The first draft book club will discuss kent harufs devastating final book, our souls at night, on wednesday, july 22. Sometimes life can get so hectic that youre lucky if you find time to shower let alone read your book club book in time. Rainy day books book club discussion of our souls at night event overview and format. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion. Send out an email to gauge employee interest in reading a book on their own time and then meeting at lunch once a week to discuss the book. This month we are discussing the untethered soul by michael a. Our souls at night, by kent haruf the new york times. We decided to max the group at 15 and then with at least four new people. Harufs sixth and final novel, our souls at night, was published in may, bringing fans of his work back once more to the fictional town of holt, colorado. In this lesson, students in grades 7 and 8 form literature circle groups and read either esperanza rising or becoming naomi leon by pam munoz ryan.
Im not sure im putting this answer in the right place. Please tell me im not wrong in thinking that the relationship did not end at the end of the book. Send an email to the company announcing the next book and soliciting members for the next round of the book club. Even now, thinking of endings, of the ending of this book, the kent haruf wrote our souls at night under a death sentence. It is not sensational, it is not edgy, it is not cynical, nor is it freighted with irony like so much modern literature. When read as a final tribute to a lifelong love, this book becomes a thing of. If your new years resolution is to read more but you cant find the time, audiobooks are the answer. Louis waters and addie moore are the focus of this bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the future. Our souls at night is a short book, under 200 pages, and much of it consists of dialogue between the two characters. Rainy day books book club discussion of our souls at night. Sometimes organization leaders and other employees may have a book in mind to suggest. The official launch of book club central took place during the presidents program at the ala annual conference and exhibition in chicago on saturday, june 24, 2017. As trite as it might sound, our souls at night is a beautiful story. I decided to come up with a generic list of book club questions to compel us to dig deeper than did you like the book.
Titled our souls at night and just published, it will thrill aficionados of his earlier books and hook readers new to his work with simple yet concentrated language that gorgeously evokes. Yesterday our book club met at my house to discuss kent harufs last book, our souls at night. But its also a work of literary fiction which doesnt have a happy ending. The library is happy to share these original questions for your use. Aug 24, 2017 yesterday our book club met at my house to discuss kent harufs last book, our souls at night. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Sep 28, 2017 i just realized that my latest read, our souls at night, is coming out as a movie tomorrow starring jane fonda and robert redford as longtime senior acquaintances, addie and louis, who begin a relationship by simply staying together for conversation in bed at night, and what ensues is a tender story of two older. Recognition 1986 whiting award for fiction 1999 finalist for the 1999 national book award for plainsong. Our souls at night by kent haruf, opens a new window. Haruf spent a life making art from our blind collisions, and our souls at night is a fitting finish. Funnywe have a confidential shredding service at work called iron mountainmaybe i should watch out.
And then there was the day when addie moore made a call on louis waters. To ask other readers questions about our souls at night, please sign up. If you and your young reader would like to do a book club, ive provided some questions and resources for additional book club ideas. Check out our discussion questions below, but beware. You can have a good book club discussion about a bad book, but its always more fun when members connect to the material and in these times, who wants to invest energy in a book. Based on the bestselling novel written by kent haruf and adapted for the screen by scott neustadter and michael h. Kent and i had such a good time discussing the story.
Our souls at nightbook club discussion my head is full. Our souls at night reading group choices book club. Our souls at night is a best book club book for discussion set in holt, colorado, a beautiful story of second chances between two people who have lost their spouses. In his final work, the plainsong novelist, who died last year, returns to colorado one last time. Our souls at night by kent haruf karens two sentence. Mary mcbride, bookseller, will discuss our souls at night in detail with the attendees.
If you havent had the chance to read it but youd like to talk with your young reader about it, ask them the questions anyway. Next tu book club discussion to focus on our souls at. This bookas well as this prayerserves as a great reminder to dedicate our time, our work, and our lives back to god and, most important, to slow down and look for gods presence in our lives. The idea for the book has been floating around in my mind for quite a while. Weber the fault in our stars, our souls at night is set in colorado and begins.
