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Reading Group
Guide for SilkyDreamGirl
About This Book
Katie
Coomers has everyday problems, but she certainly doesn't handle them in
an everyday way. Whether she's longing for love or battling her bills,
SilkyDreamGirl always finds a creative solution. We hope that your
reading group finds inspiration in her story. The questions that follow
are designed to keep the conversation lively, just the way Katie would
want it. While you're at it, why not include a little bit of her
favorite wine and music, and maybe some of that lemon meringue pie she
likes so much? May your meeting be a delicious one.
Discussion Questions
-
Katie reads Tolstoy and Toni Morrison,
follows incredibly complicated recipes, predicts her husband's
business failures, and knows how to stretch a budget. Why can't she
get ahead? Why isn't a strong mind always enough?
-
At the very end of chapter one, Katie
says that Mama Jeffries was "pointing the fork at me like it was a
dart." Why is Mama Jeffries so hard on Katie? What are Mama's
emotional weapons?
-
Cris Burks uses vivid food metaphors to
describe skin tones (Idaho potatoes, peanut butter, fudge, cinnamon).
What happens to these subtle distinctions in a chat room? If you were
to create an on-line description of yourself, what adjectives would
you use?
-
Have you ever had friends who dated a
guy like Clarence? What did it take to make them see the light? Why do
you suppose Cris Burks decided to begin the novel with Clarence's
departure
-
As Katie gets comfortable with chatting,
her handle shifts from Stepmom8945 to SilkyDreamGirl. What on-line
name would apply to different phases in your life?
-
How does Katie's addiction to food
differ from her addiction to chatting? How can a fantasy world improve
the real world? When does the fantasy world become harmful?
-
Katie has a very maternal side; why is
she so turned off by Ben, the sexy single dad? Compare Katie's
relationship to her older son, Alex, to her relationship with her step
kids. Compare Katie's parenting style to Mama Jeffries's.
-
Katie's weight loss really gets going
when her life is at its emptiest; the boys are in California, she's
lost her job, her bank account is nearly empty, she's stopped speaking
to her mother, and even the kitchen is bare. What is it about this
emptiness that enables her to feel less hungry?
-
Is Matt (the one who's looking for a
weekend lover) any less of a dog than Clarence?
-
Katie's on-line buddies provide very
real support and friendship for each other, possibly even saving
Lori's life. Why did Katie have so much trouble finding that kind of
support in her off-line life?
-
How do Katie's on-line loves compare to
the ones from her past (the international reporter, the elderly
wealthy man, Clarence)?
-
Katie speaks tenderly of her father.
What affect did their closeness, and his death, have on her adult
relationships with men?
-
Would you have been friends with Donna?
What kind of business partner would she have made?
-
Katie remembers taking road trips from
Illinois to the south, where some of her relatives lived. In
particular, she describes crossing the bridge that meant they'd left
the north behind. Why is it important for SilkyDreamGirl to be
set in Chicago? Would a rural setting or a southern city (such as
Atlanta) have been as effective?
-
At the very end of the novel, Katie
celebrates a glorious Christmas. What does her new home represent?
Describe your dream home, and your version of Noah (Katie's husband
number five). What is your personal recipe for success?
Discussion questions provided
courtesy of Broadway.
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