The List (47 page)

4. Discuss the factors that are motivating Adrienne to dig deeper when she first discovers
that Olivia and Stanton are having an affair.

5. 
“That was the thing about female print journalists. Dressing up, grooming, having
two angular eyebrows—all frowned upon. It was still that archaic mentality of trying
to blend in with the boys
.” Consider the ways that gender politics factor into life at the
Capitolist
. How does the double standard that Adrienne articulates in this quote affect the
ways that both she and Olivia approach their jobs?

6. Caroline Cleves Brown, Adrienne’s mother, was a newspaper journalist too, but in
the heyday of print journalism. Do you think Adrienne has a naïve perspective of the
new media world going into
The List
because of her mother’s career?

7. What did you make of Sandro? Did you feel that he led Adrienne on? What did you
think about the note that their relationship ended on—were you hoping for a different
outcome?

8. James Reddenhurst is, on paper, a near perfect man for Adrienne. Why do you think
she can’t commit to him? Is it because she’s infatuated with Sandro, or is it something
about James? Would you have picked James over Sandro?

9. Hollywood is fascinated with politics and vice versa. How has new media turned
politicians into celebrities, and why are Hollywood actors invited to political events?
What does this mean for both the news and politics?

10. Did your feelings toward Olivia evolve over the course of the narrative? Do you
divide responsibility for the affair equally between her and Stanton, or do you think
that one of them is particularly to blame?

11. If you were in Adrienne’s position, would you have published the story about Olivia
and Stanton? Why or why not? In general, do you think that the extramarital affairs
of politicians should make headlines? Does the fact that Olivia was a reporter, writing
about Stanton, make the revelation of their affair seem more newsworthy and less sensational?

12. Did you think the Style girls were justified in their anger that Adrienne didn’t
share the news of her scoop with them before it went to press?

13. In her final confrontation with Olivia, Adrienne says, “
I felt guilt—of course I felt guilt—but then in Arizona, and now on TV, I was just
doing my job. She of all people should understand that. And she would have done the
exact same thing.”
Do you agree?

14. How did you interpret the end of the novel—what do you think Adrienne was planning
to do? What did you think she
should
do?

ENHANCE YOUR BOOK CLUB

1. Imagine that you are casting the movie version of
The List
. Who would play Adrienne and Olivia? What about Stanton, Sandro, or Payton? Share
your imaginings with the group.

2. The celebrity-packed White House Correspondents’ Dinner plays a major role in Adrienne’s
time at the
Capitolist,
and over the past few years, has become a significant event in Washington, D.C. Who
would your dream guest be to interview on the red carpet? As a group, you might look
up coverage of the event from years past. Consider visiting Click,
Politico
’s equivalent of the Style section, which author Karin Tanabe once wrote for:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/click/
.

3. Both the town of Middleburg, and the Goodstone Inn, are real places in Virginia.
Check out the actual Bull Barn on the Inn’s website:
http://goodstone.com/
.

4. Many of the places Adrienne visits in Washington, D.C., are real too, including
the Smithsonian ice rink, Oyamel restaurant, Kramerbooks, and the Freer and Sackler
galleries. If you were writing a fictional book about your hometown, which real places
would you include in your story?

5. Adrienne spends lots of time crafting her first-day-of-work outfit and it turns
out to be all wrong for Washington. Discuss your biggest fashion faux pas. Were any
ever caused by first-day jitters?

6. The pace at
The List
keeps Adrienne from having a social life, sleeping more than five hours a night,
or even washing her hair with liquid shampoo. Discuss your craziest jobs ever and
what you learned from them.

WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS

A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are
products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by Karin Tanabe

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof
in any form whatsoever. For information address Washington Square Press Subsidiary
Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Washington Square Press trade paperback edition February 2013

WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster,
Inc.

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more
information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049
or visit our website at
www.simonspeakers.com
.

Designed by Akasha Archer

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Tanabe, Karin.

The list : a novel / Karin Tanabe.—1st Washington Square Press trade pbk. ed.

p. cm.

1. Women journalists—Fiction. 2. Legislators—United States—Fiction. 3. Adultery—Fiction.
4. Washington (D.C.)—Fiction. 5. Political fiction. I. Title.

PS3620.A6837L57 2013

813′.6—dc23

2012022076

ISBN 978-1-4516-9559-5

ISBN 978-1-4516-9560-1 (eBook)