Hunger Games

I was wondering why this is considered a Young Adult book, While the stlye of writing is on a YA reading level, I think the whole horrific concept of the game would be a little much for Young Adults. Your question about the characters changing was interesting, Catherine. I think that they didn't change so much as develop into more of what their original personalities had been.
It didn't matter whether they were trained (as the Careers were) to thinking as they did, or whether these were their innate characteristics, as the action intensified, so did their characteristics.

It May be Forever

Hi All,
I'm late getting my book choice to you because I'm such a slow reader and hadn't finished Safari yet.
The book I've selected for June is It May Be Forever by David M. Quinn. (Review below)
not that we always agree with them, but it seems interesting and I read a few pages online to have a glimpse at the author's style.
I hope we enjoy it.
Chris Laws

Let it be said first that It May Be Forever: An Irish Rebel on the American Frontier is an excellent, very enjoyable book which would win the highest rating if we did that kind of thing at SPR. The problem is that is resists classification. Is it a history, a non-fiction novel, a biography, or historical fiction? It works best as the latter, but one does not normally find photographs and other illustrations in such text, nor a bibliography.
The protagonist is Michael Quinn grew up hard in Ireland and England, immigrated to America, was drawn into the Fenian movement, later took part in the abortive post-Civil War Fenian invasion of Canada, and took his parole as a prisoner not back home to the girl he loved, but out West to seek his fortune. He entered the overland freight business at the lowest level, as a bullwhacker, organized his own company, and prospered, but his girl, to no one’s surprise but his, did not wait for him and married his brother instead. He did not take this well, and never returned home, losing all contact with his family and leading a lonely life that made him rich but ultimately unsatisfied .
It is a fascinating tale and the depth of the author’s research is evident, although he avoids the rookie trap of becoming hostage to it and boring the reader. The writing is first rate. I am not sure that the photographs and other documentation are really needed, but that may simply reflect my personal tastes. I like to read without interruption and I found them distracting rather than a value enhancement. In terms of the story itself, the blow-by-blow account of Quinn’s childhood could have been compressed or perhaps even eliminated entirely without any real violence to the main story, but what’s done is done.
Anyone who enjoys a good read will enjoy this book.

Romance overdone?

So, I really liked the story. I thought it was very creative, and a page turner. The cruelty of the whole society was very chilling and effectively drawn. However, I thought the romance thing was a bit overdone. I see the role it played in the story, but the kissing and sappy comments got a little bit much. Anyone else?

Hunger Games

Hunger Games is the first book of a trilogy. The second is called "Catching Fire" and the third, "Mockingjay" is due out the end of the summer.

Could Hunger Games have just been one book and ended as it did? Did there need to be a series? Now that you know there are other books, how is the story going to continue? How would you LIKE it to continue?

Hunger Games

Cinna, Haymitch, Effie, Ceasar Flickerman -- They all seem to have "good sides" but are all still heavily involved in this horrible tradition of the Hunger Games. Are they just complacent participants, involved because they have to be or are they supportive of The Games?

Hunger Games

Do you think that current events could have shaped the idea for and story of the book? Do you think this could ever happen to the America we know? Were there any positive features of the "New" Panem (America) that could benefit our society today?

Hunger Games

This book is written as a young adult (YA) novel. Do you think this is appropriate for young readers -- why or why not? Did the subject matter read differently/weigh heavier/easier read for you because of where you are in your adult life?

Hunger Games: Discussion

Before the Games start, Peeta tells Katniss, " . . . I want to die as myself . . . I don't want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I'm not."

Do you think that the other tributes changed in the arena or were groomed to BE a certain way (such as the Careers) ? Do you think that Peeta or Katniss every changed in the arena? Was Katniss' constant awareness of the cameras and what the viewers were watching and perceiving her playing the game or her changing?

Lush Life

I wondered about the title too.
I liked the complexity of the characters, though I didn't really like the chaacters. The only one I did like was Nina, Minette's daughter. I think I would have liked Ike, but who knows? Most of his character os revealed through the post mortem comments of the other characters, whose integrity was questionable.

April's Selection

Greetings, Gang!

My book choice for April is : "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

What's in a name....

