She's the best: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Questions

Because Aubrey is the best, she's helping me out with book club this month. I have no idea where the month went, but somehow I didn't even have a chance to finish the book.

So...she's the hero of the month! Here are a few of her questions and you'll need to check out her post HERE to see what else she has to say.

1. Did you like the book? Was it what you were hoping for or expecting? Why or why not?
 
2. This book portrayed a poor family's life. Do you think their experience was really unique to their socioeconomic status or is theirs' simply a story of human existence?
 
3. Although Francie is not the narrator, the story is told primarily from her point of view. How do you think the story would have differed if it had been told from another character's point of view?

Now go say hi to Aubrey and see what else she wants you to consider for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Seabiscuit Questions: Finally!

I know, I know. I'm at least a week late and more than a dollar short (on both questions and discussion). BUT! Here are the questions we'll be discussing for Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand.

1. First off, how did getting into the book go for you?

2. What was your reaction to Hillenbrand's writing style?

3. Have you read her other book, Unbroken? And if so, what did you think of it? (Esp. compared to Seabiscuit.) And have you seen the movies of either?

4. Which character did you find yourself drawn to and why?

5. How did Seabiscuit and War Admiral stack up against each other? What were their strengths and weaknesses?

6. What were your thoughts of the Seabiscuit crew? (Howard, Smith, Pollard)

7. In reading Seabiscuit, we learned of the hardships jockeys faced. How familiar were you with those hardships before reading? What were your reactions afterward? Did Woolf and Pollard overcome any of these? How?

8. What was your overall reaction to this story? What can we take away from it?


Come back on Saturday for the discussion of Seabiscuit and don't forget to start reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn for April!

Happy Wednesday!

Ah! I'm so behind! Night questions--finally.

I know, I know, I know. I promised that I'd have discussion questions for Night for you by Saturday. I'm a failure.

This weekend was absolutely crazy. I know you don't want to know about how we were super motivated on Saturday morning and I went for a run, made breakfast, and then we cleaned the two upstairs rooms so that we could have a place for our house warming gift from my parents--a new queen sized bed. Which we thought came and we moved our current bed into the spare room. And then we set up our new frame (which came on Thursday in the mail) for the new mattress in our room. And then Kyle brought up the box with the mattress only to find this:

If you're wondering...yes. That IS 36lbs of dog food. That Kyle brought upstairs...only to have to haul it down again.

Then yesterday was madness with continuing grading and putting finishing touches on curriculum to start today with. Yikes.

All of that to say...I'm sorry. I should've gotten these questions to you sooner...especially since we are discussing THIS THURSDAY!

Enough stalling, Kelly. Right, right. Here you are!

Night Discussion Questions: January

First of all, what did you think of the book? Was it what you were expecting? Why or why not? Were you surprised with anything? If you've read it before, what new things did you notice this time around?

Wiesel describes his faith before the Holocaust. How does his faith change throughout his experiences?

What meanings could "night" have throughout the book? (figurative and literal)

Who are the victims, the bystanders, and the perpetrators in Night? Can these roles overlap at all? If so, how do they?

Which scenes from Night stood out to you most vividly? And why?

Wiesel describes himself as a "corpse" at the end of the book. How did he die during his trials and did he ever start living again?

Finally, in what way can you connect with Elie? How does he as a person influence us as readers in 2015?

*I encourage you to write your own blog post and to link up with us here on Thursday. Grab a button from my buttons page and slap that on the bottom of your post. Then send your readers over here to see next month's book.

If you don't have a blog, please still participate and add comments below! I'll include them in a revised version of my post later this weekend.