The After Hours Book Club

May Meeting

2010-02-22T10:31:00.001-08:00

Due to upcoming events, we are going to push back our next meeting to the May sleepover. We will continue to finish out the Sookie Stackhouse series.

Dead to the World/Dead as a Doornail/Definitely Dead

2010-02-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

It’s New Year in Bon Temps, Louisiana a time when most people would be out partying but not cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse. She has to work. Its a few weeks since she had to take time off from work to go and rescue her cheating vampire boyfriend Bill from the clutches of his evil ex-girlfriend and she desperately needs to earn some money to pay her bills. She was happy to work New Years Eve because having just split up with Bill she didn’t have any party plans. It was a busy night and she was looking forward to going home, counting her tips and sleeping.

However her night didn’t end the way she’d planned as she finds a half naked Eric running down the road on her way home from work. She stops to see what’s up and once again gets pulled into vampire business.

Eric has been cursed by a witch, who wants to take over his business holdings, and is suffering from amnesia as a result. The vampires can’t let Eric be found by the witches who want to capture him so badly that they have posted a $50,000 reward for information on his whereabouts. They need somewhere to hide him, somewhere the witches would never think of looking – Sookie’s house seems the perfect place. Sookie’s brother Jason makes a deal with the vampires that Sookie will look after Eric for $35,000. She needs the money so she agrees to keep Eric safe for a few days while the vampires find the witches and make them remove the curse from Eric.

Initially Sookie fears that getting drawn into vampire business is going to end up with her being beaten up again, a realistic fear, as that is what has happened on every previous occasion. However it soon becomes apparent to her that she has more to fear than physical pain. Eric with amnesia is a completely different vampire. He can’t remember that he is a womanising flirt and powerful vampire leader. He’s still sexy but he’s vulnerable, gentle and sweet too. This time Sookie’s heart might be a risk of being broken….

Sookie Stackhouse is back for more adventures in the fifth book in the Southern Vampire series. It’s the first full moon since her brother Jason was bitten by a were panther and she knows that he’s going to turn into a panther before he does. Since he was bitten, not born as a were panther, he doesn’t change into a true panther but into a kind of wild panther-man. Strangely enough Jason actually likes shifting and takes his transformation quite well.

Sookie’s relief that her brother is going to be okay with turning into a panther once a month for the rest of his life doesn’t last long. Someone in her small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana is shooting the local shifter population at random. If that wasn’t worrying enough, when Calvin Norris (head of the local were panther community) is shot and seriously wounded the rest of the were panthers suspect Jason might be the sniper. Known for dispensing their own kind of justice the real shooter needs to be found before the were panthers turn on Jason.

To further complicate matters the pack master of local werewolves dies suddenly and the pack need to decide on who the new leader will be. Alcide’s father wants to lead the pack and Alcide soon drags Sookie into the power struggle, hoping that her telepathic abilities will give his dad an advantage. However because this is the werewolf leadership competition you just know that the winner is not going to be decided by a democratic election….

Sookie certainly is in for a dangerously exciting time… if you think that having her house burnt down with her still in it and getting shot by the mystery sniper qualifies as exciting, rather than an indication of how dangerous her life has become since she started associating with vampires!

Sookie Stackhouse, small town cocktail waitress and telepath, returns for more supernatural adventures in Definitely Dead, the sixth book in Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire series. This time Sookie leaves her home town of Bon Temps and takes a trip to New Orleans, vampire capital of the USA.

Sookie’s cousin Hadley has died. Sookie hadn’t seen Hadley in years but even so she was shocked to find out that Hadley had died again. (Hadley was a vampire a technically already dead.) She was even more surprised to find out that she had been made Hadley’s sole heir, because they had never been close. Before she died (for the last time) Hadley had been the consort of Louisiana’s vampire queen. When the queen orders Sookie to New Orleans to sort out Hadley’s apartment it is an invitation that Sookie can’t refuse.

Sookie’s love life appears to be looking up when Quinn, the were tiger that she met at the Shreveport pack masters competition (Dead as a Doornail) takes her out on a date. Unfortunately whilst they are on their date they are attacked by a couple of werewolves. This, plus the dead body that Sookie finds hidden in her yard, leads Sookie to believe that someone doesn’t want her going to New Orleans.

