"The Daring Ladies of Lowell" by Kate Alcott

How is the treatment of the "factory girls" different from the way women are treated in today's work place? How is it similar?

For more information about the author, check out: 

http://katealcott.com/bios/kate-alcott

Boston Globe article about the real life murder the book is loosely based on:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/04/19/the-real-life-murder-behind-novel-about-lowell-mills/bvMBFwckjExNWEGkS87zvI/story.html

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon

What challenges does "The Curious Incident.." present to the ways we usually think and talk about characters in novels? How does it force us to reexamine our normal ideas about love and desire, which are often the driving forces in fiction? Since Mark Haddon has chosen to make us see the world through Christopher's eyes, what does he help us discover about ourselves?

For more information about the author, check out: 

http://literature.britishcouncil.org/mark-haddon

"The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Lahiri has said, "The question of identity is always a difficult one, but especially for those who are culturally displaced, as immigrants are . . . who grow up in two worlds simultaneously." What do you think Gogol wants most from his life? How is it different from what his family wants for him, and what they wanted when they first came to America to start a family? How have expectations changed between generations in your own family? Do you want something different for your own children from what your parents wanted for you?

For further information about the author, check out:

http://www.randomhouse.com/kvpa/jhumpalahiri/bio.php

"The Rainmaker" by John Grisham

Most of John Grisham's novels are legal thrillers and they have a consistent theme: his heroes are ordinary people who fight the powerful institutions of society -- and win.  

In The Rainmaker the final chapter is called Winners and Losers.  Who, ultimately, are the winners? Who are the losers?

For more information about the author, check out:

http://www.jgrisham.com/bio/

For an interview with John Grisham from the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/books/review/john-grisham-by-the-book.html?_r=0

"California Girl" by T. Jefferson Parker

T. Jefferson Parker has written many different kinds of characters in his books but they all seem to share one thing -- the loss of someone close to them, either through death or divorce.  What are the various losses experienced by the Becker brothers -- Nick, David & Andy -- in California Girl?

For further information about the author, check out: 
http://www.tjeffersonparker.com/

For a well-written review with valuable insights about California Girl, check out this link on the January Magazine website:
http://www.januarymagazine.com/crfiction/cagirl.html

"Calling Me Home" by Julie Kibler

1. When Isabelle first grows close to Robert, is her interest in him genuine, or does it have more to do with disobeying her parents and her society’s constraints? How does their relationship change as it grows?

2. What makes Dorrie and Isabelle’s friendship unique? How did you feel about the way they each reacted to others’ assumptions about them?

For more information about the author, check out:

http://www.juliekibler.com/

The Creative Shrub Garden
by Andy McIndoe
The Creative Shrub garden helps guide you in selecting what types of shrubs that are available to use in your garden and which ones work best in shade or sun and the zones they work best in. This book provides all the information you will need to create a garden that will grow with you for a long time!
Karen Sharp

"While I Was Gone" by Sue Miller

How many times during the course of her life does Joey "run away"? Why has she developed this recurring pattern? What, in general, is she fleeing? Do you think, as she occasionally does, that her marriage and her career are in themselves a sort of running away? As the book ends, do you believe that she has stopped running?

 

For more information about the author (including a Q & A), check out:

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/suemiller/

"Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford

The US has been called a nation of imigrants. In what ways do the families of Keiko and Henry illustrate different aspects of the American immigrant experience?

For further information about the author, Jamie Ford, check out:

http://www.jamieford.com/about-jamie/

Click on the link below to view images and movie clips from locations in the book as narrated by Jamie Ford:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixjfXTs_VQk

"Touch & Go" by Lisa Gardner

What was your initial impression of each character of the Denbe family at the beginning of the book? How did those impressions evolve or change throughout the novel?

For more information about Lisa Gardner, check out:

http://lisagardner.com/about

For a list of her books:

http://lisagardner.com/books