Food for thought...The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

• In the novel’s opening, Mma Ramotswe states that she loves Africa “for all its trials” (p.4). How are these trials analogous to the trials in her personal life?

• As Mma Ramotswe wonders if Mma Malatsi was somehow involved in her husband’s death and whether wanting someone dead made one a murderer in God’s eyes, she thinks to herself: “It was time to take the pumpkin out of the pot and eat it. In the final analysis, that was what solved these big problems of life. You could think and think and get nowhere, but you still had to eat your pumpkin. That brought you down to earth. That gave you a reason for going on. Pumpkin” [p. 85]. What philosophy of life is Mma Ramotswe articulating here? Why do the ongoing daily events of life give her this sense of peace and stability?

• Alexander McCall Smith’s Precious Ramotswe books have been praised for their combination of apparent simplicity with a high degree of sophistication. In what ways does in The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency have the appeal of simple storytelling? In what ways is it sophisticated? What does it suggest about the larger issues of how to live one’s life, how to behave in society, how to be happy?

Food for thought...on A Wrinkle In Time

Describe what makes Charles Wallace so extraordinary. How do these traits both hurt and help him on Camazotz?

What are the various non-linguistic ways in which the creatures in this book communicate with one another? Do you think that L'Engle believes that words are ultimately inadequate as a method of communication?

What is the significance of the lack of sight among the beast-like inhabitants of Ixchel? What does Meg learn from interacting with creatures that have no eyes?

September Meeting Set!

Hi Ladies,

I am so excited to finally be posting...I won't tell you how long it took me to figure out how to do it. :) It's not hard, I'm just a dork!

Just a reminder that our September meeting will be at Patti's Kitchen on the 16th. We will be discussing "A Wrinkle in Time," and "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency." Can't wait to see you and hear what you think of the books.

Happy Reading,
CF

2009 Book picks

January-The Kite Runner. Met at Dupus Boomers.
February-Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Meeting at My Office (?)
March-Keeping the House. Meeting at ...
April-The 19th Wife. Meeting at...
May-Catcher in the Rye. Meeting at...
June-Twilight. Meeting at...
July-#1 in #1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Meeting at...
August-A Wrinkle in Time. Meeting at...an undisclosed location. Will be announced by Carey and Jill.
September-Someone Knows My Name. Meeting at...
October-someone help me out on the Tracy Chevalier novel we picked!
November-Skeletons at the Feast. Meeting at...
December-Rasputin's Daughter. Meeting at...

Here we go!

The bookclub blog is UP!