Vampire politics are a dangerous business and Sookie appears to be caught in the middle of a political minefield that could turn into an all out war with the least provocation.

Luckily none of this stops Quinn asking Sookie out on a second date….

February Meeting

2010-01-09T21:17:00.000-08:00

The next meeting will be on February 20th at Garrett's Downtown Deli at 6:00. Check your email for location and address. Gigi will be picking the next book.

Living Dead in Dallas/Club Dead

2010-01-09T21:04:00.000-08:00

When a vampire asks Sookie Stackhouse to use her telepathic skills to find another missing vampire, she agrees under one condition: the bloodsuckers must promise to let the humans go unharmed.

Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse is on a streak of bad luck. First, her coworker is murdered and no one seems to care. Then she’s face-to-face with a beastly creature that gives her a painful and poisonous lashing. Enter the vampires, who graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they didn’t enjoy it).

Point is, they saved her life. So when one of the blood-suckers asks for a favor, she complies. And soon, Sookie’s in Dallas using her telepathic skills to search for a missing vampire. She’s suppose to interview certain humans involved. There’s just one condition: The vampires must promise to behave – and let the humans go unharmed. Easier said than done. All it takes is one delicious blonde and one small mistake for things to turn deadly…

Sookie Stackhouse had noticed a change in her boyfriend, Bill, a vampire. Instead of spending his evenings with her, he has been spending them alone in his home working on something that he refuses to share with Sookie. More than a little hurt that Bill doesn't completely trust her after all she has done for him, Sookie is less than pleased to find out that Bill has disappeared while on his "business trip" to Jackson, MI and that he has supposedly reunited with his ex, the lovely vampire Lorena. Eric, Bill's sexy and oh-so-interested-in-taking-Bill's-place-in-Sookie's-life vampire boss, arranges for Sookie to go to Jackson and to find out what has happened to Bill. Knowing that he cannot go along to protect her himself, Eric sends the very attractive werewolf, Alcide, to act as her bodyguard.

When Sookie gets to Jackson, Alcide helps her get into Josephine's, affectionately nicknamed "Club Dead" by regulars. The club attracts a unique mixture of vampires, were-creatures and other supernaturals who don't always get along together. Of course, Sookie attracts some unwanted attention and makes some new friends and enemies right off the bat. She also finds out that Bill is in Jackson and that he is with Lorena. Sookie is unsure if she even wants to keep looking for him after that piece of news, but she knows that she has to get Bill back so that Eric can get whatever information out of him that he needs. So Sookie plunges into the fray and uses all of her considerable wiles to locate Bill, free him and then decide what she is going to do from there...

January Meeting

2009-11-21T18:20:00.001-08:00

We are going to take a break in December due to the holidays. Our next meeting will be on January 9th at Jordan's house at 6:00. Check your email for her address so that you can get directions. Dawn will be picking the book for next month.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

2009-11-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

Dead Until Dark, the first book in the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris, is set in Bon Temps, Louisiana. It's here, in a local bar called Merlotte's, that we meet our heroine, Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie is a waitress at Merlotte's and on the surface, appears to be the typical girl-next-door. However we soon discover that Sookie has a special talent.

She can hear people's thoughts.

Many of the townspeople have heard of her talent but most of them don't believe it. That's fine with Sookie because it's hard for her to concentrate on getting her orders straight while blocking out other people's thoughts. But one night, a stranger appears in the bar. Sookie is initially attracted to him for 2 reasons: he's new in town and he's a vampire.

Bill Compton, the vampire in question, has returned to his roots. When he was living and before he died in the Civil War, he lived in that area. He'd spent several years as a loner vampire and has now returned to be more mainstream.

Sookie and he strike up a short conversation but, because Merlotte's was busy that night, Sookie doesn't get to say too much for him. She does however notice that he's soon joined by two unsavory from town, the Rattrays. This causes Sookie some concern because she's not sure why the Rattrays would be interested in a vampire. She approaches their table to tune in to what their thinking and discovers that the Rattrays had recently been jailed for vampire draining. Before she's able to warn Bill she's called away; by the time she looks back the table is empty.

