Author: Erin K.

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of Between Shades of Gray.

How was your reading experience this week? This section was really intense, and it was hard for me to read. I had to take a few breaks, just to recover from all the horrible things happening to Lina and her family. 

On top of the harsh weather, Lina and her family had to deal with the mean Altaian woman. In chapter 31, Lina describes how her mom had to pay the Altaian woman for one potato for the three of them to share. Then, she had to pay for the privilege of boiling the potato. Didn’t it seem almost too much for them to have to deal with this woman on top of everything else they had to deal with? 

At the beginning of this section, Lina’s mother refuses to help the Russians after they ask her to work as a translator and spy. Lina initially looks down on Andrius and his mother since they seem to be collaborators. Did you ever think that Andrius and his mother were working for the Russians? I wasn’t sure why they were with the Russians, but I figured that Andrius’s mother hadn’t gone with them willingly. What did you think when Andrius finally explained to Lina why he and his mother were around the Russians? Didn’t you think they were brave for trying to use their position to help the others? After her confrontation with Andrius, Lina agrees to draw a map for the Russians. Were you surprised that she was willing to put her artistic talents to use for the enemy?

Throughout this section, the prisoners debate whether they should sign the document that said that they would pay a war tax and would agree to serving a sentence of twenty-five years of hard labor. The prisoners are, not surprisingly, hesitant to sign the document. Could you believe the ways the Russians worked to break their spirits and force them to sign the papers? 

Near the end of this section, the prisoners celebrate Christmas. I was shocked that they were able to find joy during the holiday season. They all had such strength of spirit. 

This section ended with Lina getting some drawings sent out of their camp. Do you think it will make a difference? Do you think anyone will see what she drew? What do you think will happen in the next section? How do you think the prisoners will be able to continue surviving? 

Did you know that Ruta Sepetys got the inspiration from this book from her own family? While trying to understand her family history, Sepetys learned more about the Holocaust in Lithuania and was inspired to write a story to help others learn. If you want to read more about Sepetys’ family history, the Hope and Spirit project has information about some of the letters her family sent from Siberia, as well as letters from others deported there.

Finally, to learn more about life in a gulag, the video below tells the story of Elena Juciūte, a real Lithuanian woman who was deported to a gulag in but survived to tell about her experience. 

I’m sure I left out important details from this section, so feel free to leave me a comment to let me know what other parts of this section stuck out to you. And, make sure to finish the book before checking back with us next week!

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of Between Shades of Gray. 

How did you feel about the first section? It is an intense and sobering story, isn’t it? But it’s still so engaging and well written. I didn’t want to know what would happen next because I knew it would be horrible, but I also couldn’t stop reading. 

One of the most sobering parts of this first section was when Lina’s mother saved Jonas by offering a pocket watch to the Soviet guard. At the end of that chapter, Lina says, “Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch.” Isn’t it sad to think about that exchange in those terms? A watch is such a small thing—it’s unimaginable to think that it would be enough to save a whole person. That line and episode stuck with me while I read the rest of the chapters in this section. 

What do you think of the characters so far? They are all so brave—Lina’s mother especially. She shows no fear in front of the guards. Lina and her brother are courageous, too. I couldn’t believe Lina would search the other trains for her father. What did you think of some of the other characters on the train, like the bald man or Ona? The bald man was unlikable, but my heart ached for Ona throughout the train ride. What did you think of Andrius and his mother? I think it helped Lina to have someone her own age on the train. 

Did you find yourself feeling curious about the artist, Edvard Munch, since Lina mentioned him so often? Before reading this book, I was only familiar with his painting, The Scream. Check out edvardmunch.org to learn more about him and see more of his paintings.

What did you think of the flashbacks sprinkled throughout the narrative? At first, I was a little confused by them. They took me out of the narrative a little, and I wasn’t sure what the information added to the story. I got used to them as I continued reading, though. Did you think they were distracting, or did you enjoy them? 

