Monthly Archives: October 2010

National Reading Group Month

I was at a program yesterday at Piscataway Public Library celebrating National Reading Group Month where I spoke about reading books that deal with issues–social, political, religious–challenging book groups to (maybe) read out of their comfort zone. I’ve attached the bibliography, Something to Talk About! so you can print it off.

I forgot to mention one title that my reading group enjoyed: Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J. Sandel. Each chapter reviews the work of a different philosopher–Bentham, Mill, Kant, Rawls, Aristotle, and others–and uses their philosophies to examine current social, economic, and political issues. I think a group could have a great time focusing on a few chapters. My book group found it very interesting. There’s also material from Sandel’s Harvard course on the web that provides additional discussion points.

Penelope Lively

Family Album by Penelope Lively
Lively has been one of my favorite authors through the years; she never disappoints me with her stories of the emotional turmoil  at the heart of her characters’ relationships. The family in question here is the Harpers, 6 children, two parents, and the au pair who stays on after the children are grown. Their large Edwardian house, Allersmead, is meant to be the gracious center of a warm and loving family, but harbors a shocking secret and painful heartaches. Lively shifts the point of view from one character to another and we get to know them all quite well. There’s no plot to speak of, just the rubbing together of a set of complex personalities,  which is quite engrossing enough.