20 SHAKERONLINE.COM | SPRING 2015
suffers a near-fatal accident, the Rivera family
confronts cultural barriers, their daughter’s
difficult recovery, and her developing
relationship with a Panamanian boy.
Tuesday, June 9: Love Medicine by
Louise Erdrich. On a North Dakota reservation,
the passionate and dramatic lives of two
families are linked to the past and immersed
in the present.
Residents interested in joining the book
discussions can pick up books at the Main
Library Reference Desk one month before
the discussions. Please register in advance at
shakerlibrary.org or call 216-991-2030.
More Book Discussion Opportunities
If mystery is your reading preference,
librarian Pam Tidwell leads monthly discussions
on popular whodunits at 7:30 pm on
the second Tuesday evenings of the month.
Tuesday, April 14: Snow White Must Die
by Nele Neuhaus. Detectives Pia Kirchhoff
and Oliver von Bodenstein race against time
to find a girl who has disappeared .
Tuesday, May 12: The Beautiful Mystery
by Louise Penny. When a peaceful monastery
in Québec is shattered by the murder of
@ Shaker Library
Book Buzz
Here’s the “Buzz”
on a Library Book Group
Celebrating Its 15th Anniversary
Shaker librarian Lynda Thomas will celebrate
her book discussion group’s 15th anniversary
this spring with cake and, of course, a book
discussion. Lynda has facilitated Book Buzz,
a book discussion group that meets from 10
am to 11:30 am the second Tuesday of the
month at the Main Library.
Lynda’s experience with book groups
began when she formed a group in the
mid-1980s while living in Pennsylvania.
(Oprah didn’t begin her book group until
1996, so Lynda was certainly ahead of
the book-group curve.) A graduate of
Gettysburg College with a Master’s degree
in Library Science from the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lynda has
worked in libraries for more than 40 years in
Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Lynda selects all the titles for Book Buzz
discussions, sometimes basing the year’s
reading on one particular theme. According
to Sarah Berg, a member since 2001, “Lynda
finds books that I would not have found on
my own, thoughtful ones with a bite to them
with a different slant to a common problem.”
Lynda rates the books on a scale of
1-10. This is the group’s rating for not only
the book, but also the discussion. Members
record their ratings of the book before the
discussion and again at the end. Lynda says
“It’s wonderful to see the impact of the group
discussion when the rating goes up by two
or three points, and it’s heartening to hear
members say, ‘I wouldn’t have chosen this
book, but I’m glad I read it.’”
Joanna Schoonover is a relative
newcomer to Book Buzz and finds herself
looking forward to each book discussion.
“Lynda is a great discussion leader and she
chooses books that are not only thought
provoking, but selections that I probably
would not have read otherwise.”
Tam Pendleton has been a member of
Book Buzz almost since the beginning. “It
got me connected to Shaker Heights after we
moved here in a way I would not have been
otherwise,” she says. “The members have
been a multi-faceted and deeply interesting
group of people. I learned a lot of Shaker
Heights history over the years. Most of all,
when life was a little wild and hectic, being
in the group gave me a reason to continue
setting aside time to read.”
Lynda also invites authors to join in
the discussions. Thrity Umrigar, Paula Chen,
Sarah Willis, and Barbara Hacha have been
among her guests.
According to Library Director Luren
Dickinson, “To be a good discussion leader
you need to be organized and creative, enjoy
being with others, like to read, be able to
help others understand the book, and create
a welcoming environment. Lynda has the
capacity to do all of these things with grace
and poise.”
Upcoming Book Buzz Discussions
Tuesday, April 14: The Worst Hard Time:
The Untold Story of Those Who Survived
the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy
Egan. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
presents an oral history of the Dust Bowl
that devastated the Great Plains during the
Great Depression. The story follows several
families and their communities through the
rise and fall of the region and their desperate
struggles to persevere.
Tuesday, May 12: The Book of Unknown
Americans by Cristina Henriquez. Moving
from Mexico to the U.S. when their daughter
Book Buzz
Lynda Thomas (far right)
and just a few of her Book
Buzz group participants.
Top Rated Titles from Book Buzz Members
Three books garnered the highest rating of 9.6 points:
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck; The Fort of Nine Towers by Qais Akbar Omar;
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Other titles that achieved an average rating over 9 points:
Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam; Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini;
Finding Fish by Antwone Fisher; Line by Line by Barbara Hacha;
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce; The Help by Kathryn Stockett;
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls; The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar;
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot; Bel Canto by Ann Patchett;
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach; The Good Earth by Pearl Buck