Lauren Takes Leave by Gerstenblatt, Julie (ebooks children's books free txt) 📕

Turnsout, we humans are all capable of outstanding acts of generosity oneminute and incredible acts of mean-spiritedness the next. We are corrupt,immature, and fabulous. Luckily, we have the capacity to love andforgive and to support our friends and family even when they take leave oftheir senses.

Especially when they take leave.

In summation, this great country of America is gratefulfor your service as a sequestered juror in the now infamous case known as LaurenTakes Leave. And, on a personal note, I wish to thank you for beingimpartial as you listened to my side of the story, which may or may not befictional.

I hope that, should life present you with small, openwindows of opportunity, you choose to slip through occasionally, just to seewhat’s out there on the other side. Grab control of your life by taking avacation from it. Swim with dolphins. Invent your own cocktail. Pretend to besomeone else.

Whether or not you chose to return to your place of workafter that—or ever again—is entirely up to you.

And upon returning from your adventures, however innocuousthey might be, may you, too, find an attentive, intelligent, attractive, and—aboveall—forgiving jury of your peers waiting to hear all about it.

This case is dismissed.

Questions and Topics for Discussion

by Julie Gerstenblatt

To invite Julie Gerstenblatt toyour book club either in person or via Skype, e-mail her at [email protected].

Before I began writing full-time, I was a middle schoolEnglish teacher. And that is why, even though Lauren Takes Leave is abona fide beach read and all I want for you to say when you reach the end is “wow,that was fun,” I had to include discussion questions at the end. I am used toassigning homework.

So, here’s what I’m thinking you should do. Get a bunch ofyour friends to read the book, too, and then have a really informal book clubmeeting at someone’s house. Or at a bar. Or, for authenticity, in Miami. Youcan be as committed to this endeavor as you wish. Make sure to drink a bit andto discuss a lot of other topics before getting to these questions. That’s whatmy book group does and it works really well. In fact, try not to spend morethan ten minutes discussing the novel, because a night out is a night out, andI’d hate to deny you that by bumming you out with symbolism.

Below the questions is the recipe for a great and easycocktail favored by my book group. I call it the Literati.

Okay, here we go.

1. Have you ever felt like Lauren, Kat or Jodi? When?With whom do you most identify and why? Who are you the least like?

2. Many characters in the novel feel a sense ofennui, which can be defined as weariness and dissatisfaction that leads to akind of boredom or complacency. Think of what causes this ennui in Lauren, Kat,Jodi, and others, from MC Lenny to Laney the babysitter. How do they eachrespond to that tedium in their lives? Do you think they are right or wrong?How do you handle those feelings in your own life?

3. This book takes elements from three of my favoritetexts and mashes them up. If you are at all familiar with the movies FerrisBueller’s Day Off or Thelma and Louise, or Oscar Wilde’s play TheImportance of Being Earnest, here is your chance to show off your knowledge.You can refer to the quotes that begin the novel for some guidance. Please passme one of those homemade chocolate-chip cookies. Now discuss.

4. The novel is constructed around Lauren’s week,both while on jury duty and while on leave from her responsibilities. At thebeginning, middle, and end of that week, she talks directly to the reader,speaking to them as “ladies and gentlemen of the jury.” What did you make ofthese sections and their role within the novel?

5. How do you feel about the relationship betweenLauren and her husband, Doug?

6. There are many supporting characters in the novel.Discuss their roles, and share what you think of them, including, but notlimited to:

Laney

Lenny Katzenberg

Tim Cubix

Lee Moncrieff

Martha Carrington

Professor Georgina Parks

Leslie Koch

Shay Greene

7. Which character changes the most, do you think?

8. The book’s plot contains many twists and turns. Asyou were reading, what surprised you? Also, how do you feel about the ending ofthe novel?

9. I write with humor. Skim back through the book—whatscenes or bits of dialogue made you laugh?

10. I also try to write with a purpose. I use humoras a vehicle for showing the world back to itself, by holding a mirror up tosome of the unseemly truths hidden there, under the fun façade. What are thedarker sides of human nature and society that Lauren Takes Leavehighlights? (Hint: greed, infidelity, selfishness…)

11. Does your life have a soundtrack, like Lauren’s? Ifso, what’s on it? (Also, the music really is available through iTunes, and youcan select the Lauren mix or the Kat-and-Jodi mix.)

12. Do you believe more in justice or forgiveness?(This is a question I stole from a deck of conversation starters used atparties.)

13. Looking back on the entire book, do you thinkLauren had to take leave?

14. At this point in the evening, are you stilldrinking? If you are a mom, did you discuss your children, their teachers, andsome local scandal? Did you try the dip? It’s fantastic. Did you pick a bookfor next month yet? If not, check out my website for some favorite picks. Ipromise I won’t make you read The Importance of Being Earnest. Oh, andthanks so much for reading Lauren Takes Leave.

The Literati

1/3 each of:

prosecco

St. Germain (elderflower liqueur)

San Pellegrino

The Crazy Literati

2/3 prosecco

1/3 St. Germain

(Who needs the San Pellegrino!?)

Acknowledgements

Many people helped me write this novel, although a goodnumber of them are not aware of this fact. So, cheers to my writing gurus,living and deceased, both those I actually know and those I pretend to know:Elizabeth Berg, Nora Ephron, Helen Fielding, Peter Hedges, John Hughes, StephenKing, Sophie Kinsella, Kathleen Reilly, Roger Rosenblatt, Blake Snyder, PeterTrachtenberg, Jonathan Tropper, Lois Van Epps, and Oscar Wilde.

Special thanks to all the friends who supported Lauren andme in so many ways over the past few years. (Unlike the