Some Books Need to be Discussed

by Marilyn Reiter
In January, the Adath Book Club read Crossing the Borders of Time by Leslie Maitland. We had a lively discussion amongst the group, followed by an insightful and engaging Skype meeting with the author.

We are a group of readers who mostly didn’t know each other before December's first meeting. Book clubs offer many opportunities including:
1) Meeting people who aren’t in your immediate circle of friends.

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2) Reading Books you wouldn't have found on your own.

3) After listening to the comments of others, you can get a new appreciation and understanding of the work.

4) Book club discussions challenge members to read more carefully and thoughtfully.

5) The questions and thoughts of others give insights into the minds of other readers.

Author, Leslie Maitland was very generous with her willingness to discuss her personal story. She told us about her travels to research the story, which gave us an opportunity to learn new techniques about writing and gave us a greater understanding of the writing process. She asked us for our feedback and appreciated the honest input on what troubled us as readers. Also, she discussed with us some subjects that weren’t discussed in the book. When she shared her observation of what it must have been like to be her father, we gained a deeper understanding of him as a character in a story. During our hour long discussion, Leslie had our full attention.

The wisdom and humor of our newly formed group makes for a good social and educational environment. Experiencing books and people outside of your wheelhouse is what this group is doing very successfully.

Please join us in February 5th when we read The Mathematicians Shiva  by Stuart Rojstaczer and Skype with the author.