This is a question I came across in some book discussion material I found on the Internet, and it has stayed with me as I have continued to read books for discussion programs and prepare for the meetings.  It has always seemed to me that readers do not connect strongly to books in which the major characters are unlikable, and they come into the discussion feeling vexed and even outraged about the choice of the book.  It is then the challenge of the discussion leader to persuade them to think about the author’s intent in creating these unappealing people and also to encourage them to consider the characters’ flaws and why they are worth talking about.

I haven’t participated in a discussion of Janice Y. K. Lee’s recent novel, The Piano Teacher, which Misha wrote about in a post on this blog earlier in the year.  But I have just finished reading it, and while I agree with her that it is a “pageturner,” I was also struck by the impression that virtually all of the characters in the book (even the minor ones) are unappealing.  So now I am wondering how well it would work for a discussion, and maybe some of you Buzz readers out there who have discussed it in a group will write in to comment.

What I would say about the characters in this story of life in Hong Kong before, during, and after the Second World War is that they are well drawn, and we do feel that we understand why they are so damaged, so hurtful to each other, and ultimately, so miserable.  The setting of the novel is also extremely well presented, and I think, one of the strongest reasons for reading the book.  You do get a real sense of what it was like to be in that place at that time, and you feel empathy for the people in the story, even though they are filled with self-loathing and extremely cruel to each other.

Will is an Englishman who at the beginning of the story swims in Hong Kong’s high society and falls into an affair with Trudy, a beautiful but incredibly shallow and self-centered Eurasian woman.  The novel swings back and forth in time, and in the future, after the war, Will is now working as a chauffeur for the Chinese socialites he formerly partied with and is involved with another woman, a piano teacher named Claire, who like him, is English, but is married and is also a kleptomaniac.  As the story progresses, the reader wants to know what happened to Trudy, unlikable though she may be, because there is also something rather fascinating about her — she seems at turns naive and crafty, and she plays a very dangerous game.  And of course, we sense things won’t turn out well for Will and Claire, and there is a part of us that doesn’t care that much because he is so cold and indifferent and she is so unstable and devious.

I don’t know if I have convinced you to spend time with these people, because you can see that I am quite ambivalent about the book.  In the end, I think it goes on perhaps a bit too long, and I’m not sure Yee knew how she was going to wrap it up.  But I did find her to be an interesting writer, particularly in regard to her choice of  time and place and her ability to describe dramatic situations.  I will probably read her next book.  I’d like to see if she could create someone I’d actually want to meet.

Normally, we all read the same book and operate as a typical one group, one book, discussion.  This month we changed two aspects of our normal procedure.

First, we decided to abandon the angst ridden, theme oriented, dramas that the group normally picks to read.  These challenging titles are great for a discussion but often pit the reader’s emotion against their natural inclination to be happy.  This month we made a choice to read humorous novels of murder and mayhem so that my book discussion participants could laugh at death.  While I believe that humorous mysteries have their place in the world of entertainment, I have always said that they do not sustain a night’s worth of discussion for a book group.

That led to choice number two.  Instead of everyone reading the same book, I allowed each member of the group to choose their own title to read.  Our discussion format for the night became a brief introduction by me about the role of humor in crime fiction followed by book reports by each of the members within which they were asked to spend a little time on author, title (very little on the plot, please), and series information.  I asked the person to concentrate on the tone of the book, or why it was humorous to read. 

Perhaps you are way ahead of me on this one but most of the folks spent too much time relating the plot and very little time about talking about the book’s appeal.  This should not surprise reader’s advisory librarians.  My role as the moderator then became not to ask questions but instead to prod a presenter to talk about the tone. 

We also took a survey during the night by asking each person what they thought was the number one appeal of the book.  The vote was:

Characters, 9

Setting, 2

Plot, 2

Tone, 2

Does it seem odd to you that on a night we read humorous mysteries the humor only garnered two votes for the main appeal factor?  Not to me as I believe the people read crime fiction because of character first and all other concerns are secondary.  I guess this night I was proved right. 

