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About the Book Clubs category
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0
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20
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October 14, 2024
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In Our Midst also deals with the idea of "the kindness of strangers." Can you think of specific examples, small and large, of that motif in your own life? Should strangers be regarded as enemies or new friends?
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9
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37
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December 21, 2024
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What kind of future do you envision for each member of the Aust family? Do you have an opinion about how each of their lives might play out?
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10
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46
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December 21, 2024
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Overall, what did you think of In Our Midst? (no spoilers, please!)
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23
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100
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December 21, 2024
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Why do you feel Norma had so much difficulty maintaining relationships? Do you have friends from childhood or college, or have you lost touch with most friends from earlier days?
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11
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40
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December 20, 2024
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June tells Lenore that “kids don’t even start to form actual memories until they are five or six” (p.35). Do you agree with this? What’s your first memory?
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17
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56
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December 20, 2024
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What audience would you recommend The Berry Pickers to? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style?
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9
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58
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December 17, 2024
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Did you prefer Joe's voice, Norma's, or the combination? Were there other characters you wished could give their point of view?
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16
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53
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December 17, 2024
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What did you think about Lewis, Joe’s father, faking a stereotype to make more money from wealthy recreational hunters?
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13
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44
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December 17, 2024
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When did you figure out the relationship between the two storylines, and how did it make you feel?
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25
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70
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December 17, 2024
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How do you feel the opening line sets the scene? What expectations did it give you for the story, and were those fulfilled?
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8
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31
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December 17, 2024
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Have you ever discovered a family secret? How did it change your relationship with the people around you?
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6
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33
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December 17, 2024
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If you were going to write a novel based on stories of family history your parents told you, as Amanda Peters has here, where would it be set and what might it be about?
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14
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51
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December 17, 2024
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What audience would you recommend In Our Midst to? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style?
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20
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85
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December 17, 2024
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You might say this story is ultimately about forgiveness. Are you able to find all the major characters redeemable in some way, or are there any you cannot forgive?
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22
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70
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December 17, 2024
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The family receives very little help from the authorities when Ruthie goes missing. How do you think this scenario would have been different today? What factors do you think influence a quick response when someone disappears?
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17
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66
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December 17, 2024
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Otto consciously rejects initiating the process to attain US citizenship. If you're a US citizen, how did that make you feel? If you're an immigrant who has attained citizenship or is in the process of obtaining it, how did you feel about his decision?
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12
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48
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December 14, 2024
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After Ruthie goes missing, what do you think keeps the remaining family members bound together? What do you think pulls them apart?
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15
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60
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December 13, 2024
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In the end, why do you think Norma's mother did the very drastic thing she did?
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21
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67
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December 13, 2024
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Mae ends up being Joe’s caretaker, much to his surprise (“I would never have imagined Mae as the caring type” – p. 47). Do you think this side of her was always buried within, or did she change over time? Why do you believe this?
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12
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37
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December 13, 2024
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Once incarcerated, Otto wants to keep busy and do as he’s ordered while Kurt wants to fight the system. Do you feel age plays a role or are their actions more related to their personalities? What would you have done in their place?
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22
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65
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December 12, 2024
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What do you think motivated Mr. Beale and Mr. Griffin to help the Austs?
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11
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52
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December 12, 2024
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Oath of secrecy
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10
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46
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December 12, 2024
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Mr. Griffin says, “When people are afraid, they’ll hand over their rights as willingly as they’d hand over pennies for bread. But not until they’ve handed over other people’s rights first.” What was your reaction to that passage?
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7
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23
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December 11, 2024
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Were there some characters about whom you felt strongly? Ones whom you sometimes liked, sometimes disliked? Why might a fiction writer want to avoid creating characters who are either "saints" or "sinners"?
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6
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27
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December 11, 2024
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Why do you think art-making becomes so important in the story? Are there other themes that jump out at you about making a meaningful life after loss?
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3
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26
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December 11, 2024
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How did you feel as you read about conditions in the internment camps? Prior to reading this book, were you aware of the internment of German- and Italian-Americans during WWII?
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19
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84
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December 10, 2024
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Would you have made the same choice Nina did, joining your family in an internment camp? If you had been the one arrested and placed in an internment camp, would you have urged your spouse to join you?
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13
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50
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December 10, 2024
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Do you belong to more than one book club and how do you choose your books?
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23
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69
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December 10, 2024
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Book club meetings over ZOOM / personal interactions
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1
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20
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December 10, 2024
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