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The Princess Bride (Discussion)

I’m so excited to discuss The Princess Bride with you today. I can recite the entire movie and have listened to the book several times but had never read the book. Lisa and I wanted to choose a fun read for August since everyone is so busy with back to school (and in my case, moving) so I loved having this mandatory fun reading time to unwind.  If I could give the book a 6/5 I would. I loved the story tellers voice as well as the playful characters throughout the story.

I have 3 questions below, and Lisa’s got 3 over on her blog. Feel free to discuss any or all of the questions in the comment section or link-up your post at the bottom. Lisa and I are sharing the same link-up, so you don’t have to enter on both blogs. The linky will close in a week. Alright, let’s get started!

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And now, for the discussion. Before I begin, I’ll remind you that there will be spoilers ahead.

1. Who is your favorite character? This is a tough question that I thought about for days because I knew I wanted to only choose one (unlike my fav Harry Potter characters of which I have two for each gender). For The Princess Bride, I chose Fezzik as my favorite character. I love his big kind heart and how excited he gets at simple pleasures (like the rhyming game or when Wesley shakes his head at the castle wall). He seems like such a great companion on an adventure like this. Just so you know, my runners up were Wesley and then Miracle Max.

2. Have you seen the movie? Do you think the movie lives up to the book? I have seen the movie at least 20 times. I had a poster of Wesley and Buttercup kissing (the best kiss in history) in my college room as well as a tshirt that I wore out. I attempted to be Buttercup for Halloween one year but fell quite short of her beauty. I think the movie is a perfect adaptation of the book. They chose just the right parts to cut and the right parts to embellish. They emphasized the character’s quick wits which is my favorite part of the book. It’s the perfect action/adventure/love story and will be my favorite movie for years to come.

3. When we first meet Inigo and Fezzik, they are working with Vizzini to kidnap Buttercup. Later, they become allies of Westley in his efforts to rescue her. What causes Inigo and Fezzik to change . . . or do they really change at all over the course of the novel? I don’t believe they changed. I think their hearts were always in the right place (Inigo doing anything he could to revenge his father and Fezzik being taken in by people who cares about him). Although they started out as thieves and kidnappers, I don’t think they were every ‘bad guys’.

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Now, it’s your turn! Answer my questions, ask your own, or start your own discussions. I’ll be responding to comments in the comment section, and you’ll get an email when I (or anyone else) does so. Or, link-up a blog post with your review and/or the answers to these questions. Also be sure to check out Lisa’s discussion questions on her blog. We’re sharing the same linky, so no need to link-up on both blogs.

Remember our September selection is The Silver Linings Playbook. We’ll be discussing it on September 24th.

Page Turners book club by Expandng & DIY Mama

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Page Turners Book Selection: September

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School’s starting for a lot of you out there! Are you slowing down or getting more busy now? Think you’ll have time to hit the books with your kids? If you’re looking for something to read and discuss with a group, hope you’ll join us in September for:

Silver Linings Playbook- Page Turners Book Club

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

I loved everything about the movie The Silver Linings Playbook. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are two of my favorite actors and I’m a bit obsessed with any movie that includes dancing. As soon as I saw the movie I knew I needed to read the book to understand the characters more deeply. I’m excited to see how it differs from the movie.

Silver Linings Playbook

Hope you’ll join us! We’ll be discussing it on September 24th.

And don’t forget, this month we’ll be discussing The Princess Bride on August 28th.
Page Turners book club by Expandng & DIY Mama

 
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If you’re on Pinterest, check out our Book Club board with our favorite books. We’re open to book suggestions as well!
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Discussion)

Both Lisa and I wanted an easy book for July, so we picked The Perks of Being a Wallflower. To be honest, I didn’t even read it. I have read it and seen the movie multiple times but could not fit it in my schedule with the move. It is a 5/5 read for me though! It’s formatted to be letters from a 15-year-old boy, Charlie, to an unknown recipient. Charlie doesn’t hold anything back from these letters.

I have 3 questions below, and Lisa’s got 3 over on her blog. Feel free to discuss any or all of the questions in the comment section or link-up your post at the bottom. Lisa and I are sharing the same link-up, so you don’t have to enter on both blogs. The linky will close in a week. Alright, let’s get started!

Page Turners book club by Expandng & DIY Mama: Perks of Being a Wallflower

And now, for the discussion. Before I begin, I’ll remind you that there will be spoilers ahead.

1. Describe the book in one word. I would describe The Perks of Being a Wallflower with the word ‘confusing’. In the book, these high schoolers are so confused. Charlie has been confused with his feelings since a young boy regarding his Aunt’s abuse as well as his feelings on her death. Sam has had self-esteem issues and Patrick has been confused about his sexuality and keeping it a secret.

