Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Read Along Dreamhunter by Elizabeth Knox, Part 1 A Talented Family


Hello and welcome to my third Read Along!  I am so glad you are joining. 

Here is how it works, answer the questions below, for each correct response >I will enter your name for a chance to win 1 of 3 prizes (a handmade item, a PBS Credit or a $5 Gift certificate from Amazon). You have until Monday April 23rd to answer this set of questions. 
Leave your answers in a comment with a way for me to get in touch with you.
This weeks handmade prize is a Dreamhunter themed bookmark and 3 magnetic glittered clothespins. 

This week please read the first section of the book, Part 1, A talented Family and then answer the following questions

1.  Who in the family are dreamhunters and what do dreamhunters so?
2.  What is the Try?  How old does someone have to be to try?
3.  Who discovered the Place?
4.  What is a penumbra? (I will accept 2 answers if both given extra entry)
5.  What did Tziga do instead of sharing his dream with the prisoners?


Discussion Questions
1.  The story of the survivors from the Island of Elpurs, does it remind you of anything?
2.  Do you feel like the explanation of the Place and how it works came at the appropriate time in the book?
3.  How do you see the characters?  Do you think the author left too much scenery/physical description out and relied on the date header to form the readers mental picture?  Are you having trouble visualizing some of the scenes?

Just for fun, I thought I would share some of the various covers for this book.  Do you like one more than the others?  If so why?

American Paperback cover

New Zealand


Hardback Large Print

I'm also working on my dream cast for this book and having a hard time with Tziga Hame so far I have a handful of actors that I think would be good, I would love to hear what you have to say.  How do you picture him, do you think one of the actors I picked would be good or someone totally different?

My picks are

Paul Bettany

Leonardo Dicaprio

Johnny Depp

Woddy Harrelson

I hope you are enjoying the book, please feel free to leave any type of comment about the book (so if you don't like it please let us know and let us know why). I'm looking forward to your answers and this discussion.





8 comments:

WingsPawsNMagick said...

1. Who in the family are dreamhunters and what do dreamhunters so? Tziga ( lauras dad ) and aunt grace..(roses mom) ..they can catch dreams and sell them for money and replay them for other people in huge opera houses and hospitals, and asylums, and prisons.
2. What is the Try? How old does someone have to be to try?
they have to be 15, and they are going to try and cross over into The Place where they will catch dreams and share them back in the real world ..a rite of passage.
3. Who discovered the Place? Tziga Hame
4. What is a penumbra? (I will accept 2 answers if both given extra entry)
the edge of the shadow the moon casts on the earth during a total eclipse..the course of a shadow. a "blast zone"
5. What did Tziga do instead of sharing his dream with the prisoners?he ran to the edge of the pier and flung himself off, headfirst and disappears.


Discussion Questions
1. The story of the survivors from the Island of Elpurs, does it remind you of anything?
2. Do you feel like the explanation of the Place and how it works came at the appropriate time in the book? yes
3. How do you see the characters? Do you think the author left too much scenery/physical description out and relied on the date header to form the readers mental picture?
YES...
Are you having trouble visualizing some of the scenes? not really

Just for fun, I thought I would share some of the various covers for this book. Do you like one more than the others? If so why?
i have the 3rd book you posted...the one with the girls face on it..

Anonymous said...

Sadly because of an exam I wasn't able to finish the entire section but I do like what I have read...then again I like sci-fi twists. I will answer what I can.

1) Dreamhunters pass into the place and retrieve outrageous vivid dreams and are able to pass back into our world and share them.

2) The Try is when a person as able to see if they are capable of passing into the place making them a dream hunter. You have to be 15.

Sadly that is where my answering abilities end. And I don't feel I know Tzinga enough yet to decide on an actor. At first I thought Johnny Depp might be good cause he can play that loving dad/eccentric (see finding neverland) but now I am not so sure. I will be able to tell more later. :)

Unknown said...

Discussion:
1. so when I initially read the story of the survivors I immediately thought of Pompeii and of a story about Atlantis. I vaguely remember watching a history channel special on a possible outcome of what happened to Atlantis, it was destroyed by an environmental disaster and only a few people escaped on boat. It was a very interesting theory.