Our souls at night by kent haruf mount prospect public library book discussion questions. Our souls at night is just as beautiful as harufs earlier books, albeit somewhat shorter and focused only on addie and louis vs. It will bring forth a good discussion for our book group. Our souls at night, his final work, was published posthumously in 2015 and received wide praise. Learn more about the washington post book club and join the conversation surrounding monthly picks in fiction and nonfiction online.
Start your own work fromhome book club with these great reads. These book club discussion questions solicit the best thoughts of your participating employees. Now that i know i have, you knowa limited timeit was. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Again, putting yourself in the place of an observerfamily, would you take any issue with the word decency. My book group all disagreed with me and i thought i was crazy. Rainy day books will present an instore book club discussion of our souls at night by kent haruf. Despite knowing his life was coming to a sooner end than it should, or perhaps because of this, he created a story about finding love in the final chapter. Christine peterson will discuss kent harufs our souls at night at thomas universitys next book club meeting at 7 p. The first sentences read, and then there was the day when addie moore made a call on louis. But haruf wrote this novel as an homage to his wife cathy, whom he married later in life as well. Our 23 hour meetings are primarily a social gathering with a mere 10 minute discussion. Now that i know i have, you knowa limited timeit was important to me to try to make good use of that time. Our souls at night, his final novel, opens with an evening visit that.
On november 30, 2014, at the age of 71, kent haruf died at his home in salida, colorado, of interstitial lung disease. Aside from the previously mentioned interview with the philadelphia inquirer, ann patchett has given a lot of great interviews about this book that could help enrich your book club discussion. What other book club discussion questions work for your group. Jan 29, 2016 11 reasons every woman should join a book club. A fine and poignant novel that demonstrates that our desire to love and to be loved does not dissolve with age the story speeds along, almost as if its a pageturning mystery. The book is being developed into a netflix original film starring robert redford and jane fonda, which premieres on the platform in september 2017. May 28, 2015 titled our souls at night and just published, it will thrill aficionados of his earlier books and hook readers new to his work with simple yet concentrated language that gorgeously evokes. Knopf publishing, gary fisketjon, visits the post for a special interview with book world editor, ron charles. Book discussion our souls at night by kent haruf book lovers. How to do book club virtually during covid distancing. Book club central, or bcc, will bring a world of information to book lovers, book clubs, libraries, and anyone who wants to increase their enjoyment of reading. Our souls at night is kent harufs final novel, finished just days before he died in 2014, it was publis.
Our souls at night is an exquisite book made all the more poignant by the fact that kent very. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading our souls at night. Start your own workfromhome book club with these great. Both are emeritus stars of tinseltown royalty on multiple levels, respected and celebrated as awardwinning performers, icons of style, sex symbols, and vigilant political personas offscreen. My current book club group is much more casual, but perhaps too much so. Kent harufs final novel, the national bestseller our souls at night, is a quiet tale of love and second chances. I dont want to get too fancy about it, but it was like something else was working to help me get this done.
First, the rules of your standard book club still apply. Book discussion our souls at night by kent haruf book. In our souls at night, we learn to love brave people making unconventional choices despite the narrowing and telescoping of freedoms and options in the later years of life. Do you think any of the stories could be expanded into a fulllength book. Our souls at night is the final book from the folio prizeshortlisted author of plainsong, eventide and benediction, kent haruf. Author grady hendrix also wrote 2018s we sold our souls. Because in some ways, the novel challenges a lot of stereotypes i see there.
A spare yet eloquent, bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the imminent future. Determine if employees are interested in a book club. The inspiring story of a son and his dying mother, who form a book club that brings them together as her. Did kent have an idea or an outline for our souls at night when he sat down to. Our souls at night kent haruf, 2015 knopf doubleday 192 pp. Jun 26, 2015 editor of our souls at night and vice president and editoratlarge of alfred a. Attendance at the meeting was way down, only four gals attended, but we had a spirited discussion over this short, gem of a book. They thought it all ended with addie in the hospital. Dec 14, 2017 in one of my past book clubs, we literally only read books that included discussion questions at the end of the book because we wanted to be certain wed have a meaningful discussion. Our 23 hour meetings are primarily a social gathering with a mere 10 minute discussion about the book snuck somewhere in the middle. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Apr 05, 2020 start your own work fromhome book club with these great reads. Mount prospect public library book discussion questions.
