Hedges' 2nd Hour 12-13 discussion

If you were able to meet with author of your book right now, what would you say to him or her? What questions would you ask? Support your response with at least two specific details or quotations from the book. Integrate at least one vocabulary word (capitalize the word). Include the title and author of the book.

If I had the opportunity to converse with , author of Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption , I would have TONS to say and ask. While I’m only about 100 pages into the POIGNANT 400-page book, so much has happened and the writing is so rich, that I am confident we could talk for hours. I would start our conversation by asking her about her research process. The chapter I just finished, titled “Five Hundred and Ninety-four Holes,” relayed a mission gone awry with vivid detail. I could see, taste, touch, and smell every moment—from the exploding sharks to the spurting blood. I noticed that the Notes in the back of the book painstakingly outline her sources: telephone interviews, diary entries, newspaper articles, etc. So, my question isn’t so much WHERE she found her information, but more her process of collecting and organizing it. I can’t imagine writing a 400-page book that includes this level of detail AND attributes sources so painstakingly! Before Hillenbrand and I would wrap up our conversation, I would be remiss if I didn’t tell her how much I appreciated the carefully selected photographs she included. For example, Hillenbrand closed the same chapter with a small portrait of Harry Brooks, looking very young and brave. This portrait followed her deft description of his fate: “Technical Sergeant Harold Brooks died one week before his twenty-third birthday. It took more than a week for word to reach his widowed mother, Edna, at 511 ½ Western Avenue in Clarkville, Michigan. Across town on Harley Road, the news reached his fiancée, Jeannette Burtscher. She learned that he was gone nine days before the wedding date that they had set before he left for the war” (104). Wow.

If I were given the opportunity to meet with Jodi Picoult, the author of Salem Falls, I would have a lot I would enjoy discussing with her. First, I would ask her how she began writing this novel. "Did you plan out characters before you began writing? After?" Also, I would like to know if any personal experiences have contributed to the development of this novel. Given that I am only about 60 pages into a 434 page book, I know that I do not know much about the characters introduced and their stories, so naturally I would ask about their pasts. One thing that caught my attention was on page 53, "'What happened to Chloe?' Addie's eyes swam. Jack's fingers grasped her upper arms. 'Addie-' He broke off, following her stare. To his hands. Which were touching her. Of their own free will. Immediately, he let go." First, I would ask Jodi what happened to Chloe and why Addie refuses to talk about her death, yet is so content on pretending that she is still alive- and why has no one tried to get her help that she obviously needs to cope with the loss of her daughter? Then I would ask why Jack is so afraid of becoming close to anyone in this town. I understand he was in jail, but he is out now and is a free man, what could be the harm? But, I would also ask her why Jack had no family to go to once he was released from jail. On page 1 of the novel, it says “He wished he had a winter coat, but you wore out of jail the same outfit you’d worn in. What he did have was the forty-three dollars that had been in his wallet on the hot afternoon he was incarcerated, a ring of keys that opened doors to places where Jack no longer was welcome, and a piece of gum.” Why is he no longer welcome to the place his keys allow him to be? What happened? I’m sure all of these questions have answers that will be answered sometime in the novel; I just wish I had more patience until that time arrives!

Yell Out/Do You by Stephanie Moore and Perry Moore
If I were to meet the authors of this book, I would like to know why they choose the topics they write about. Is it because they’ve been through it or is it more about the fact that these are things that happen in everyday life that need to be brought out to light?
I would tell them how much I admire their POIGNANT writing and how it is so easy to relate, especially being a teenager and going through some of the things they write about.
I would let them know that they have helped inspire me to reach out to more people and be more open with them, regardless of whether they are “cool” or “nerds.” They have also inspired me to do more for my community because I’ve now realized that so much evil happens to people my age and when grown-ups can’t reach out to help them, I (as a peer) have to do my part in being supportive and helpful. Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I can’t do big things and change lives.
I would thank them because their books allow those teenagers that are struggling to realize it is okay to reach out for help and have people support them. It also allows us to realize that whatever we’re going through, we are not alone. So many other people are going through the same thing or have gone through it and they survived.

If I had the chance to meet Kathryn Stockett, the author of The Help, the first thing I would ask her is where she found her inspiration for this book. She is a white woman from Mississippi (the setting of this book), so I wonder if she had witnessed this experience, perhaps she is supposed to resemble one of the main characters that Aibileen (a black maid) takes care of (Mae Mobley). The next thing I would want to ask her is how she got the perspective of each of the women workers. For each of the black maids they each have these complex personalities, like Minnie, who is a maid with a mouth that has trouble keeping a job, but is a fine cook. Are these just made up characters? Or did she speak to some women who experienced this for themselves? I figure she would’ve if she had wanted to get the sense of VERISIMILITUDENESS out of her story. I have really enjoyed her story so far and I would want her to know that. The last thing I think I would ask her is what she really wanted people to get out of her book, the main purpose of writing her book. I feel by the time I’ve finished The Help I will have figured it out, but I wouldn’t want to miss out on something that could really impact my view of this story.

