The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, not terribly new ideas, but maybe a different format from which we are accustomed. The title is a little misleading, as he isn't lecturing us, he is sharing with us his ideas, trials, failures, successes, life and family. Randy has opened more than his heart to us, he has allowed us to see life in a different way, not to mention the preparation for death. This book is one example of how he is taking advantage of the gift of life, the gift of time, before he leaves this world. I think that he says it best ""Whatever news we get about the sancs, I'm not going to die when we hear it. I won't die the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. So today, right now, well this is a wonderful day. And I want you to know how much I am enjoying it." I thought about that, and about Jai's smile. I knew then. That's the way the rest of my life would need to be lived."

Hello Chapter,

I wanted to post something on the website in case there are those of you that are interested in the Book Club and just don't know how to get started.

First, you want to email me and let me know that you want to start receiving the monthly emails, Laureen.House@bnymellon.com.

Second, come to a meeting.
These two steps are interchangeable.

You can always check us out here on our website. Bob Gillis does an amazing job at keeping all our information current, ensuring that we have great visuals of our books, and reminds me when I haven't submitted a rating for the book. Thanks Bob.

There is no formal way to join, just showing up gets you involved. You are not required to have read the book to come to the meeting, although, it does help. There have been plenty of times that members have not read the book, or have not finished the book and have come any way. They still find the meeting to be entertaining, social and educational. Caution: if you are someone that doesn't like the ending to be given away, then you may not want to come. We discuss the book in its entirety and do not cater to those who have not read the book. It really puts a damper on the conversation.

The book club is open to all members. There have been occasions when members have brought guests. We welcome all that wish to participate in the discussions.

The discussion questions are generally provided by Monica Rigamonti, she has volunteered to do the research in finding a reading group guide. When one is not available, I tend to come up with some based on reviews or general questions for the type of book we are reading. There is no right or wrong answer to the discussion questions, they are used to provoke thought and fuel the discussions for the meetings.

The books are picked by the members suggestions. If we have multiple suggestions, we add them to the suggested reading list for the group or possibly read two books in one month. We have even taken suggestions from those who get our emails, but never come to the meetings. We also have taken suggestions from those that only make it once in a while. We are proud to say that we have a diverse reading list, many have been award winning, on the best seller's list, and lists for most popular titles for book club selections. But, we do not pick because it is on a list, we select because a member suggested something that they would like to read, and the rest of the group found it to be something they would like to try as well.

We try to pick our books a couple of months ahead of time so that people can plan to join in, read on vacation, place a hold at the library, etc...

So let me know if you wish to be added to the Book Club distribution list.

Happy Reading,
Laureen

76 - "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
75- "The Golden Compass" by Phillip Pullman
74-"The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch
73-"Last Town on Earth" by Thomas Mullen
72-"The Namesake" by by Jhumpa Lahiri
71-"The Princess of Burundi" by Kjell Eriksson
70-"Dark Tide" by Stephen Puleo

---

69-"Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert
68-"The Christmas Train" by David Baldacci
67-"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
66-"Retribution" by Jilliane Hoffman
65-"Bel Canto" by Ann Patchett
64-"Labyrinth" by Kate Mosse
63-"Wild Pitch" by Mike Lupica
62- "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
61-"Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
60-"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

---

59-"Shutter Island" by Dennis Lehane
58-"The Emperor's Children" by Claire Messud
57-"The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards
56-"Christmas Box" by Richard Paul Evans
55-"Christmas Jars" by Jason Wright
54-"Poisonwood Bible" by by Barbara Kingsolver
53-"House of Sand and Fog" by Andre Dubus III
52-"Flyboys" by James Bradley
51-"Freakanomics" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
50-"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden

---

50-"Flyboys" by James Bradley
49-"The Piano Tuner" by Daniel Mason
48-"Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
47-"Lying Awake" by Mark Salzman
46-"Farenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
45-"My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult
44-"Light on Snow" by Anita Shreve
43-"The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis
42-"The Tender Bar" by J.R. Moehringer (which we also forgot to rate)
41-"Absolute Power" by David Baldacci

---

40-"Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe
39-""Maximum Bob"" by Elmore Leonard
38-"Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog" by John Grogan
37-"Nana: My grandmother, Anne Gillis" by Robert Gillis
36-"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
35-"How I became stupid" by Martin Page
34-"The secret life of bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
33-"To kill a mockingbird" by Harper Lee
32-"Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams
31-"Ball Four" by Jim Bouton

---

30-"Memory of Running" by Ron McLarty
29-"The Good Earth" by Pearl Buck
28-"The five people you meet in heaven" by Mitch Albom
27-"Four Blondes" by Candace Bushnell
26-"Gideon's Gift" by Karen Kingsbury
25-"The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell + Dustin Thomason
24-"Stiff" by Mary Roach
23-"A tree grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
22-"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" by Mark Haddon
21-"Devil in the white city" by Erik Larson