When the group finally gets to the farming area, they endure the humiliation of undressing in front of the guards. Wasn’t that scene vivid? My heart was completely broken when I read the scene where the guard touched Lina without her consent. That was incredibly sad and disturbing. And, then, when a guard unexpectedly shot Ona, I thought I was going to be sick. She was such a broken woman, and she definitely didn’t deserve the ending she received. 

This section ends with the family in Siberia on a beet farm. They are living with an Altaian woman, and she does not seem interested in sharing a space with Lina and her family. Were you curious what Altai looks like? This tourism site has some beautiful pictures. Keep in mind that those photos are intended to make it look much more hospitable than when Lina and her family were there!

What do you think it would be like to play a character like Lina in a movie? Check out the video link below to find out what the actress who plays Lina in the movie thought of the experience. The clip also contains some behind-the-scenes views of the movie. I always think seeing peeks of movies getting made is really interesting. 

I hope you were able to get through this section, and I hope you’re excited to get to the next section for next week. Make sure to read chapters 29–57 before joining us next week! And, make sure to leave a comment, so I know how you enjoyed the beginning of the book. 

Welcome to November’s Online Book Club discussion. This month, we’re reading Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. 

The Online Book Club, if you’ve never joined us before, is a book discussion group that takes place entirely online. Each week, I write a new blog post that talks about different aspects of the book, and you can interact directly with me and other readers by leaving your comments. Check back each week and see what new topics we’re talking about.

Between Shades of Gray follows 15-year-old Lina and her family after the Soviet secret police remove them from their home and send them to Siberia. Her father is separated from the family and is sentenced to death in a prison camp; Lina, her brother, and her mother are sentenced to hard labor for crimes against the government. Throughout this incredible story, Lina and her family fight to stay alive and to stay together, finding joy in little moments. Also, Lina works to keep her family’s story alive by leaving drawings of her experience behind. This story is inspired by true events and shows the strength of human nature. 

If you want to follow along with us, but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the movie version, called Ashes In The Snow, which is available on Hoopla. I’m including the trailer above if you want to get a feel for the way the story plays out on screen. Feel free to still leave comments on the blog posts, even if you are only watching the film and not reading the book.

We’ll be discussing chapters 1–28, so make sure you read those chapters before joining us next week. I look forward to hearing from you in the comments section. 

Welcome to the final Online Book Club discussion of Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. 

Are you relieved that you made it all the way through the book? It was pretty long!

When we left off last week, we had a hint that Resa was Meggie’s mother, but I wondered how she became mute and how she got out of the story. We found out in chapter 39 that the other reader, Darius, read her out of the story, and she lost her voice in the process. As soon as Meggie hears that the woman was read out of the story and she had hair like spun gold, Meggie assumes the woman must be her mother. Were you surprised she was able to put it together so quickly? 

I was curious throughout the first part of the book about who Capricorn would want read out of the book. I thought it might be a loved one or a trusted servant—I wasn’t expecting a horrible creature like the Shadow. Didn’t you feel a little frustrated with Fenoglio that he would write such a terrifying monster into his story? He really filled Inkheart with terrible villains. 

What did you think of Dustfinger’s admission that he knew who Resa was, but he didn’t want to admit that she belonged to Mo, the man who read him out of his home? I thought it was really sad. I know Mo read Dustfinger out of his home story, but he didn’t mean to. It isn’t fair to keep Resa from her family, just because Dustfinger didn’t want to admit that she should be with Mo and Meggie. I was glad that Meggie was able to go and see her mother and Dustfinger in the crypt. That section was pretty intense with the fight between Dustfinger and Basta, but I did enjoy that Resa was able to slip a note to Meggie. It was a pretty sweet note, didn’t you think? 

I thought it was a bad idea for Elinor to go to the police, but the experience ended up being great because it brought Resa and Elinor together. Did you feel sorry for the police officer who had been intimidated by Capricorn and his men, or did you wish that he would stand up to them? It was good that Resa and Elinor were together—I think it gave them both strength and bravery during Meggie’s performance, and it gave Meggie strength, too. 

