The New Book Review

This blog, #TheNewBookReview, is "new" because it eschews #bookbigotry. It lets readers, reviewers, authors, and publishers expand the exposure of their favorite reviews, FREE. Info for submissions is in the "Send Me Your Fav Book Review" circle icon in the right column below. Find resources to help your career using the mini search engine below. #TheNewBookReview is a multi-award-winning blog including a MastersInEnglish.org recommendation.

Showing posts with label book club. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book club. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

BlacKkKlansman Book Discussion Questions


BlacKkKlansman Book Discussion Questions
BlacKkKlansman Book Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions

BlackkKlansman:

Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime 
By Ron Stallworth

Publisher:  Flatiron Books, Sold by Macmillian
ISBN-10: 1250299055

ISBN-13: 978-1250299055
ASIN: B078X26S6C

Click on this link to get your free instant download of the discussion questions for your book club.

This nonfiction book might not be what you expect as it is different from some of the movies available with about the same title. In this story, the author, Ron Stallworth, was working in the police force. At first, he only thought he would earn money and become a high school teacher. We are lucky he did not and became a writer who shares such informative reading material.

Stallworth was the frequent voice on the phone to people like David Duke in the KKK, while another white officer went to the in-person events. The two men team worked together to investigate the KKK while pretending to be enthusiastic members. They had to be careful much of the time to not reveal the truth of what they were doing. Besides fooling the people in high positions within the Klan, they had to keep their true feelings to themselves. It was a difficult "acting" assignment, and there were some close calls. The book has some humorous portions, but overall this was a very serious project.

Included in the book are photos that prove the author's story. His very own KKK membership card and other memorabilia are in the special images section. The entire investigation didn't last that long and was successful as by knowing when crosses would be burned, the author could tip of the police in his office. The police would then drive by and in that way stop the activities. Although the Klan and other racist groups were in the area, no high profile problems occurred.

I had no idea of many of the activities and pledges people made to these groups. It seems to be the basis of some of the white supremacy hate speech going on today. There were hundreds of thousands of members in the one location mostly described in the book.

The author was also invited to some secret meetings, like offices inside what appeared to be a mountain. Another time, he was able to see some confidential files with valuable information, although he could only take notes in the limited amount of time provided. It was all news to me and very interesting reading. It is a fairly fast read because of the "police blotter" style of writing and the author's clear language. This book would be good for book club discussions or reading to learn for oneself.

BlacKkKlansman Book Discussion Questions free

BlacKkKlansman Book and Movie Discussion Questions

Thank you for reading!

Carolyn Wilhelm, UDEMY Instructor for Self-Publishing from the Very, Very Beginning

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG AND GETTING REVIEWS AND ANOTHER FREEBIE

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) It has 325 jam-packed pages covering everything from Amazon Vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shoutout praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines in the left column of this page or in the tab at the top of the home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.



Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request the social sharing image by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge.  Please contact the designer at: cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image or headshot of the author --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Wilhelm the link to this post, too! 

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Green Book Movie and Original 1940 Book Discussion Questions for Book Groups

This is a second in #TheNewBookReview's new series of discussion questions on books and book-related movies from a great supporter of this blog, Carolyn Wilhelm. (She's the one who makes our fun badges for authors who participate by submitting their fave reviews!). It seems a great service for #teachers, #parents, #bookclubs, and more. Carolyn is a great resource for similar aids on Pinterest where some of her products are absolutely free! As is this one!

Green Book Movie and 1940 Book Discussion Questions for Book Groups



ISBN-10: 1949996034

ISBN-13: 978-1949996036




The movie, The Green Book, took place in 1962. Have you seen it? It is similar to but so different from Driving Miss Daisy, as a white man chauffeurs a gifted black pianist to concerts in the south. As it was Jim Crow times and they cross the Mason-Dixon line, their many encounters and experiences change the white driver’s thinking about the difficulty of being black (even if well to do) at that time. Sometimes the characters could not stay in the same hotel or eat in the same restaurant. This movie shows a change of heart as it teaches about those times. Did you know the movie is from the real-life experiences of African American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley and Italian American bouncer Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga. I didn’t realize one the screenwriter was one of Tony’s children. The script was based on letters written at the time, and also interviews. Of course, artistic license was taken in a few cases, and there is a little controversy about a few points.

During the same year the movie represents, my family drove from Minnesota to Arkansas to attend a grandmother’s funeral. Closer to the south, my sisters and I were hungry, and there were few places to eat along the way. We spotted a restaurant, and my father got out of the car. He didn’t park up close to the door, which I still remember as being somewhat odd. He walked over, turned around, got back in the car and drove away. “Why,” we asked, almost in tears. He told us they only served white people and we were not eating there.


My whole family was white. Maybe we needed a Green Book for our trip. I’m sure my father used the AAA Travel service, but they probably didn’t think to advise him the same what they advised black people at the time. The books sounds nice until it becomes apparent they are very short.