---

20-"Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides
19-"Silas Marner" by George Eliot
18-"Blindness" by Jose Saramago
17-The Fourth Hand" by John Irving
16-"Wicked" by Gregory Maguire
15-"Yokota Officers Club" by Sarah Bird
14-"A time to kill" by John Grisham
13-"Post Mortem" by Patricia Cornwell
12-"Snow falling on cedars" by David Guterson
11-"Cold Mountain" by Charles Frazier

---

10-"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
09-"The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown
08-"Drowning Ruth" by Christina Schwarz
07-" Gone for good" by Harlan Coben
06-"The lovely bones" by Alice Sebold
05-"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
04-"Intensity" by Dean Koontz
03-"A confederacy of dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
02-" A bend in the road" by Nicholas Sparks
01-"1st to die" by James Patterson

76 - "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin (Rating: ?)

75 - "The Golden Compass" by Phillip Pullman (Rating: ?)

74-"The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch (Rating: ?)
Not terribly new ideas, but maybe a different format from which we are accustomed. The title is a little misleading, as he isn't lecturing us, he is sharing with us his ideas, trials, failures, successes, life and family. Randy has opened more than his heart to us, he has allowed us to see life in a different way, not to mention the preparation for death. This book is one example of how he is taking advantage of the gift of life, the gift of time, before he leaves this world. I think that he says it best ""Whatever news we get about the sancs, I'm not going to die when we hear it. I won't die the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. So today, right now, well this is a wonderful day. And I want you to know how much I am enjoying it." I thought about that, and about Jai's smile. I knew then. That's the way the rest of my life would need to be lived."

73-"Last Town on Earth" (Rating: 2.083)
One of the first questions asked for the Last Town on Earth generated a quote that went something like this: "the gauze mask was full of holes, much like the plans they had were full of holes". Very profound. And rightly so, a quick response came to it. "Are you kidding, or are you really serious. How do you come up with things like that. I couldn't have ever come up with something symbolic like that" Let the discussion start. We had a very good discussion, that covered a range of topics. One interesting enough was, which character are you most like, " I'm Flora - organized- run the general store - flirt with the men- dead in the end."

72-"The Namesake" (Rating: 2.357)

71-"The Princess of Burundi" (Rating: 4)
Many are questioning why this was the winner of the Swedish Crime Academy Award for Best Crime Novel. This is how our meeting started out on the 19th. Apparently, the Swedish don't understand real crime, have had various nationalities of Mobs, sick, ahum, creative minds that produce edge of your seat crime novels and of course the opportunities to donate time to the general public, which in turn drives one to create in one's mind the perfect crimes to do away with what is bothering you.

70-"Dark Tide" (Rating: 2.5)
We had a great meeting last week, thank you Kathy for hosting. The molasses cookies and shoo fly pie were great! Only outdone by the Lunar Eclipse. One of my favorite parts of the discussion was what surprised us the most or the most interesting thing that we learned. "molasses was moving at 35 miles an hour" "family members were literally pulled out of the drowning molasses" "He saved her because he saw her hand sticking out above the molasses as he was floating by" "The threat of foreign terrorism in 1915" "Italians were the most lynched ethnic group other than Blacks in American history" "the prejudice against the Italians" "they could actually get away with building a holding tank in that location" We had some fun talking about if something like that were to exist today. Do you think the kids would be collecting the molasses? The paint inside the tank probably had lead in it. The rodent/pest population due to the leakage. If they can build a bio-chemical laboratory in Boston, why wouldn't they be able to build a molasses holding tank?

69-"Eat, Pray, Love" (Rating: 3.21)
Two of the biggest questions that came up, was, "Have you attained personal financial success?" And "Have you attained personal religious success?". You can imagine that the conversations included much about, how does one measure success, how does society measure success, what is success. We also explored the possibility of how the journey of self discovery could have been different had the main character been male vs. female. If memory serves me right, we even discussed if she was a little bit crazy. I think that we figured out that the answer was no more than the rest of us. :)

68-"The Christmas Train" (Rating: 3.6)
All agreed that it was a nice quick read, left you feeling good and considered to be the winter equivalent to a beach book.

67-"Water for Elephants" (Rating: 2.08)

66-"Retribution" (Rating: 1.4)
Some of us had to "shut the door to my office" to make sure we got to finish the book. We didn't want to be interrupted. This was a book that grabbed you from the beginning and was structured a bit like "Law and Order". We all agreed that we "felt someone was intruding on my book" when the killer's voice becomes the narrator. There is a sequel to the book that many were interested in reading, "Last Witness". The rating that we gave to the book was a 1.4.

