Tansley Reads!
Tansley Reads! Tansley United Church Book Club Book Discussion Questions
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Tansley Reads! Who We Are
The Tansley Reads! book club began as one of several “Connection Groups” at Tansley United Church, in Burlington Ontario, Canada. The group was formed in 2006 to offer members of the congregation a way to know one another better by discussing books and sharing some of their own stories. From the beginning it was decided that we would not restrict ourselves to religious or spiritual books, and that members would select novels and biographical works that appealed to them. We currently have about 25 members, and usual attendance at meetings is 18 – 20 women (men are welcome, but, well, …). Because we are such a large group, we have had to adopt some non-traditional approaches to book discussions. But we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
How We Operate
We have a coordinating group of 2 – 5 members, who meet
ahead of each meeting to decide on questions, an ice breaker, and items for our
“focus table”. The coordinators search for questions on various websites (the
publisher’s book club guide e.g. penguinrandomhouse.ca/book-club-resources, litlovers.com,
authors’ websites, etc.) and use them as input, then adapt or compose the
questions each month based on what they think will stimulate discussion in this
group.* Experience has shown that informal, personal-reaction-based questions
work best for that purpose. One member takes responsibility for devotions at
the beginning and end of every meeting. We take turns providing refreshments –
sometimes themed to the book.
Once a year, the whole group meets to choose the books for
the year, usually 8. Each member can nominate a book, and give a bit of a pitch
for it. It can be a book she’s read or one that she wants to read. We do ask
that the nominated books be readily-available, from the library or at a
reasonable price. Then everyone votes for their favourite 8 books and those
receiving the most votes are the choices for the year.
One of our unusual features is rating every book. This began
so that the book club could recommend a book to the congregation for their
summer reading. We have made changes to the rating system over the years, but
it has always consisted of categories for which everyone gives a value,
individually. Those are then tallied each month after the meeting, and an
overall score given the book. (At our annual book sale, buyers flock to the Tansley Reads table and we quickly sell
out of the books we’ve read in the group, particularly the “winners”.). A copy
of our current rating chart is posted to this blog, and the score we gave the
book is shown in its file.
The “focus table” is also unusual. It consists of objects
and pictures that are suggested by the book. Sometimes all are provided by the
coordinators; other times, everyone brings something.
The ice breaker is designed to help members get to know one
another better and usually reflects the theme of the book in some way. We break
off into small groups of 3 or 4 to share that part of the meeting. We have
cards with colours, numbers and symbols on them, and use those to randomly
assign and mix up the groups each time. Often the conversations are
laughter-filled and it’s hard to get everyone’s attention for the next part of
the meeting – that’s why refreshments often follow.
In 2018 we decided to start posting our questions on this
blog. We started with some previous books, and plan to add each new book after
our meeting. Anyone who wants to use these questions is most welcome to do so.
Our scoring guide is also posted.
Happy Reading!
*Unfortunately, we have not kept track of the sources of
questions in the questions sets on this site. We are indebted to the
publishers, authors, and others who have made these resources available.
Monday, August 25, 2025
Friday, August 16, 2019
The 2019-20 Line Up
Book Selections for 2019/20
MEETING DATE | BOOK TITLE & AUTHOR | |
September 23 | The Royal Secret, by Lucinda Riley | |
October 28 | The Orphan’s Tale, by Pam Jenoff | |
November 25 | The Gown, by Jennifer Robson | |
January 27 | VOX, by Christine Dalcher | |
February 24 | The Mother-in-Law, by Sally Hepworth | |
March 23 | The Radium Girls, by Kate Moore | |
April 27 | The Home for Unwanted Girls, by Joanna Goodman | |
May 25 | The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Michele Richardson |
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Full Disclosure by Beverly McLachlin
[Tansley Reads Score: 57%]
Icebreaker
What would your reaction be
if you were called for jury duty?
Questions
1. Everyone tells Jilly that
Laura Trussardi’s murder is an open-and-shut case, and yet she agrees to defend
Vincent. Why do you think she takes the
case? And what keeps her digging for the
truth even when she’s threatened?
2. Did you find Jilly believable as a person?
3.
When
we first meet Cy, Jilly explains that he has been her mentor and friend, even
though they’re destined to oppose each other in the courtroom. What was the relationship between Cy and
Jilly? Why did he become so vengeful
toward her?
4.
What
do you think about Cy’s relationship with his wife?
5. Why is Jilly drawn to
Damon even after he is acquitted? At the
end of the novel, was she justified in seeing Damon’s crime as separate from
the person who committed it?
6. What effect did Jilly’s sudden illness have
on the plot?
7.
Did
the inclusion of the Pickton storyline in the plot, enhance or detract from the
mystery?
8.
In the
final chapters of the novel two deep secrets are revealed. Were you surprised by either?