P.S.:  Want to know what I read this night?  I took advantage of the night to finally read the second book in the Alexander McCall Smith series about Precious Ramotswe, Tears of the Giraffe.  The first book in the series was a delight.  The second book has the same tone–a pleasing rhythm that maintains a witty voice for the characters.  On its own, this book could work as a book discussion title.

Reisner’s book isn’t the only new contribution to discussion of memoirs. University of Delaware journalism professor Ben Yagoda is receiving attention in the blogosphere (for instance here at Salon) for his new book Memoir: A History. Yagoda takes the long view, mixing literary criticism with cultural history. As he shows, claims that memoirs are narcissistic, stretch truth, or in some cases are outright lies are as old as the format itself. But these claims have not slowed the rise of the memoir, Yagoda argues, and may be somewhat motivated by a need in some quarters to defend the novel’s supremacy.

The issues that Yagoda raises have interesting implications for book groups. Memoirs get lots of love in our circles. In addition to the book’s actual content, it’s always interesting to discuss questions like how much the author re-created from memory, where reality might have been embellished, how the memoir reflects on its author’s character, or how it might have been received by the people it mentions. Yagoda’s book itself is full of interesting tidbits for discussion. It would pair well in consecutive book group meetings with a free choice of memoirs.

At the end of the day, and despite all the controversy about the veracity of recent memoirs, the form continues to sell well and seems to be the testing ground of choice for many new writers, who choose to employ it instead of literary fiction, historical nonfiction, and other literary forms and genres. While it is a stretch to say that the memoir has replaced the novel’s primacy, it’s certainly taking a growing share of the market. Armed with Reisner and Yagoda’s books, you’ll be ready to ride the wave of the form’s popularity.

Last week I led a book group for Kansas City’s Junior League. They had chosen A Pearl in the Storm by Tori Murden McClure and all were delighted to read such a thrilling and inspiring story. Although no men were present (Junior League members only), about half of the attending women said their husbands or boyfriends had picked up the book and started browsing through it. One woman was on her way to see her boyfriend after the meeting and give it to him.

While the author’s harrowing battle with the hurricane was a highlight of the book, the attendees preferred to talk about what made this book different from other adventure stories. One reader immediately pointed out that a big difference for her was the fact that the protagonist was a woman. She said this book was more interesting for her with a female lead, but also noticed how differently the author was treated by other people in the story because of her gender.

One attendee said that at first she was angry with the author for purposely putting herself in a position of helplessness. The group had just finished discussing the author’s constant life struggle against he feeling of helplessness and her admirable aefforts to conquer it. But, as this reader pointed out, “why do this seemingly impossible thing when it onl produced more helplessness?”

As we discussed the book further, the other readers decided that this was not a foolhardy journey for the author to take. They liked how the author balanced the physical challenges with the personal ones.

One of the most interesting topics we mulled over was the character of Tori. All noted how genuine she was. She was someone everyone knew they could talk to at a dinner, a meeting, or on the subway. They liked her honesty and approachability. One reader mentioned that most adventure stories, and she admitted she was referring to the ones written by men, presented the protagonist as a human being with superlative physical gifts, “someone who is really not like anyone you’ve ever met or known” said a reader. Tori’s gift, one participant noted, was her determination and sheer force of will. “She’s like anyone you might meet anywhere. You wouldn’t be limited to just talking about her book.”

These are Junior Leaguers and they can talk to anyone about anything.

Funny you should ask, Jess. I recently put together a list of titles for a local mystery discussion group and used Gary’s great book and these others.

Read On…Crime Fiction by Barry Trott is divided into multiple sections Story, Character, Setting, Mood, and Language and broken down further into lists with catchy titles. I looked in the Story, Character, and Language sections for the best titles for book groups.

