A Reading Map for Before I Go to Sleep

If you're interested in reading more books like Before I Go to Sleep or watching movies that explore similar topics, Berwyn Public Library has created a 'reading map' to guide your explorations. This is quite well done, I think!

How Memory Works---Nova PBS (10 minutes)

This is a brief video from Nova showing how the brain creates memories and includes scientists studying HM. Very helpful for us non-scientists!

H. M.'s Brain and the History of Memory

One of the things that informed S. J. Watson's first novel, Before I Go to Sleep, was reading the obituary of a man named Henry Molaison, known until his death only as H. M. Due to a surgical procedure to relieve his severe epiletic seizures when he was 27, Mr. Molaison also lost his ability to form new memories, much like the main character Christine in Watson's novel. After his surgery and until his death at age 82, Mr. Molaison became a case study participant at MIT and radically changed scientists' understanding of how our memory works.

This is a brief interview with Mr. Molaison and one of his researchers done by NPR. I found it quite fascinating and thought you might also enjoy reading it or listening to it.

Nicole Kidman in film version of Before I Go to Sleep

I ran across this brief blurb about our next book, Before I Go to Sleep. It is being made into a film right now in England and is starring Nicole Kidman.

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/10333645.Nicole_Kidman_films_Greenwich_Park_Before_I_Go_To_Sleep_scenes/?ref=nt

So as you're reading this book, you can try to guess which character Nicole Kidman will be playing.

One more note---we had such an excellent discussion last week of State of Wonder by Ann Patchett! I often can't believe that I'm paid for the "work" I do because most of it is so much fun! Thanks for being such a great group of readers and talkers! I truly look forward to our meetings! :-)