What did you think of the section about Meggie’s performance? I thought it was a bit anticlimactic. I thought we had waited for so many chapters to see what would happen with the Shadow and Capricorn, and then, it was just done in an instant. And, we didn’t really get to see any of the action because we were reading Meggie’s thoughts as she read. I was glad that Mo was able to finish off Capricorn, but I still felt like I wanted more out of that chapter. 

Why do you think Basta and Dustfinger stayed and didn’t return to the book with everyone else? Why do you think Fenoglio disappeared? Do you have any idea what might happen next for the characters? Were you satisfied with the ending? What would you have done differently if you were writing the ending? 

Meggie was such an interesting character. She was strong and brave, but she was still believable as a young girl. This interview from Scholastic discusses Cornelia Funke’s inspiration for the character, among other things. You might also enjoy this essay from Bustle in which the author talks about how different her experience was when she re-read Inkheart as an adult from when she read it as a child. 

If you liked this book, check out the rest of the trilogy, Inkspell and Inkdeath. You can also find more books and movies with similar themes and characters on this list I created. Make sure to let me know if you check out Inkspell or any of the books and movies on my list. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this book along with me this month. Next month, we’re reading Between Shades of Gray. It’s a much more serious book than Inkheart, but I hope you enjoy it. Make sure to leave me a comment to let me know how you enjoyed the ending of Inkheart. I look forward to hearing from you!

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of Inkheart!

Did you enjoy this section? Are you anxious to find out how the story is going to end? Are you finding it hard to keep all the details and characters straight? 

I thought one of the most interesting dynamics of this section was the fact that several of the characters from Inkheart were able to meet their writer, Fenoglio. Can you even imagine how weird that would have been for him to see the characters that he created in real life? It was really sad how Fenoglio scared Dustfinger, didn’t you think? Fenoglio was so interested in getting close to his creation that he forgot to treat Dustfinger like a real person. What did you think of Fenoglio’s first interaction with Basta? It was surprising how Fenoglio went on the offensive and started explaining things about Basta’s past to throw Basta off guard. I don’t think I would have had that idea. Fenoglio was definitely lucky that Meggie was able to think on her feet and lie about the characters dying if Fenoglio died. I think Basta would have killed him if she hadn’t interrupted. He also used that tactic on Capricorn, but it didn’t seem like Capricorn was very impressed. 

What did you think of Fenoglio? He was kind of an annoying character for me. He seemed like he was more fascinated by the characters than scared of the things they could do. He created them and knew what they were capable of, but he didn’t take them seriously. I was so frustrated by that. 

Weren’t you sad when Elinor found her destroyed library? It felt like we saw her lose one of her family members! I think that might have been the most emotional part of this section. 

Were you surprised when Meggie was able to read Tinker Bell out of Peter Pan in chapter 38? I wasn’t really, since there had been some foreshadowing in chapter 23. Did you catch that? She practices reading like Mo and gets discouraged that no moon birds fly in the sky. Since she doesn’t see the bird she was trying to conjure, she assumes that she is just imagining the smell of peppermint. But I could tell she created that peppermint smell. How do you think Capricorn is going to take advantage of her gift? Do you think she will end up having more control over her reading ability than Mo does? And what do you think will happen to Tinker Bell? 

What do you think of Resa, the maid that helps Dustfinger? After he meets her, Farid mentions that she looks like Meggie. Do you think Resa is Meggie’s mother? If she is, why isn’t she in the story? And, why is she mute? 

Do you have any guesses as to what will happen at the end of the book? I hope Dustfinger will prove to be a loyal and true friend at the end, and that Resa will turn out to be Meggie’s mother. 

If you want more information about the book, this article from Deutsche Welle, the public broadcaster in Funke’s native Germany, discusses the world of Inkheart and some of its themes and why it has such appeal. Make sure to click through the slideshow at the end of the article for more information about Funke’s work. Check out this interview, too, if you want to read Funke’s perspective on words and music in her own words. 

Make sure to finish the book before next week. And, make sure to leave a comment to let me know what you thought of this section. I hope to hear from you!

Welcome to Week 2 of our Online Book Club discussion of Inkheart. 

Did you enjoy the first section this week? The story sucked me in from the first pages. I hope you felt the same. 