If I met with Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief, I would begin my conversation with where did you get the idea and inspiration for writing a book set in this time period in Nazi Germany. How he researched all the different restrictions and sub-cultures throughout this time and place. Also all of the German lines are very interesting “Too g’schtinkkerdt to wash their own clothes’ she would say’ (p. 41). He adds so much to his books by including the culture of the people and characters to better capture the trade off between them. He also has sections written from the point of view from the little girl, liesel, that clarify what happened between her and her friends, and foster family. This helps in sections where the dialogue can be confusing to follow. Also how he created such poignant scenes with such little dialogue and communication the characters have between each other, playing on the mixed emotions in the characters’ minds, “Waiting. For the voice from the kitchen. Or till the stars were dragged down again, into the waters of the German sky.”(p. 45). He is truly a deep and thoughtful author who can write exactly what he wants in the readers head.

If I were able to have a conversation with the great horror author, Stephen King, I would first try to figure out if he was “normal” or not. Judging from all his books I read, Stephen King seems like a pretty morbid guy. Since I am not too far into the book, my questions for him would be limited. There is one question that I am dying to know the answer to, though. Hubie Marsten, the owner of the now feared and ruined house had committed suicide. Ben Mears, the main character, was dared as a child to go inside the house and see if Hubie Marsten’s remains were still in the house. When he went in, he saw Hubie’s corpse hanging by the banister, dead. BUT THEEEENNN.... his eyes opened and the dead man looked straight at Ben. I would ask Stephen King if this was a hallucination on Ben Mears's part. Ben Mears says, “Probably I was so keyed up that I hallucinated the whole thing. On the other hand, there may be some truth in that idea that houses absorb the emotions that are spent in them, that they hold a kind of… dry charge.” (pg 56) Which one was it? Was he hallucinating or was the house haunted? Also, is this some sort of foreshadowing of what is going to happen later in the story? My last question that I would ask Stephen King is why was there a light on in the abandoned, DOUR house? The light “didn’t look like electricity… Too yellow, too faint. Kerosene lamp, maybe.” (pg 60) WHO WAS THERE?!?! Finally, I would tell Stephen King that I love him… the typical fan girl thing to do. How he writes is so magnificent in the way that it is so enigmatic and shadowy. Every ending of a chapter leaves me with chills. He is the best horror author, because all of his “scary” moments are so subtle, which makes it even more terrifying. I cannot wait to read more of ‘Salem’s Lot.

If i were to meet Ellen Hopkins, the author of Impulse I’d say that I like most of her books and her Crank series is my favorite. I would ask her why the girl in Burned had to die at the end. Why did she choose to make her wreck her car? She was finally free and she just died… it was kinda abrupt, very unexpected. I would also ask why most of her books have multiple points of view. For example impulse has five different points of views. They get very annoying and makes it hard to keep track of characters. All of her books are about teens with difficult lives; I’d ask her why she writes about that. What were her influences? I would tell her that I like that her books aren’t Maudlin and have substance. All of her books are serious and I like that.

If I had the opportunity to meet Sara Zarr, the author of How to Save a Life, I would ask her if this story had any reflection on her own life or maybe someone she knows personally like a friend. Teenage pregnancies are hard, and it’s refreshing to read a book that doesn’t paint the main character in a negative lighting for getting pregnant. This book truly captures someone who is struggling to do the right thing. This book is poignant, not condemning. This book is realistic, I would tell Sara that it is insanely accurate when Mandy says “I smile and rub my belly, which is something I’ve learned calms people” (page 14, Zarr). It really does. I would tell Sara that it is such a reflection on society when the Mandy feels like she has to lie about the father of her baby and say “he’s a soldier” just so she doesn’t look like a single mother (page 15, Zarr) I like that.

I’m not incredibly far into How to Save a Life so there really aren’t too many questions I would like to ask Sara Zarr. When I began to look for more books to read, this popped up on my account due to other books I’d read. I started to read the summaries of the book and a few excerpts I was INCREDULOUS, the storyline seemed a little far-fetched and could go horribly wrong. However, I was pleasantly surprised. If I could speak with Sara Zarr right now, I’d ask her what brought the topic of this book on? What inspired her to write this book? I’d ask her why Mandy has no ‘social sense’ (15)? Mandy is just like this awkward girl who makes everyone around her feel uncomfortable. Why is she like that? How does that play into the story? I understand why Jill is unhappy with her mom deciding to randomly adopt a baby months after her dad died, but I don’t understand why Jill’s mom can’t understand it. Robin, Jill’s mom, thinks that Jill will act like a ‘monster’ towards Mandy (22). Why does she treat Jill like this? Jill lost her dad too, only months ago. Robin didn’t give her any time to adjust. Why did she think Jill would be okay with that? Overall, I think most of my questions will be answered as I read on.

Angie wrote: "If you were able to meet with author of your book right now, what would you say to him or her? What questions would you ask? Support your response with at least two specific details or quotations f..."

