Welcome to Week 1 of the Online Book Club discussion of the The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
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 Hunger Games, if you’ve never read it before is a story of a girl named Katniss who lives in a society in which children are forced to be entered into a drawing that would require them to enter a game to the death. The society is comprised of 12 different districts, and two young people from each district must enter the competition every year. Katniss ends up volunteering for the competition because her little sister’s name is called from the drawing. The rest of the story follows Katniss as she travels to the Capitol and trains and enters the Hunger Games competition.
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 Jennifer Lawrence. Check out the trailer above if you want to get a feel for the how the story plays out on screen. Feel free to still leave comments on the blog posts, even if you’re only watching the series and not reading the book.
We’ll be reading the first 9 chapters for next week, so make sure to read those before checking out the next post. I look forward to hearing from you in the comments!
Did you enjoy the ending of the book? Did it end like you thought it would? I didn’t really know what to expect by the ending, but I really was surprised by how things wrapped up.
What did you think was more scary–the scene where Burton was infected with the virus or the part where Hall had to crawl to turn off the self-destruct feature? I was nervous for Burton when he became infected, but it seemed like they had some sort of idea of how to treat him. But, I was really, really tense when Hall was trying to turn off the self-destruct. What was the purpose of the sensors that kept shooting at him? I couldn’t believe that he was tasked with such an incredible task but then had to fight against the effects of those darts. I really don’t know how he made it to turn the key. Did you expect that he would make it?
Did you understand the explanation they ended up coming up with about how the virus affected each person? The people who had increased heart rates were able to survive. The baby was screaming and was scared to death, causing his acidity to rise. The old man was all mixed up because of the Sterno. And then, the virus mutated which allowed Burton to survive. It was all a little confusing to me. I just didn’t understand the science. I did understand that if the bomb had detonated, the virus would have been able to spread everywhere and mutate in a million different ways. So, that would have been catastrophic. I’m glad that didn’t happen.
The story ends with the virus moving across the country, but it appears to be benign and have no effects on humans. Do you think that’s really the end of the story? It seemed weird that the story was so intense and there was so much science happening, but in the end, it didn’t really matter. The organism mutated all by itself to be a harmless thing. Do you really think it’s harmless? I just felt like it was a bit of an abrupt ending.
What else in this section stood out to you? Did you find any parts hard to understand? Did you feel satisfied with the way the science was explained throughout the story?
If you enjoyed this book and would like to watch or read similar titles, check out this list I created. Make sure to let me know if you end up checking out anything on the list!
Before you go, check out the video below to learn more about the start of Michael Crichton’s writing career. And, check out his website to read more information about The Andromeda Strain.
Thanks so much for following along this month! I hope you’ll leave a comment to let me know how you felt about the end of the book. Next month, we’re reading The Hunger Games. I hope you’ll join us again!
Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of the The Andromeda Strain.
Did you enjoy this section more than you enjoyed the first? I felt like I had a better handle on the plot of the book, so I was able to understand and appreciate this section more than the very beginning of the book.
I think one of the problems I have with the book is that it is so foreign and so technical/medical, so I can’t really get my bearings. I had such a hard time trying to imagine what the lab looked like. Could you believe all of the descriptions of the decontamination process? It was so incredible that they were able to keep the scientists so safe in that environment.
What did you think of the medical tests the scientists were running? Do you feel like they are making good headway to understanding the virus? It seems like they are being very methodical, and I feel like they are making great strides. I can’t believe how much they are able to figure out in such a short period of time. I think I would be so stressed to move quickly that I wouldn’t be able to do anything.
At one point in this section, the old man from the town wakes up and tells a bit of his story. I was so confused and surprised when he explained how he had been treating his ulcer with Sterno. That was wild. I don’t know how that wouldn’t immediately kill him! It seems like the way the Sterno affected his body and made him more acidic was the thing that ended up saving him, but I’m still not sure what’s going on with the baby. The baby certainly hadn’t been drinking anything with methanol, so that couldn’t be the thing that saved him. I don’t think the baby would have been eating anything, so there must be something else going on.
Near the end of the section, a plane crashes over where the satellite came back to Earth. What do you think happened to the plane? It seems really weird that the rubber parts of the plane dissolved. Do you think it’s all related to the virus? Do you think they should have destroyed the site to help protect against the spread of the virus? Do you think the virus is already spreading by the end of this section? Do you think the scientists are going to come to any final conclusions by the end of the book?