Four souls by louise erdrich book club discussion questions. This book was written as haruf knew his time was limited. Harufs prose is pareddown and limpid, maybe even more so than in his earlier novels. When the group completes the book, select the next book.
In holt, colorado, widower louis waters is initially thrown when the widowed addie moore suggests that they spend time together, in bed, to stave off loneliness, but soon they are exchanging confidences and memories. Sold on a monday by kristina mcmorris book club discussion. I thought a lot, reading our souls at night, about online book discussions. Its the commotion the mind makes about life that really. Their speech, like their lives, is plain and unadorned. Jennifer maloney wall street journal utterly charming and distilled to elemental purity such a tender, carefully polished work that it seems like a blessing we had no right to expect. Our souls at night is one of the most moving books ive read in ages. A little life by hanya yanagihara the buried giant by kazuo ishiguro the book of strange new things by michel faber our souls at night by kent. It is difficult to hold a book club discussion with 1214 active participants over the phone our book club is held across all nine of our offices. Please be aware that this discussion guide may contain spoilers. Our souls at night is a best book club book for discussion set in holt, colorado, a beautiful story of second chances between two people who have lost their. Even from a different generation than the present day, you cant get more hollywood than robert redford and jane fonda. It is a report from the edge of darkness, made in the. I read our souls at night in one sitting and wept in the final pages.
We sold our souls comments showing 19 of 9 9 new post a comment. Our souls at night book club discussion yesterday our book club met at my house to discuss kent harufs last book, our souls at night. Their arrangement immediately comes under fire from the other elderly. Editor gary fisketjon discusses our souls at night.
Classroom book clubs traditionally involve studentled discussions about books, but often teachers feel that these clubs need more direction and accountability. The obvious answer is that the two main characters bare their souls to each other at night. Keep to a schedule, stick to your proposed theme, and prepare questions to help stimulate conversation. The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading groups discussion of our souls at night, the final novel from acclaimed author kent haruf questions and topics for discussion. Do you see evidence of this struggle in our souls at night. The deadline for your entries is wednesday, may 6th at noon et. The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading groups discussion of our souls at night, the final novel from. A with cathy haruf, kent harufs wife, we ask her to talk.
For our discussion we will be discussing our souls at night by kent haruf in my preparation i have gathered the following material to enhance our discussion. Ron charles of the washington post called it a tender, carefully polished work. Further reading what to do now that youve finished reading the dutch house. Ill start, but feel free to take the conversation in any direction you wish. Ron charles of the washington post called it a tender, carefully polished work that it seems like a blessing we had no right to expect. Recommending new books each month to spark lively conversation. Our souls at night, by kent haruf my extensive reading. Kent harufs novel, our souls at night, tells the tale of the unlikely love found when addie moore proposes that her neighbor, louis waters, sleeps in the same bed as her because the nights are lonely. Our latest prize book is circe by madeline miller, which is now available in paperback. In his final interview, conducted a few days before his death from interstitial lung disease, haruf discussed our souls at night.
In the familiar setting of holt, colorado, home to all of kent harufs inimitable fiction, addie moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, louis waters. Jan 29, 2009 my friends from book club and i were all living in new york at the time, and the book, which is about a little boy who lost his father on september 11, opened up an avenue for us to talk and reflect on an event that had forever changed our lives. The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading groups discussion of our souls at night, the final novel from acclaimed author kent haruf. For our discussion we will be discussing our souls at night by kent haruf. Feel free to post any of your thoughts, comments, andor questions. Read on for a special book club discussion prompt from cathy.