Discussion
Robyn:
Good grief! It is all ready January 4th! I realized late last night that I had shirked in my duty to start this discussion. Not a very auspicious way to start a new year. I hope you all enjoyed this book. I was immediately pulled into the story and not spit out until the last word. I found the story compelling and the characters my friends, but I am fond of dystopic science fiction. When I have tried to explain the premise of this book to someone who has not read it, it all seems too fantastical. Why would I love a book about a group of children thrown into an arena and forced to kill each other. Perhaps what intrigues me is the question of how close to this society is our current society? We are now walking a thin line between being able to support the appetites and excesses of our world population and anarchy. The earth has a finite supply of resources, which we are rapidly depleting, systematically manipulating and destroying. How far are we willing to go to preserve "order"? What are we willing to sacrifice to feed our families?
If you enjoyed this book try the Uglies (a four book series by Scott Westerfeld) - another equally disturbing dystopic society manipulated by a parasitical government.
Here's to a Happy New Year filled with great books!
Robyn
Becca:
Hello Everyone,
I'm still learning the new Bluestocking ropes and thought I was supposed to start the discussion. I sent this email out on New Year's Day, but did not have some of your email addresses (having never been the "starter," I just forwarded and replied). Sorry for the delay... If it was a delay... If I was supposed to start...
I hope everyone is warm and cozy on this chilly January night!
Becca :)
P.S. I know I should know this, but my brain has just been rather full of late... So, do I start the discussion in February, or does Lisa (whom I tagged for the February pick).
Jenn:
Hey everybody. I'm alive. Just haven't found time to read e-mails. Haven't even got to the October comments. But did devour The Hunger Games and am reading the sequel. Thanks Robyn
Karen:
Thanks for getting the ball rolling Robyn! I really enjoyed this book as well. Each character was very intriguing. I caught myself being relieved when Kat became friends with Peeta and Rue but then I'd remember that, in the end, one of them still had to die. And not just die, but die at the others' hands. I'm glad our society hasn't come to that...yet! I'm looking forward to reading the sequel...as soon as Ann is finished with it (hint, hint!).
***Reminder to Becca to tell us what we're reading this month.
Have a great week!
Ann:
I loved it too! A friend of mine who has also read the book said that it was a cute story...I don't think I would describe it that way. And I too kept wondering why I was enjoying a book about children killing each other. I'm intrigued by the characters' resourcefulness when they are trying to survive. Sometimes I feel so wimpy when it comes to basic things like knowing how to hunt or produce my own food. The main reason I learned how to knit (not that I do much of it these days) was because I thought I should know how to make my own socks in case they weren't available. I wish I had more of those kinds of skills. And I wish I could jump from tree to tree like Rue.
Lisa:
I have read the Uglies and the Pretties, there are similarities I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it, Robyn. These sci-fi books about the future that are eerily more like the present than we would like to admit are interesting reads. Also by this author is the Gregor the Overlander series, for younger children. We listened to the first one on the way home from San Fran last spring. In fact, book trivia, the heroine's name is Luxa (the reader pronounced it "Luke-sa" and it was on that trip that I decided to name Luke, Luke:). Not after Luxa, but I'm sure I was somehow subconsciously motivated. Anyway, I read the second aloud to Cam and Jacks and they really enjoyed it, too.
Back to Hunger Games. Mica had some nightmares about it. I don't know if he has a better imagination than I have, or if it's because he read it in a day...I don't think he's more tender-hearted than I. I got the sequel in a family book exchange, but he snatched it and is reading that one before I do, too.
Oh, Lukey's screaming (Tessa was trying to brush his gums with a toothbrush.) Recipes, recipes.
Maybe next month.
Lisa
Hey Robyn,
What do you mean by dystopic?
Jenn
I have been known to make up words (in this case, I have actually seen it used in book reviews which doesn't mean it is a real word, but I liked it...). It is a form of dystopia, which is defined as "a state in which the conditions of life are extremely bad as from deprivation or oppression or terror" (wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)
Another definition I like is "a utopia gone sour"
Hope that helps! Robyn
Recipes
Karen:
Banana Bread
1 c granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.
Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.
Business
January book: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.
