Discussion questions for the winter book club reading, Water For Elephants are found below. Respond to one or all of them, depending on what appeals to you the most. Also, with the upcoming release of the movie, please discuss what you are hoping will be highlighted.
1. Water for Elephants moves between a story about a circus and a story about an old man in a nursing home. How do the chapters about the older Jacob enrich the story about Jacob’s adventure with the circus? How would the novel be different if Gruen had only written about the younger Jacob, keeping the story linear and never describing Jacob’s life as an old man?
2. How does the novel's epigraph, the quote from Dr. Seuss's Horton Hatches the Egg, apply to the novel? What are the roles and importance of faithfulness and loyalty in Water for Elephants? In what ways does Gruen contrast the antagonisms and cruelties of circus life with the equally impressive loyalties and instances of caring?
3. Who did you, upon reading the prologue, think murdered August? What effect did that opening scene of chaos and murder have on your reception of the story that follows?
4. In the Author’s Note, Gruen writes that many of the details in the story are factual or come from circus workers’ anecdotes. These true stories include the hippo pickled in formaldehyde, the deceased fat lady being paraded through town and an elephant who repeatedly pulled out her stake and stole lemonade. Gruen did extensive research before writing Water for Elephants. Was her story believable?
5. In what ways is Water for Elephants a survival story? A love story? An adventure?
6. Are you satisfied with the end?
Monday, February 21, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Water For Elephants - Resource Material
The winter Morris book club selection is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.
Peter Bremer, Briggs Library staff, has provided some resource materials to make your reading more enjoyable. Discussion questions will be coming in approximately one month.
Good reading!
Trunk Show [New York Times book review of Water Foe Elephants]
Sara Gruen Chats About Water For Elephants [from saragruen.com]
Step Right Up! [History Magazine]
Asian Elephant [National Geographic]
The Truth Behind Elephant Brainpower [BBC News]
Peter Bremer, Briggs Library staff, has provided some resource materials to make your reading more enjoyable. Discussion questions will be coming in approximately one month.
Good reading!
Trunk Show [New York Times book review of Water Foe Elephants]
Sara Gruen Chats About Water For Elephants [from saragruen.com]
Step Right Up! [History Magazine]
Asian Elephant [National Geographic]
The Truth Behind Elephant Brainpower [BBC News]
Monday, January 24, 2011
The winter book club selection is Water for Elephants
The January book selection is the award winning Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. Discussion questions will be posted here by January 28.
It you do not wish to use the blog format, but would like to contribute to the Morris book club, discussion replies and questions can be sent via email and will be posted online for the group to read on your behalf. Or, just simply read along!
Additional information regarding Water for Elephants will be provided by the Briggs Library Staff. Look for it in an email and below when available.
Happy Reading!
It you do not wish to use the blog format, but would like to contribute to the Morris book club, discussion replies and questions can be sent via email and will be posted online for the group to read on your behalf. Or, just simply read along!
Additional information regarding Water for Elephants will be provided by the Briggs Library Staff. Look for it in an email and below when available.
Happy Reading!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Award Winning Titles
The winter season is upon us and what a great time to read a book with other Morris alumni and friends! Hopefully the holidays have treated you well and you have time for reading and discussion with the Morris book club to help pass the wintry cold.
The January book selection will be “award winning” titles. A few titles are listed below to help select from or suggest your own ideas if you have them! Please vote for or submit your book selection by January 21, 2011. At that point, reading will begin with discussion online to follow.
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The January book selection will be “award winning” titles. A few titles are listed below to help select from or suggest your own ideas if you have them! Please vote for or submit your book selection by January 21, 2011. At that point, reading will begin with discussion online to follow.
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Monday, October 25, 2010
Work of Wolves - Fall Book Club Discussion Questions
Five discussion questions for the Fall book club reading (issued by Redmond Regional Library) can be found below. Respond to one or all of them, depending on what appeals to you the most. It is sure to capture great dialogue while discussing the work of Morris alumnus, Kent Meyers '77, and with UMM backgrounds in the group!
1. Kent Meyers opens his novel with a scene in which we are introduced to the teenage Carson Fielding and the wealthy rancher, Magnus Yarborough. What key elements of the novel are revealed to us in these opening pages?
2. Discuss the idea of Goat Man.
3. Which of the four characters—Carson, Earl, Willi, or Ted—do you think has the most to gain by rescuing the horses? Why?