2. As for the explanation of the Place and how it works I did not feel that it came at the right time. In fact I almost scratched using this book because I was so disapointed with the first section. I actually thought the author had flaws in her story which turned me off of her writing for a bit.

3. I did have trouble visualizing some of the characters. Later in the book more physical description of Laura comes out but it was too late I already filled in the blanks and in my mind she is nothing like what the author finally says she looks like.

My favorite book cover is the one that was published in New Zeland. I have the third one, with the girl on it and I mailed out the bright blue one as a prize (I really don't like that cover).

Nerd...yes, that is why Johnny Deep is on my list. I however am leaning towards a different actor on the list now. Let me know what you think when you get further along.

Cathy W said...

1. Who in the family are dreamhunters and what do dreamhunters so?

Grace and Tziga are the dreamhunters. They go to the Place, catch dreams, and return to share them with others as they sleep. Some are healing, some are soothing, some are romantic and fun.

2. What is the Try? How old does someone have to be to try?

The Try is what it is called when an individual can try to see if they can pass into the Place. One must be 15 to officially try.

3. Who discovered the Place?

Tziga Hame was the first to enter.

4. What is a penumbra? (I will accept 2 answers if both given extra entry) A penumbra is "the edge of the shadow the moon casts on the earth during a total eclipse". In reference to dreamhunters, it is the range in which they can project their dreams.

5. What did Tziga do instead of sharing his dream with the prisoners?

He threw himself off a pier...at low tide.

Cathy W said...

1. The story of the survivors from the Island of Elpurs, does it remind you of anything?

It reminded me of the story of Pompei.

2. Do you feel like the explanation of the Place and how it works came at the appropriate time in the book?

I'm not sure...I think I need to read more of the book first. Sometimes I need to reach the end of the book before I figure out why an author uses a particular literary device.

3. How do you see the characters? Do you think the author left too much scenery/physical description out and relied on the date header to form the readers mental picture? Are you having trouble visualizing some of the scenes?

I like books that don't give too much detail. I love letting my mind fill in space. I'm having trouble here and there coming up with a picture, but it isn't annoying (yet). We'll see as the story progresses. :-)

Jenny said...

I haven't made it through the first week's readings as I was desperately trying to finish up Catch 22 for my book club. Looking forward to reading the next section and participating in next week's discussion.

Unknown said...

1. Grace and Tziga are Dreamhunters. They go into The Place, find dreams and return with them to share sell/share them with others.

2. The Try is when someone who is at least 15 years of age tries to get into The Place.

3. Tziga Hame is the one who found The Place.

4. A penumbra is the edge of the shadow that the moon casts on the earth during a total eclipse. For the Dreamhunters, a penumbra is how far they can project their dreams.

5. He flung himself off a pier.

Susan said...

1. Who in the family are dreamhunters and what do dreamhunters so?

The dreamhunters in the family are Laura Hame, Tziga Hame, and Grace Tiebold. Dreamhunters go into the Place and retrieve dreams. Then they come back and are able to share them with people to give them energy, feel better, terrorize, etc.

2. What is the Try? How old does someone have to be to try?

The Try is when people can try to become dreamhunters by entering the Place. Someone has to be 15 years old to Try.

3. Who discovered the Place?

The Place was discovered by Tziga Hame.

4.What is a penumbra? (I will accept 2 answers if both given extra entry)

Penumbra is how far a dream will project.

5. What did Tziga do instead of sharing his dream with the prisoners?

Instead of sharing his dream with the prisoners, he dove off the pier onto black stones.


Discussion Questions
1. The story of the survivors from the Island of Elpurs, does it remind you of anything?

I think the survivors from the Island of Elpurs sounds like when people came to America.

2. Do you feel like the explanation of the Place and how it works came at the appropriate time in the book?

I do feel like the explanation came at the appropriate time. If it had come earlier, I don’t think I would have had a good appreciation for it.

3. How do you see the characters? Do you think the author left too much scenery/physical description out and relied on the date header to form the readers mental picture? Are you having trouble visualizing some of the scenes?

So far I think it is the right amount of physical description, but I hope to have a better imagine of the Place and I enjoy visualizing my own characters somewhat. I am having trouble visualizing some of the scenes. This seems futuristic, so it is difficult to imagine this happening in the past. I keep having to remind myself of the setting.