This space reserved for the post from the March 2025 book Discussion of Garlic & Sapphires, by Ruth Reichl

Discussion Preparation for Mad Honey, by Jodi Picoult - 4/21/25

 Mad Honey, by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

About the Book

 A soul-stirring novel about what we choose to keep from our past and what we choose to leave behind, from the New York Times bestselling author of WISH YOU WERE HERE and the bestselling author of SHE'S NOT THERE.

 Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life --- living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising their beautiful son, Asher --- was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined that she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in and taking over her father's beekeeping business.

 Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start.

 And for just a short while, these new beginnings are exactly what Olivia and Lily need. Their paths cross when Asher falls for the new girl in school, and Lily can't help but fall for him, too. With Ash, she feels happy for the first time. Yet at times, she wonders if she can trust him completely.

 Then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent. But she would be lying if she didn't acknowledge the flashes of his father's temper in Ash, and as the case against him unfolds, she realizes he has hidden more than he?s shared with her.

MAD HONEY is a riveting novel of suspense, an unforgettable love story, and a moving and powerful exploration of the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become ourselves.

Author Bio

 Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 30 novels, including BY ANY OTHER NAME, MAD HONEY (co-authored with Jennifer Finney Boylan), WISH YOU WERE HERE, THE BOOK OF TWO WAYS, A SPARK OF LIGHT, SMALL GREAT THINGS, LEAVING TIME and MY SISTER'S KEEPER, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, BETWEEN THE LINES and OFF THE PAGE. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband.

Questions about Mad Honey to Contemplate and Discuss

 1.  What surprised you about MAD HONEY? Did you have any emotional reactions? Discuss. 

2.  Both Olivia and Lily share a love for fun facts, especially about bees. What is the significance of having these bee facts in the book? Is there one that particularly stood out to you?

 3.  Olivia's chapters move forward in time while Lily's move backward. How did this affect the story's narrative and the way information was revealed? Why do you think the authors specifically chose to focus the points of view on Olivia and Lily?

 4.  In many ways, Asher and Lily are two sides of the same coin. How does Asher's relationship with Braden (or lack thereof) mirror Lily's relationship with her own father, and how does this contrast with the relationships they have with their mothers?

 5.  Do you believe someone who hits and abuses their partner can ever change? And if you were in Olivia's shoes, would you be worried about the potential cycle of abuse that could pass from parent to child? If so, what steps may you have tried to take to prevent this?

 6.  Did you agree or disagree with Olivia's decision to keep Braden's abuse a secret from Asher? Knowing what we know about the things Olivia and Asher hid from each other, does this ultimately do more to help or hurt Asher?

 7.   Do you believe that love between a parent and child can be unconditional? Are some actions, taken by either the parent or child, beyond redemption and deemed unforgiveable? Discuss.

 8.  Was the volatility of Lily's relationship with Asher a red flag (a sign that a person will turn out to be --- or is --- a bad or problematic partner), or something that could be chalked up to a teenage relationship?

9.  At one point, Jordan snaps at Asher and says, "The truth has no place in a court of law, goddammit (sic). And since the prosecution's already painted you as an abuser and a liar, how good do you actually think your word is?? In what ways do the procedures of this trial --- and the larger justice system--- affect Asher and the other witnesses?

 10.  The court of public opinion impacts all the characters involved in the case, something we've seen continuously play out in contemporary society, especially with the popularity of social media and instant access to the news cycle. Do you think it's fair for casual observers to take sides and make assumptions about events they see and hear, and why do you think we, as a society, are so drawn to doing this?

 11.  What did you think when you learned that Lily was trans? And which societal factors in your life may have affected how you felt about this?

 12.  During Elizabeth's conversation with Olivia, she says, ?You know what they say: if you've met one trans person, you've. met one trans person. What's true for Lily might not be true for someone else.? Which other movies, shows and/or books offer genuine depictions of the trans characters and stories featured?

13.   How did you think Lily died before it was revealed in the end? Did you make certain assumptions about other characters, and who was your prime suspect?

