Our June and July Book was The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker suggested by Cortney
In attendance at Joy's home:
Jamie, Cortney, Lauren, Kat and Joy
The discussion questions we followed for The Art of Hearing Heartbeats:
2. Tin Win is born to parents who abandon him as a child but Mi Mi is born into a close-knit family. Mi Mi’s mother, especially, adores her daughter. Do you see this developmental difference reflected in the adult each one becomes, or in the way the two relate to one another?1. In your opinion, what does the back-and-forth between Julia’s and U Ba’s narratives add to the telling of the love story between Tin Win and Mi Mi? How do these stories interrelate?
3. After he loses his sight, Tin Win spends several years in a monastery under the tutelage of the abbot, U May. In your opinion, what does U May model for Tin Win? How does Tin Win grow in these years?
4. Tin Win’s wealthy uncle, U Saw, finances Tin Win’s eye operation and subsequent education abroad. But to U Saw’s discredit, his motives are self-interested, and for his own convenience, he obstructs all communication between Tin Win and Mi Mi. Is U Saw portrayed as a villain—or is he even villainous?
5. A portion of the novel is in the form of letters. Does this change the mood or the flow of the novel? The way you see the characters?
6. Tin Win and Mi Mi develop an intense, literally symbiotic relationship: he walks for her; she acts as his eyes. They become inseparable, but then they are separated for decades. Given what you know about each character, how do you think they are able to withstand the time apart?
7. Discuss the role of memory in the novel, both individual and collective.
8. Burma (now known as Myanmar) was occupied by the British from the nineteenth century until 1948. How important is this colonial history to the major events of the novel?
There were a few more discussion questions but we felt The Art of Hearing Heartbeats was sufficiently discussed out.
Next fun topics of conversation went in three directions: FOOD, MUSICALS and BOOKS
FOOD Establishment recommendations:
Cortney suggested Big Kahunas by the airport to try the BBQ pizza and the club sandwich
Big City Diner multiple locations, Joy's favorite: Paniolo Chicken Salad
Jamie mentioned Mexico in Kalihi
We all want to try Coquitos in Waianae for Puerto Rican, Colombian & Caribbean selections
Lauren felt North Shore Tacos are the closest to Cafe Rio on the island
Then Cortney mentioned Hughley's for southern food. That place is high on my to-go list.
Queen Street Cafe & Grill has awesome firecracker Chicken. yes, please.
Dixie Grill got some not so great reviews from our bookclubbers.
And one of our favorite group places to eat is Cattle Company and their hot fudge cake. We've had too many farewells at Cattle Company though.
Big City Diner multiple locations, Joy's favorite: Paniolo Chicken Salad
Jamie mentioned Mexico in Kalihi
We all want to try Coquitos in Waianae for Puerto Rican, Colombian & Caribbean selections
Lauren felt North Shore Tacos are the closest to Cafe Rio on the island
Then Cortney mentioned Hughley's for southern food. That place is high on my to-go list.
Queen Street Cafe & Grill has awesome firecracker Chicken. yes, please.
Dixie Grill got some not so great reviews from our bookclubbers.
And one of our favorite group places to eat is Cattle Company and their hot fudge cake. We've had too many farewells at Cattle Company though.
Cortney has an affinity for Musicals! How awesome is she?! So I picked her brain. Some favorites she mentioned: Singing in the Rain, The King & I, White Christmas, that one she watches every year. Then we found out Cortney's favorite Christmas CD is Martina McBride.
Kat mentioned the musical Urinetown of which we thought was You're In Town ....nope. Urinetown. hahaha
The Paet family favorite Musical is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Bless Your Beautiful Hide! And I like Chicago, too. We all LOVE The Sound of Music. I'm surprised none of us mentioned Grease, however!
BOOKS:
Our August Books for the month will be the Stung series by Bethany Wiggins.
Book ONE: Stung
Book TWO: Cured
This series is Moana's suggestion and Cortney and I read them. They are super quick reads and both very good.
Each book is approximately 300 pages. So we will all need to get crackin'!
Also mentioned for possible future reads:
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, 278 pages
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum, 497 pages
The Secret Keeper (478 pages) and The Lake House (593 pages) both by Kate Morton
And Finally, Pebble Ice or Nugget Ice is to be found at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf or in a pinch at Sam's Club in their cafe. Aloha!!
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