65-"Bel Canto" (Rating: 2.75)
64-"Labyrinth" (Rating: 2.9)
63 - "Wild Pitch" (Rating: 3)

62- "Cold Sassy Tree" (Rating: 1.8)
"The recommendation to read it was good, almost redeeming Jen for her recommendation of "4 Blondes." But, nothing can make up for recommending "4 Blondes" ... "Reading this book left me wanting to know more. What happens next in Will's life? Does he get Lightfoot after all? Does he work in the store or strike out on his own? Luckily there is a sequel, "Leaving Cold Sassy." I can't wait to start reading that."

61 -"Lord of the Flies" (Rating: 2.5)

60- "The Catcher in the Rye" (Rating: 5)

59-"Shutter Island" (Rating: 2)
We all agreed we liked the twists that the story took, the writing style, the foreshadowing (how do you get so much in?) and the ending. We rated this book as a 2.

58-"The Emperor's Children" (Rating: 4)
57-"The Memory Keeper's Daughter" (Rating: 3)
56-"Christmas Box" (Rating: 3.4)

55-"Christmas Jars" (Rating 3.4)
They both are easy read Christmas stories that can warm the heart, or be considered "Christmas fluff" that is an easy read. We all seemed to agree that we have heard the message that both these books tell many times in our lives. We should count ourblessings that we know how to not only receive the message but also be able tobe the messenger.

54-"Poisonwood Bible" (Rating: 2)
I would have to agree with the rating. This was my second time reading the book and still enjoyed it thoroughly. I have to admit it was a little hard to get going but I think that the events and thoughts that are provoked as the story moves on is well worth it.

53-"House of Sand and Fog" - (Rating: 3.75)
We had some great discussion and new insights, even though this wasn't one of the favorites of the club. Joshi, thanks for recommending this book - too bad you weren't there to discuss, get reading :-)

52-"Flyboys" (Rating: 1.5)
One of the members is quoted as saying from reading this book they came away with a "profound increase of knowledge". We even had a book club member send in her thoughts on the book and rating, even though she was unable to attend the meeting. I for one am glad that we read this book. It is something that I probably would never have chosen myself, yet I thoroughly enjoyed it!

51-"Freakanomics" (Rating: 3.5)
Again, not among the favorites of the club but the conversations and discussions were definitely interesting. Jen thanks for recommending this one. I probably would never have tried reading it, glad that I did.

50-Memoirs of a Geisha (Rating: 3.5)
49-"The Piano Tuner" (Rating: 3.5)
48-"Kite Runner" (Rating: 2)
47-"Lying Awake" (Rating: 3)
46-"Farenheit 451" (Rating: 4)
45-"My Sister's Keeper" (Rating: 1)
44-"Light on Snow" (Rating: 3)
43-"The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" (Rating: 2.5)
42-"The Tender Bar" (Rating: 3)
41-"Absolute Power" (Rating: 3.5 )

40-"Uncle Tom's Cabin" (Rating: 2)
39-""Maximum Bob"" (Rating: 4.07)
38-"Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog" (Rating: 3)
37-"Nana: My grandmother, Anne Gillis" (Rating: 3)
36-"And Then There Were None" (Rating: 4)
35-"How I became stupid" (Rating: 2)
34-"The secret life of bees" (Rating: 2.5)
33-"To kill a mockingbird" (Rating: 2)

32-"Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (Rating: 2 or 5)
Group pretty much split down the line by Gender on this, Men loved it, Women not so much (except one female that went to the other side - traitor)

31-"Ball Four" (Rating: 4)

30-"Memory of Running" (Rating: 3)
29-"The Good Earth" (Rating: 2)
28-"The five people you meet in heaven" (Rating: 2)
27-"Four Blondes" (Rating: 6)
"Kind of pissed that I wasted part of my life reading it"

26-"Gideon's Gift" (Rating: 2)
Cute, "fluffy" read

25-"The Rule of Four" (Rating: 4)
24-"Stiff" (Rating: 2)
23-"A tree grows in Brooklyn" (Rating: 3)
22-"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" (Rating: 2)

21-"Devil in the white city" (Rating: 2)
Historical information was even more interesting than the serial killer

20-"Middlesex" (Rating: 3)
19-"Silas Marner" (Rating: 3)
18-"Blindness" (Rating: 2)

17-The Fourth Hand" (Rating: 4)
Not the same level as Cider House Rules or Owen Meaning.

