The Maze Runner

We had another wonderful book club meeting this month.  What is it about sitting around with other people and discussing books that is so enjoyable?!

Book Club Questions:
1. Did you like the book?
It's always so fun to get a group of people together to discuss books.  There were lots of mixed opinions about The Maze Runner by James Dashner.  Some of us wanted a more complete ending at the end of the first book.  They felt there were more questions than answers.  We did decide that there was an ending of sorts until you read the letter.  But that just leaves you with even more questions!  (Guess we'll have to read the next two books to find out the answers.)  Do you like that approach or do you think every book in a series ought to be able to stand on its own?

2. Who was your favorite character?
I thought it was interesting that Thomas wasn't really anybody's favorite character (although we did like that he had good qualities and was a protagonist we could rally around).  Most of our group liked Chuck, Newt, and Frypan.  Chuck humanized the gladers for us, Newt is just awesome, and Frypan is the nurturer.  *Newt is my favorite and I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I'll just say this -- NEWT!  (Like I said, you'll have to read the next two books.)  

3. Discuss the differences between the book and the movie.  What worked?  What was left out?
No telepathy?!  What's up with that?  We decided that they did a decent job cutting things down to fit into the time frame.  The grievers were certainly different than the slug-like creatures you read about in the book.  For some of us a more spider-y griever had a greater scare factor.

4. Did it matter that Teresa was a girl?  Could they have thrown in another boy and said he was the last one ever and gotten the same results?  What do you think?
We talked about the fact that they threw in a girl right at the end instead of at the beginning of the experiment.  We decided that if she had been there from the beginning they would have been self-sustaining and not as motivated to find a way out of the maze.  But did it make a difference that it was a girl last?  Perhaps for the shock factor - to help the boys realize that things are really changing.

5. Did you want more insight from the eyes of the people running the experiment to understand why they were putting the kids through these insane trials?  What were the observers learning?
Quite a few of the members of our group wanted more psychological answers in this book.  They wanted to better understand what was going on in the world outside to make them put the children through such drastic experimentation.

6.  Do you like the use of the glader's slang?  Did it enhance the book or was it an easy way to get around using actual swear words?
Again, our group had mixed feelings on this.  Some thought it was a clever way to avoid swearing.  Others wondered if they already had the English language, why would they need to invent new swear/slang words?  But then again, they are teenage boys and we all know that teenagers use strange words (just read a text message).

Photo by Lauren Raeder

I just had to post a picture of these darling Maze Runner treats from book club yesterday.  They are so clever!  Just look at those cute Peep grievers (complete with toothpicks sticking out of them).

So, do you like The Maze Runner?  Most of our group did.

Thank you Michele for hosting book club this month.  You did a fabulous job!

Updates!

Hey book clubbers!

I have updated the "Books Discussed" section of the blog.  Check it out and let me know if I've missed any books.  I would hate for someone's book choice to have been left out.

Don't forget to send me a list of your favorite books to add to the "Favorites" section!

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

I love book club!  I love how it gives me the opportunity to read amazing books that I have never even heard of.  The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom is one of those books.  This book is a quick, thought-provoking read.

For our discussion we talked about each of the lessons Eddie learns from the five people he encounters.

Here are the lessons:
The Blue Man - There are no random events in life; everyone is connected in some way.
The Captain - All sacrifices, no matter how big or small, are important.
Ruby - Forgive.
Marguerite - Love is not lost in death.
Tala - Eddie's life was not for nothing; He protects children.

What do you think of all of the lessons learned?

Each of the different heavens in the book are very interesting-from the diner in the snow to never-ending weddings.  What would your heaven be like?

Did you like that Eddie's heaven ended at Ruby Pier after he wanted nothing more that to get away from it the entire book?

I found this book intriguing - although difficult to get into at first as you figure out the writing style.

What did you think of it?

Thanks Nancy for the read, the popcorn, and those delicious almonds!

The next book is Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson.  I started this at midnight and stayed awake until 2:30 AM to finish it--it is THAT good.  See you Sept. 18th @ 8:00 PM!

1776

The book for the month of June was 1776.  Lauren always picks such good books - and her apple crisp was super tasty!  (Lauren, we need that recipe!)  For those of you who couldn't make it I am sorry.  You missed out.  

I am still working on reading this book, but those who read it seemed to like it.  Aubrey brought an awesome version of the book with pictures, notes, maps, etc.  It was super neat!

Here is a list of questions Lauren had for us to discuss:

1. Did you like the book? If yes, why? If no, why not?

2. Did this book alter your opinion of George Washington? What about King George III? 

3. Why do you think that McCullough chooses to begin 1776 with King George III of England? 

How does this set the tone for the historical events about to unfold? 

4. What qualities made General George Washington a successful leader? Do you think that there was 

anything in particular about Washington that enabled him to turn a lost cause into a victory? 

5. Do you think the war could have been won if George Washington had not led the Colonies? 

6. There was a lot of regional prejudice in the Continental Army. Are any of those feelings still 

with us today? 

7. What was the effect of the Declaration of Independence on the army? 

8. Were you surprised by anything that you learned from this book? 

9. Does this book relate in any way to the current state of the world and the United States? 

10. Did the untrained, impromptu existence of the Colonial army give it any advantages over the 

British? What kind of insight into the military experience do the wealth of letters and other first 

hand sources cited by McCullough provide? 

11. Do you think the men and women of our generation could have fought the way the colonists 

did during the revolution? 

