Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Let's Get Ready for a Lecture
A big thanks to Aunt Sharon for hosting the last book club!! Things might have gotten a little rowdy (mainly because of my ability to unleash my feelings about certain work situations when I get a couple drinks in me) but she was most generous in not throwing any of us out :) Thanks you!! For our next meeting, we will be attending a lecture at Elmhurst College regarding our next book club read, In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson. The lecture is on April 15 at 7:00pm. We were thinking about meeting up at a restaurant nearby for drinks and apps beforehand but I will send out more information about the gathering as the date approaches.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
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| REMINDER!!!! |
Just a friendly reminder that we will be meeting at Aunt Sharon's house, this Friday at 8pm, to discuss Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Please shoot me an email if you need the address or directions. I posted some discussion questions that I found online below. I am still trying to finish the book, so didn't actually read the questions for fear they would give something away. So, they might be adapted/updated once I finish the book. See you all on Friday!!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
(courtesy of LitLovers.com)
1. What effect did the photographs have on how you experienced this novel? In fact, what was your reading experience of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children? How did it make you feel? Were you disturbed...or fascinated...or something else? Did the book hold your interest?
2. What's wrong with Jacob Portman? What's his problem?
3. What about Abe Portman, what kind of character is he? What kind of a world does he create in his stories for young Jacob? Why do the stories intrigue Jacob so much?
4. As he moves into adolescence, why does Jacob begin to doubt the veracity of his grandfather's stories? In what way does he think they may be connected to Abe's struggle under the Nazis?
5. What makes Jacob think his grandfather's death is more sinister than what the official version claims.
6. Talk about the house in Wales. When Jacob first lays eyes on it, he observes that it "was no refuge from monsters, but a monster itself." Would you say the house serves as a setting to the story...or is its role something else—a character, perhaps?
7. What are the atmospherics used to build suspense in the novel. Find some examples of how the author uses language to instill unease, fear, and tension.
8. Are you able to make sense of the "after," the time loop? Can you explain it? Do you enjoy the way Riggs plays with time in his novel?
9. Were you surprised by the direction that the story took? Were you expecting it to go elsewhere? Were you able to suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the story's turn of events?
10. Talk, of course, about the peculiar children. Which of their oddities and personalities do you find most intriguing?
11. Some readers have complained about the inconsistency of the narrative voice, that it was perhaps too sophisticated for a young boy, even an adolescent? Do you agree, or disagree? Does the narrative voice change during the course of the novel?
12. In what way can this book be seen as a classic quest story—a young hero who undertakes a difficult journey and is transformed in the process? Do you see parallels with other fantasy works involving young people?
13. Does the end satisfy? Are loose ends tied up....or left hanging? This is the first book of a planned series. Will you read future installments? Where do you think Riggs will take his readers next?
2. What's wrong with Jacob Portman? What's his problem?
3. What about Abe Portman, what kind of character is he? What kind of a world does he create in his stories for young Jacob? Why do the stories intrigue Jacob so much?
4. As he moves into adolescence, why does Jacob begin to doubt the veracity of his grandfather's stories? In what way does he think they may be connected to Abe's struggle under the Nazis?
5. What makes Jacob think his grandfather's death is more sinister than what the official version claims.
6. Talk about the house in Wales. When Jacob first lays eyes on it, he observes that it "was no refuge from monsters, but a monster itself." Would you say the house serves as a setting to the story...or is its role something else—a character, perhaps?
7. What are the atmospherics used to build suspense in the novel. Find some examples of how the author uses language to instill unease, fear, and tension.
8. Are you able to make sense of the "after," the time loop? Can you explain it? Do you enjoy the way Riggs plays with time in his novel?
9. Were you surprised by the direction that the story took? Were you expecting it to go elsewhere? Were you able to suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the story's turn of events?
10. Talk, of course, about the peculiar children. Which of their oddities and personalities do you find most intriguing?
11. Some readers have complained about the inconsistency of the narrative voice, that it was perhaps too sophisticated for a young boy, even an adolescent? Do you agree, or disagree? Does the narrative voice change during the course of the novel?
12. In what way can this book be seen as a classic quest story—a young hero who undertakes a difficult journey and is transformed in the process? Do you see parallels with other fantasy works involving young people?
13. Does the end satisfy? Are loose ends tied up....or left hanging? This is the first book of a planned series. Will you read future installments? Where do you think Riggs will take his readers next?
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