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Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Call of the Wild. 

We didn’t get any break from the brutality and violence in this second section, did we? We started right off with Buck and Spitz and their jockeying for power. Again, the scene with the dog fight was so descriptively told that I felt like I could feel and hear every slash and crunch. Were you surprised that Buck ended up besting Spitz? I was a little bit. Buck is really adapting to being a wild dog. It didn’t seem to take much time for him to turn the switch from being docile to wild. Do you think it’s interesting that London keeps talking about the primordial urges and feelings that are flowing through Buck? What did you think of the fact that Buck easily became the greatest leader the men had ever seen? Does that seem realistic? 

Those wild huskies that attacked the group in Chapter 3 were pretty pathetic. That made me feel sad. They were so hungry. I couldn’t believe that they ate everything including some moccasins and pieces of the whip. They must have been desperate. 

Did you catch the part in Chapter 4 where Buck looks dreamily into the fire and is able to imagine the first humans sitting around a fire. He imagines these people as having longer arms and shorter legs, and their bodies were covered in hair. I guess this section serves to show how connected Buck is to the primal instincts of his species? It’s interesting that London imagines dogs have this kind of awareness of themselves and their origins. 

This section ends with Dave the dog dying at his post. I hated reading that part, too. He was so brave to keep working, even though he was hurting. I just couldn’t handle reading about his pain and bravery. Did you have a hard time reading that section, too? Could you picture Dave’s face? 

This week, when I was researching about Jack London, I kept reading about the fact that he worked for a time as an oyster pirate in the San Francisco Bay. Have you ever heard of oyster pirates? Isn’t it wild that someone could start off doing that kind of job and then move to being a world-famous author? It seems like quite a wild career change. Check out this blog post from The Art of Manliness to learn more about his adventures on the water. It’s pretty fascinating stuff! 

You might assume since this book is such a classic that Jack London got instant success once he started writing. But, he actually received over 600 rejections before The Call of the Wild was published. Check out this article to read about how all of the rejections shaped him, and scroll down on this article to read a snippet from one of his rejection letters. The other author rejections on that page are pretty interesting, too! Later on in his career, to keep up with the volume of writing he was producing, London ended up buying some plots for stories and books from other authors. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of something that like. He bought a few plots from author, Sinclair Lewis. Check out this exhibit from Utah State University Library to find out more. 

Finally, before you go, check out these pictures of The Call of the Wild from The Saturday Evening Post. Did you know that the book was serialized in that magazine? I thought that was pretty cool. 

Thanks for following along again this week! I hope you’ll join us again next week as we finish the book. I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments section!

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Call of the Wild. 

Did you enjoy the first two chapters? There weren’t too many pages, so, hopefully, you were able to fly through it. What did you think of the fact that the book is told from Buck’s perspective? I thought that took a little getting used to. It definitely made the book feel different from other animal books I’ve read. 

At the beginning of this section, Buck lives with a judge in a very nice house. Apparently, the judge in the book was inspired by a real person and his real house! Check out this article that explains how Jack London was inspired by the Bond family, and then look at pictures of the estate here and here. 

The thing that stood out to me the most in this first section was the brutality! The dogs were brutal to each other, the men were brutal to the dogs, and the weather was brutal. Didn’t the first chapters feel so bleak because of the violence and cold? I hated reading about the way the man with the red sweater beat Buck with a club to subdue him after the long journey. London’s descriptions were so vivid–I felt like I could feel every one of the blows. I think the hardest thing for me to read was the attack against Curly. Wasn’t that so hard to read? She was just trying to be friendly! I couldn’t believe the other dog responded so viciously, and I was sick to my stomach imagining the other dogs circling her and attacking her. What a huge waste. 

Buck seems to be adapting pretty quickly to his new life. I can’t believe how fast he was able to understand all of the ins and outs of being a sled dog. I thought it was really interesting that the dogs around him nipped at him to teach him how to act. It’s incredible that dogs are able to communicate and teach each other. It seems like he likes being a working dog, even though it’s such a different life than the one he had in California. I certainly felt for him when he was trying to find a place to sleep in the snow! It was nice of the other dog to show him what to do–I’m not sure how Buck would have survived the night otherwise. 

