Celeste keeps from her dear friends wearing long sleeved shirts and praising her husbands faithfulness to her and her kindergartener twins. Then Jane, single Mom shows up and her 5 year old "Ziggy" is accused of the unthinkable...A BULLY? Hurting other children. The writing is quick, brilliant, handles difficult subjects, but the biggest question, is who is really who? When it gets down to the Trivial Game Contest for the parents of these first time school children, they have to look at themselves. Excellent writing and so damn clever. Put this on your read list, I promise you will NOT be disappointed.

Hi! I thought I had read everyone of Anita Shreve's books and just found "The Weight of Water" yesterday.
I'm only up to my 50 page rule, love it or leave it, and I am hooked again. Here's the brief comment to be added to later. FROM dust cover-More than a century after the murder of 2 women on the small islands off the coast of new Hampshire, a photographer; Jean, comes to the island to shoot a photo essay about the legendary crime. As she investigates the bleak, isolated lives of the fisherman's wife's who were the victims, she becomes obsessed with the bareness of these women's days, the ardor-killing labor, the long stretches of loneliness, how could ANY marriage survive this? While Jean's determined to learn the history of this very bleak living, her own marriage is falling apart.
What I love so far, is the sole survivor of this massacre hid in a sea cave, while her 2 best friends were raped (she can not use that word) and killed and the guilt she has. This took place on March 5, 1889. I just got to the part, she is sending a letter to her husband, that stayed on the island and 30 years letter is telling him what happened. Stay tuned, As I read more, I will let you know. This may be another must read. Happy Summer every one, let's have fun with Goodreads like last year, it was the best! M

For anyone planning a road trip, just want to let you know I returned the "book on cd" Kavalier and Clay today. I was so sorry to finish it, really loved it! You really become immersed in their world, which is ostensibly about comic books but of course about much more.

the contrast between the 2 sisters in * the nightingale * was marked. the older sister, partly because of the age difference and their place in life was more methodical, thoughtful and mature. but she was viewed by her sister as overly cautious and dull. the younger sister saw herself much differently than her sibling and naturally there is a clash and conflict. as the story unfolds over months and years and as their circumstances force them to make horrific and life altering decisions, not only do they grow to change their perceptions of each other but the reader's view changes as well.

Thanks for the heads up Rosanne, I am not familiar with this audio book and will be glad to check it out and listen. I'm always looking for new books to listen to based on the people here!

I just finished reading Mary Carter's "My Sister's Voice" about twin sisters separated after one of them, the dominant sister, permanently damaged the hearing of her twin sister. The story starts when the sisters are in their twenties. The dominant sister is a motivational speaker giving courses from her book that she co-wrote with her fiancée, not really believing in what she teaches. The other sister, now permanently deaf is a successful painter, who is very secure in her job. It becomes clear that the previous dominant girl is now insecure and not believing in herself, whereas the twin who was always following, is now successful in her job. So their roles look to be reversed. The deaf girl, is perceived as disabled by the outside world, but she herself fights that quite successfully and when she reunites with her sister their former roles seems to be reversed as the deaf girl helps her sister find a new path in life. I find that I find the deaf girl is a very strong character and I agree with her own vision of herself, as for her sister, she does not seem as strong, during most part of the book, but in the end turns out fine as well thanks in part to her twin sister.

Sangeeta wrote: "the contrast between the 2 sisters in * the nightingale * was marked. the older sister, partly because of the age difference and their place in life was more methodical, thoughtful and mature. bu..."
Got this for my next trip based on your recommendation. Thanks!

Hi! Being a Twin, my Bro Marc and I are so NOT what people think for twins. But there is a bound so strong and protective, it is NO different for opposite sex twins. In fact, the bond is stronger in the way we accepted each other's spouses, even when we did not think it was the way we wanted for each other. I saw a Youtube that a doctor delivered twins and was holding them under a faucet and clinged to each other. Smiling and reaching out to each other to hold themselves tight and I wonder if Marc and I were like that. It also explains why twins are touchy feely because that is all we knew from day one. Any comments?

I'm almost done with Sally Mann's Hold Still, and one of the things I found most intriguing is that the South plays a role in her book, life, and photography. She has a deep love for the South but also understands the dark history that pervades it. I wasn't aware of her Southern landscape photos, and I fell in love with those as well.

I too am glad that this thread is back. However, it is causing my TBR list to grow! I've jotted down some of the titles mentioned.

I just finished two books that turned out to be good discussions. The first was "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" by R. Flanagan, the 2014 Booker winner. The other is "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce, long listed for the Booker in 2012 I believe.

Two totally different books but both led to good discussions, especially the first one. The second one starts out slow but still interesting. At times a 'feel good' book and much different than the first one about Australian POWs

Has anyone read the new Kate Atkinson book, "A God in Ruins"? Reading time is scarce right now and it has not grabbed me. Just wondering if I should put something else aside and try it. After only few pages it didn't grab me but many books are like that until I get into them.

I recently read "A God in Ruins" and loved it. It takes a while to get into but once I did, I couldn't put it down. I loved the back and forth in time so you only learned bits and pieces of each character along the way. But, be warned, the final paragraph, actually final sentence in the book, changes everything.

Hi! I just finished The Weight if Water by Anita Shrive and it was very good. I NEVER knew that a large Norwegian immigrants came to this country in the mid 1880's, a 3 month sea trip would have done me in, and it did many. But what I did know was they came here to fish because they were almost depleted themselves. I find that hard to imagine. The author really did her homework to be able to depict the hardship of 3 women and their husbands being the only ones on this tiny island off the coast of New Hampshire. They thought they were in paradise because they had fish everyday and a small bedroom for privacy and could bath more than once a week!
But the center of the story is one night, when the husbands are forced to take shelter because of a bad storm and will not be able sail home until the next day. Two of the women are murdered while the other hid in a small sea cave. The person of interest was found, tried and put to death protesting his innocence. Or was he? The ending picks up speed and does not disappoint. Shrive is amazing how she uses to 1st person's to narrate the then and now, while the author cleverly weaves the historical facts to make the story come alive. I would recommend, but not on the top of your list.

Dawn - thanks for comments about "A God in Ruins". Perhaps I'll try to stick with it but more likely I'll return to library and take out when I've more time. Another book to leave on my TBR list.

Anyone know how to add another option to Goodreads besides "Read" "to Read" and "Currently Reading"? I want to add "Did not finish" but it goes into a 'sub' shelf'.

Well, I don't know...I think that Steve Berry thinks of Cotton Malone as his alter-ego...the really cool, gun-toting version of himself as an in-shape and sharp middle age man who still has it. Now, whether or not that's what you think of him is another story....;-)

Go into your Books area, then add shelf, then once you've done that, you can edit shelves and declare what's public/private, order and what gets added.

You know, Marilyn, we do have discussion questions every month. We just don't give prizes except during this program.

Prizes? Someone say Prizes? MEMEMEMEME LOL Just kidding.

Guess you had to see Nemo to get that.

That's strange because I never got notification that there was any activity on this board during the winter. I will have to remember to check back throughout the year not just summer