9.
Do you
think Jilly will approach cases differently going forward?
10. As the former chief
justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, McLachlin’s view of the legal system
should carry some weight. Were you surprised by the way our legal system was
presented in this novel?
11.
Many
of the main characters get a second chance in the novel. Discuss the role of leniency, grace, and
rehabilitation within the legal and penal systems.
12.
Imagine
you practiced law. Would you be a
defense attorney like Jilly, a prosecutor like Cy, or a judge? What kinds of cases would you prefer to take?
13.
Quick
round: What did you think of the book? Is there anything you want to discuss
that we missed?
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Forgiveness: A Gift from my Grandparents by Mark Sakamoto
Forgiveness : A
Gift from My Grandparents
By Mark Sakamoto
Tansley
Reads Score: 68.71%
Icebreaker
If you could only take 150 lbs
of personal effects and survival items with you, what would you find the most
difficult item or items to leave behind?
Questions
1. How do you think you would react if you
were suddenly uprooted by the government with little help? Would you be as accepting/forgiving as the
Japanese community seemed to be?
2. Japanese culture emphasizes respect for those in
authority, stoicism in the face of adversity and pain, not making a fuss or
creating a scene which would embarrass your family or ancestors, working hard
at every task so as to make those around you proud. On p. 96, Mitsue’s father
voices this influence when he says “shikata-ga-nai – it can’t be helped” when
faced with the decision of the family leaving to go to work the Alberta beet
fields.
How did these cultural norms
affect the decisions and demeanor of the Japanese in Canada during the war
years?
3. As in
the question above, the phrase Shikata-ga-nai is generally translated to mean
“It can’t be helped. Stuff happens. It’s how you deal with it (the stuff) that
makes your life.” Which character for you best handled “the stuff” in their
life?
4. When
Mark Sakamoto first interviewed his 90-year-old grandmother about her
experience, he asked why she had never talked about it before. She replied,
“Because hate can come back”. She was afraid to acknowledge it by speaking of
it. How do you feel about this? Can hate come back if you speak of it?
5. “Forgiveness is moving on. It is a daily
act that looks forward. Forgiveness smiles... Forgiveness is not a transaction.
It is not an exchange. Forgiveness has nothing to do with the past” (p. 237). Who is seeking forgiveness in this book? Who
is forgiven?
6. Why do you think Mitsue and Ralph became
“instant friends” (pg. 182)?
7. Which generation of characters most resonated
with you?
8. What
revelation in this story did you find the most surprising or interesting?
9. What
does racism look like, sound like and feel like in the communities we live in
today?
10. Ralph
avoids solitude because it makes it too easy to think about his time in
captivity. Mitsue, meanwhile, experiences isolation in the form of segregation
when she and fellow Japanese‐Canadians from Vancouver, are rounded up and
dispersed— losing the sense of community they’d shared. In today’s society, how
do certain groups of people face increased isolation?
11. There
are a number of instances of the Canadian Government issuing apologies to
different groups for injustices inflicted on them in the past e.g. First
Nations, Home Children from England, Japanese Canadians, a boatload of Jews
fleeing the Nazis being refused entry to Canada during WWII. Do these apologies make it easier for
citizens to forgive? Are they meaningful?
12. Did the fact that events in this memoir were
written about Canadians and happened in Canada affect your feelings about the
book?
13. Quick round: What did you think of the book?
Is there anything you want to discuss that we missed?
Thursday, March 7, 2019
A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay
A Noise
Downstairs
By Linwood
Barclay
Tansley Reads Score: 58.26%
Icebreaker
Have you, or anyone you know,
had an experience with the paranormal or ghosts?
Questions
1. Barclay begins with a prologue and then the
story jumps 8 months ahead. What did you
think of this beginning and what direction did you think the story would take?
2. Kenneth was driving erratically, if that was
one of your friends, what would you have done?
3. Paul
and Charlotte’s relationship seemed to be on rocky ground before he was
attacked, but she did an about face afterwards.
What did you think of their relationship?
4. Why do you think
we were introduced to Gavin Hitchens (Anna White’s patient)? What purpose did he serve in the story?
5. Was it a good idea for Paul to investigate what had happened
to him?
6. What role did Gilford
Lamb and Harold Foster play in developing the story?
7. What did
you think of the typewriter noises in the night?
8. How might
the story have unfolded if Kenneth had not agreed to allow Paul to visit him?
9. When
did you figure out Len and Gabriella's roles in the story?
10. After overhearing Bill say to Charlotte, “It
worked”, Anna follows Bill. Why did she
do that?
11. Based on what we’ve read about Anna White,
would you have had faith in her as a therapist?
12. What did you think about Frank?
13. What
was your favourite plot twist/red herring? Which character provoked the strongest
response from you?
14. What did you think of the
ending?
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