I have a feeling that things are just going to get worse for Buck. The action hasn’t really started yet, so I’m assuming he’s going to run into more hardship. 

 Were you curious where Jack London got the inspiration for the book? Apparently, he spent time searching for gold in Alaska, and he met a dog that helped to shape the Buck character. Check out this article if you want to see pictures of the dog and read a little bit about London’s time in Alaska. If you’d like to read a longer article about London and Alaska, check out this article from Smithsonian Magazine. 

You might think, after reading this first section, that London eventually settled in Alaska, but he actually made his home in California. Check out this link to see his house and then explore the website to learn more about the other parts of the property. 

Want to watch sled dogs in action? Make sure to check out the video below. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqlwGr3jW78

I hope you enjoyed this section. Make sure to leave a comment to let me know what you thought. And, make sure to read the next two chapters for the discussion next week!

Welcome to July’s Online Book Club! This month, we’re reading The Call of the Wild by Jack London. 

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.

The Call of the Wild is an adventurous story about a dog named Buck who is kidnapped and forced into a life of danger. Buck fights for his life while working as a sled dog in the freezing-cold Yukon. Readers will keep reading, desperate to know if Buck will overcome all obstacles and come home again. 

If you want to follow along with us but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the 2020 movie version starring Harrison Ford. Check out the trailer above if you want to get a feel for the movie. Feel free to still leave comments on the blog posts, even if you’re only watching the movie and not reading the book.

Next week, we’ll be discussing the first two chapters, so make sure to read those before reading the blog post next week. I hope you’ll check back for the blog post, and I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments section. 

Welcome to the final discussion of Beautiful Creatures. 

How did you feel about the ending? Were you satisfied? Are you interested in reading any more of the series? I could definitely tell that this book was the start of a series because I was left with questions at the end. I’m still not quite sure why Ethan and Lena have such a strong connection, and I’m still thinking that Ethan had some sort of powers. I really expected there to be some clarification about his abilities at the end of the book, but I didn’t find any. Were you surprised that we didn’t find out how Ethan can do the things he does? 

The last couple of chapters were full of surprising things. First, the fact that Sarafine was hiding inside Mrs. Lincoln’s body shocked me. I knew that Mrs. Lincoln was acting weird, but I didn’t guess that she was hiding a Dark Caster under her skin. Secondly, I was surprised that Lena had the power to hide the moon and stop her claiming ceremony. I’m still not sure how that worked, and I don’t think she left the ceremony completely unchanged, especially since Ethan noticed that one of her eyes was a little golden. Finally, I was so surprised that Lena was able to bring Ethan back from the dead, but by doing so, she killed Macon. I didn’t see that coming. It makes sense that there was a consequence for her doing that kind of magic, but I didn’t expect that the consequence would be that Macon would die. I don’t think Ethan and Lena are going to be able to have a healthy relationship in the future if Lena never tells Ethan that she brought him back to life. That’s a pretty big secret to keep. Do you think Macon is gone for good? What about Sarafine and Larkin and Ridley? Where did they go? 

Don’t you feel like there’s more to Ethan’s mom’s story? I wanted some closure on that as well, but I’m sure that will come up in later books. Ethan’s dad was a really sad character throughout and was especially sad in the last section. I couldn’t believe that he had all of that gibberish in his study. Did you fear that Ridley would make him jump off that building? I definitely did. I’m glad Link was able to get through to him. I think Link and Ridley’s story isn’t finished yet. Did you feel that way? 

What else stood out to you in this section? Which scene was your favorite? Did everything end like you thought it would? Do you have guesses about how the characters will act moving forward? 

If you’d like to check out more about one of the authors, Kami Garcia, check out this video in which she talks about some of her favorite things. And then, check out the video below to see some behind the scenes information about the movie version. Does seeing some of the action on screen make you understand some of the final scenes better? 

If you liked this book and want to read similar titles, check out this list I created. Please make sure to let me know if you check out anything on the list!

Thanks so much for following along this month. I hope you’ll join us again next month as we read The Call of the Wild. I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments section!

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of Beautiful Creatures.

Did you enjoy this section? Did you find any answers to your questions from last week? I thought this section provided a little more information. 

