The Strain

"...Setrakian ran and ran and found himself crying...for in the absence of God he had found Man.  Man killing man, man helping man, both of them anonymous: the scourge and the blessing.  A matter of choice." pg 181

Things to ponder in the dark...1) Vampirism: a perversion of the natural order vs Parasites: a part of the natural order...2) the mythology of Evil - US vs THEM...and 3) is it possible to sympathize with Del Toro's vampires?

I'll see you when the sun goes down.  Come hungry.  

The Host

Definitions for "host" :

- one who receives or entertains guests in a social or official capacity

- animal or plant on which or in which another organism lives

- a great number; a multitude

- an army

What is love?
What did you think about the idea of love being imprinted in the physical cells of a body?
Where/How do you believe love is developed/felt/stored?

Are the Souls morally culpable for what they do to so many species in the universe?
For a small, almost defenseless, peace loving creature, is it justifiable that they live as "parasites"?
Is it right for them to be able to shred their host when they think they are in danger?
What, if any, real animals have similar cruel-seeming survival techniques in our world?

Bones of the Master

Hello ladies, It's time for our next bookclub meeting and in the tradition of our story, "Bones of the Master," I have everything ready and I have nothing ready! :) I have had a hard time finding information beyond book reviews online so if any of you have found any interviews with the author or anything you think will help further our discussion, please feel free to post.

In the meantime, if you are interested in learning more about Buddhism, http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/fastfacts.htm has general information about this religion. If you want to learn specifically about Ch'an Buddhism, check out this site http://www.imperialtours.net/chan_buddhism.htm.

As you may or may not know, Tsung Tsai translates to "Ancient Wisdom." In the spirit of the book, please come with a name describing what type of wisdom you (think you) possess. :) See you on Thursday.

Lynn "Chocolate Wisdom"

Salvation Armani Adventure!

Okay, ladies, I got my photos posted, but they're in reverse order. Sorry! You'll have to scroll down (into the older posts, even) to see them chronologically. Lynn and Gennie have to post their shots, too!

Tammy

This is the best birthday present I've ever received!
Who got the trophy for the best outfit? You'll just have to come to the next meeting to find out!

There just aren't words to describe this one!

Dessert has arrived!
Ready to dig in
A little bit of food - and that's just the main course!

A little cheese dipping

Showing off our new outfits

The LBD gals

The orange vinyl alligator print pants are just the ticket! Ohh, the don't fit? Bummer!
Is this the one for me?
Not Meg's cup of tea, I guess.
Determined shoppers!

Dragons keep an eye on anyone walking down the street.

Peeking into the basement of the Panama Hotel

We found it!

Outside the terraced community gardens

Dim sum- yum, yum!

Trying to blend in!

Anyone for live urchin for lunch?

Lovely shoppers in the Asian market

"What happens if we choose entertainment over humanity? In Collins's world, we'll be obsessed with grooming, we'll talk funny, and all our sentences will end with the same rise as questions. When Katniss is sent to stylists to be made more telegenic before she competes, she stands naked in front of them, strangely unembarrassed. “They're so unlike people that I'm no more self-conscious than if a trio of oddly colored birds were pecking around my feet,” she thinks. In order not to hate these creatures who are sending her to her death, she imagines them as pets. It isn't just the contestants who risk the loss of their humanity. It is all who watch."

--Publishers Weekly, Megan Whalen Turner, STARRED REVIEW

Questions for you to ponder for Monday

• What does the future hold for Katniss, Peeta, and Gale?
• What did you think of Heymitch? Troublemaker? Untrustworthy? Surprising savior?
• What do you think is the future of the political structure?
• Will there be a rebellion? If so, who will lead it? How do you think it will play out?
• Will there be retaliation against Katniss for her actions?
• Did you think it was fair for Katniss to get the rating that she did in archery?
• Did you think that Katniss had to face difficult moral decisions or where those tough choices ones she could avoid?
• What do you think was the inspiration for Hunger Games? One review says that it has ties to Rome.
• What role do you think Cinna plays?
• Which children were the worst off? The ones in the Districts where the children were raised to think that competing to kill other children and possibly die themselves was honorable as in Districts 1 & 2? Or the outlying districts which were so poor that the inhabitants had to forage for the smallest portions.
• Are there other books that reminded you of Hunger Games (because Jia and I want to read them).
• If you are an adult, why do these YA books appeal to you? Do you wish there were more books in the romance genre like this one?

And lastly, are you rooting for the K/G pairing or the K/P pairing? Choose sides and let’s rumble.

I have set up my rabbit snares, gathered my berries (the safe ones) and established a safe hideout for us to discuss The Hunger Games this Monday, march 29th at 7:30 Chez Hampton.

If you need directions, give me a holler!

Dress in a flaming costume for extra credit!

Elizabeth

Salvation Armani Adventure!

As per our discussion last night at Marianne's, we are planning an adventure into the city as an extension of our next book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. The proposed agenda is to begin at Chateau Ste. Michelle for wine tasting (they open at 11:00). Then we continue on to the Bellevue Salvation Army store, where we each choose 3 fantastic and fun outfits for ourselves, then have the rest of the group decide on which one of those we actually buy. After donning our chosen outfits, we will finish up with a celebratory dinner at the Melting Pot restaurant (you may want to check out their website meltingpot.com to whet your appetite).

So now all we need is a date! Three possible dates are below. Please respond to each and every date with a yes or no vote, as to whether you could do it then (I can do all 3, so I'll give all of them yeses). Be sure to respond by February 19th so we can get this firmed up and on our calendars!

Dates: Thursday, March 25

Friday, April 16

Thursday, April 22

"A Long Way Gone"

Hi BWTers,
This Thursday evening we are meeting at my place to discuss “A Long Way Gone”. There are numerous interviews on YouTube that Ishmael Beah has given that you can watch. I’ve picked two below that I think give you a feel of who he is and leave you with a lot to think about. Both are around 7 minutes long and are very different from each other.

One interview is with Jon Stewart: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-february-14-2007/ishmael-beah (On my computer it took a while to get the interview to start; I had to first wait for an ad to run and then there was a blank screen for a couple of minutes, but it did eventually come on)

In the second video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nsKTM3XiVA Ishmael talks about why he wrote the book and he makes the statement (around the 3:15 mark), “everyone is capable of going beyond their own humanity and doing certain things that are not humane”, “…this is part of human nature”. I felt that was a thought provoking comment and a good one for discussion. What do you think?

See you Thursday!
Marianne

2010 Pick and Potluck Pics

Oh wait...where's Randi???

Our potluck dinner ~ Cheers!

The Sleep...

Walkers...

Looking forward to another great year of reading!

It's Official!

Book, Whine, and Thinkers are now official bloggers! W00t, w00t!

To the Whiners: It's amazing that we've been together for so many years ( six I'm thinking??)! So it just makes sense, that as we grow as readers and expand our understandings of what "text" is and how it's used to engage the world - that we too embrace a new level of shared communication that chronicles all our reading adventures.

I hope OUR blog becomes a fun and useful tool/resource that will encourage a different level of participation and engagement!

Happy Blogging!

Fellow whiner, Shirley