New Providence Memorial Library's Online Reading Group discussion

Can you believe that we're already at Week 3 of this? And next week is the actual start of summer? Too much for me to process so let's just stick with books..

This week, think about what is motivating the actions of the characters in the story..what do other characters want from the main character and what does the main character want from them?

I am now reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Should have been reading this in week 1 when we discussed titles, eh? Anyway, it's a fun, occasionally raunchy read about a kid named Junior. He was born w/ water on the brain and has lingering effects that make him the object of bullying in his school. He lives on the Spokane reservation amongst an extended family of grandmothers, friends' parents and siblings. At this point in the book, he has decided to attend high school off the reservation because it offers a better education and entry into the "white" world where he will have more opportunities.

His best friend, Rowdy, is very upset and has stopped talking to him. His family and other people on the reservation are split about being upset with his transition into the white world and some who see the possibilities. It remains to be seen whether Junior's choice is worth the rift it's created in his life.

Tell me about what you're reading...And by the way, this week's prize is $10 of great food at Paolo's Kitchen.

I just finished "Me Before You", by JoJo Moyes. It was easy to figure out what was motivating the characters in this book but in order to avoid spoilers, I will not comment much on it. I liked the book, pretty much assumed what the ending was going to be and felt it really could not have ended differently.

Doesn't that bother you that you've figured it out well in advance and then everything just falls into place the way you thought it would? Or the ending is inevitable based on how the author has set up the situation and personalities?

For those like myself who read mostly fiction, that's what is the most satisfying - that the ending can often not be predicted or doesn't seem forced b/c there are so many real stories that are too crazy to predict. Devil in the White City is a book that leaves an indelible impression. Not only are the strands of killer and World's Fair not things you'd normally think about together but the scale of the carnage before it ended is truly unbelievable. Even though the ending was inevitable, the journey was very unexpected.

I have a question that does not relate to this contest...has anybody read Steve Berry? I just heard him speak @ NJLA last week and his new book about Lincoln, The Lincoln Myth, sounded really interesting so it prompted me to look into his other books.

sorry, am a week behind. a question I think would be interesting to pose to an author of a memoir/autobiography (or a book "loosely based on his/her ...") is "once you and your family have been exposed, how was your life, and that of your family's affected?" less savory aspects of one's personal story are often brought to light, and left open to dissection and criticism. a follow up question would be, "would you write it differently if you had to do it again?" I've just finished "Family Life" by Akhil Sharma, which I learned after I read it, is autobiographical. it's the story of his family's experience coming to America when he was a boy, a terrible accident that left his brother brain dead, and the devastating effects this had on him and his family. his parents (particularly his father) are presented in a very unflattering way, and one imagines, must be very unhappy and angry with the author/their son. what did he sacrifice for fame ?

I'm finally reading And The Mountains Echoed and I can't tell right now how all of the sections will tie together at the end. However, the characters in each section are motivated for different reasons and by different things depending on their circumstances in life, the year they're living in and the state of the country, society around them...

Sangeeta - I can't remember how to post the picture of the book cover / have you reposted that info anywhere so I can do it going forward?

re' this week's question:

an absolutely beautiful book I listened to a few months ago is "The Orchardist" by Amanda Coplin, a young new author.

It is full of yearning and searching. some characters are seeking a family and love, the other, answers and independence, needs that often put them at odds with each other, testing their bonds. here's the goodreads summary:

Set in the untamed American West, a highly original and haunting debut novel about a makeshift family whose dramatic lives are shaped by violence, love, and an indelible connection to the land. At the turn of the twentieth century, in a rural stretch of the Pacific Northwest in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, a solitary orchardist named Talmadge carefully tends the grove of fruit trees he has cultivated for nearly half a century. A gentle, solitary man, he finds solace and purpose in the sweetness of the apples, apricots, and plums he grows, and in the quiet, beating heart of the land. Everything he is and has known is tied to this patch of earth. It is where his widowed mother is buried, taken by illness when he was just thirteen, and where his only companion, his beloved teenaged sister Elsbeth, mysteriously disappeared. It is where the horse wranglers--native men, mostly Nez Perce--pass through each spring with their wild herds, setting up camp in the flowering meadows between the trees.