Sookie, by no means a vampire expert, knows that vampire drainers make money by capturing vampires, draining them dry, and then selling their blood to humans. There's a big market for vampire blood because drinking the blood results in increased strength and stamina. However, the vampire is usually staked after being drained or left outside to be burned to death once the sun rises.

Sure enough Sookie finds Bill outside being held down by silver chains while the Rattrays begin the draining process. She's able to save Bill (much to his surprise) and the two of them agree to meet the next night after Sookie gets off work.

Sookie and Bill soon develop a romantic relationship, much to the dismay of Sookie's brother, her boss, and many of the townspeople. But Sookie doesn't care because she's found not only someone who genuinely cares for her, she's also found that when she's around Bill she doesn't need to keep up her mental guard. You see, Sookie can't read vampire's minds. They're closed off to her. For Sookie this is a blessing because she sometimes finds it difficult to shield out other people's thoughts. So she's thrilled that she can be herself around Bill.

However, it's because of her special gift that she's approached by the local sheriff, who wants her help in solving several recent murders in the area. Sookie agrees to "listen in" on the patrons at Merlotte's to see if she can identify the killer. Coincidentally, she's also asked by Bill to accompany him to a vampire bar in Shreveport owned by one of his friends, Eric. Eric wants Sookie to find out who's been stealing money from the till. Sookie is successful in determining the identify of the thief but is attacked in the process, and nearly get killed. The rest of the book is devoted to Sookie's attempts to locate the killer in town. The ending (and the identify of the killer) are both pretty surprising. Overall, readers of urban fantasy will find this first novel in the series to be quite entertaining. Although the entire book comes in under 300 pages Charlaine Harris has done a decent job in fleshing out the primary characters and keeping the storyline tight. The book works as a standalone piece of literature but fortunately, it's just the beginning of what promises to be a great journey.

Discussion Questions

Do you see Sookie's ability to read minds as a strength or a disability? Would you want to be able to read minds?
Why do you think Sookie was so immediately attracted to Bill?
Who do you think is a better match for Sookie, Bill or Sam?
Do you think Sookie's deal with Eric will come back to haunt her?
Why wouldn't Sookie drink Bill's blood at the end of the book to heal herself faster? Do you think drinking blood is a valid decision in a world where vampires exist?
If you have read other vampire books, how does Dead Until Dark compare?
Rate Dead Until Dark on a scale of 1 to 5.

November Meeting

2009-10-28T05:20:00.000-07:00

The November meeting will take place at Macaroni Grill at 7:30. We will discuss The Art of Racing the Rain, and Jordan will be picking the next book.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

2009-09-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life… as only a dog could tell it.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Some early readers of the novel have observed that viewing the world through a dog's eyes makes for a greater appreciation of being human. Why do you think this is?
Enzo's observations throughout the novel provide insight into his world view. For example:
- "The visible becomes inevitable."
- "Understanding the truth is simple. Allowing oneself to experience it, is often terrifically difficult."
- "No race has ever been won in the first corner; many races have been lost there."
  
  How does his philosophy apply to real life?
In the book's darkest moments, one of Zoe's stuffed animals -- the zebra -- comes to life and threatens him. What does the zebra symbolize?
Can you imagine the novel being told from Denny's point of view? How would it make the story different?
In the first chapter, Enzo says: "It's what's inside that's important. The soul. And my soul is very human." How does Enzo's situation--a human soul trapped in a dog's body--influence his opinions about what he sees around him? How do you feel about the ideas of reincarnation and karma as Enzo defines them?
Do you find yourself looking at your own dog differently after reading this novel?
In the book, we get glimpses into the mindset and mentality of a race car driver. What parallels can you think of between the art of racing and the art of living?
The character of Ayrton Senna, as he is presented in the book, is heroic, almost a mythic figure. Why do you think this character resonates so strongly for Denny?

September '09 Meeting

2009-09-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

Kaybe will be holding the September meeting on Saturday the 26th at 3:00. Don't forget your swimsuits for the hot tub.

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

2009-08-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

Trond’s friend Jon often appeared at his doorstep with an adventure in mind for the two of them. But this morning was different. What began as a joy ride on “borrowed” horses ends with Jon falling into a strange trance of grief. Trond soon learns what befell Jon earlier that day—an incident that marks the beginning of a series of vital losses for both boys.

