Tag: Online Book Club

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. 

Welcome to September’s Online Book Club discussion! This month, we’re discussing Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. 

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.

Jurassic Park, I’m sure you know, imagines what would happen if scientists were able to clone dinosaurs and bring them into our modern world. In the book, scientists create genetically modified dinosaurs and release them in a theme park called Jurassic Park. The park’s creators promise it’s completely safe, but as a group of consultants who come to the park quickly realize, dinosaurs are hard to predict and even harder to contain. 

If you want to follow along with us, but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the movie adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg. 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 the First and Second Iteration next week, so make sure you read those sections before joining the discussion!

Welcome to the last Online Book Club discussion of A Dog’s Purpose.

Be honest. Did you cry at the end? I think I felt a little more emotional every time Bailey was put down and turned into another dog than I was when I read the last few pages. 

It was so great that Ellie was able to rescue that person, but I was incredibly sad that she lost her sense of smell in the process. Did you expect that once you read about the chemical smell and her burning nose? I was glad that she was still able to work by going to different schools and meeting different people. Weren’t you glad that she still had a purpose, even though her nose didn’t work correctly? 

Ellie’s rescue of Geoffrey was so intense! I was glad that she was able to have that experience. Didn’t your heart practically leap out of your chest when you were reading about how she was desperately trying to keep his head above water? It was such a dramatic rescue. I was a little afraid that Ellie was going to die on the spot from over exertion, so I was glad that she recovered. 

I really liked Maya and her story. I enjoyed the fact that she fell in love and had a family. Did you enjoy reading Maya’s section or Ethan’s first section more? I definitely think that Ellie had a much more clear purpose than Bailey did. 

Again, it was pretty awful reading about when Bailey transitioned into a new life. It made me so sad to read about how sad Maya and Al were. It wasn’t much more comforting reading once Bailey moved to living with Wendi and Victor. I didn’t like that part at all. I was so glad that Ethan entered back into the story, even though it was a little unbelievable that the dog just happened to be dropped off near Ethan. I guess the whole book has some unbelievable elements, right? That’s the fun of the story. 

What did you think once Ethan and Bailey reunited? I thought it was nice that Ethan named the dog Buddy. And I was glad that Ethan reunited with Hannah through the dog. Did you have a favorite scene? Did you enjoy the ending? 

If you have any other thoughts feel free to share them in the comments section. I am really interested to know what you thought of the end and how it tied in with the rest of the book. If you enjoyed reading this book, check out this list I created that has similar titles. Please let me know if you check out something and enjoy it. 

I’ll leave you with this behind-the-scenes video about the making of the movie version. 

Next month, we’re reading Jurassic Park. I hope you’ll join us then. 

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of A Dog’s Purpose. 

This section was really intense, wasn’t it? Could you believe all the things that happened with Todd? That was totally unexpected. 

Let’s start our discussion with Todd. I knew that he was a dangerous kid, and I figured he killed Marshmallow, but I never expected that he would do something as disastrous as set a house on fire while people were in it. He just kept escalating in brutality. What was the deal with the meat that he left for Bailey? Was it poisoned? Throughout the first part of the book, I just felt a little confused about what Todd’s purpose was. Was he just meant to show Bailey that some people were dangerous? Did he just help Bailey learn how to protect people? 

It was sad that Ethan was so injured from the fire. I couldn’t believe it ended his football career. Ethan’s absence really affected Bailey as well. I was a little worried that Ethan would never come home, or that if he did come home, he would be so changed that he wouldn’t still want to be around Bailey. Were you worried that Ethan would lose his will to live after the accident? 

I liked how Bailey injected himself into Hannah and Ethan’s relationship. In chapter 13, Bailey commented that he liked to sit at Ethan and Hannah’s feet to give them something interesting to talk about. That line made me laugh out loud because I think my dog thinks the same thing. She always ends up right in the middle of any family conversation. 

Were you surprised that Bailey came back as a working dog named Ellie? I thought that was an interesting twist. I liked reading about the training, even though Jakob wasn’t a very loving character. I think Ellie needed Jakob’s strict guidance to learn, but that she had a better relationship with Maya. I was really glad that Maya ended up keeping Ellie and working to get certified. 

This section ended with a cliffhanger, didn’t it? It was interesting to read how they kept Ellie’s spirits up after she kept finding dead people in the rubble. I never thought that a dog would get discouraged after only finding people who had already passed away. What do you think Ellie is going to find in the rubble? Do you think she’ll be able to help that person who is still alive? 

Check out the video below if you’re interested to see another kind of search and rescue dog in action. 

If you want to read a heartwarming dog story, check out this story of an abandoned dog who is getting a new chance at life. His rescue even inspired a big company to donate to dogs as well.

Finally, if you want to read more about W. Bruce Cameron including information about his writing process and his life with his dog, check out this article from Writer’s Digest. 

I’m really excited to read your thoughts about this section. I hope you’ll tell me that I wasn’t the only one to get emotional several times while reading! Make sure to finish the book by next week. 