As a librarian, one thing I enjoyed was how Inkheart talked so lovingly about books. One of my dreams would be for someone to make me a book box so I could keep my most treasured books close. I don’t think I could keep a small box, though—it would have to be pretty big. What size do you think Meggie’s box was? 

What did you think of the main characters in this section? Mo was great, obviously, but what did you think of Elinor? I liked how passionate she was about books, but I don’t think she had great people skills. I’m not sure if I really enjoyed her as a character. Dustfinger was another hard character to appreciate. At first, I thought his juggling skills and magical animal were interesting. But I was so disappointed how he threw Meggie and her family under the bus. I felt like I understood him a little better once I realized he was displaced from his story, but still, I wished he had been a little more courageous and had stood up to Capricorn a bit more. I really didn’t like Capricorn, but I know I wasn’t supposed to. 

What did you think of Meggie? I was so frustrated when she tried to rescue her dad. I admired her bravery and loyalty, but I knew she wasn’t going to have a good experience with Capricorn and his men. And I could tell that Dustfinger was trying to deceive her in some way. Do you think she is going to end up having the same reading ability as her father? 

Did you guess that Mo had the ability to read people out of books before it was explicitly explained? I knew something weird must be going on with him since he was being so secretive, but I didn’t expect he had the power to bring characters to life. I thought he might have some sort of magical book binding ability or something. I felt sorry for him that he didn’t understand how his power worked and couldn’t do it on command. He definitely would have had an easier time dealing with Capricorn if he had been able to control his abilities. 

What do you think happens to Capricorn at the end of his Inkheart book? Mo hints that the book ends moderately well, but he’s secretive about the details. Why doesn’t Capricorn want to go back to the book? What do you think happens to Dustfinger? Why doesn’t he have the strength to read the end of the book? 

This section ends with Meggie and her family escaping from Capricorn’s palace. They bring Farid with them, but he doesn’t seem interested in interacting with them. Do you think they are going to be able to stay safe from Capricorn? There is so much book left that I know we’ll see him again. Do you have any guesses about something that might happen in the next section? 

Check out Cornelia Funke’s website. It has a lot of interesting information about Inkheart including information about a stage production of the movie that took place in England. Check out the trailer for the play below. 

I’m really excited to hear what you thought of this section. Let me know if you have any guesses about what will happen next, and if you’re enjoying the story so much that you’re planning on watching the movie after you finish reading. 

Make sure to read chapters 20–38 before joining us next week!

Welcome to October’s Online Book Club discussion. This month, we’re discussing Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. 

The Online Book Club, if you’ve never joined us before, is a book discussion group that takes place entirely online. Each week, I write a new blog post that talks about different aspects of the book, and you can interact directly with me and other readers by leaving your comments. Check back each week and see what new topics we’re talking about.

Inkheart tells the story of a girl named Meggie who realizes that her dad has special powers, but those powers put him in incredible danger. When her father is abducted, Meggie attempts to come to his rescue, but she is soon swept up into a fantastical world where her bravery and loyalty are put to the test. 

If you want to follow along with us, but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the movie version starring Brendan Fraser. I’m including the trailer above if you want to get a feel for the way the story plays out on screen. Feel free to still leave comments on the blog posts, even if you are only watching the film and not reading the book.

We’ll be discussing chapters 1-19, so make sure you read those chapters before joining us next week. I look forward to hearing from you in the comments section. 

Welcome to the last Online Book Club discussion of Jurassic Park. 

Did you feel like the book had a satisfying ending? 

This section was filled with dinosaur attacks and chases. Which dinosaur did you feel like was the most terrifying? The T-Rex is frightening, but the raptors might be the scariest. The part where Grant fought them off by poisoning the eggs was really intense. I was stressed the whole time I was reading that section. The part where Tim lured the raptor to the freezer with steak was also scary. Those scenes convinced me that the raptors are the ones that I would like to encounter the least. The dactyls were pretty terrifying too, though. Could you believe that Lex was almost carried away by one? 