4. In what way does this novel explore the concept of family and the ways in which families impact the individual?
5. What is the significance of the title, and how does that concept transcend the boundaries of this specific narrative?
1. Kent Meyers opens his novel with a scene in which we are introduced to the teenage Carson Fielding and the wealthy rancher, Magnus Yarborough. What key elements of the novel are revealed to us in these opening pages?
2. Discuss the idea of Goat Man.
3. Which of the four characters—Carson, Earl, Willi, or Ted—do you think has the most to gain by rescuing the horses? Why?
4. In what way does this novel explore the concept of family and the ways in which families impact the individual?
5. What is the significance of the title, and how does that concept transcend the boundaries of this specific narrative?
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Fall Reading - Work of Morris Alumni
If you didn't have time for reading this summer, now is your chance to join the fall reading for the Morris alumni and friends book club!
The September selection was chosen as "work of Morris alumni". A few titles are listed below to choose from or please suggest your own ideas if you have them. Please vote for or submit your favorite title by September 20, 2010. At that point, reading will begin with discussion online to follow.
The Witness of Combines (1998) by Kent Meyers '77
The Work of Wolves (2005) by Kent Meyers '77
Twisted Tree (2009) by Kent Meyers '77
Prairie Son (1999) by Dennis Clausen '65
Waiting Tables, Dodge Bullets: An Actors Guide to Surviving Los Angeles (2009) by Brendan Brandt '05
The September selection was chosen as "work of Morris alumni". A few titles are listed below to choose from or please suggest your own ideas if you have them. Please vote for or submit your favorite title by September 20, 2010. At that point, reading will begin with discussion online to follow.
The Witness of Combines (1998) by Kent Meyers '77
The Work of Wolves (2005) by Kent Meyers '77
Twisted Tree (2009) by Kent Meyers '77
Prairie Son (1999) by Dennis Clausen '65
Waiting Tables, Dodge Bullets: An Actors Guide to Surviving Los Angeles (2009) by Brendan Brandt '05
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Mountains Beyond Mountains Discussion Questions
Below are four discussion questions for the summer book club reading (issued by the publisher). Please respond to one or all of them, depending on which appeals to you the most! Also, remember the helpful hints in online discussion posted below in the first "discussion questions" post. It is sure to be a great discussion with UMM backgrounds in the group!
1. Paul Farmer finds ways of connecting with people whose backgrounds are vastly different from his own. How does he do this? Are his methods something to which we can all aspire?
2. The title of the book comes from the Haitian proverb, "Beyond mountains there are mountains." What does the saying mean in the context of the culture it comes from, and what does it mean in relation to Farmer's work? Can you think of other situations - personal or societal - for which this proverb might be appropriate?
3. Paul Farmer had an eccentric childhood and his accomplishments have been unique. Do you see a correlation between the way Farmer was raised and how he's chosen to live his life? How has your own background influenced your life and your decisions? (Has UMM had an influence on your life?)
4. Tracy Kidder has written elsewhere that the choice of point of view is the most important an author makes in constructing a work of narrative non-fiction. He has also written that finding a point of view that works is a matter of making a choice among tools, and that the choice should be determined, not by theory, but by an author's immersion in the materials of the story itself. Kidder has never before written a book in which he made himself a character. Can you think of some of the reasons he might have had for doing this in Mountains Beyond Mountains?
1. Paul Farmer finds ways of connecting with people whose backgrounds are vastly different from his own. How does he do this? Are his methods something to which we can all aspire?
2. The title of the book comes from the Haitian proverb, "Beyond mountains there are mountains." What does the saying mean in the context of the culture it comes from, and what does it mean in relation to Farmer's work? Can you think of other situations - personal or societal - for which this proverb might be appropriate?
3. Paul Farmer had an eccentric childhood and his accomplishments have been unique. Do you see a correlation between the way Farmer was raised and how he's chosen to live his life? How has your own background influenced your life and your decisions? (Has UMM had an influence on your life?)
4. Tracy Kidder has written elsewhere that the choice of point of view is the most important an author makes in constructing a work of narrative non-fiction. He has also written that finding a point of view that works is a matter of making a choice among tools, and that the choice should be determined, not by theory, but by an author's immersion in the materials of the story itself. Kidder has never before written a book in which he made himself a character. Can you think of some of the reasons he might have had for doing this in Mountains Beyond Mountains?
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