This section stars with Amma and Macon meeting with each other. I was surprised that they knew each other so well. And, I found it a little hard to believe that they didn’t spot Ethan chasing after them. I feel like he wouldn’t have been very stealthy. I was really confused about the Greats and the Seers and Serafine when this meeting too place, so I was relieved that all of those things came up again later in the story.  Later in the section, we find out that Serafine is Lena’s mom, and she is the Darkest Caster alive. The Greats give Lena a warning about her mother during the Thanksgiving dinner celebration, and Amma is able to interpret all of the messages from The Greats. Ethan is able to protect Lena from Serafine–he showed that by helping her at Halloween, but we still don’t know exactly what his powers are. 

I think my favorite character in this section was Marian. I loved that she is the Head Caster Librarian. I wish I could see the hidden library. I bet it’s really ornate and creepy looking. The library scene was really helpful to understanding how Lena and her family are cursed. When Genevieve attempted to bring Ethan back to life, she cursed herself and her family, and this is what leads to each child getting chosen as a Light or Dark on their 16th birthday. I’m still sure that Lena is going to end up being Light. Or, she’ll be Dark, but she’ll overthrow the Darkness? What do you think? 

Link’s mom is definitely creepy, right? Why wouldn’t the house let her in? Why is she so obsessed with keeping everyone safe? There has to be more to her than meets the eye. Check out the clip below if you want to see how that scene looks in the movie. 

What did you think of the grave digging scene? It was less scary than I thought it would be. I imagined that they would be seeing a rotted corpse, and I worried that the rotted corpse would chase them or something. It was nice that they were able to use Aunt Del’s powers to confirm that the book was actually with Genevieve, and it was really handy that Genevieve’s ghost told them they could have the book. That was nice of her. Why didn’t she want the locket back? Do you think it had too many sad memories locked up inside of it? 

The dance scene was sure a dramatic event to end the section, wasn’t it? It’s interesting that people wouldn’t have guessed that some sort of dark force was at play since so many horrible things happened all at once. I think the electric mishaps and the falling backdrop were the most dangerous things that happened, but the exposed underwear was the most embarrassing. I’m just glad I don’t have to experience any of those catastrophes. 

From the clips I’ve seen, it looks like the scenery and costumes were really beautiful in the movie version. Check out this link to see some of the costumes now–I think they’re for sale, but I can’t imagine how expensive they are!

Thanks for following along this week! I hope you can finish the book by next week, and I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments section. 

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of Beautiful Creatures. 

How long did it take you to feel like you were sucked into the story? I enjoyed the story right from the beginning. I’m kind of a sucker for mysterious books that involve some history. And, I love genealogy, so I loved seeing the family trees in the first section. Did any of those elements appeal to you? 

Lena was the most confusing character for me throughout the first section. I really wanted to have more of an understanding of her powers right from the beginning. I understand that the reader was left in the dark about her powers because Lena herself is confused about her powers, but still, I found myself wanting to understand more. I was really surprised when she broke that window in class, but I think that’s just the tip of her powers.  I really wanted to understand how Ethan and Lena were able to talk to each other in their heads. And, I wanted to understand how they were sharing dreams. Did I just miss something in this first section, or was that stuff not really explained? 

The locket was also really mysterious. How shocked were you when Lena and Ethan time traveled when they both touched the locket? It’s interesting that both Macon and Amma are so repulsed by it. Why do you think Ethan refuses to get rid of it, even though everyone tells him it’s dangerous? Does he just like the connection to Lena? 

I liked how Macon’s house was always transforming. That was pretty cool. I think I’d like the ability to change my house whenever I’d like. 

This section ends with Ridley, the cousin, shaking up the family dinner party. I figured that Ridley was bad news from the moment she approached Ethan, but I was surprised that she was such a dark character. I liked Ridley because she provided more information about Lena and why Lena was so stressed about her birthday. It’s really sad that Lena won’t be able to choose for herself if she’s going to be a Light Caster or a Dark one. I have a feeling she’ll turn out to be light, don’t you? I’m interested to hear more about Lena being a Natural. I’m not sure what that entails, but it sounds like a powerful position. Check out the video below if you’d like to see how the Ridley scene plays out in the movie version. 