Set in the easternmost region of Norway, Out Stealing Horses begins with an ending. Sixty-seven-year-old Trond has settled into a rustic cabin in an isolated area to live the rest of his life with a quiet deliberation. A meeting with his only neighbor, however, forces him to reflect on that fateful summer.

About the Book

Out Stealing Horses has been embraced across the world as a classic, a novel of universal relevance and power. Panoramic and gripping, it tells the story of Trond Sander, a sixty-seven year-old man who has moved from the city to a remote, riverside cabin, only to have all the turbulence, grief, and overwhelming beauty of his youth come back to him one night while he's out on a walk. From the moment Trond sees a strange figure coming out of the dark behind his home, the reader is immersed in a decades-deep story of searching and loss, and in the precise, irresistible prose of a newly crowned master of fiction.

Discussion Questions

"I needed to concentrate," Trond says at the start of the book (pg. 7), explaining his decision to move to the country. Do you think he is happy in his isolation? Is he making a brave choice by withdrawing to the country, as he has always dreamt of doing; or do you think he's fleeing the responsibilities of his life?
Soon after Odd is killed, Trond says "I felt it somewhere inside me; a small remnant, a bright yellow speck that perhaps would never leave me." What is it he feels? How does that day stealing horses with Jon, and learning what has happened to Odd, change Trond? Do you see the effects of that loss in him as an older man?
Petterson has been widely praised for his descriptions of nature, and of small quiet moments in everyday life. How does his writing make these ordinary moments compelling? Which images of landscapes or domestic scenes remained most vivid in your memory after finishing the book?
After his dream at the start of Chapter 5, which leaves him weeping, Trond says, "But then it is not death I fear." Do you believe him? If so, what is he afraid of?
How do you think Trond's life would have changed if he had hit the man in Karlstad (pp. 231-233)? Why does he attach so much significance to that decision?
Look at the scene in which Trond's car goes off the road and he sees the lynx in the woods (pg. 65). At the end of the scene, Trond says "I can't recall when I last felt so alive as when I got the car onto the road again and drove on." Why does a near accident, and the sight of the lynx, thrill him?
Were you surprised by Ellen's reaction to her father when she finds him at the end of the book? Would you be angrier in her position, or more forgiving? Has Trond been unfair to her?
How has Trond become like his father, and how has he managed to take a different path? What parallels do you see between the lives they lead in the book? How is Trond's behavior as an adult influenced by the short time he spent with his father as a young man?
Look at the book's final section, after Trond has discovered that his father isn't coming back. How does his behavior change? Were you surprised by his reaction to the news?
How do you think Trond's life will change after the end of the novel? Will he see more of his daughter? Will he and Lars become friends, or will he return to the isolation he had sought out when he moved to the country?
Look at Ellen's monologue about the opening lines of David Copperfield (pg. 197). How do you understand the phenomenon she's describing, of not being "the leading characters of our own lives"? Has this happened to anyone you know? Do you think it has happened to Trond? Is it a good or a bad thing?
Why do you think Trond's father doesn't tell him the story of the Resistance? Why does he leave it to Franz? How do you think Trond's perception of his father would have changed if his father had told the story himself?

http://www.bookbrowse.com/reading_guides/detail/index.cfm/book_number/2011/Out-Stealing-Horses

August '09 Meeting

2009-07-28T09:52:00.001-07:00

The August meeting will be held at Meghan's house @ 8:00 on Friday, August 21st. Please be sure to vote for a book.

Same Kind of Different As Me

2009-07-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

DENVER MOORE'S BIOGRAPHY

Denver was born in rural Louisiana in January 1937, and after several tragic events went to live on a plantation in Red River Parish with his Uncle James and Aunt Ethel, who were share croppers.

Sometime around 1960, he hopped a freight train and began a life as a homeless drifter until 1966 when a judge awarded him a 10 year contract for hard labor at the Louisiana State School of Fools, aka, Angola Prison!