Do you think movies live up to the books they’re based on? Check out Michael Crichton’s take on the subject in the video below. Do you agree with his thoughts?
Make sure to leave a comment to let me know what you thought of this section! I hope you enjoy finishing the book for next week!
How did you like the beginning of the book? I found it to be really hard to get into. I was drawn to the excitement of the first bit where they found all of the people who had died in the town. But, once there was a lot of science-speak, I found myself feeling really lost. I kind of skimmed over the science information and got back into the story, but it was really hard for me to get started. I think I struggled because I just couldn’t understand what was happening. There were too many unanswered questions right at the beginning.
What did you think of the fact that it was presented as a true account in the beginning? Did that make you feel a little confused? I confess that I did a little research to see if the book was based on true events. It just seemed like it could have been something that could have happened. I know that people were concerned about “moon germs,” when the first astronauts came back from space. Check out this article to read about the quarantine the astronauts went through when they first came back from space.
At the start, when the men went to the town to inspect the area after the satellite crashed down, I was convinced that the man in white they mentioned walking through the town was some sort of alien. I thought maybe an alien lifeform had crashed to Earth and had attacked the townspeople. It just seemed too weird that there was one person walking around a town full of horribly disfigured corpses. But, later, once they go to inspect the area again, we find that the man in white was a regular man who just happened to survive the germ. Were you shocked when they found not only him but also a baby? I thought that was pretty amazing. What do you think allowed those two to survive when everyone else died? Did you think it was weird that many of the people in the town seemed to have died in different ways? It’s not like the satellite crashed down and everyone immediately died. Some people killed themselves, some were in the street, some were still in their homes–it was just so weird. And, it was so weird that they didn’t bleed when the scientists started to test them. What do you think this germ is actually doing?
What do you think about the scientists who are going to figure out this germ? They are incredibly brave–I can’t imagine having to do all of those tests in a short period of time, knowing that the fate of the world rests on their shoulders. Hall, the scientist at the end, has a really pressure-filled job. He is responsible for cancelling the self-destruct feature in the lab if he thinks it’s appropriate. That is a lot of pressure! Do you think it will come to that by the end of the book?
Do you enjoy all of the charts and graphs throughout the book? I find that I don’t really understand the information in the graphs, so they haven’t been very helpful to me. Are you getting a lot of information from them?
What else stood out to you in this section? Do you have any sense of how the book is going to finish? Are you excited to keep reading?
Before you go, did you know that Michael Crichton has a new book out, 16 years after his death? James Patterson helped complete the manuscript for the new book. Find out more about the writing process in the video below.
I hope you’ll leave a comment to let me know what you thought of the first section! Make sure to read the next ten chapters before checking the blog post next week.
Welcome to Week 1 of the Online Book Club discussion of the The Andromeda Strain 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.
The Andromeda Strain imagines what would happen if a satellite crashed down on Earth from space and brought with it a deadly and mysterious virus. The story follows a group of scientists as they try to understand the microorganism that is causing havoc. The scientists work frantically in a secret laboratory to stop the threat of a world-wide epidemic and create an antidote to the virus that killed a whole town of people. The story is very tense and leaves the reader wondering if the scientists will ever figure out how to solve the problem.
If you want to follow along with us but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the movie version that came out in the ’70s. Check out the trailer above if you want to get a feel for the how the story plays out on screen. Feel free to still leave comments on the blog posts, even if you’re only watching the series and not reading the book.
We’ll be reading the first 10 chapters for next week, so make sure to read those before checking out the next blog post! I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments!
Did you enjoy the end of the book? Was there anything that you wished you could change about the ending? Do you wish there was a sequel so you could know more about the characters?
This section started with us finding out that Mr. Lebensmal had a heart attack after Elizabeth showed him her knife. Were you surprised that was what had happened to him? At least his heart attack allowed Walter and Elizabeth to become more in charge of the show. It didn’t seem like many people liked Lebensmal. Do you think he attacked other women on his staff? He had to have done horrible things to get such a horrible reputation.
