This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author is poised to garner yet more adoring fans.

We’ll be discussing Eat, Pray, Love on February 10th. We meet in the Main Library in Conference Room 3 at noon. Feel free to bring a lunch.

In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence — when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper. Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is a powerful drama written with extraordinary narrative vitality. It is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers.

We’ll be discussing 1776 on January 13th. We meet in the Main Library in Conference Room 3 at noon. Feel free to bring a lunch.

- Is Glory a happy person? Is Robert a happy person?

- Is Jack an immoral person? What are his strengths? What are his flaws?

- Does Robert take the right approach to his son? Does he understand his son at all?

- If you grew up in an urban area, or in a household that was nonreligious, did you relate to this book? Who was Robinson’s intended audience?

- Overall, I found Home to be a masterfully crafted and deeply affecting novel. The only sour note was the ending which I found a bit artificial. What did you think of the end?

We’ll be discussing Home on December 9th. We meet in the Main Library in Conference Room 3 at noon. Feel free to bring a lunch.

Home is a deeply affecting novel that transpires in the household of Reverend Robert Boughton. Glory Boughton, aged thirty-eight, has returned to Gilead to care for her dying father. Soon her brother, Jack—the prodigal son of the family, gone for twenty years—comes home too, looking for refuge and trying to make peace with a past littered with tormenting trouble and pain. Jack is one of the great characters in recent literature. A bad boy from childhood, an alcoholic who cannot hold a job, he is perpetually at odds with his surroundings and with his traditionalist father, though he remains Boughton’s most beloved child. Brilliant, lovable, and wayward, Jack forges an intense bond with Glory and engages painfully with Ames, his godfather and namesake. Home is a moving and healing book about families, family secrets, and the passing of the generations, about love and death and faith. It is Robinson’s greatest work, an unforgettable embodiment of the deepest and most universal emotions.

What do you do about people that you love but constantly disappoint you?

We’ll be discussing Home on December 9th. We meet in the Main Library in Conference Room 3 at noon. Feel free to bring a lunch.

- Seward ordering secret orders to the Powhatan was an “awkward situation” to say the least. Did Lincoln handle this the right way by taking the blame all on himself?

- Chase is a fascinating person. He obviously is very effective in his duties but also very deluded. How do we explain the success of persons like him? Could his quirks of character be a hindrance in some aspects of his life but beneficial in other aspects of his life?

- Ulysses S. Grant is often cited as the example of a functioning addict. Is too much made of his drinking?

- There’s been much controversy surrounding Mary Lincoln in recent years. What do you think of her and her relationship with the president?

- Why did Lincoln risked being shot at Fort Stevens? How do we explain that behavior?

- Save the best for last: was the Civil War about slavery?

We’ll be discussing part two of Team of Rivals on November 11th. We meet in the Main Library in Conference Room 3 at noon. Feel free to bring a lunch.

- The author calls Lincoln a “political genius.” How do you define political genius? Does this mean simply achieving your political goals, or is it something more? Do any of Lincoln’s actions strike you as “genius”?

- Goodwin goes out her way prove that Lincoln was NOT depressed and NOT homosexual. Why would she do this? What would the significance be if he was depressed and was homosexual?

- Would contemporary political campaigns be better if candidates did not actively make new speeches or take new policy positions?

- Lincoln and Jackson were very similar in that they were both Western lawyers and perceived as men of the people. If we take this comparison further does it begin to fall apart?

- Do Seward, Chase and Bates have any contemporary equivalents? Let the games begin!

Here’s a great lecture by Goodwin comparing the lives Lincoln and Lyndon B. Johnson. This lecture is one of many TED Talks which I highly recommend.

We’ll be discussing part one of Team of Rivals on October 14th. We meet in the Main Library in Conference Room 3 at noon. Feel free to bring a lunch.