According to Denver, he went in a man and left a man and received a standing ovation from prisoners in the yard as he walked out of there in 1976. For the next 22 years he was homeless on the streets of Fort Worth, Texas. However, there were a few times after a brush with the law, he'd ride the rails visiting cities and hobo jungles across America, sampling regional cuisine like Vienna sausage with fellow passengers.

In 1998, "He never met Miss Debbie," Miss Debbie met him and his life was changed forever.

Today, he is an artist, public speaker, and volunteer for homeless causes. In 2006, as evidence of the complete turn around of his life, the citizens of Fort Worth honored him as "Philanthropist of the Year" for his work with homeless people at the Union Gospel Mission.

A complimentary two-chapter excerpt of Same Kind of Different as Me is
available for download.

RON HALL'S BIOGRAPHY

While my daddy was fightin´ the big war in the Pacific, my grandmother delivered me in the farmhouse kitchen near Blooming Grove, Texas, in September 1945. This was back in those days when country girls knew about birthin´ babies and lucky for me, because my granddaddy and the town doctor were on the bucket brigade of a barn fire that night. I grew up in the bed of my granddad's Chevy pickup till it was time to go to school.

My first grade teacher was an old maid named Miss Ellis at Riverside Elementary in Fort Worth who taught me to write and draw square houses with stick figures. Unfortunately, the school was torn down about 30 years ago to make way for a new 7-11. And that's a cryin´ shame because lots of folks have inquired it they could visit if and see the red brick wall where my 2nd grade teacher, Miss Poe, made me stick my nose in that chalk circle.

In the third grade, showing signs of talent, my momma curled my hair with a "Toni Home Permanent" and took me to an audition for the Texas Boys Choir. I made the soprano section, singing in shopping centers and county fairs for three years, until the director saw a whisker on my chin, and my voice moved south of the range for choirboys. During that time however, I managed to win "runner up" in the Browning Heights Elementary talent show by singing a rendition of Snookie Lanson's "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane."

The next year, my first original creation was a football mum fashioned from chrysanthemums I picked from our yard, adding glitter and streamers for my fourth grade cheerleader sweetheart. That was the only day I ever got to play halfback on a football team.

By the fifth grade I began to excel at dancing and racing on roller skates continuing for years, winning trophies and colored ribbons until I traded in my skates at age 14 for the down payment on a ‘55 Chevy convertible. At fifteen I was singing in a rock band playing at local VFW halls performing hits like "Mack the Knife" and "Scotch and Soda" for $5 a night. Continuing to explore all the talents God had given me (and several He did not), I started riding bulls until my nerve failed me when the chute gate opened. Next I took up boxing until a Lena Pope Home orphan named Jeff Perez beat me within an inch of my life in the Golden Gloves tournament.

Graduating from TCU, I managed to avoid classes on art, literature, or creative writing while pursuing Tri-Deltas and fraternity parties which made my resume prime for the job of Private in Uncle Sam's Army. With a little smooth talkin´ I landed a job in Colorado as a TOP SECRET nuclear weapons inspector! Using all the skills I learned in the Army, back in Fort Worth I landed a job selling Campbell soup. I dusted off Tomato Soup cans for $500 per month, while Andy Warhol made millions in New York painting them! In 1969, I married Deborah Short, my college sweetheart, who was embarrassed by the feather duster I had to carry in my back pocket, so I quit and got an MBA to become a municipal bond trader at the local bank.

In 1971, in Houston on a mission to buy water and sewer bonds for my bank, I happened on an art gallery where I bought my first original oil painting. Eighty-nine days later, under pressure, I sold it for a $2,000 profit, accidentally launching my art career. Actually, Debbie threatened to divorce me after finding out that I bought it on a 90 day loan by pledging the 50 shares of Ford stock her daddy gave her for a graduation present. I used the entire profit to smooth her ruffled feathers with diamonds and furs!

After twenty-five years I put art on the back burner to chase my dream of being a cowboy. My days were filled with ranching, team roping, cowboy poetry and anything else Debbie asked me to do, like being Denver's friend. After her death in November 2000, and unable to sleep, I began writing the book and making sculpture. I would stay up writing all night, and when writer's block set in I would fashion tiny sculptures from card board, Post-it-Notes, straight pins, Elmer's glue and paper clips. One day I took these to a welding shop near the ranch and with the help of a real welder began making them into large steel sculptures, "yard art" as my cowboy friends like to call it.