16-"Wicked" (Rating: 3)
15-"Yokota Officers Club" (Rating: 4)
14-"A time to kill" (Rating: 1.5)
13-"Post Mortem" (Rating: 3.5)
12-"Snow falling on cedars" (Rating: 2.5)
11-"Cold Mountain" (Rating: 3)

10-"Life of Pi" (Rating: 2)
09-"The Da Vinci Code" (Rating: 2)
08-"Drowning Ruth" (Rating: 3.5)
07-" Gone for good" (Rating: 2)
06-"The lovely bones" (Rating: 1.6)
05-"Pride and Prejudice" (Rating: 3)
04-"Intensity" (Rating: 2)

03-"A confederacy of dunces" (Rating: 2 or 5)
Group either loved or hated it

02-" A bend in the road" (Rating: 3)

01-"1st to die" (Rating: 3)
Great mystery writer. "This was my first mystery and it made me want to read more of them"

Just for fun, our book club assigns ratings to the books we read…

6-Book Club version of must gouge out eyes, i.e., "4 Blondes"
5-Waste of a good tree, makes me want to buy a parakeet
4-Pick it up at library or at yard sale for $.50
3-Would pay Barnes & Noble prices
2-Recommended it to everyone
1-Lock the door - close the shades - you're not going anywhere. Just read it, don't go another day

(It probably should be noted on the website that the ratings do not necessarily reflect the quality of the book, just how we liked it as a group. Also, the ratings do not necessarily reflect the opinion of all club members. (not everyone was at the last meeting to add their 2 cents.) It was done for fun, some small guidance and lots of laughs. :-)I think that our lists shows the diversity of interest and the willingness of the club members to read something that they wouldn't ordinarily pick for themselves.)

While reading a book, a club member should reflect on these questions, and research other supplementary materials. This is most important if you are leading the book discussion.

• Did you like the book? If you have read any of the author's other books, how does this compare?
• What is this book's message?
• How did you feel about the characters? Who did you like or not like and why?
• What did you think of the ending?
• In a movie version, who would play what parts?
• How did you feel when the character did or said.... How do you think the character felt when she did or said...?
• If questions...e.g. If the characters had done this instead, how would the story have changed?
• What do book reviews say about this book or more generally the author, and their past works?
• What did you think of the plot line development? How credible did the author make it?
• What moral/ethical choices did the characters make? What did you think of those choices? How would you have chosen?
• How authentic is the culture or era represented in the book?
• Why do you think the author wrote this? What is their most important message?
• How do you think the main character's point of view is similar or different from the author's point of view or background?
• What is the author's background (their style, stature and focus)?
• How does the setting figure as a character in the story?
• Are the characters' actions the result of freedom of choice or of destiny?
• Is there any moral responsibility that was abdicated?
• Are there any symbols that may have cultural, political or religious reference? E.g. flag, tree, or rose.
• What type of vision does the author use with their word choice? Is it optimistic, pessimistic, prophetic, cautionary, humorous, satirical, venomous, cathartic?
• What effects do the events (time, nationality, physicality) have on the character's self or personality?

• Most book clubs tend to read fiction rather than non-fiction. Be very cautious in selecting a non-fiction book. Most book clubs discover that there can not be much discussion about facts.
• Book club members should be cautious about the number of people admitted into the group. Too large of a group can make some individuals refrain from offering their opinions.
• Or a couple of individuals may dominate the discussion, intimidating other group members.
• Have one person keep historical records of books read, and also books suggested and who suggested them.
• Make sure everyone participates in the discussion. If a question is asked, everyone should contribute in the round robin. If you see someone being left out, prompt him or her for their opinion.
• Keep notes while reading...and not just when you are the leader. It helps to deepen discussion if specific passages can be read.
• Even if you dislike the book do not blame the person who suggested it. Your dislike of the book will enliven discussion. Build your reasons and enjoy that intense interaction with other club members who love the book.
• After the discussion, you may discover an appreciation for the book that you never had before.

BOOK CLUB SUGGESTION LIST

“Jayne Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte

“Seven Daughters of Eve” by Bryan Sykes

“War Trash” by Ha Jin

“Midnight at the Dragon Café” by Judy Fong Bates

“Velocity” by Michael Crichton

“Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan

"The Devil Wears Prada" - by Lauren Weisberger (Bob G HIGHLY recommends)

“Inside the Kingdom: My life in Saudi Arabia” by Carmen Bin Laden

“Borne Identity” by Robert Ludlum

“The Stranger beside Me: Ted Bundy” by Ann Rule

"The three hour haunted house room skit" by Bob Gillis and Lauren Bitar

“How Green was my Valley” by Richard Llewellyn

“Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir of Books” by Azar Nafisi

“The Chicago Killer: The Hunt for Serial Killer John Wayne Gacey” by Joseph Kozenczak and Karen Henrikson. (John Wayne Gacey was a Jaycee Key Man)

Trial by Fire by DW Buffa

The Nanny Diaries by Emma Ma

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Publishers are aware of the popularity of book groups. Many publishers promote specific titles as "hot" book group books, and some publishers provide various web and print resources for book groups. Click here for much more:

http://www.goodbookslately.com/bookgrouphelp/otherresources.shtml