That was the summer I learned about Jim Crow as it was in the south up close and personal, which left a lasting influence on my life. Of course, Jim Crow was everywhere in different forms. At the time, I did not know The Negro Motorist Green-Book. I’m glad to learn of it later in my life so people could avoid awkward or humiliating experiences. It was written each year with the hope it would become unnecessary. Victor H. Green (1892 – 1960) was a postal carrier living in Harlem when he created the first of his annual Green Books in 1936. The last edition was in 1967, two years after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became law.


Did you know you can download copies to read for yourself, as well as purchase a 1940 Facsimile Edition on Amazon? Fifty-three whole pages for traveling the entire nation. Hmmm. I did buy that one on Amazon as well as review several free downloads. Here is what I found.


The Smithsonian Digital Volunteers Transcription Center has one year of the book published in the National Museum of African American History and Culture as a free download. Links to other placed it may be viewed and downloaded are also listed on the page.


The University of South Carolina also has a free download for the 1956 Green Book at this link. Both sites have viewers, and I’m aware of other sites that offer viewing or downloads as well.
The book as a primary source document is in many lessons for secondary schools. It is not a book to sit and read, though, it is a book to ponder and realize what was going on in plain sight that many people didn’t understand.

The Negro Motorist Green-Book
Discussion Questions to Consider

1.  Is every state included in the lists? What are your thoughts on why or why not?   
2.  What are the fewest services for a state listed? Discuss the ramifications of traveling through such a state.  Is every state included in the lists? What are your thoughts on why or why not?
3. Is every state included in the lists? What are your thoughts on why or why not?
4.     What is the most popular category in the book: restaurants, gas stations, recreation parks, taverns, liquor stores, garages (service stations), barber shops, hotels, nightclubs, road houses, country clubs, taxis, drugstores, and beauty shops? Why is that the most popular category?
5.     What kind of advertising does the Green Book have?
6.     There is information on how to send a story about using the Green Book for possible publication and five dollars. Describe the story requirements.
7.     What do you notice about the text travel guide pages? What kinds of things are described that might not be in other travel guides?
8.     How do you think this would compare to other travel guides?
9.     What cities have the most services? And even includes things like dance halls, tailors, millinery, and maybe a haberdasher?
10.      Why is a key to Manhattan street numbers included?  
11.      Why do you think there are no maps?
12.      Ferry and Tunnel rates for passenger cards are listed. Why would this information be needed ahead of time?
13. Points of interest in New York City are listed. What is the possible implication of including this list?
14. How do the different editions for the different years compare?
15. What did you learn or realize from looking through this book? 

The Green Book Movie Discussion Questions

1. What is the year of the movie setting?
2. How do the two main characters differ?
3. Although Don Shirley did not personally know Tony Vallelonga, he hired him anyway. Why?
4. What did you think of Shirley asking Tony’s wife for permission to take him on tour?
5. Do you feel the events in the story are true to life, and why?
6. Who is holding the Green Book copy of the paperback in the film? Why?
7. Do you think perhaps other groups had similar travel guides then and perhaps now? Do you know of any such guides?
8. Did you previously know about sundown towns?
9. How do they deal with different rules when they both cannot eat or sleep in the same location?
10. Do you think Jim Crow was worse in the south than elsewhere? Do you think Jim Crow was actually everywhere and still is in many ways, or do you think society has improved?
11. The Green Book is based on interviews as well as letters written during the tour. Did you realize the movie was based on real-life before or after viewing? How does knowing it is a true story affect your feelings about the film?
12. There is some controversy surrounding the film. Many films based on true life have to be adjusted for the story to be conveyed through sight and sound. Did you feel it represented the actual truth? Do you think it deserved the many awards it won?  
13. Why do you think Don Shirley wanted it released after his death?
14. How does Tony help Don in some specific situations? Do you think the tour would have been successful without Tony? Do you think without calling Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy the story would have turned out the same way?
15. Tony gets home for Christmas but not because he can finish the drive through the snow. How does the film end?
16. Don Shirley’s degrees in real life were honorary. Do you think in another era they would have been earned?
17. The film is said to show a white savior. Do you feel that is true or do you believe the two men became friends? The family says they had a professional relationship only, but there are videos revealing friendship. Either way, is it important to the film?
18. Would you recommend the film to others? Why or why not?


Green Book Movie and 1940 Book Discussion Questions for Book Groups

Green Book Movie and Original 1940 Book Discussion Questions for Book Groups


MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG AND GETTING REVIEWS AND ANOTHER FREEBIE


 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) It has 325 jam-packed pages covering everything from Amazon Vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shoutout praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines in the left column of this page or in the tab at the top of the home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.



Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request the social sharing image by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge.  Please contact the designer at: cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image or headshot of the author --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Wilhelm the link to this post, too!