Read With Us: It's a Wrap

It's my turn to do the Read With Us wrap-up and I've been considering what I wanted to say about our discussion of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. I did take some notes during our discussion last Tuesday night (although I completely forgot about taking a picture), and I've already patted myself on the back for remembering where I put those notes. 

We're very appreciative that so many of you chose to read the book, join us (even if you didn't have a chance to finish the book), answer the questions we posed, and discuss the book. Read With Us was conceived as a book group, and while there are three of us, book discussions would quickly reach a dead end if just Kym, Carole, and I were the only ones discussing the books. All of you offer new viewpoints, original thoughts, and opinions and we are grateful for that!

Kym opened up the discussion by asking what our guilty reading pleasures might be. Answers ranged from Stephen King, Ellie Griffiths, and Louise Penny to Rosamunde Pilcher. Many people seem to enjoy reading historical fiction as a break from more difficult books. 

We talked about characters in Heaven & Earth, and we all felt that even though there were many of them which made it a bit difficult to keep track of them, they served to cross boundaries. We also discussed the communities that the immigrants formed served to put some order in the world along with identifying with others who are like you. This is helpful both culturally and economically. These communities can both work together and be pulled apart, even by a simple act. 

I'm not sure how we segued to this as I neglected to write it down, but we felt that issues can be solved if we can see the humanity in people. Sometimes small gestures or simple kindnesses can work wonders. I think that was evident in the book and is true in our world today.

Many of us agreed that the ending felt rushed. After reading about multiple characters and their detouring storylines, the main story did seem to be quickly wrapped up, so quickly in fact, that several readers wondered if they had missed something. Several people felt that they had enjoyed The Good Lord Bird or Deacon King Kong a bit more, and I would like to read McBride's memoir The Color of Water to find out more about his grandmother. 

If you took part in the Zoom and would like to share some of our discussion highlights in the comments, please feel free to do so. (That might make for a better wrap-up than trying to decipher my fragmented and scribbled notes!) Thanks so much for coming along and for choosing to Read With Us. Stay tuned as we’ll be announcing our spring selection next Tuesday!