If I had the opportunity to meet with J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit, I would be greatly appreciative. I love the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy and finally have started The Hobbit. The first thing I would ask is if the story has any basis on his life. I would also ask if the story is symbolism for another meaning, like many stories are. What I could talk about the most was how and why he chose the different species of people. There are the Hobbits, little half-sized people with big feet and sparked with swiftness, the Wizards, tall folk with longs beard with sorcerous power, the Dwarves, small people with frizzy beards and a lot of power, the Elves, a graceful species with soft hearts and trained abilities, and many others like goblins, orcs, trolls, and dragons. I have grown up with this story and every part feels AFFABLE to me. How the “dwarves and Bilbo find themselves in trouble” again and again and how “Gandalf saves them” every time has become a part of my life and becomes more and more POIGNANT each time I read it. I would want to read the entire story with him and get the inside details of every part. I wouldn’t know how to limit my questions to a couple because I would want to know how he came up with everything from the idea of the shire to the meaning behind the misty mountains I don’t know if I could ever be satisfied. Lastly, I would want to know how he feels towards the movie created around his book.

Some people might see historically factual types of books as PEDANTIC but I find them absolutely thrilling. I especially like European history because of its grandiose sense of connection to the modern world, and because (I believe) that Europe has had much more of an impact on our world than any other continent (speaking in terms of its population). Which is why I jumped at the chance to read “Peoples and Empires” by Anthony Pagden. Why not focus more on the wars? Don’t get me wrong, I love this stuff, but when you include the struggle between nations it becomes more gripping and graphic. Like when he goes over the entire Gaul campaign, the only words that he says about it are “Cesar had conquered Gaul in a spectacular if brutal campaign in 58-51 B.C.” which is good for maybe a topic sentence for at least a paragraph describing it (22). He even goes through 5 pages of the Roman legal system (25-30). This would be nice for maybe 2 pages. The Roman Empire was debatably the most aggressive nation, in terms of military, throughout all of history and he fails to mention their military accomplishment in enough detail. In the end though this book is still pretty good because it makes those connections and sees the subtle undertones of each nations’ actions plus there social and economic ties. Angie wrote: "If you were able to meet with author of your book right now, what would you say to him or her? What questions would you ask? Support your response with at least two specific details or quotations f..."

If I had the opportunity to meet Roland John Wiley, author of "Tchaikovsky", I would have many questions to ask. "How passionate or DISPASSIONATE are you of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky?". This would be the biggest question I would ask him because as an author you can't just focus on the same person for each book, especially when writing a biography. There are a lot of other big classical music figures. I think I could guess what Wiley's reply would consist of though. In his book "Tchaikovsky" he has a lot of sources. And by a lot I mean 451 sources. In a lot of his factual sentences there are sources. "...when he wrote The Meck of a Night he thought he was going to die [ix 32]". That is just one of many examples. I would also ask him "Why did you choose to write about Tchaikovsky?" was it because you grew up liking him? Do you just like his music? There are many possibilities but I think I can draw a conclusion because he went very in depth on the theory of his music and his life. I would assume that he had always liked Tchaikovsky and his life was affected by his music.

If I were to meet the author of "My Sister's Keeper", by Jodi Picout, one of my favorite authors, I would be a POIGNANT meeting. I would love to ask how she got the idea for the book, since it is such an intense topic to write about, a child filing a lawsuit against her parents, which will inevitably kill her sister if she does (pg 12). I would also love to know if the movie created was how she imagined her book looking on the big screen. Although I have never seen the movie myself, I have heard it is not the same as the book. I would also make sure I asked how she went about writing her books, is there a special place she writes, or if she has to wait for something to inspire her.

If I was given the chance to meet Mitch Albom I would have quite a few questions for him. Not only is he the author of The Time Keeper, he is also the author of one of my favorite books Tuesdays with Morrie. Mitch is an anthropologist-without the letters after is name- and bearing this in mind I would have a lot of questions about his views on humanity. I am a really big pessimist when it comes to prophesying what the future holds for the human race, and when reading books like Morrie and Time Keeper it sort of rekindles a hope that there are people who contemplate these issues and try to make them better . I would definitely want to convey how POIGNANT his book was to me and that the way that I view life and death now that I’ve read Morrie, and have started Time Keeper has been changed to a view more AFFABLE of death, and more awestruck with life. One of the bigger questions that I would like Mr. Albom’s opinion on is if he thinks that social media is killer of decency within the social cloth that Americans weave between one another. There are alot of things that people say online behind a screen than they would say to people's faces, and I wonder if that kindles a kind of hatred in us that wouldn't be there if we didn't have the internet. I would also like to know what his take on death is. He must've learned something from Morrie, and I would like to know his own personal take on death having gone through the things that he did with Morrie. Does he believe that death is the end? And on the flip flop of that what does HE think the meaning of life is, and how do we live a fulfilled life in the time that we are here? All in all The Time Keeper is a great book, and I can’t wait to finish it.