That education is a lifelong pursuit is certainly something the ladies in Friendship Village Chesterfield’s book club can attest to: their thirst for continuing education led Jennifer Russell, community life services director, to start the club years ago. Books were initially chosen by the St. Louis County Library’s outreach program, but selection was taken over in the past year by club leader Barbara Berger. “The library furnishes me with a list I can choose from, and sometimes members offer suggestions,” she says. “We need to be able to get a certain number of copies from the library, and some members need large print, others need books on CD.” Often, members can pick up the title at the bookmobile that stops by Friendship Village each week.
Meetings are informal, and no one is pressured to speak, Berger says. While part of the allure of book club is social, members also enjoy the exposure to a variety of genres and titles. “Most people get in a groove of reading one kind of book,” Berger says. “This expands the types of things they read and, with the bookmobile, they don’t have to go anywhere, which for a lot of people can be a problem if the weather isn’t great.”
[about the book]
Jacob Hunt, a teenager with Asperger’s syndrome, is obsessed with forensic analysis. One day, he finds himself accused of murder, in part because the typical tics and social oddities of his condition look a lot like guilt to law enforcement. House Rules explores what it’s like to be different and the effect Asperger’s has on a family.
[opinions]
“I enjoyed the book. It was quite readable and I would recommend it. The author held my interest through to the end.” —Helen Michaelson Schwarz
>> “One of the things I liked best was the weight of the book. I lost 5 pounds carrying it around—it was terribly repetitious.” —Bernie Wampler
>>“I was impressed with the author’s research on Asperger’s. The disease caused psychological problems for the main characters.” —Pat Friel
by Stephanie Zeilenga
Photo by Bill Barrett
Pictured: Front: Virginia Morrell, Helen Michaelson Schwarz, Mary Parker; Back: Aline Reinert, Gilberta Onat, Barbara Berger, Mildred Soos, Pat Friel, Bernie Wampler