So, how did you feel about this first section? Were you left with more questions than answers? How do you think the flashbacks tie to Ethan and Lena? And, why are they so connected to each other? 

If you’d like to see photos of author, Kami Garcia’s house, check out this link. It’s interesting to see where authors create their books! 

I hope you’ll join us next week as we read through page 386. I can’t wait to hear your impressions of the first section in the comments!

Welcome to June’s Online Book Club! This month, we’re reading Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. 

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.

Beautiful Creatures is a young adult fantastical book in which two high schoolers are brought together when one moves to the other’s small, Texas town. Ethan Wate is bored in his small town, but then, Lena Duchannes moves to town and shakes up his world. He’s immediately drawn to her, even though she’s odd and lives in a spooky old plantation with a reclusive uncle. But, Ethan doesn’t understand what being around Lena means until he witnesses her special powers. 

If you want to follow along with us but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the movie version which was released in 2013. Check out the trailer above if you want to get a feel for the movie. Feel free to still leave comments on the blog posts, even if you’re only watching the movie and not reading the book.

Next week, we’ll be discussing the first 193 pages, so make sure to read those before reading the blog post next week. I hope you’ll check back for the blog post, and I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments section. 

Welcome to the final discussion of The Good Liar.

How do you feel after finishing the book? Were you surprised by the ending? Did you see any of that coming? 

Chapter 13 sure started off interestingly, didn’t it? Roy was injured by a fall and seemed out of commission. Did you wonder for a moment if the fall wasn’t an accident? I kind of wondered if Betty had something to do with it, but we don’t ever get that confirmation by the end of the book. When Betty talks to her grandson, Steven, she drops hints that she has something that she wants from Roy. She says she can’t lose her nerve, and she says she can’t let go until she completes her task. Did you have any idea what she was talking about when you first read that part? Did you guess what she was working on? 

I felt completely sick to my stomach when reading the chapter about Hans Taub and his actions in 1938. First of all, I was shocked to be reading about Hans Taub because I didn’t suspect that Roy was Hans. I really thought Hans was just an interpreter who died earlier in the book. I was surprised that he was actually Roy. I could not believe the way he acted around the sisters. That was so incredibly gross and upsetting. Especially his attack on Lili. That was just heartbreaking. And, I couldn’t believe the way he acted towards his parents and the Schroders. He was so willing to sabotage the Schroders just to save his own skin, and, I guess, to get back at the sisters for making him feel small? It was crazy to me that the things that a 14 year old boy said to authorities really were taken so seriously. It’s wild that his lie was able to affect the Schroders so deeply. I just don’t think I would trust a boy so quickly. Roy’s parents had horrible ends, too, with his mom being arrested and executed and his father killing himself. They were too good to have an evil son like Roy. 

Were you confused by the scene where Roy and Betty sign the money over to the account? I didn’t guess that Vincent would help Betty. That was really surprising to me. 

Did you immediately guess that Lili was Betty? It was really hard to read that chapter, I thought, because she was completely innocent but suffered so horribly. I was glad that she survived the war and was able to connect with people who cared for her. And, I was thankful that Searle didn’t go into great detail about Lili’s time in the concentration camps. I don’t think I would have been able to read any gruesome details. I was glad that she was able to be happy with her husband, and I was glad that she had a family. Were you shocked when it was revealed that Stephen wasn’t her grandson? I definitely didn’t see that coming. I thought he was her grandson, but I did think that he had been researching Roy. I was so surprised that Gerald and Stephen were working for her and that she had a whole other family somewhere else. The depth of her deception was deeper than I thought. 

It was interesting to me that Betty decided to confront Roy in person. Did you understand why she would want to do that? It was more satisfying, I imagine, that just wondering what he thought when he read her note. I was totally fooled by her lie that she found the locket with hair. Didn’t you think that was totally believable? Did you hope that Roy would break down and confess all of his crimes? I wish he would have, but I can see that wouldn’t match very well with his character. Did any details really stick out to you in that chapter? Were you able to follow all of the intricacies of Betty’s plan and all of the things she was revealing about Roy? It was a lot of information to receive all at one time. 

Did you think Betty’s grandson, Andrew, was going to kill Roy? I totally did. I was surprised when he just tore up the check. 