February chooser: Lisa
Robyn:
Good grief! It is all ready January 4th! I realized late last night that I had shirked in my duty to start this discussion. Not a very auspicious way to start a new year. I hope you all enjoyed this book. I was immediately pulled into the story and not spit out until the last word. I found the story compelling and the characters my friends, but I am fond of dystopic science fiction. When I have tried to explain the premise of this book to someone who has not read it, it all seems too fantastical. Why would I love a book about a group of children thrown into an arena and forced to kill each other. Perhaps what intrigues me is the question of how close to this society is our current society? We are now walking a thin line between being able to support the appetites and excesses of our world population and anarchy. The earth has a finite supply of resources, which we are rapidly depleting, systematically manipulating and destroying. How far are we willing to go to preserve "order"? What are we willing to sacrifice to feed our families?
If you enjoyed this book try the Uglies (a four book series by Scott Westerfeld) - another equally disturbing dystopic society manipulated by a parasitical government.
Here's to a Happy New Year filled with great books!
Robyn
Becca:
Hello Everyone,
I'm still learning the new Bluestocking ropes and thought I was supposed to start the discussion. I sent this email out on New Year's Day, but did not have some of your email addresses (having never been the "starter," I just forwarded and replied). Sorry for the delay... If it was a delay... If I was supposed to start...
I hope everyone is warm and cozy on this chilly January night!
Becca :)
P.S. I know I should know this, but my brain has just been rather full of late... So, do I start the discussion in February, or does Lisa (whom I tagged for the February pick).
Jenn:
Hey everybody. I'm alive. Just haven't found time to read e-mails. Haven't even got to the October comments. But did devour The Hunger Games and am reading the sequel. Thanks Robyn
Karen:
Thanks for getting the ball rolling Robyn! I really enjoyed this book as well. Each character was very intriguing. I caught myself being relieved when Kat became friends with Peeta and Rue but then I'd remember that, in the end, one of them still had to die. And not just die, but die at the others' hands. I'm glad our society hasn't come to that...yet! I'm looking forward to reading the sequel...as soon as Ann is finished with it (hint, hint!).
***Reminder to Becca to tell us what we're reading this month.
Have a great week!
Ann:
I loved it too! A friend of mine who has also read the book said that it was a cute story...I don't think I would describe it that way. And I too kept wondering why I was enjoying a book about children killing each other. I'm intrigued by the characters' resourcefulness when they are trying to survive. Sometimes I feel so wimpy when it comes to basic things like knowing how to hunt or produce my own food. The main reason I learned how to knit (not that I do much of it these days) was because I thought I should know how to make my own socks in case they weren't available. I wish I had more of those kinds of skills. And I wish I could jump from tree to tree like Rue.
Lisa:
I have read the Uglies and the Pretties, there are similarities I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it, Robyn. These sci-fi books about the future that are eerily more like the present than we would like to admit are interesting reads. Also by this author is the Gregor the Overlander series, for younger children. We listened to the first one on the way home from San Fran last spring. In fact, book trivia, the heroine's name is Luxa (the reader pronounced it "Luke-sa" and it was on that trip that I decided to name Luke, Luke:). Not after Luxa, but I'm sure I was somehow subconsciously motivated. Anyway, I read the second aloud to Cam and Jacks and they really enjoyed it, too.
Back to Hunger Games. Mica had some nightmares about it. I don't know if he has a better imagination than I have, or if it's because he read it in a day...I don't think he's more tender-hearted than I. I got the sequel in a family book exchange, but he snatched it and is reading that one before I do, too.
Oh, Lukey's screaming (Tessa was trying to brush his gums with a toothbrush.) Recipes, recipes.
Maybe next month.
Lisa
Hey Robyn,
What do you mean by dystopic?
Jenn
I have been known to make up words (in this case, I have actually seen it used in book reviews which doesn't mean it is a real word, but I liked it...). It is a form of dystopia, which is defined as "a state in which the conditions of life are extremely bad as from deprivation or oppression or terror" (wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)
Another definition I like is "a utopia gone sour"
Hope that helps! Robyn
Recipes
Karen:
Banana Bread
1 c granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.
Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.
Business
January book: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.
February chooser: Lisa