12. What kind of men were Nathanael Green and Henry Knox? What was their role in the success 

of the military? Why do you think Washington depended on these two untrained men above 

others and despite his distaste for New Englanders?

13. How did you find the pace of the book? Did McCullough’s method of having events unfold 

make you feel you were living in 1776? 

14. What do you think might have happened if England had retained the Colonies? 

15. Are there any questions you would like to ask?

(Some questions taken or adapted from the Madison Public Library, Madison WI: 

http://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/bookgroups/discussions/mccullough_1776.pdf) 

My favorite question Lauren asked was: "Do you think that we still would have gone to war if they didn't go to war back then?"  

What do you think?

We are looking forward to Lost December by Richard Paul Evans at Angie's House.  Book club will be Wednesday, August 26.  Don't miss it!

Not Without My Daughter

For April book club Sarah chose Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody.  I think the quote on the cover summed it up pretty nicely: "Fascinating, if disturbing."

This book was a page turner from beginning to end.  In my wildest dreams I would not have thought that something like Betty's story could happen in today's world.  (Shows you how naive I am.)

Here are some questions that Crissi came up with.  We discussed a few, but it's nice to see them in writing to really think through some of them:

1. Do you think keeping his wife and daughter in Iran was wrong?  Why?
2. Was it wrong of Betty to take her daughter and kidnap her back to America where Mahtob could not see her father?  Then why did Betty think it would be wrong for Moody to do that and take Mahtob to Iran?
3. If a Brazilian woman took her son out of the US and returned to Brazil without the husband's permission would that be wrong?  What circumstances would make it right or wrong?
4. Would you have tried to escape if you were Betty?  Or do you identify more with Ellen and why?
5. What would you have done differently than Betty?  What actions are you critical of?
6. What did you learn about the Islamic faith?  What are parts you liked vs. disliked?
7. Contrast the turban man with some of Moody's other male relatives.
8. What do you think of the dress code for women in Iran?  Is it really their choice to be modest or forced?  How much do you think is cultural vs. religious beliefs?
9. How do you think the events in Iran will shape Mahtob's view of human rights, women's rights or family relations?
10. Do you think the Lord expects the people of Iran to follow the laws of the land?

I also wonder about the question of nature vs. nurture?  Do you think if you had grown up as a young boy in Iran you would treat the women in your life the same way Moody treats Betty and Mahtob?

We had a very good discussion and I'm sure there was so much more we could have talked about.  Leave your comments if you want to discuss it more.

Thank you Sarah for hosting!  The book was exciting and the treats were delicious!

You can also watch the movie on Netflix.  They've tamed it down a lot, and naturally it's not as good as the book.  But it's a fun watch nonetheless.

*Next month's book: The Davinci Code by Dan Brown.  Crissi Farnsworth will be hosting.  

Peter and the Starcatchers

For the month of March we read Peter and the Starcatchers.  I don't know how you ladies do it, but you always end up assigning books that I fall in love with.

This book had adventure, magic, and mystery.  It was fun trying to figure out how it all connected to J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan.

As I walked into Laura's house she had Disney's Peter Pan playing.  (She's obviously a girl after my own heart when it comes to anything Disney.)

Things we talked about:

We discussed the characters.  I especially liked when Laura asked which villain we'd rather work for.  Personally, I'd choose Slank over Stache any day.  Stache just sounded all-around gross.  Your thoughts?

We talked about how everything connected to Peter Pan.  While some guessed Mr. Grin was in the "cage" others were completely surprised.  Is starstuff pixie dust?  Does pixie dust really require happy thoughts?  Did you like how intelligent the Indian Chief (his name escapes me at the moment) was?

I got a chuckle out of Shirley's revulsion to the ship conditions.  Anyone else?

Is anyone else going to read all of the books?  They are already on my to-read list.

Thanks Laura for a wonderful book, lively discussion, and delicious treats.  (You must share the recipe for those melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookies!)  

Leave your comments about the book or the discussion.  I know I'm missing tons of other things we talked about.

Next month's book is Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody @ Sarah Tadje's house.  Don't miss it!

Charlotte's Rose

Last month's book, Charlotte's Rose, was SOOOO good!  Words cannot express how sad I was to miss the discussion.  This book made me cry.  Anyone else?

Shirley sent a bunch of questions for us to ponder while we read the book.

1) What was your favorite part of Charlotte's journey?
2) Which character in the story did you relate to the most?  Why?  Was there a character that reminded you of someone that you know?
3) Did you learn anything new about the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) from this book?
4) Was there a part of the story that made you feel especially emotional?
5) How would it be not to be able to read or write but to have so much to want to remember and learn about?
6) How important is the setting to the story?  Is A.E. Cannon's description of the landscape/community a good one?  Did the setting of the novel detract or add to your enjoyment of the story?
7) What do you think were some of the common themes of the story?
8) Were there any passages or descriptions that you thought were especially well written, unique or thought provoking?
9) How important was religious faith to this story?

I will just briefly tell you what I thought in response to question #4.  The part of the book that made me most emotional is when Rose's dad came for her and Charlotte gave her up.  I did NOT want her to give him the baby!  After raising my own kids I knew how Charlotte must have been feeling.  I cried and cried--like a baby.  I understand that Rose wasn't her baby, but it made me so sad to think that Charlotte would probably never see Rose again.

Thank you Shirley for a truly enjoyable read.  I couldn't put it down!  I read it in one sitting.

Since I wasn't there to be a part of the discussion, I hope you book clubbers will tell me all about it in the comments.

Look forward to next month's book, (only 2 weeks away folks), Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson at Laura Johnson's house.