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Which authors should we interview?
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8
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59
|
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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71
|
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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68
|
December 17, 2024
|
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Being able to filter by multiple genres on BookBrowse
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11
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40
|
December 16, 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
|
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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61
|
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
|
68
|
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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38
|
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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66
|
December 12, 2024
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What do you think motivated Mr. Beale and Mr. Griffin to help the Austs?
|
|
11
|
52
|
December 12, 2024
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|
Oath of secrecy
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10
|
47
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
27
|
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
|
December 10, 2024
|
|
What are you reading this week? (12-05-2024)
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|
34
|
96
|
December 12, 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
|
50
|
December 10, 2024
|
|
Do you belong to more than one book club and how do you choose your books?
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23
|
69
|
December 10, 2024
|
|
Book club meetings over ZOOM / personal interactions
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|
1
|
20
|
December 10, 2024
|
|
What is your book club reading in 2025?
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|
27
|
679
|
November 16, 2024
|
|
How would you describe Nina and Otto's relationship as a couple and their relationship with each of their sons at the beginning of the story? How do those relationships change through the course of the story?
|
|
3
|
17
|
December 9, 2024
|
|
Overall, what did you think of The Berry Pickers (no spoilers, please!)
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|
30
|
141
|
December 8, 2024
|
|
Question of the Week: Has a book ever given you nightmares?
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|
11
|
49
|
December 8, 2024
|
|
What are you reading this week? (11-28-2024)
|
|
15
|
67
|
December 5, 2024
|
|
Music, singing, and the power of lyrics to connect to or express deep emotion recur throughout the story. Which of these moments made the strongest impression on you? Are there songs or poems that deeply affect you?
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6
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21
|
December 4, 2024
|
|
One of the ideas central to In Our Midst is family love and loyalty. In what ways do members of the Aust family make sacrifices for one another?
|
|
5
|
23
|
December 4, 2024
|
|
Nina recalls an exchange with an African-American family outside the restaurant that she comes to realize was misinterpreted and, therefore, accepted by her patrons. What do these experiences communicate about American values during the early 1940s?
|
|
4
|
16
|
December 4, 2024
|
|
Is there a quote or a scene in the novel that stood out? Why do you think it resonated with you?
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|
2
|
25
|
December 4, 2024
|
|
How does Norma's feeling of being stuck between worlds come out in the story? In what ways might other characters feel a sense of duality or out of placeness?
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|
2
|
21
|
December 4, 2024
|
|
Which of the characters in In Our Midst do you consider the most American, according to your definition of fundamental American values?
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|
4
|
25
|
December 3, 2024
|