But with the success of our book Same Kind of Different as Me, I no longer find time for welding, selling or anything else but carrying Debbie's torch to cities all across America and playin´ with grand kids who have tagged me "Rocky Pop."

And thanks to folks from coast to coast the books are selling as fast as we can print them. That's the good news. However, most of the sculptures haven't found a home so they dot the landscape at Rocky Top providing buzzard roosts until the Sierra Club finds them unnatural and demands their removal.

Book Club Discussion Questions

1. At the beginning of the book, what kind of person is Ron Hall? How would you describe him (how does he describe himself)? Why does he agree to volunteer at the homeless shelter, and what is his initial reaction in doing so?

2. Talk about the trajectory of Denver Moore's life. What events have landed him in the homeless shelter? Discuss the differences between his life and Ron Hall's. What is Denver's world view?

3. Talk about Deborah Hall? What inspires her life? What does she think of Denver Moore?

4. Eventually, Denver and Ron, two men who have lived vastly different lives, become close friends. What do the two see in one another? What draws them together?

5. What are the symbolic implications of the conversation about how white men fish, especially their catch-and-release method? What does that conversation say about each man, and what is the underlying message that Denver is trying to pass onto Ron?

6. What is the meaning of the book's title, "Same Kind of Difference as Me"? What does it refer to?

7. How do both men change by the end of the book? What do they learn from or teach each other?

8. This is a story about how hate and prejudice can be overcome by love and grace. How difficult is that achievement in most of our lives? What can this book teach us?

9. Does this book inspire you? If so, in what ways?

(Questions by LitLovers Book Club Resources.)

July '09 Meeting

2009-07-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

July's meeting will be held at Wendi's house on Sunday, July 26 at 3:30. At this meeting, we will be discussing My Sister's Keeper, and we will discuss which book will be read for August.

My Sister's Keeper

2009-06-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and a role that she has never questioned… until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable… a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life… even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less?

Book club discussion questions for My Sister's Keeper

Reread the prologue to My Sister's Keeper. Who is the speaker? Is it the same person you thought it was the first time you read it?
What is the metaphorical relevance of Brian's profession as a fire chief?
Why is Jesse's behavior so aberrant, while until now, Anna has been so compliant?
What might be a possible reason for Brian's fascination with astronomy?
On page 98, Kate is being admitted to the hospital in very serious condition. She mouths to Jesse, "tell Anna," but is unable to finish. What do you think she was trying to say?
On page 122, Julia says, "Even if the law says that no one is responsible for anyone else, helping someone who needs it is the right thing to do." Who understood better how to "help" Kate, Sara or Anna?
Did Anna do the right thing, honoring Kate's wishes?
Do you feel it was unfair of Kate to ask Anna to refuse to donate a kidney, even though this seemed to be the only way for her to avoid the lifesaving transplant?
On page 142, Brian says that when rescuing someone from a fire, that "the safety of the rescuer is of a higher priority than the safety of the victim. Always." How does this apply to his role in his own family?
On page 144, Brian says, "Like anything that's been confined, fire has a natural instinct to escape." How does this truth apply to Kate? to Brian himself?
On page 149, Brian is talking to Julia about astronomy and says, "Dark matter has a gravitational effect on other objects. You can't see it, you can't feel it, but you can watch something being pulled in its direction." How is this symbolic of Kate's illness?
For what reason(s) did Brian offer Anna a place to stay at the firehouse while the legal proceedings were underway?
How does Anna's decision to pursue medical emancipation parallel Campbell's decision to end his relationship with Julia after his accident?
Do you agree with Brian's decision not to turn Jesse in to the authorities for setting the fires?
Do you feel that it's ethical to conceive a child that meets specific genetic requirements?
If not, do you believe that there should be specific exceptions, such as the purpose of saving another person's life, or is this just a "slippery slope?"

The First Meeting

2009-06-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

Julia will host the first meeting on Friday, June 26. At this meeting, we will discuss the formalities of the club and choose the first book! There is a poll on the right for you to vote for which book you would prefer to read. If you see 2 that you are interested in, you can vote for them both.