Category: Book Club Discussion Questions

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Discussion Questions:

1. Before reading The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek did you know about the Kentucky Pack Horse program that was introduced in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA)? Did you know about the blue-skinned people of Kentucky? Did it pique your interest that you did some research about the topics?

2. The WPA raison d’etre was to to help create jobs and improve economic recovery in the Great Depression. The women’s work programs such as the Pack Horse Librarian was a result of that goal. Do you think that the Pack Horse Librarian program helped the people in the remote area of the Appalachians? What changes did you notice? Do you think today’s library programs are essential for the community?

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Discussion Questions:

1. Before reading Next Year In Havana, did you know much about the political history of Cuba? Did you learn much? Did it make you want to learn more?

2. The novel goes back and forth between Eliza Perez life in the 1950s and her granddaughter’s Marisol Ferrera’s trip to Cuba in 2017. Which story line did you enjoy the most? Who did you identify with? Did you find their stories similar?

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Discussion Questions:

1. At the start of The Midnight Library, Nora was depressed and anxious and nothing was going right for her. She had so many regrets. Why do you think Nora turned to suicide? Why did she think this was her only option?

2. What did you think of Nora? How did you feel about her? Could you relate to her and what she was going through?

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Discussion Questions:

1. What was the significance that William Shakespeare was not mentioned by name but referred to as dad, husband, Latin tutor etc.? Why did the author not mention his name?

2. Agnes and her husband William, were they well suited? Why, why not?

3. What did you think of Agnes? Did you like her? Why did the author make her character a healer?

4. Why did Agnes have her first child in the woods? Why did she want to have her other kids there? What was her thought process?

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Discussion Questions:

1. “One could not count the moons that shimmers on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”

The title of the book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, comes from the 17th century poem ‘Kabul’ written by Saib-e-Tabrizi. Did you like the literary and cultural reference? Did you want to find out more about the poem and Kabul?

2. Did you enjoy learning about Afghanistan and the political regime changes from the book?

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Discussion Questions:

1. What did you think of PT Sir initially? Did your opinion of him change by the end of the book?

2. Have you come across the term hijra before? What did you think of Lovely as hijra? How do you feel about Lovely?

3. What did you think of Divan?

4. The story line is broken up with interludes. Did you like them? Which one did you like? Did it enhance your reading experience?

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Discussion Questions:

“I was born without a voice, one cold, overcast day in Brooklyn, New York. No one ever spoke of my condition. I did not know I was mute until years later, when I opened my mouth to ask for what I wanted and realized no one could hear me. Where I come from, voicelessness is the condition of my gender, as normal as the bosoms on a woman’s chest, as necessary as the next generation growing inside her belly. “

1. A Woman Is No Man opens up with an impactful statement about being voiceless and that being silent will save them, and to discover that years later it is false. How do you feel about that statement? Did this pique your interest and make you want to read her story?

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Discussion Questions:

1. At the beginning of the book, Meg had a creative block. As her livelihood depended on her creativeness it was very important for her to get over the block. Can you relate to her struggles? What would you have done in her position?

2. Were you surprise to find out about Reid’s secret? What did you think he was hiding from Meg?

3. Meg and Reid played games as they walked the city. Which game did you like the best? Which part of the city walk did you enjoy?

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Discussion Questions:

1.The book starts with the curtain call of Hedy’s performance at Theater an der Wien. She was given multiple bouquets of flowers from an unknown admirer and was about to decline the grandiose gesture but thought better of it. She could not afford to take chances to offend anyone. Do you think Hedy’s acceptance of the flowers was a mistake? Was this pivotal moment a fait accompli for her future?

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Discussion Questions:

1.What were your initial thoughts on Arthur Moses (aka Arthur Truluv)? How did your opinion of him change as you read the book?

2. Arthur visits his wife’s Nola grave every day. He talks to her as if she were alive. What do you think of his way of coping with grief? How does his age affect his outlook in life?

3. Arthur reads the headstones when he visits Nola at the cemetery. He imagines what the person would be like based on what is on the epigraph. Why do you think he does that? What would your epigraph say?