The Playful Antiquarian

Reading out a storm

July 19th, 2003

Last night I could not sleep because of the thunderstorms passing through the area. I have overcome my childhood fears about storms that once forced me to hide in closets, under beds, and in windowless bathrooms to ride out torrential downpours and lightning shows, but it seems I am still easily awakened by overnight storms.

I don’t know if it was the change in barometric pressure, the increased electricity in the air, or simply, the noise, but I was awake, and since I was awake there was nothing to do but read. Appropriately, I finally finished Life of Pi, with the storm providing the perfect complement to the storms Pi faced on the open sea. I felt vaguely satisfied after I finished reading it although, contrary to the various blurbs on and in the book, neither my religious faith nor my literary faith were changed.

The paperback edition that I purchased has a reading group guide. I felt compelled to read the questions and muse on them (probably because it was 4 a.m. and I was awake). One series of questions grouped under #10 really annoyed me. Partially because one of the questions was silly and would not lead to a serious group discussion. Another of the questions was a variation of the stranded on a desert isle question.

I hate questions about being stranded on a desert isle. The sad fact is that you do not get to choose what you can take with you on a desert isle or in any situation where you are stranded, detained, or placed somewhere unexpectedly; you have to make do with what you are fortunate to have with you, if you have anything at all. (*sigh* if only I had said that during my undergraduate admissions interview for a certain Ivy League university, instead of staring blankly at my interviewer…)

I wonder if anyone actually makes use of these reading group guides? I wonder who has the job of writing these questions? What if authors wrote their own reading group guides? Could an author seriously write his/her own guide? I don’t think that I could.

At any rate, one book down, many libraries’ worth to go.

Related links:

• Panphobia (linked to above):
  • On the theory that fear is based on the unknown, this site links to books, films, and websites about what you fear most.
• Life of Pi links
  • Canongate Books Life of Pi site, including the historical and literary origins of Richard Parker and Yann Martel’s opinion on the proposed plan to build a zoo in Pondicherry.
  • Life of Pi interactive promo: part computer animated short, part computer game, no tigers (as mentioned on Bookslut)

Entry Filed under: Bookmarks, Books, Personal Miscellany