What did you think once Elizabeth said on television that she was an atheist? I knew that was going to cause problems. I knew people were really going to have an issue with her saying such a thing. Were you surprised that some people got so angry that they were willing to send death threats? Did you think that Six-Thirty was overreacting when he started to come to the studio? I thought he was. I assumed that there would be more safety measures at the studio, and Elizabeth would be well protected. What would have happened if Six-Thirty had not found the bomb? Do you think it would have been powerful enough to take out the whole studio? Did you get the impression that the lady made the bomb herself? I felt so sad for Six-Thirty after he acted so heroically but was ignored by Walter. Didn’t you feel so upset when Walter said that Six-Thirty did nothing? We know that he did so much!
How surprised were you when you read about All Saints and the fact that they pretended like Calvin was dead? That Bishop who just wanted money was so incredibly selfish. Could you imagine how different Calvin’s life would have been if he had been able to be reunited with his mother? At least we finally solved the mystery of the donor who gave all that science equipment to All Saints. I just can’t imagine lying like that to a family.
Were you disappointed in the Life magazine storyline? I was so excited for someone to finally listen to Elizabeth and treat her with respect. But, that story was not the one the magazine wanted to tell. Can you imagine what the author of the original interview went through when he saw that they didn’t publish his article? Why did people have so much trouble throughout the book celebrating a successful woman? Wasn’t it just heartbreaking to read how people mistreated and maligned her throughout her career? Weren’t you glad that the original article was finally published? Could you believe that Harriet was brave enough to send it out?
Lots of things happened at the very end. Miss. Frask became the head of Human Resources at Hastings, opening the door for Elizabeth to come back and be treated fairly. Donatti finally got what was coming to him and was let go. Avery Parker came in to the story and showed that she was the mysterious donor for abiogenesis. And, she was Calvin’s mother. Which one of those things surprised you the most? Are you glad that Avery is going to be able to have a relationship with Elizabeth and Madeline, especially since she never got to have one with Calvin? Do you think Elizabeth is going to be able to have a successful scientific career as the years go by, or do you think she will continue to face opposition because of her gender? What do you think Mad’s life will be like as she grows up? Do you think she will want to become a scientist?
If you enjoyed this book and would like to read or watch similar things, take a look at this list I created. Make sure to let me know if you check out anything on the list!
Before you go, check out the interview below with author, Bonnie Garmus. What do you think was the most interesting part of the video?
Thank you so much for following along this month! I hope you’ll leave a comment to let me know what you thought of the ending! Check back next month as we read The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton.
Did you enjoy the reading this week? I was so relieved when Harriet Sloane entered the picture. She definitely made everything possible for Elizabeth. I was so glad that Elizabeth finally had another person in her corner. Weren’t you so glad that they found each other? I was sorry to read about what a creep Harriet’s husband is. He was just the worst. I don’t know how she stomached spending any time with him.
I could not believe that Elizabeth accidentally named the baby, Mad. What a wacky name! Of course Six-Thirty would be the one to figure out a way to make Mad work. What do you think of Madeline? I think she is exactly the kind of daughter I would expect Elizabeth to have. She’s brilliant and self-reliant and curious. I really enjoyed reading about her. Didn’t you wish her teacher at school had been a bit more kind and understanding towards Madeline? I just felt so frustrated that the teacher seemed set on making things hard for her students! I also knew that her family tree project would not go over well. I’m sure there were a lot of students who would have trouble filling out all of their family details. It was good that the family tree project made Madeline dig a little bit into Calvin’s past. I think that will end up being a good thing.
Did you expect things to go well for Elizabeth when she went back to work at Hastings? Do you have any more of an idea of who the donor might be? Do you think the person is trying to help Elizabeth specifically? I wasn’t surprised when we found out that Donatti and Boryweitz stole Elizabeth’s research and wrote their own article. That is exactly the type of people they are. It was nice that Elizabeth got another ally at work after she bonded with Miss. Frask. Don’t you wish they had been able to connect with each other a long time ago?
