Watership Down Introduction

Hello everyone,

Sorry it took me so long to get this set up; I had to find my book and divide it into manageable chunks for you all to read. (I'm not very good at that, so it took me awhile.) I think I've got at least this first section mostly figured out, but if anyone feels the need to read ahead, please don't hesitate to do so.

For this first session, I'd like for us to read chapters 1 ("The Notice Board") through 11 ("Hard Going") for Tuesday, September 8. The initial chapters are fairly short, but starting with chapter 12 they start getting longer, so I had us stop there. My page numbers are 17-71, though I don't suspect they're like that for every version. I hope I've given you all enough time to read; if you have issues with the length, feel free to let me know and I shall adjust accordingly.

So, in case you missed it, here it is again: Chapter 1 ("The Notice Board") through chapter 11 ("Hard Going") for Tuesday, September 8

And as an added bonus, I'd like to give you all a starting question:

What are your initial thoughts about this book? What are you expecting from this book? What have you heard about it? What thoughts or concerns do you have? If you've already read the book, try and recall what you thought before you first read it. I ask this because I want to know what people think the book is going to be about. This isn't terribly formal or anything...I'm just curious, is all.

Enjoy, everyone!

Ellen

Peace Like a River Final Discussion

I'm posting this a day early, as promised, since I'll be away from computer and internet over the weekend. I was packing and doing laundry when I remembered I needed to get this posted.

Reuben was really slipping into the end of his life. It was just so sad. You hate to see kids get really sick like that. He seemed resigned to it though. What really tore me up, and him too, was Swede's attitude toward him. It wasn't until she realized that he was actually going that she decided to really forgive him.

I was so glad to see Jeremiah and Roxanna tie the knot. I agree with Ruth that Jeremiah was very sweet about courting her. What a shock for her, losing him so soon after marrying.

Walzer was everything we had feared. Poor Andreeson never stood a chance against him. On the one hand I was glad that Davy came home and Sara was saved, but on the other you just knew something bad was going to happen. I was crushed when Jeremiah was hit but even moreso when Reuben went down.

So, Reuben saw the promised land? The description was similar to others I've read. I wasn't surprised to see Jeremiah there since we knew he had been injured. I was really glad to see that final miracle but still felt sort of cheated that Jeremiah didn't come back too. It makes sense that he didn't come back but I just really wanted him to be happy with Roxanna.

Tell me what you thought of the book. Like I said earlier, what I really love about the book is the beautiful language. I love the words he chooses, the way he phrases things, the poetry... just all the language. I also like the mystery and tension in the story. The characters are all well-done too. We never really know all that much about Davy but in the end we see that it makes sense because Reuben never really knew much about Davy either, even though they were able to meet again.

I hope you all enjoyed Peace Like a River and I'm looking forward to the next one.