One day, while in town to sell his fruit at the market, two girls, barefoot and dirty, steal some apples. Later, they appear on his homestead, cautious yet curious about the man who gave them no chase. Feral, scared, and very pregnant, Jane and her sister Della take up on Talmadage's land and indulge in his deep reservoir of compassion. Yet just as the girls begin to trust him, brutal men with guns arrive in the orchard, and the shattering tragedy that follows sets Talmadge on an irrevocable course not only to save and protect them, putting himself between the girls and the world, but to reconcile the ghosts of his own troubled past.

Writing with breathtaking precision and empathy, Amanda Coplin has crafted an astonishing debut novel about a man who disrupts the lonely harmony of an ordered life when he opens his heart and lets the world in. Transcribing America as it once was before railways and roads connected its corners, she weaves a tapestry of solitary souls who come together in the wake of unspeakable cruelty and misfortune, bound by their search to discover the place they belong. At once intimate and epic, evocative and atmospheric, filled with haunting characters both vivid and true to life, and told in a distinctive narrative voice, The Orchardist marks the beginning of a stellar literary career.

The National Book Foundation selected Amanda Coplin as one of the authors being honored as "5 Under 35" in 2013.

Diana

to post a pic of the book or link to the author to your message, there is a link just above the box (when you're writing your post) that says "add book/author." (between "comment" and "some html is ok")

click on that ("add book author") link, and then you can search for the book, and choose what to add (link/photo of book/author)

hth

Sangeeta wrote: "Diana

to post a pic of the book or link to the author to your message, there is a link just above the box (when you're writing your post) that says "add book/author." (between "comment" and "som..."

OMG so obvious, how did I miss that! Thank you :)

I just finished skimming through The Martian. I had a friend recommend it to me, and I can see why people would be fascinated by it, but I just couldn't get through it. I don't really like science fiction very much, and I didn't feel very drawn to the main character, a botanist left behind on Mars after he and his crew experienced an accident. I have to say the ending is very predictable, but I'm not bothered by that if the storyteller is skilled and goes about the story in a compelling way. I've moved on to The Prince of Tides, which I've never read before, but I'm enjoying Pat Conroy's language very much.The Martian The Prince of Tides

New Providence wrote: "I have a question that does not relate to this contest...has anybody read Steve Berry? I just heard him speak @ NJLA last week and his new book about Lincoln, The Lincoln Myth, sounded really inte..."

Yup, I'm a Steve Berry reader, probably read most, if not all, of his books, with the exception of "The Lincoln Myth" - it's the newest, so I've got a hold on it on elibrary. Along the lines of Dan Brown, Raymond Khoury, or William Dietrich. If you've liked those, you'll like these.

I just finished reading the Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford and I would definitely recommend this, it is one of my recent favorites. I learned a lot about the Japanese internment during WWII from the side of recent immigrants and their families. The story takes place in Seattle and the main character Henry, is a Chinese-American boy ages 12-15, which then switches to chapters where in 1986 he is 56 or so.

His character just made me feel sad. It is bitter sweet. His one good friend is Japanese-American and does end up in a Japanese camp. The circumstances surrounding this friendship along with the Chinese traditions and expectations from his family drive the story. He just wants to choose his path to the future, and for many years it is blocked and denied him. Good read.

Sangeeta wrote: "sorry, am a week behind. a question I think would be interesting to pose to an author of a memoir/autobiography (or a book "loosely based on his/her ...") is "once you and your family have been e..."

What a great question...thanks Sangeeta..I'll add that to my list of possibilities. The only example that is coming to mind right now is Eric Clapton's autobio...He comes off as a real jerk! Very unfeeling, selfish and self-involved. I think that was the general consent at the time. It doesn't seem to have hurt his career any, tho....

Clapton

K wrote: "New Providence wrote: "I have a question that does not relate to this contest...has anybody read Steve Berry? I just heard him speak @ NJLA last week and his new book about Lincoln, The Lincoln My..."

Thanks! I'm trying out The Templar Legacy. We'll see..

Ann wrote: "I just finished reading the Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford and I would definitely recommend this, it is one of my recent favorites. I learned a lot about the Japanese intern..."

This is a very aptly named book and I found similarities between this and The Absolutely True Diary in that Henry's parents want to define him as Chinese first and feel he should be thrilled to go back to China to finish his education. Junior's best friend and many people on the rez want him to define himself as Indian. In both cases, the road to opportunity and a better life leads through becoming "white" or assimilated into American society.

Exactly, the road to success is assimilation. Henry's parents did not understand that success cannot be found if their child did not assimilate. Henry's son for instance is engaged to a blonde caucasian who is wholly welcomed by Henry. Don't we all wish that the world would be as tolerant.