One of the most frightening non-dinosaur parts was when Grant had to go into the maintenance building. I would not have been able to climb down that ladder to turn on the generator. I was glad he found Gennaro and helped him escape. 

What were your thoughts when Grant and the kids were swept over the waterfall? For a second, I thought that the T-Rex had gotten Lex, since we see the dinosaur with Lex’s life vest in her mouth. I was relieved she made it safely over the waterfall. 

I couldn’t believe they had been operating under auxiliary power after the main power came back on. Didn’t your heart sink once you realized that the electric fences had been down for so many hours? It’s astounding that everything fell apart so quickly on the island. They had so many fail-safe measures, but none of them worked. I couldn’t believe none of them knew how to work the computer system. It seems like you would want more than one person in charge of all that technical stuff. 

I was so relieved when they made contact with that ship so the escaped dinosaurs weren’t able to get off the boat. Can you imagine what havoc they would have wrecked if they had reached the mainland? 

Were you surprised by the nest they found? Again, I never would have gone down into a nest like that, but these people have proven to be a lot more brave than I am. I was glad they all made it out of the nest alive. 

What did you think about the fate of all the characters? Was there ever a moment when you thought that no one might make it off the island? Were you more sad about the death of one character over another? Were you surprised by any of the deaths? I was just glad that Grant and the kids survived. I think I wouldn’t have been able to keep reading if any of them had been eaten. 

If you’ve watched the movie, it’s a little different from the book. I feel like it has the same spirit and excitement. Check out this list on Mental Floss to find out details about the movie that you might not have known. Make sure to leave a comment to tell me the facts that you thought were most interesting. 

If you really enjoyed reading Jurassic Park with us this month, you might enjoy the books and movies on this list that I created. Please let me know if you check out and enjoy anything on the list. And let me know if there are any books or movies you’d recommend.

I’m excited to hear your thoughts on the end of the book. I know I missed lots of great parts, so make sure to let me know which ones you really enjoyed. I hope you join us next month when we read Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. 

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of Jurassic Park. 

This section was really intense, wasn’t it? It was pretty much non-stop action. Were you able to stop at the Fourth Iteration, or did you keep reading? I read ahead because I needed to know what was going to happen next. 

I was immediately uneasy when I read the descriptions of the steel bars and steel-clad doors in the guest suites. Weren’t you concerned when you read that the room plans had changed and there was now a 12-foot metal fence surrounding the lodge? I was equally concerned when Hammond’s grandkids showed up on the island. Didn’t your heart sink when they arrived? It’s hard to believe that Hammond would think they would be safe on the island when there were so many signs they would not be. 

What did you think of the lab? The coolest part for me was the nursery with the baby raptor. The DNA stuff was a little over my head, and I definitely didn’t understand the graphs Crichton included. I understood how the blood of dinosaurs could be preserved in amber, but the rest was a little past my understanding. What did you think of the measures Dr. Wu took to stop the dinosaurs from breeding? By the end of this section, we know that the dinosaurs are breeding, but I did appreciate that he at least attempted to make sure they wouldn’t overrun the island. The lysine dependency was another good idea—why do you think it didn’t stop the dinosaurs from leaving the island? 

I was alarmed by how many of the dinosaur characteristics were a surprise for the scientists. Could you believe that they wanted to have the dilophosaur in the park, even after they realized it could spit venom 50 feet? I think I would have stopped production on the dilophosaur after making that discovery. I would have at least allowed one to be autopsied to figure out where the poison was coming from. And, they seemed surprised that the raptors hunted so viciously in packs. I think all of those unknowns would make me not want to create this type of park. How about you? 

What did you think once you realized the dinosaurs were breeding? I couldn’t believe that the computer was only counting 238 animals because that was the number it was searching for. Were you shocked when it eventually found 292 animals? I couldn’t believe it. I assumed they were breeding, but it was a big surprise that they had already bred so many babies. 

Dennis Nedry was just the worst, wasn’t he? He shut off the power and took down the electric fences and ended up putting so many people in danger. Do you think he thought that would happen? Did he understand what his actions would do? Because of all the harm he inflicted, I almost didn’t feel sorry for him when he was ultimately attacked and killed. He died a really gruesome and horrible death. Did you feel a little queasy when reading his death scene? 

