Last night, One Book, One BHS hosted a fantastic meeting. The book was fabulous, the conversations were abundant, and we had a fantastic mix of students, teachers, and parents! We're excited to see so many faces, and we're really excited about the future of One Book, One BHS.
The next book is proving to be a great read (it’s in line with 1984, Fahrenheit 451, etc., yet it is the first of a new young adult trilogy). The selection, The Hunger Games by the award-winning author Suzanne Collins, will be an engaging and thought-provoking read for both adults and teens.
The Hunger Games is set in a futuristic world where leaders maintain control of citizens through the “hunger games,” a televised survival competition that forces young people to turn against one another. It follows the journey of sixteen-year-old Katniss, who must learn how to balance survival and compassion when she takes her younger sister’s place in the hunger games. The Hunger Games is the first in a planned trilogy, so start now to get hooked!
Our next meeting is scheduled for the second Wednesday of March, 3/10/10, at 6PM in the BHS Library. We're excited to see you then!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Your fireside read!
With the holidays approaching, One Book, One BHS has announced the winter read for its January 13th meeting. Please join us in our reading of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.
Our meeting will be, as always, at 6PM the second Wednesday of the month (January). Please remember that this club is open to all BHS family, students, and faculty. We look forward to seeing you on the 13th!
Here is an excerpt from an Amazon.com review.
“The memoir opens by describing looking out the window of her taxi, wondering if she's "overdressed for the evening" and spotting her mother on the sidewalk, "rooting through a Dumpster." Walls's parents—just two of the unforgettable characters in this excellent, unusual book—were a matched pair of eccentrics, and raising four children didn't conventionalize either of them. Her father was a self-taught man, a would-be inventor who could stay longer at a poker table than at most jobs and had "a little bit of a drinking situation," as her mother put it. With a fantastic storytelling knack, Walls describes her artist mom's great gift for rationalizing. Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover.”
Our meeting will be, as always, at 6PM the second Wednesday of the month (January). Please remember that this club is open to all BHS family, students, and faculty. We look forward to seeing you on the 13th!
Here is an excerpt from an Amazon.com review.
“The memoir opens by describing looking out the window of her taxi, wondering if she's "overdressed for the evening" and spotting her mother on the sidewalk, "rooting through a Dumpster." Walls's parents—just two of the unforgettable characters in this excellent, unusual book—were a matched pair of eccentrics, and raising four children didn't conventionalize either of them. Her father was a self-taught man, a would-be inventor who could stay longer at a poker table than at most jobs and had "a little bit of a drinking situation," as her mother put it. With a fantastic storytelling knack, Walls describes her artist mom's great gift for rationalizing. Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover.”
Monday, September 14, 2009
Our upcoming book
This past week, we met and discussed our thoughts on Kathryn Stockett's The Help. It was great to see some new faces, and we hope all of you can join us for our next meeting.
If you haven't checked in with us this year, yet, please join us and see how One Book, One BHS has geared up for a bigger and better 2nd year!
To receive an $8 copy of our next book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, email kruybal@sd27j.org at your earliest convenience.
Guernsey is island of southern Great Britain, one of the Channel Islands in the English Channel off the coast of northwest France.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The Help discussion questions
Here are questions released by the publisher of The Help. We will have copies of these and other questions available at the meeting, but we wanted to post them now for you to consider.
If you have not finished the book yet, read with caution, as some may spoil the plot for you.
1. Who was your favorite character? Why?
2. What do you think motivated Hilly? On the one hand she is terribly cruel to Aibileen and her own help, as well as to Skeeter once she realizes that she can’t control her. Yet she’s a wonderful mother. Do you think that one can be a good mother but, at the same time, a deeply flawed person?
3. Like Hilly, Skeeter’s mother is a prime example of someone deeply flawed yet somewhat sympathetic. She seems to care for Skeeter— and she also seems to have very real feelings for Constantine. Yet the ultimatum she gives to Constantine is untenable; and most of her interaction with Skeeter is critical. Do you think Skeeter’s mother is a sympathetic or unsympathetic character? Why?
4. How much of a person’s character would you say is shaped by the times in which they live?
5. Did it bother you that Skeeter is willing to overlook so many of Stuart’s faults so that she can get married, and that it’s not until he literally gets up and walks away that the engagement falls apart?
6. Do you believe that Minny was justified in her distrust of white people?
7. Do you think that had Aibileen stayed working for Miss Elizabeth, that Mae Mobley would have grown up to be racist like her mother? Do you think racism is inherent, or taught?
8. From the perspective of a twenty-first century reader, the hairshellac system that Skeeter undergoes seems ludicrous. Yet women still alter their looks in rather peculiar ways as the definition of “beauty” changes with the times. Looking back on your past, what’s the most ridiculous beauty regimen you ever underwent?
9. The author manages to paint Aibileen with a quiet grace and an aura of wisdom about her. How do you think she does this?
10. Do you think there are still vestiges of racism in relationships where people of color work for people who are white?
11. What did you think about Minny’s pie for Miss Hilly? Would you have gone as far as Minny did for revenge?
If you have not finished the book yet, read with caution, as some may spoil the plot for you.
1. Who was your favorite character? Why?
2. What do you think motivated Hilly? On the one hand she is terribly cruel to Aibileen and her own help, as well as to Skeeter once she realizes that she can’t control her. Yet she’s a wonderful mother. Do you think that one can be a good mother but, at the same time, a deeply flawed person?
3. Like Hilly, Skeeter’s mother is a prime example of someone deeply flawed yet somewhat sympathetic. She seems to care for Skeeter— and she also seems to have very real feelings for Constantine. Yet the ultimatum she gives to Constantine is untenable; and most of her interaction with Skeeter is critical. Do you think Skeeter’s mother is a sympathetic or unsympathetic character? Why?
4. How much of a person’s character would you say is shaped by the times in which they live?
5. Did it bother you that Skeeter is willing to overlook so many of Stuart’s faults so that she can get married, and that it’s not until he literally gets up and walks away that the engagement falls apart?
6. Do you believe that Minny was justified in her distrust of white people?
7. Do you think that had Aibileen stayed working for Miss Elizabeth, that Mae Mobley would have grown up to be racist like her mother? Do you think racism is inherent, or taught?
8. From the perspective of a twenty-first century reader, the hairshellac system that Skeeter undergoes seems ludicrous. Yet women still alter their looks in rather peculiar ways as the definition of “beauty” changes with the times. Looking back on your past, what’s the most ridiculous beauty regimen you ever underwent?
9. The author manages to paint Aibileen with a quiet grace and an aura of wisdom about her. How do you think she does this?
10. Do you think there are still vestiges of racism in relationships where people of color work for people who are white?
11. What did you think about Minny’s pie for Miss Hilly? Would you have gone as far as Minny did for revenge?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The Newest Book
Our newest book is Kathryn Stockett's The Help. You can find a discounted copy from stores like Target.com or Walmart.com, and they'll send a copy to you! It's a great read that explores the perspectives of many women in Tennessee circa 1960's. It explores the evolution of race relations in a time when old ideas and new ideas were being challenged alike, and how a woman finds her voice amidst all of the changes.
Enjoy, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Enjoy, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