14.  One of Olivia's beehives is attacked by a bear, and she springs into action to save the bees, even as she knows it?s a lost cause. What does this symbolize within the larger story?

 15.  What do you think about the prosecutor's decision not to charge Maya? Do you think Mike is correct in assuming that Ava prefers this as well? Why or why not?

We Get a Feel for What it Takes to Complete the Camino De Santiago

The Camino De Santiago is an 800-kilometer, almost 500-mile walk in Spain that has been considered to be a “Pilgrimage” since pre-Christian times. In his book, The Way, My Way: A Camino Memoir, Bill Bennett wrote about his personal walking journey along the entire Camino. Bennett was an independent filmmaker who had some successful films. He made a film starring Martin Sheen about his Camino adventures, but generally the book is considered better.

Thanks to Lydia, who has friends who have walked the Camino, for presenting this book to us! One of the first questions we discussed was whether we liked the author from his book and whether we’d like to spend time with him. Joyce described the author as introspective. He had a strong opinion that pilgrims should walk the Camino if possible and shouldn’t take buses or taxis. About that, Joyce quipped, “Misery loves company!” It was interesting that the author met the couple with the beautiful wife and encountered them many times, with the wife asking him whether he had taken a taxi or bus every time they met!

We talked about Bennett’s obsession with returning the towel to Laszlo. I said he was very grateful for the towel and had used it for important needs, and that he also wanted to see Laszlo after he had finished the walk, to show that he had been successful. Self-satisfaction can certainly be enhanced by sharing a success with others who would relate to its value. Susan thought the towel represented the help Bennett received during the trip. Bennett became more helpful to others as the trip progressed and felt good about that, so the towel might have represented some of Bennett’s personal growth to him.

Another question we discussed was how Bennett became pain-free after suffering a lot of pain and blistering, and how he also found his eyesight remarkably improved. Bennett learned a lot during the trip, including how to take care of himself, navigate the dynamics of the days using his intuition (as he called it, his “GPS”) to help him make decisions, and ways to interact with other pilgrims. His final chapter was a sort of “laundry list” of important things he learned. He began that list with an entry about gratitude that included being thankful when he had clean laundry! Marcia diagnosed Bennett a little, suggesting that he might have begun the walk in a prediabetic condition, and the exercise, weight reduction and sugar reduction could have been responsible for his leg recovery as well as his improved vision.

After reading the book, the reader can find information about Bennett’s blog, which was probably an important part of his journey. It seems that it was from Bennett’s blog that he wrote the book and the movie. After reading the book, it’s impressive to imagine Bennett finding time and energy to write detailed blog posts or even just notes about so many aspects of the long days on the Camino! He had walked many miles, felt a lot of pain or marveled and wondered at its absence, and stopped at mostly busy resting places, many of them with limited comforts beyond a bed to sleep on. With everything happening as he depicted it in his book, it is rather a wonder how he recorded the details that he published in the book!

We Find an Imperfect But Improved Solution to the Problem of Unwanted Pregnancy

Thanks to Marcia, we had an unusual discussion that was interesting, well-attended, and full of hope! We read Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion, by Gabrielle Blair. In this book, Blair presents what could be the best, safest, and most inspired solution to the abortion problem in the United States and anywhere else! In a nutshell: because men are fertile 24-7 from maturity throughout their lives, and whereas women are fertile for less than 1 day per month, society should be placing the responsibility for avoiding unwanted pregnancies on men rather than women.  Three men joined our discussion, and another sent a written statement explaining a slightly different point of view. Thanks to everyone who participated in discussing this sensitive topic, especially our 4 men!

Though we didn’t take a vote, I got the impression that most or all of us felt that this book’s potential solution to minimize unwanted pregnancies (and, therefore, abortions) was refreshing and simple! Many people already understand the facts mentioned in the book pertaining to the difficulties, time required, financial costs, and health risks women face when they take responsibility for birth control. These difficulties are inherent in women’s but not men’s biology. Men of many couples willingly assume the responsibility for preventing unwanted pregnancy. What is missing is a cultural commitment to these efforts and to men becoming aware and accepting of them from youth.