The Tyrannosaurus Rex was the most terrifying thing in this section, in my opinion. There were so many T-Rex attack moments. The first one where she flipped the car and threw Malcolm through the air was really frightening, but for me, the scariest part was when they were trying to escape down the river and the T-Rex chased them through the water. Just the thought of an animal that big swimming freaked me out. I felt like the T-Rex was everywhere—I never knew when she would show up, and it made me anxious!

Can you imagine what it would have been like to be faced with the task of creating dinosaurs that would look realistic on the big screen? Stan Winston was the special effects creator for the movie adaptation of Jurassic Park. He passed away in 2008, but after his death, his family created the Stan Winston School of Character Arts to pass along his skills to another generation. The school has a great website and a blog that gives a lot of behind the scenes information about Winston’s movie work. For example, you can see how his team brought a sick Triceratops to life, or how they made the T-Rex so terrifying. 

If this section made you eager to see dinosaurs up close, Universal Studios opened a new Jurassic World ride this summer. Let me know if you plan a visit. 

There was so much to discuss in this section, I’m sure I missed something important. Let me know if I didn’t talk about one of your favorite parts. Make sure to finish the book before next week, and leave a comment to let me know what you thought of the section. I can’t wait to hear what your favorite parts were!

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of Jurassic Park. 

What did you think of the first section? When I read the introduction, “The InGen Incident,” I was really scared that the book was going to be too technical or science-y to be interesting. Thankfully, the action picked up during the prologue. I was surprised the book began with the “lizard” attacks. I thought it would start right in with the dinosaurs and the park itself. Why do you think the book introduced the “lizard” attacks first? Was it just to make us think that dinosaurs may have escaped from the island? I thought it was interesting that all the scientists believed the sample of the creature that was attacking everyone was a lizard, but that lab technician took one look at it and thought it was a dinosaur. It was even better that she identified it based off of illustrations that her small children had made. 

We first hear about John Hammond through a conversation between Dr. Alan Grant, a paleontologist, and Bob Morris, an EPA officer. They describe Hammond as an eccentric, mysterious character. He only funds cold-weather digs, he’s purchased huge quantities of amber, and he has a private island in Costa Rica. Do you think it’s interesting that Grant allowed Hammond to fund his research without knowing more about him? What do you think the EPA assumed Hammond was doing? Do you think they could have ever imagined that he was setting up a place like Jurassic Park? It was lucky that the EPA agent contacted Grant because it allowed Grant to be one of the consultants to come to the island. 

What did you think of Malcolm? Did you understand the chaos theory he explained? He puts it much more simply in the movie. Check out the scene below if you’re interested to see how the explanation played out on screen. 

Throughout the Second Iteration section, there are hints that there are some interesting animals on Hammond’s island. When talking with Gennaro, Hammond explains that there are 238 animals of 15 different species existing on the island. But he never utters the word “dinosaur.” Dodgson is the only one who says anything about dinosaurs, and he only mentions them in a meeting where he is trying to get the Biosyn Corporation to invest in dinosaur cloning. Why do you think Hammond never mentions dinosaurs? Do you think he just wanted to see Grant’s reaction when he realized what was actually on the island? It was pretty cool when Grant realized that he was looking at a dinosaur, not a part of a tree. 

Did you think everyone had appropriate reactions to seeing a live dinosaur in person? I thought their reactions were pretty tame. I probably would have screamed in terror and run away, but I am not a paleontologist, so that might explain why my reaction is more fear than wonder. Can you even imagine what it would be like to see such huge creatures in real life? 

Did any other parts of the section stand out to you? Did I forget to mention anything that you really loved? 

If you’re enjoying the book so far, visit Michael Crichton’s website to read about the inspiration behind the book. Check out some of his other books, movies, and television shows, too. He was a prolific and interesting man. 

I can’t wait to hear what you thought of this first section. I hope you’ll leave a comment. Make sure you read the Third and Fourth Iterations before you join us next week.