What do you think of Walter Pine? Are you surprised that he was interested in working with Elizabeth after she lectured him about school lunch? I think I might be intimidated by Elizabeth, so I don’t know if I could work with her after hearing her yell at me. I thought it was interesting how Elizabeth was set on having it be a scientific cooking show, but the network was set on it being a typical cooking show for housewives. They really should have anticipated that Elizabeth was not going to be a typical cooking presenter. She always stayed true to her personality regardless of who she was talking to, so they should not have expected her to act differently in front of the camera. I thought it was really funny that she wanted to wear a lab coat and needed to have so many scientific supplies around her. Can you imagine any other women at home making food with a Bunsen burner? Are you surprised that women were interested in watching Elizabeth on TV? What did you think of the fact that some of the kids in Madeline’s school end up bringing in the same leftovers that she has? Does it surprise you that so many people close to them watch and cook along? What did you think of the part where Elizabeth talks to the audience and tells that woman to go to medical school? I thought that was really special. I loved how Elizabeth helped women to believe in themselves.
I was very surprised when Madeline met the minister who had written to Calvin. It was pretty heartbreaking when Madeline showed her family photo but it was just a picture of Elizabeth and Six-Thirty at Calvin’s grave. That was so sad. But, Madeline doesn’t seem to have a bad attitude about it.
How sick did you feel when you read about Lebensmal’s attack against Elizabeth? I couldn’t believe it. I figured he was a creep since everyone made a big deal about her seeing him along, but I didn’t expect him to come on to her so violently. That was disgusting. I was so relieved when she pulled out that huge knife. He deserved to be so scared that he fainted! What a jerk.
Are you excited to finish up the book? Do you think you have any idea what is going to happen next? Do you have any idea how the story is going to wrap up?
Before you go, check out this cooking video with the cast of Lessons in Chemistry. Doesn’t that lasagna look so delicious? Are you tempted to try the recipe?
Thanks so much for following along this week! Don’t forget to leave a comment to let me know what you thought of this section! Make sure to finish the book before checking back next week!
Did you enjoy the beginning of the book? I really enjoyed the book, right from the very beginning. Do you like the main characters? I know Elizabeth is kind of prickly and very serious and literal, but I like her a lot. She is so strong and determined, even though she has faced horrible hardships. Calvin also has a lot of quirks, but I like him a lot, too. I think my favorite character by far is Six-Thirty. I love how wise he is, and I love how he is dedicated to taking care of Elizabeth.
At the beginning of the book, Elizabeth is kicked out of her master’s program after she violently assaulted by her professor. But, she stays with chemistry and stays with her research. Are you surprised that she still wanted to stay in the field? That definitely shows her determination and grit. It was so frustrating to read about her experiences as a woman in a male dominated field. It was frustrating when she was taken off of her research project, but then, almost immediately, she is put back it because there is a wealthy donor that wants to focus on her area of study. Do you think that’s a coincidence? Do you think we know who the donor is? Are they donating to that cause to help Elizabeth out? It seems suspicious that there is a donor helping Elizabeth when there was also a donor that helped out Calvin when he was a little boy in school. What do you think about it all?
Did you expect that Calvin and Elizabeth would connect so quickly? I liked reading about the way that Elizabeth fed him. I think the fact that Elizabeth was a cook made her feel like more of an approachable person. She seemed more down to earth when she connected her scientific mind to creating delicious food. What did you think about the fact that Elizabeth turned Calvin down when he asked to marry her? Do you think she eventually came to regret the fact that she didn’t marry him?
I was devastated by Calvin’s death. It just seemed to unfair that he would die when it seemed like he and Elizabeth had such promise for a beautiful life together. And, it made me so sad that Elizabeth blamed herself because she made him use a leash. It was just such a freak accident. I couldn’t believe it. I also felt so sorry for Six-Thirty. He didn’t mean to cause any harm.
Were you more shocked by Calvin’s death or by the fact that Elizabeth ended up being pregnant? I guess it shouldn’t have been a surprise that Elizabeth was pregnant since the first chapters talk about Elizabeth cooking food for her daughter’s lunchbox, but sometimes, I forget details like that when stories move back and forth in time. I was not surprised when Elizabeth was fired. I knew she wouldn’t be able to keep working as a single mother. Do you think it would have been different if she and Calvin had been married? Or, do you think they still would have fired her? I think they were looking for any reason to let her go, so I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t have fired her either way. What do you think Elizabeth will be like as a mother? How will she be able to take care of a baby and work on her career all by herself?