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of A Dog’s Purpose.

What did you think of the beginning of the book this week? It took me a bit to get used to reading a story from a dog’s perspective. Once I got used to the narration, I enjoyed the first section. I will admit, though, that reading an animal’s inner thoughts made me feel a little differently towards my dog. Did anyone else feel like they had to be a little extra loving to their pet after reading Bailey’s (or Toby’s) inner thoughts?

I didn’t read the plot description before starting the book, so I was really surprised when Toby was reborn (as Bailey) for the first time. Were you surprised by that development? I really liked Toby, so I was sad to see him go. I was a little confused about the place where Toby lived. Did the person who rescued him just have a huge yard of dogs? It wasn’t like she owned an animal shelter, right? 

I like Ethan and his family, and how they are so attentive to Bailey. One of my favorite inner-dialogue sections of Bailey’s was when he was figuring out how to use the doggie door. It was so funny to read how he figured out that the door worked both ways. I also liked reading about what he did to occupy his time in the garage. Reading that section helped me to understand my dog and the weird things she does when she’s bored. 

I have a bad feeling about Todd, don’t you? He seems like bad news. The description of his bedroom and his attitude immediately made me think of Sid from the original Toy Story. He was just destructive throughout the entire section. What do you think he was planning to do when he lured Bailey away from his house? It was all so creepy and weird. 

This section ended with Ethan getting lost and then found in the woods. It was interesting that Bailey knew where they were, but he went along with Ethan. I imagine that if he were a more mature dog, he might be able to steer Ethan back home earlier, but since he had never been in that situation before, he trusted that Ethan had a plan. 

What section was your favorite? Did you have a favorite thing that Bailey thought? 

I thought it was really creative that W. Bruce Cameron decided to write the book from the perspective of a dog. I figured that Cameron would have to be a big dog lover to decide to write an entire book series about dogs, and I was curious to find out what inspired him. The biography on his website tells what inspired him to write this book and its sequels. 

Finally, did you know in the movie version, Josh Gad voices Bailey? He’s such a versatile voice actor, playing Olaf in Frozen and now this dog. If you want to hear him talk about his role, check out the video below. 

I hope you enjoyed this first section and are excited to keep reading. Please let me know your favorite parts, and if you have a guess about what Bailey’s ultimate purpose will be, you can always leave that guess in a comment to me. 

Make sure to read through chapter 22 for next week. I hope to hear from you in the comments section. 

Welcome to August’s Online Book Club discussion! This month, we’re discussing A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron.

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.

A Dog’s Purpose is a fictional book told from the perspective of a dog named Bailey. Originally, Bailey is a stray mutt, but after his life ends tragically, he is reborn as a golden retriever, and throughout the rest of the book, Bailey strives to figure out his purpose in life. The story is both funny and heartwarming, and the writing style is so innovative since the narrative is told from the dog’s point of view.

If you want to follow along with us, but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the movie adaptation starring Dennis Quaid. 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 the first twelve chapters in the blog post next week. I hope you’ll join in on the discussion!

Welcome to our final Online Book Club discussion of Can You Ever Forgive Me?

What did you think? The ending wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought for sure that she would serve jail time or feel some sort of remorse for her crimes. It didn’t seem like she did. Were you surprised by her tone throughout the book? Were you also surprised by the scope of her forgeries? She created 150 letters for Noël Coward alone. She made so many letters! 

Did any of you feel like her “Trimester Two” was even more bold than her original plan? I couldn’t believe that she was able to get into the libraries and steal letters from them.

I don’t mean to harp on the typewriters, but I just can’t get over the fact that she dumped all of her typewriters in the trash when she felt like the FBI was coming after her. All of those typewriters, just in the trash! I can’t believe it. If she were unloading all of those typewriters today, she could get a lot of money since typewriters are such collector’s items.

Speaking of typewriters and collectors of typewriters, did you know that Tom Hanks is a big collector of typewriters? He loves them so much that he wrote a collection of short stories that all involve typewriters, called Uncommon Type. He also wrote the foreword to Typewriters, which you can read at the Chronicle Books Blog. 

Near the end of the book when Israel first meets and talks to an FBI agent who was known to have uncovered forgeries, she mentions the Hitler diaries and the Mormon forgeries. The Hitler diaries forgery is fascinating, and if you’re interested in learning more, check out this news story from The Independent published 35 years after the forgeries were first discovered. The plot of this forgery is so interesting that I think it would make for a great movie. The Mormon forgeries are equally as interesting, so make sure you check out this news story from the Deseret News as well. I’m surprised I had never heard of either of these forgeries before. Do you remember when they were in the news? 

Israel also mentions finding stationery from hotels to make her forgeries more believable. Do you want to visit the Lombardy or the Algonquin Hotel after seeing how they figured in to Israel’s story? 

Lee Israel seems like she was a very interesting person. Even though I read this book, I feel like I don’t really understand her, and I don’t feel like I learned much about her through the book. Do you feel like she is still a bit of a mystery? If you’re curious how Melissa McCarthy got into character for the movie version, check out the clip below. 

