Tuesday, October 28, 2008

What should we read next?

Browse through the following titles and summaries then vote (use the poll on the right) for the book you would like to read next in the book club!

Truesight
Everyone in Jacob's colony is born blind. It has always been this way. They embrace the philosophy of Truesight: Blindness brings unity, purity, and freedom. It is an exceptional community. Everyone is happy. As Jacob nears his thirteenth birthday, he anxiously anticipates his new role as an adult and all the changes that will bring. But as the day approaches, a far greater change threatens Jacob's future. It all starts with a searing pain in his eyes …
$ 6.00

Notes from the Midnight Driver
After being assigned to perform community service at a nursing home, sixteen-year-old Alex befriends a cantankerous old man who has some lessons to impart about jazz guitar playing, love, and forgiveness.
$ 6.00

Uglies
When Tally's friend Shay leaves their society's false values of image by joining a non-conforming community, Tally questions the ethics involved in spying on them to attain the "pretty" status she been anticipating.
$ 6.00

Slot Machine
When overweight thirteen-year-old Elvin Bishop is sent to camp at Christian Brothers Academy Retreat Center, he and his two best friends are forced to try various sports in order to find out where they belong.
$6.00

Surviving the Applewhites
Jake, a budding juvenile delinquent, is sent for home schooling to the arty and eccentric Applewhite family's Creative Academy, where he discovers talents and interests he never knew he had.
$ 5.00

Full Tilt
When Blake goes to a mysterious carnival he somehow knows that it could save his comatose brother, but soon learns that much more is at stake if he fails to meet the challenge presented there.
$ 5.00

Brainboy and the Deathmaster
When Darryl, a twelve-year-old orphan, is adopted by a technology genius, he finds himself the star of his very own life-threatening video game.
$ 6.00

Al Capone Does my Shirts
A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.
$ 6.00

Found
When Jonah and Chip, who are both adopted, learn they were discovered on a plane full of babies that came out of nowhere, they uncover a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces trying to repair the fabric of time.
$ 9.00

The City of Ember
In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.
$ 6.00

Monday, October 27, 2008

October 30th Eggs Discussion Starters

I hope you have enjoyed reading the first half of Eggs. Below you will find several discussion starters for our book club meeting which were taken from the official Eggs discussion guide published by Little, Brown and Company. Read through the questions, and share your thoughts and opinions by posting a comment below.

1. David lost his mother and was living unhappily with his grandmother. "No one, not grandmothers, not anyone, could touch him. His mother's death had made him invincible." (p.24) What do you think this statement means? Why do you think David followed all rules except his grandmother's?
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2. David and Primrose have what one might call a love-hate relationship. Why do you think this is? Cite examples from the book of times when they seemed to love each other and those times when they were at each other's throats. Can you think of anyone you might have a love-hate relationship with?
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3. Refrigerator John explains how David and Primrose can earn some money by catching nightcrawlers. Refrigerator John offers them twenty cents apiece. "A quarter apiece, said the girl, always turning the screw." (p.90) What does the author mean by this? How is it indicative of Primrose's personality?
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4. What are some adjectives to describe David and his personality? What are some adjectives to describe Primrose and her personality? How are the two characters alike? How are they different?
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Our next meeting will be on November 13th at 7:45 am. We will discuss and blog about the remainder of the book, and we will also vote on the next book we read. Since zero period is short, and we have much to discuss, please make every effort to be here and ready to begin at 7:45.