Were you satisfied with the ending? Did you want Roy to be punished in some way? He apparently was tormented mentally, but he didn’t have to suffer any legal consequences. What about Betty? Do you think she was happier after confronting Roy? 

What details did I miss talking about? Did you enjoy the book? Did you enjoy the mystery? Would you read another book by this author? 

If you liked this book and are eager to read more like it, check out this list of similar titles I created. Make sure to let me know if you enjoy anything on the list. 

Before you go, check out a clip from the movie version below. In what ways does the movie seem different than the book? 

Thanks for joining us this month! Make sure to leave a comment to let me know what you thought about the book! And, join us next month as we read Beautiful Creatures. I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments section!

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Good Liar. 

How did you enjoy this section? Were you excited about the details you got, or did you feel like you were still left wanting more? Do you have a better handle on what’s going on? 

Chapter 7 started in a disconcerting way. Roy is excited to steal money from Betty, and he explains he does it just because he can. It’s sad that he’s lying to Betty and acting like he cares when he really doesn’t. I just hate that he is able to treat her horribly so easily. Roy gives an explanation about his life, but it doesn’t seem complete. He certainly doesn’t tell her about his criminal activities. Betty doesn’t seem entirely satisfied with his answers, but she doesn’t push him. Could you believe he was sharing such an innocent picture of himself with her? 

What did you think about the part where Roy took Bob’s body and hid it? I was very surprised by that section. Bob’s death was an accident, right? I don’t know why Roy went to all that trouble to hide the body and pretend like he didn’t know anything about the incident. He couldn’t have gotten that much money from Bob’s account. I feel like there must be an easier way to make money. It seemed like, at least at this point in Roy’s life, that he wasn’t making criminal choices. He seemed like he was living a clean life. But, this incident maybe put him down that road? This chapter was very confusing. I feel like all of the information I learn about Roy just makes me understand him less instead of more. 

I thought the other two flashback sections were really interesting. What do you think about the fact that we keep going farther and farther back in time in Roy’s memories? Usually, it seems like we would get the oldest story first, so it’s unusual that the first flashback was more recent than the later chapters. With each memory, you can see Roy getting more jaded, which in turn, is opening him up to the criminal acts he commits in his later years. The flashback in chapter 10 had Roy working as a “fixer” for Lord Stanbrook. Once Roy was approached to do some spying, I assumed that’s how the chapter was going to end. So, I was really surprised when he refused to spy and then was forced to leave his job. Did you think that chapter helped to explain why he acted the way he did in the Bob chapter? In chapter 12, we go even farther back and see that Roy was helping to hunt down Nazis after WWII. Were you surprised that he was working on something so noble? Then, his friend is murdered, and that obviously affects Roy and has him question his future in the military. What did you think of that chapter? How did that chapter shape Roy into the older man he becomes? 

In the current times chapters, Roy is still working to get money from Betty, and it seems like Betty is going to give it to him. She agrees to meet with Vincent, and she tells her grandson that she is interested in the plan that Vincent has. Why is Betty willing to do this? Do you think she’s being truthful to Roy? Why is she trusting him so much? 

She does ask Roy what he thinks about women. I thought that conversation was a little odd. Why do you think she would ask him that out of the blue? It seems like she is searching for something when she asks Roy all of these questions. And, in the end of that conversation, we get a little glimpse into Betty’s thoughts. She says that she enjoys goading him, and she knows that she’s smarter than he is. I just don’t understand her game. She must have a reason for wanting to be with Roy, and she must be wanting to find out something about him, but I can’t figure out what she wants to find out. 

I think we’re going to find out at least one more thing about Roy’s past because when he was thinking about Bob, he mentioned all of the people he had wronged in his life, and he says something about some sisters. We haven’t heard any stories about any sisters, so I assume that’s going to be a story that comes up later in the book. I wonder what that story will entail. 

Normally, I’d like to give you all another article about the author and his writing process, but he’s pretty mysterious. There aren’t many details about him! So, instead, I’ll just leave you with another video of the stars of the movie version. Enjoy them sharing lies about themselves!

I hope you’re able to finish the book for next week! I can’t wait to hear what you all think of this section in the comments!