I hope that you enjoyed reading along with us this month. If you liked the book and are interested in reading and watching related books and movies, check out this list I created. Let me know if you check out anything on the list. 

Thanks so much for following along this month. Make sure to leave a comment to tell me all of your thoughts. I hope you’ll join us again starting August 5 as we read A Dog’s Purpose. 

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of Can You Ever Forgive Me? 

What did you think of this section? I thought one of the most interesting things from this section was that the title of the book came from a forged Dorothy Parker line that Lee Israel wrote. Did you catch that detail? I thought that was really bold that Israel named the book for one of her forgeries.

Typewriters play an important role in this section. I thought it was so cool that Israel got different typewriters so her letters could have the same look as the people she was impersonating. I never really thought about typewriters having different fonts. Israel mentions that the first old typewriter she bought was a Royal typewriter. If you’re interested to see what Royal typewriters looked like, check out Machines of Loving Grace, a site that has tons of information and pictures about different typewriters. I especially like the look of the Hermes typewriters. What do you think about their cool color? 

Are you impressed how Israel created a light box to help her create the signatures for the letters? I thought it was pretty ingenious to use the old, broken television in this way. I also cringed reading about it, since I knew she was using it to commit a crime. 

Israel mentions selling her first letters to the Argosy Book Store. The bookstore is still in existence, and it has a huge selection of autographed letters, books, and photos available on their website. Take a look and see if you find any interesting autographs. I loved the signed letter from Victor Hugo, and the signed photograph from Princess Diana and Prince Charles. Aren’t they cool? 

In this section, Israel talks the most about forging letters from Dorothy Parker and Louise Brooks. I didn’t know anything about Louise Brooks before starting this book, so I had to do a little research about her. Have you watched any of her movies? The Louise Brooks Society website has tons of information about her if you’re interested. She had such a distinct look—I really enjoyed seeing her style and hairstyles in some of the photos. Check out the biography page to learn more about her, or check out the films page to learn more about each film in which she appeared. 

I’ve read a bit of Dorothy Parker’s work, but I don’t know enough about her to appreciate the letters that Israel included in the text. I knew that Dorothy Parker had an incredible wit (scroll down on this article to see what she chose for her epitaph), but that’s pretty much all I knew about her. I found the The Dorothy Parker Society website informative, so check that out if you’re interested in learning more. 

Do you feel sorry for Israel as you’re reading? Are you curious to see how her story will end? Do you wish she seemed more sorry for her crimes? 

I hope you are excited to finish the book for next week. I’m also interested to hear what you thought of these chapters. Leave a comment to share your impressions! 

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of Can You Ever Forgive Me? by Lee Israel.

This book is different from anything we’ve read before, isn’t it? And the story moves so quickly, it was hard to stop reading after just five chapters. 

What do you think about the story so far? Are you enjoying Israel’s exploits, or are you finding it upsetting to read about her willingness to break the law? 

Lee Israel starts her forgery career by stealing some Fanny Brice letters. I’ll be honest—I had no idea who Fanny Brice was. After doing a little research, I discovered that the musical Funny Girl is based on her life. This article from the Jewish Women’s Archive has much more about her life. I found that it gave a little more context to the story when I knew more about why people would want some of Fanny’s letters! 

Israel mentions that she stole letters from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Did you know the New York Public Library had such a specialized branch? It seems like a really cool place. Check out their website to see some of the special collections and archives they have in their building. If you could attend one of the upcoming events they have listed on their site, which one would you attend? I think I would attend a jazz program. 

Israel also mentions selling books to The Strand bookstore. Do you know anything about the Strand? The store’s slogan says it contains 18 miles of books (although it’s grown since it adopted the motto and now has 23 miles)! Can you imagine that? In addition to selling rare and collectible books, the store also sells books by the foot and will create ready-made libraries for customers. Would you be interested in buying one?  I think I would want to make sure that every title on my shelf is meaningful, but, I understand why decorators or people who do movie props might be interested in that service. 

Can you picture Melissa McCarthy as Lee Israel? I think Melissa McCarthy is one of those actresses that can play any character. She really immerses herself in the look of a role. If you want to hear how McCarthy prepared to take on the character, check out the video below from CBS Sunday Morning. 

I hope you’re excited to read chapters 6–10 for next week. Please make sure to let me know all of your thoughts and opinions in the comments section. I’m really interested to hear your initial thoughts of the book!

Welcome to July’s Online Book Club discussion! This month, we’re discussing Can You Ever Forgive Me? by Lee Israel. 

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.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a memoir by Lee Israel about literary forgeries she created and sold over two years. After her writing career declined, Israel turned to forging letters to make ends meet. The book is fascinating and includes many examples of Israel’s forged letters. 

If you want to follow along with us, but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the recently released movie adaptation starring Melissa McCarthy. 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.

The book is really short this month, so we don’t have much to read before next week. I’ll be discussing the first five chapters next week, but feel free to read more than that!