We presented a few disagreements with the information in the book, mostly with the strength of the guarantee against pregnancy that men could obtain via the suggested pregnancy-avoiding methods. “It takes two to tango,” was said during the discussion. The book did not ignore the statistical possibilities of pregnancy based on the methods advocated but showed that the methods minimize those possibilities. Of course, an unwanted pregnancy, even one that was carefully avoided, causes disruption in the pregnant mother’s life and often in the father’s life, too. Compared with the usual choices our society tends to offer to healthy couples, especially now that legal abortion has become a more rare, difficult, or unreachable choice; Ejaculate Responsibly offers important choices men can be fairly safe with, that would minimize the possibilities of surprise pregnancies. 

We End 2024 With a Lovely Potluck Lunch and a Discussion about Quilting

At our Holiday Party, we enjoyed lunch at Joyce’s beautiful home with a view of the San Gabriel River and then discussed The Quilter’s Apprentice, by Jennifer Chiaverini. Marcia told us the author has written 34 novels. The book we read is the first in a series called “The Elm Street Quilts” that includes 21 books about the same characters, plus 3 short stories and a reader’s guide. The book we read seemed like a standalone novel, with good character development; stressful situations and interactions among the characters; and a seemingly complete conclusion, with resolutions of problems. Everyone enjoyed the book, which Marcia purposely chose for our party because of its straightforward story and simplicity, plus the extra interest of quilting.

Four of us brought quilts to the party. Patricia brought a 9-square piece of a quilt pattern that her daughter had designed and sewed. She also showed us a scrapbook-style collection of photos of fabric designs her daughter had created for her job as a fabric designer. Claudia brought a quilt her husband's aunt had made. Marcia and Susan both brought more than one quilt that they had made. The quilts were all beautiful! Susan had made quilts for her 2 daughters when they were babies and had avoided using the color pink. She also brought a picture of a beautiful quilted jacket she had made for one of her grown daughters recently. This jacket is mostly pink, because her daughter loves that color! Marcia brought quilts she had made for her family. One of her quilts was made of a fabric featuring several different kinds of dogs.

Happy Holidays to all! Next year will be a great year for the New Neighbors of Greater Round Rock Book Discussion Group!

We Learn Many Reasons Why We Sleep

Ten wide-awake Book Clubbers met to talk about Why We Sleep, by Matthew Walker.  Although the group gave a general “thumbs up” about the book, there were complaints: Here are most of them, without attaching them to anyone specific. Many at the meeting contributed to this list!

More than just me fell asleep while reading Why We Sleep

Too clinical and not entertaining enough

First half of the book was repetitive, boring

Better book to skip through rather than read cover-to-cover

Sweeping generalizations about best sleep habits

More attention on working people than on those moving into their retirement years, thus less relevant to some of us

Everybody at the meeting admitted to having some sleep problems. I handed out several sleep scales for everyone to look at. It’s easy to find these online, and there are probably more:

The Pittsburgh Sweep Quality Index with some instructions for evaluating it.

SATED Questionnaire

The Epworth Sleepiness Scale

Sleep Scale from the Medical Outcomes Study

When we began discussing the questions, there were a few that were trick questions, e.g., Question #1 The author didn’t mention any organs of the body that don’t benefit from sleep.

Question #2 Making a list of consequences of not getting enough sleep regularly: Some of us added some consequences that weren’t mentioned in the book:

    Susan: Memory retention (this valid consequence was dealt with by some experiments the author described later in the book)

    Marcia: The tiredness nurses experience working a 12-hour shift regularly (not to mention their extra shifts and taking over shifts to help co-workers).

    Cindy: Young children can develop symptoms of autism by not sleeping enough.

    Joyce: Sleep-deprived children can be diagnosed, sometimes incorrectly, with ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder). 

We talked some about the studies Walker described. Among the questions, there was a listing of a critical article someone had written about Why We Sleep accusing the author of massaging the data from the studies he described.