2. Do you agree with Charlie’s friends for completely shutting him out for what he did to Mary Elizabeth? I do not agree with them shutting him out for that long but I think it’s partially because we can see Charlie’s side so clearly. We also know how troubled he is and how much their friendship meant to his stability. We’ve all overreacted with a friend or loved one and treated them too harshly. Hopefully in our situations, nothing bad came of the event. I’ve never felt as completely lost as Charlie did when his friends were upset with him but I can understand his feelings.

3. Were you surprised when you found out why Charlie had such issues with his Aunt?  I was completely shocked and saddened for Charlie and his family. Throughout the book I thought Charlie was so sad about losing his Aunt because he thought it was his fault that she died going to pick up his present. I thought that was the sole reason for him having his mental issues. I thought he had a soft spot for her specifically because of her kindness towards him as well as wanting to protect her from her abusive relationships. I can’t imagine the unresolved frustration his mom will now have towards her sister.

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Now, it’s your turn! Answer my questions, ask your own, or start your own discussions. I’ll be responding to comments in the comment section, and you’ll get an email when I (or anyone else) does so. Or, link-up a blog post with your review and/or the answers to these questions. Also be sure to check out Lisa’s discussion questions on her blog. We’re sharing the same linky, so no need to link-up on both blogs.

Remember our August selection is The Princess Bride. We’ll be discussing it on August 28th.

Page Turners book club by Expandng & DIY Mama

Page Turners Book Selection: August

This post contains affiliate links for Amazon Associates.
Whew! Summer’s flying by, isn’t it?! How’s your reading been? If you’re looking for something to read and discuss with a group, hope you’ll join us in August for:

Page Turners book club by Expandng & DIY Mama: Princess Bride
The Princess Bride by William Goldman

The Princess Bride is one of my top 3 favorite movies, yet somehow, I’ve never read the book! I’ve listened to the audio version (of which I loved) but had never sat down to read the paper version. It’s an understatement to say that I’m obsessed with Cary Elwes and Robin Wright in this film, so I can’t wait to put them in my imagination as I read this amazing story.

Page Turners book club by Expandng & DIY Mama: Princess Bride

Hope you’ll join us! We’ll be discussing it on August 28th.

And don’t forget, this month we’ll be discussing The Perks of Being a Wallflower on July 31st.

Page Turners book club by Expandng & DIY Mama

 
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Ready Player One (Discussion)

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I was addicted to Ready Player One! There were definitely parts that I skimmed because I’m not quite nerdy enough to care about specifics, but as a whole, I loved it.  Did you get a chance to read it? I gave it a 5/5 stars. I’ve got 3 questions below, and Lisa’s got 3 as well over on her blog. Feel free to discuss any or all of the questions in the comment section or link-up your post at the bottom. Lisa and I are sharing the same link-up, so you don’t have to enter on both blogs. The linky will close in a week. Alright, let’s get started!

Ready Player One

I loved the connection I had with the main character, Wade (aka Parzival). I could totally connect with him even though I’m not a teenage gamer who lives in a VR world. I listened to a portion of Ready Player One on audio and was disappointed by Wil Wheaton’s interpretation of Wade’s character. My guess is that Wil and Ernest are friends, based on Wil’s name coming up several times in the book. Don’t get me wrong, I like Wil, just not his reading of this story, which greatly disappointed me. 

And now, for the discussion. Before I begin, I’ll remind you that there may be spoilers ahead. Also, feel free to use my questions as jumping points. Ask your own questions and start your own discussions.

Ready Player One Book Club

1.  How long until this type of VR system is available to our society? Would you be interested in creating an avatar? I believe this type of VR is not more than 10 years out. I would definitely make an avatar. I love the Sims games and feel I would enjoy playing in the OASIS. I would have to make some kind of time limit setting on my avatar to make sure I didn’t waste away in the OASIS like so many of the people in Ready Player One.

 

2. Which was your favorite gate and how would you do at passing any of the gates? I liked the final gate of him role playing Monty Python with his friends on commlink. Although I’m not a Monty Python fan, I loved his excitement in acting out his favorite movie. I envision Halliday programing this as his final gate, knowing how much fun the gunters would have acting out this iconic film and leaving in the ability to communicate with others throughout the challenge. I would be horrible at all of the gates. I’ve never played Joust or seen the movies he rollplayed.

3. Were you happy with the ending? Do you think Aech, Artim3s, Shoto and Parzival will remain friends in the real world or result to life in the OASIS? I was extremely happy with the end. I love that Sorento was arrested and have faith that he will be put behind bars. Knowing that Artim3s and Parzival met and have started a relationship outside of the OASIS makes me the happiest. In my ‘after the book’ dreams, all four of them hang out outside of the OASIS to work on Art3mis’s plan of ending world hunger.

Now, it’s your turn! Answer any or all of the questions in the comment section below. Ask questions of your own. Or, link-up a blog post with your review and/or the answers to these questions. Also be sure to check out Lisa’s discussion questions on her blog. We’re sharing the same linky, so no need to link-up on both blogs.

Remember, our July selection is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I read this book and have seen the movie twice. That’s how much I like this book! Please, join us. We’ll be discussing Perks on July 31st.

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