Pleasanton Book Club

Selection of the month: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

The remarkable, little-known story of Belle da Costa Greene, J. P. Morgan's personal librarian—who became one of the most powerful women in New York despite the dangerous secret she kept in order to make her dreams come true, from New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict and acclaimed author Victoria Christopher Murray.

Food for Thought
1. How might you explain Belle’s rise to such breathtaking heights in society and her profession at a time when women --- especially African American women --- faced such blatant discrimination and exclusion? Did Belle possess certain personality traits that yielded this incredible outcome? If so, what are they? What sorts of outside influences contributed to her ascent?
2. In some ways, Belle’s parents had somewhat unique experiences or backgrounds for African American people during this time period. What kind of reaction did you have to her parents’ histories? How might those histories have impacted Belle, even when she had not been told the details of her parents’ pasts?
3. How did you view Belle’s relationship with her mother? Do you think Belle resented her mother, or did their relationship change over the course of the book such that they came to a place of understanding? If so, what was Belle’s turning point with her mother?
From ReadingGroupGuides
Code of Conduct:

• Everyone is welcome to join a discussion even if they have not finished the book.
• Book club is a safe space. Don't feel pressured to finish the book that makes you uncomfortable or just isn't your cup of tea.
• Respect other members! Give everyone a chance to share their thoughts!
• Bring your opinions! There is no wrong way to experience the book!

Suggestion Box:
Have something sitting in your ToRead list and want to share with the group? Submit the form or bring your ideas to the club directly!

Book Options For Next Month:
Per request to balance female protagonists, the next month's selections are focusing on male protagonists' stories

1. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
   In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.
2. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
   Eleven-year-old Owen Meany, playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire, hits a foul ball and kills his best friend's mother. Owen doesn't believe in accidents; he believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul is both extraordinary and terrifying.
3. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
   Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.
4. Guards, Guards by Sir Terry Pratchett,
   This is where the dragons went. They lie... not dead, not asleep, but... dormant. And although the space they occupy isn't like normal space, nevertheless they are packed in tightly. They could put you in mind of a can of sardines, if you thought sardines were huge and scaly. And presumably, somewhere, there's a key...

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Suggestion Box:
Have something sitting in your ToRead list and want to share with the group? Submit the form or bring your ideas to the club directly!

Suggestion Box:
Have something sitting in your ToRead list and want to share with the group? Submit the form or bring your ideas to the club directly!