What did you think of the way that Elizabeth responded to her grief. I thought the fact that she was trying to teach Six-Thirty a lot of words was interesting. I would never think to teach a dog as many words as possible. But, we know that Six-Thirty is no regular dog, so I’m sure he will be able to learn an incredible amount of words. Elizabeth’s homemade lab was also pretty interesting. I guess it was good that she had a lab like that at home since so many people from Hastings came to ask her for help. I wonder what else she will be able to use her lab for.
What did you think will happen in the next section? Are you anxious to see how Elizabeth reacts to motherhood? Are you curious how cooking and the information from the first chapters will come back into the story? Do you think Elizabeth is finished with Hastings forever?
Before you go, check out the video below in which author, Bonnie Garmus, talks about finally getting published after being rejected almost 100 times!
Thanks for following along this month! I hope you’ll leave a comment to let me know what you thought of the first section. Make sure to read the next 15 chapters before joining us again next week!
Welcome to the Online Book Club discussion of Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.
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.
Lessons in Chemistry follows a woman named Elizabeth Zott who is an anomaly of her time period. She is a chemist, and she has no desire to be married or have children. However, she unexpectedly falls in love with another chemist, and this throws her life in a different direction. Years later, Elizabeth finds herself as a single mother and soon finds that she can use her chemistry skills in a different way–a way that will inspire housewives around the nation.
If you want to follow along with us but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the series that is streaming on Apple TV+. Don’t have Apple TV+ at home? No problem! You can always request one of our Apple TV+ Roku Express 4K+ Streaming Devices and watch the series at home. Check out the trailer above if you want to get a feel for the how the story plays out on screen. Feel free to still leave comments on the blog posts, even if you’re only watching the series and not reading the book.
We’re reading the first 15 chapters for next week, so make sure to read those before coming back next week for the next blog post!
Welcome to the final Online Book Club discussion of Black Cake.
What did you think of the ending of the book? Did it end the way you thought it would? Were you relieved that everyone was able to overcome past pain and trauma to come together as a family? Do you think Covey would have been pleased with the way things turned out?
Did you enjoy Marble’s storyline? I thought her story was really sad. Not only did she have to learn that she was adopted but also she had to learn that her biological mother was dead. And, her biological mother had children who got to live with her and grow up with her. I think that would be really hard to come to terms with. Did you feel sorry for Marble’s adoptive mother? I don’t think she meant to do anything wrong, but the fact that she hid Marble’s background from her definitely hurt Marble in the long run. Were you surprised that Covey called Marble once but was too afraid to speak to her? Isn’t it so sad that there were several instances in the book where people thought they had more time to reconcile with family, but then they didn’t actually have time?
How surprised were you when Byron saw Lynette again, and she was pregnant? I was pretty shocked. It was nice that things ended up working out for Byron and Lynette. It was obvious earlier in the book that he wasn’t over her, so it was good that they got back together.
Did you expect the siblings to go to the islands together? I think it was the right thing to do, and I think it offered them a lot of closure. But, I did think it was a little surprising. It was nice that they got to meet Bunny and Pearl. They proved to be good allies and good friends. The meeting with Lin went about as well as I expected it to. He was just such a nasty man. Do you think he ever felt like he had done something wrong by making Covey marry Little Man? I don’t think he ever felt guilt about it. He was so selfish. Were you glad that we got closure about Covey’s mother? It was nice to know that she didn’t mean to leave her daughter behind forever. She had a really sad life and a really sad ending.
I think I assumed that Pearl was the one who had murdered Little Man. Didn’t you think the cake had been the thing to kill Little Man? I really thought that it did. I couldn’t believe that Bunny had actually been the perpetrator, putting poison in his champagne. I’m glad she was never caught. Do you think the kids feel like their mother was innocent? I think they wanted to believe she was, but without proof that someone else committed the crime, I don’t think they felt completely confident.
Would you have changed the very last pages? Did you wish you had more information about any of the characters? Did you enjoy knowing that they were all still connected to each other?
If you enjoyed this book and would like to read and watch similar titles, check out this list I created. Make sure to let me know if you check out anything on the list.
Before you go, make sure to check out this interview author, Charmaine Wilkerson, did with The Today Show. Let me know what you thought of the interview in the comments.
Thanks for following along this month! I hope you’ll join us again next month as we read Lessons in Chemistry. I hope to hear from you in the comments!