Book Discussion Report: Before You Know Kindness

On October 28th, Ted Balcom led a discussion of Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian at Arlington Heights Memorial Library.

This ambitious and multi-layered novel by the bestselling author of Midwives examines wildly divisive issues in today's America.  On a balmy July night in New Hampshire a shot rings out in a garden, and a man falls to the ground, terribly wounded.  The wounded man is animal rights activist Spencer McCullough, and the shot that hit him was fired -- accidentally? -- by his adolescent daughter Charlotte.  Critics praised the "emotional heft" that Bohjalian gives to the novel, and also noted the author's "spellbinding storytelling skill.

You can access the notes on our discussion of the book here.

Before the discussion of the book, the group tackled the Leadership topic of best practices for choosing which books your group will discuss.

You can access the notes on our discussion of the Leadership topic here.

We have also announced the next book discussion and leadership topic set for February 17, 2016 here.  It’s a good one and will give you a clue as to the next genre study topic too. That won’t be officially announced until December 3rd, but you know, teasers are fun

All of these links go to the FANTASTIC and USEFUL ARRT Literary Book Discussion and Leadership Training website where you can find notes on this discussion and previous discussions.

While you need to be a member to attend the discussions, ANYONE, ANYWHERE can access the notes of both the book discussion itself and the separate Leadership Topic Discussion.

I am taking the lead by coordinating this program for ARRT for the next year and have made it my goal to turn this into a valuable resource for ALL book discussion leaders-- wherever you may roam. 

While there is the most value in attending and participating in the discussions as they happen, we realize that not even all of our local members can make it every time, let alone others out there going at it alone providing book discussions in their communities with little or no support in other parts of the country [or world].

At the very least, you can use the notes from both our discussions of the books themselves and the portion dedicated to topics concerning book discussion leaders, to help you as you lead book discussions wherever you are.

Finally, a very special thank to Elizabeth, Assistant Head of Adult Services at Lisle Public Library for a big assist with the notes during this last meeting.