I also used 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century and They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated and Forgotten Mystery Novels, both edited by Jim Huang. Mystery experts from across the nation submitted their favorites and other titles they felt deserved to be re-appreciated. Each contributor sent in a good synopsis of a title with appeal factors and some topics for discussion.

Any of these resources should offer up plenty of killer good reading.

Because it takes on contemporary and near-future issues, Doctorow’s brand of science fiction will be relevant to readers who don’t normally read that genre. If you are interested in where technology is taking us, in the creative life, or in questions of intellectual property, you will find him worth your time.

My introduction to Doctorow came with Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, a light, fast look at a future where a kind of eternal life is available, where ad-hoc work groups of like-minded folk control the workplace, and collective public opinion is translated into the main kind of currency. Protagonist Julius joins an ad hoc at Disney World but is promptly assassinated. Ported into a new body but still wracked with a variety of personal problems, Julius must try to solve his murder, keep his ad hoc afloat, and navigate a love triangle.

Doctorow’s press reached new heights with last year’s Little Brother, a young adult novel about a tech-loving Bay Area teen in the near future. He and his friends are first captured, then released under heavy surveillance by the government after they are in the vicinity when a terrorist’s bomb destroys the Bay Bridge. While the protagonist, Marcus, may be a bit off-putting to some older readers, one can’t help but sympathize with his dilemmas. Shadow forces within the government use the terrorist act as an excuse for new levels of technological privacy invasion and control of citizens. Marcus chooses to fight back through a variety of digital means. The the resulting cat-and-mouse game between his youthful following and the homeland security folks is fascinating, scary, sometimes just too plausible.

Doctorow’s newest book is Makers. If put on a timeline, it would occur sometime between Little Brother and Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, still in the near future, but set in a world where the economy has really bottomed out and many Americans are reduced to squatting in emptied malls. The book follows a group of close friends–business people, journalists, and most of all inventors–as they try to turn the shell of a dying Fortune 500 monolith into a nimble network of grass roots collectives who rapidly turn new ideas into marketable products. In particular, the book follows Suzanne Church, a middle-aged journalist turned blogger who decides to follow one of the best of the new collectives for a year. That decision begins her lifetime relationship with Perry and Lester, two creative geniuses. Events related to their first inventions in Florida tie the group to a local shantytown and an ongoing battle with the Disney corporation. Doctorow explores future battles between small and large companies, the impact of digital culture, the effects of future health supplements, the joys and defects of all things Disney, and myriad other subjects. Most exciting to me, Doctorow is learning to create more complex characters. Even if you don’t care much about the issues he explores, you’ll care about Perry, Lester, Suzanne, Kettlewell, Tjan, Francis, and Hilda. Like many driven, creative people, these characters are torn between committing to their latest pursuits and to long-term relationships. Along the way, I found many celebrations, many heartaches.

Give Doctorow a look. These books and his others are all quick to read. Even readers who don’t like them will find plenty of worthwhile ideas to engage them.

Among her other achievements, Rebecca is the author of two readers’ advisory nonfiction titles for Libraries Unlimited/Greenwood Press, Read On…Women’s Fiction, and Women’s Fiction Authors: A Research Guide.  She was named Library Journal’s Fiction Reviewer of the Year in 2008. The rest of us Book Group Buzzers are thrilled to have Rebecca join us, and are looking forward to reading her posts.

• Anyone can come, whether they consider themselves a “member” or not
• It takes the pressure off of people at the end of the year/holiday time
• Participants leave with a list of book recommendations
• People LOVE to talk about what they are reading
• It often gives several ideas of books that might make a good discussion for the next year.

The Oak Park (Illinois) Public Library takes this idea one step further, with their Oak Park Readers, a “book lovers’ appreciation society”.  Every few months, they hold a Book Chat, or “party”.  For libraries without a structured book club, perhaps this might be a good way to gauge interest, or, simply some easy book-centered programming.