            Joyce said that the statistics in the studies tended to be very detailed, and in some cases very large numbers were used. She explained that the larger the study sample (number of people, rats, etc.), the smaller the differences the study can detect.  In some studies, very small amounts were said to be doubled or tripled, but these numbers could refer to “statistical significance,” which is measured in very small decimal numbers. When, for example, a statistical significance of 0.003 is doubled, that can indicate as small an amount as 0.006, whereas use of the word “doubled” gives the reader the impression that the significance was large. We had some good discussion about the studies and the criticisms. 

We all enjoyed a quote from the book that Marcia read to us about what the obstetrician might say to a brand new mother right after delivery: “Your child will, for the rest of his life, repeatedly lapse into a state of apparent coma; and while his body lies still, his mind will oft be filled with stunning bizarre hallucinations.”

Our discussion ranged from studies to sleep history to sleep deficits working people have because of schedules, long drives, and conflicting family obligations. Thinking of children, we discussed sleep needs, school activities that meet before and after the core school day, and the problems that can arise from lack of enough sleep and often be ignored or misdiagnosed. I thought we touched on much of the variety of sleep-related topics in the book. We agreed that the book is a valuable study of sleep and has good recommendations in it! 

As Texas Citizens, We Consider Texas Politics

Mr. Texas: A Novel, by Lawrence Wright, was a mixture of satire, social commentary, and a good story, with some well-developed characters and many adjuvant characters. It bordered on being an exposé about Texas politics but was published as fiction. Cindy kept our discussion on track, and we went through all the questions and had a dynamic discussion about the story, the characters, and the implications about Texas politics!

Some of the questions we discussed:

Did any of the fictional characters remind you of real-life politicians, and/or which real-life politicians surprised you in the book?

Lydia gave us a complete answer on this one! She explained, “When the Attorney General, a pious crook, was caught fixing up a girlfriend with a well-paying job with a real estate developer (several cries of 'Paxton' were heard at this point in our discussion), L.G., in exchange for settling a damaging lawsuit, not only managed to squash the whistleblower at the plate, but he got the Attorney General’s wife elected to the U.S. Senate!"

What was the funniest part of the book for you?

I thought the beginning was the funniest. It made me laugh out loud, when L.G. was asking Sonny to run, Sonny was still innocent and somewhat clueless, and the reader was just catching on, along with Sonny. Everyone found the Pats who ran the talk show funny. Patricia was amused by Sonny’s responsibility to meet his wife’s ovulation schedule, when they were trying to conceive during the time when Sonny was having meetings. He ran up against that responsibility monthly, each time getting sillier and more outrageous!

Did you find anything in the book to be a foretelling of what is happening now?

We noted that the problems in the book were the current Texas Legislature problems. Gun control, climate change, and school vouchers were mentioned. We didn’t even need to discuss immigration. Marcia and Carla noted that the separation of church and state has become less distinct lately, with Texas working on legislating that Christianity be taught in schools. Lisa said that when she moved to Texas, George Bush’s political visions were fearsome to her and her fellow educators. Also concerning schools in Texas, Michel could hardly believe that Texas public school curriculum doesn’t include sex education.

Abortion issues are blatant in Texas, and this issue has moved beyond the understanding of most legislators, as they want to outlaw in-vitro fertilization (IVF) along with abortions. Carla mentioned that if all IVF embryos have the legal right to be kept alive, this would incur costs, such as paying rent in temperature-controlled space (forever?)  for those who use IVF to build their families. Marcia told us about a theory that places most of the blame for the popularity of abortions on men, considering men basically responsible for unwanted pregnancies.

What was your takeaway message from this book and your role in it?

Carla summed it up with "What you're looking for is looking for you." Cindy suggested that more citizens should vote in the primaries, because that's where the candidates stem from.  Patricia said, "The Lord's battle is fought in the Texas legislature." She became more sympathetic to local politics after reading Mr. Texas. There was some discussion as to the influence of good looks among the candidates on election outcomes. We mentioned various times that each person should vote responsibly, which includes both learning about the candidates and voting.