I was curious if anyone had thought about why he titled the book "Lush Life". Truly, it was a question in my head for the entire read -- whether it was sarcasm or some missed meaning, I dunno?

Lush Life - The Ending

I thought the ending was a little anti-climactic. Suddenly, catching the murderer was no longer really the point. It seemed like the point was more how each character was affected by the murder. Anyone agree? Disagree?

Lush Life - Characters

Who was your favorite and least favorite character and why?

Lush Life - Price's writing style

I thought the dialogue was brilliant. Having finished the previous book, I really noticed the contrast in the two writer's styles. So much of McCann's story takes place inside people's heads. Price's style is to use dialogue to tell the story, more than analyzing the character's thoughts. Did you like or dislike his style?

Lush Life Discussion - So, did you like it?

Just wondering if you liked the book and what your overall thoughts were.

Jaslyn and Lara

I was wondering, toward the end when Jaslyn visits Ireland, how she feels about Lara. Did anyone else wonder about that?

The Coyote

Okay, for anyone who finished the book, anyone have any ideas of the symbolism of the coyote who appears in traffic towards the end?

Let the Great World Spin--Thumbs Up; Thumbs Down?

Did you like the book? If so, why? If not, why not?

Let the Great World Spin--Opening Quote

The author opens the book with a quote: “All the lives we could live, all the people we will never know, never will be, they are everywhere. That is what the world is.” How is this quote significant to the story? Why do you think the author chose it? (BTW, if you've never read The Lazarus Project, I highly recommend it.)

Let the Great World Spin--Time

We skip forward and backward through time as we move from chapter to chapter. And yet, the passage of time and its effect on the characters is an important theme in the book. We experience Tillie's life in its entirety but only a few minutes of Sam's life. How does the author use time as a narrative device? Is life just a series of moments frozen in time that we can revisit, like Adelita and her memories of Corrigan? Or, is it an unstoppable force, forever marching forward, like Jaslyn describes in the final chapter: “We stumble on, thinks Jaslyn, bring a little noise into the silence, find in others the ongoing of ourselves. It is almost enough. … The world spins. We stumble on. It is enough” (p. 349)?

Let the Great World Spin--Setting

New York City plays a central role in the story. As Judge Soderberg describes it: “... it was a city uninterested in its history. Strange things occurred precisely because there was no necessary regard for the past. The city lived in a sort of everyday present. … No, the city couldn't care less about where it stood. He had seen a T-shirt once that said: New York Fuckin' City. As if it were the only place that ever existed and the only one that ever would” (p. 247). Could the book have been set in any other city? Why did the author choose New York? Do you think the author's own perspective as an outsider influenced the way he portrayed the City?

Let the Great World Spin--Characters

The book was filled with a diverse cast of characters with very different experiences, motivations, etc. Do you think there was one central character who stood out from the rest? How did the characters' experiences of New York differ based on whether they were from somewhere else or from the City itself? The tightrope walker is the only character in the book never given a name—is this significant? Is he symbolic of something greater than himself?

Let the Great World Spin--Themes

The book featured several recurring themes—e.g. passage of time, interconnectedness of people's lives, outsider vs. insider perspective, death and its impact on the living, belonging, etc. Was there one central theme that seemed to be carried throughout? Was there a moral to the story? Did the author have a message he was trying to convey or was he simply capturing moments in time?

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Welcome

Welcome to the "My Two Cents" Book Club--a book club for the rest of us. This will be the primary space for our book discussions. Each month, a different member will be responsible for choosing a book to read. Primarily, we'll focus on popular fiction, but you can also choose non-fiction, literary fiction, etc. if you have strong feelings about a particular book. Instead of a "live" discussion, we will conduct our dialogue via this blog. There will be an open comment period (usually one week in duration) during which we will have the opportunity to offer thoughts, impressions, answer/ask questions about the book. The person who chose the book will be responsible for moderating the discussion. How you do this is up to you--you can post questions, highlight themes from the book, etc. Once we have a clearer idea of who is participating, I will post a list of members and assign you each a month to be in charge of picking a book and moderating the discussion. This is supposed to be a casual, low pressure club, so feel free to participate as little or as much as you would like. If for some reason, you can't participate during your assigned month, let me know and we'll swap months or I'll fill in for you. Thanks, and happy reading.