Two weeks until our Book Chat with Amanda Smyth!

I finished reading Lime Tree Can't Bear Orange last Friday and I'm really looking forward to discussing this book with all of you ... and with its author, Amanda Smyth, as well.

A great friend of mine who participates in my 3-D Book Club read the book also ~ and sent me an email expressing gratitude for recommending the book to her because she thoroughly enjoyed reading it ... and the rest of her comments I'll keep silent for now so as not to spoil anything for those of you still in the process of reading it.

One thing I will say, though, is that we each summed up our general feelings, when the book ended, differently - though we both agreed it was a great read and one we're grateful to have invested time in.  We will talk in more depth about this next week, she and I, as she's coming over for lunch with two other of my book club pals.

And for me, this is what makes Book Club participation so rich and meaningful: speaking about the characters as if we actually know them, and the events as if we've actually lived them. Projecting the future beyond the final word and grammatical end point, discussing potential motivation or barriers or opportunities missed or taken -- in short, breathing life into the story with oxygen from our own personal experiences ~ and seeing the book in entirely new ways, based on the perspectives shared by others.

There are Readers' Guide questions available online for Lime Tree Can't Bear Orange - and we can certainly use them if the majority desires to go this way. I'd like to propose, though, that we use our 60 minutes together to discuss this book on a deeper, more personal level.

Did you like Celia?

Who was your favourite character in the book?

If you were to sum up the way you felt about the book when you finished reading it in one word - what would that one word be? (This is where my friend and I differed.)

How do you think the story actually ends - after we walk away, when the future, for the characters, continues to unfold?

If Celia were to suddenly show up on pnn.com with her story ~ would you feel the same towards her here as you do in the pages of the book?

Who, in the book, do you think would benefit most from participating in the Authenticity Workshop that is presently running here at pnn.com under Brene Brown's leadership?

What do you think the title of the book means - and does it reflect a message contained within the story? (As an aside, the book was originally titled Black Rock - and is called that in some countries. I believe it was changed to Lime Tree Can't Bear Orange here in North America because a corporation had the rights to the name Black Rock already. Amanda, please correct me about this if I'm wrong.)

If you haven't done so already, please note the date and time for this online book discussion in your calendar ~ because it feels great to discuss books with a myriad of perspectives ... I've left book club meetings actually liking and respecting books I did not at all enjoy reading after 'seeing' it through the eyes and hearts of others.

Here are the details:

On Sunday October 25th we'll be gathering here at PNN.com (live chat link will be posted a few hours before the event's start) at 11:30am Pacific Time / 2:30pm EST / 7:30pm Ireland Time (okay, I know that's not a time zone, but that's when Amanda will be logging in).

The gathering has been scheduled to last 60 minutes.

Diva and I will be co-hosting the event.

And please, feel free to leave questions or elements about the book that you'd like to see discussed in the comment area below ~ from this, we'll craft a meaningful 60 minutes of discussion that will likely pass by in the blink of an eye. (And if you can leave comments without giving away details - that would be appreciated for those who are still reading the book.)

13 days and counting - hope to see you there!