Week One Questions and Algonquin Round Table

[arne_bue]

1. We are introduced to a wide range of characters in these chapters. Ted Hogwood, Kenny Lush, Doreen and Amelia, crime boss Nicholas Gatting, Leslie the albino assassin, Bethie, Davis and L.C. Tracy and even Oz the woofer-dog. Which, if any, of the characters you have met so far have particularly captured your attention? Have any triggered that spark of recognition that says “I know someone like that” or even “I recognize something of me in him/her.”

Two characters, to me, stuck out from the fray:
"G'Day. Miss Lewis and Mrs. Scott I believe?" The man greeted the two women with a wide, genuine smile. "My name is Cy Hobarth. Looks like we've got ourselves a lovely day."

The other: Amelia.

Why these two? To me they offered a counterstrike to what I call the 'amorals' in the story: they appeared as moral people who seem to want to do the right thing vs. the amoral folks populating the early intros. I actually grew to admire them both, and rather quickly. The amorals intrigued me and kept me turning the pages and enjoying the book, but I was worried about the welfare of Amelia and of course Cy.
You could say I probably know some people like that, and I nodded my head as I got to meet them. I am happy they are in this enjoyable work of yours.


2. How do the occasional digressions work for you? For instance, the rather lengthy one in which we are given the backstory with Doreen, Mr. Sniders and the way she involved herself and Amelia in Kenny’s plot?

At first the backstory did not involve me so much, probably, because my eyes were tired at the time and my mind was on other things; However, the backstory is important and it was fed to me quickly and thoroughy. Briefly, I wondered who I should worry about in the overall story at this point, but in the end I put my faith in you, Alan, the creator of this fine and fun story. I knew you had a reason for this backstory and that it'd all fit in: and it did. I doff my cap.


3. What was your favorite scene?
My favorite scene: Cy kicks into action and tries to do the right thing for the ladies.
If he were a real person, I'd send him an email, thank him for the try to save the day and his tour passengers from crossbow man.


4. What was your least favorite scene?
I think the backstory threw me off for a bit. As mentioned, supra, this may well have been tired eyes and conerns over something else at the moment of reading. There was a lot of information, all important. It seems to be hard to feed backstory in, in chunks, but as I said, it all worked for me as I got back to reading and enjoying.


5. Does the idea that J. Edgar Hoover might have attempted to meddle in the democratic process ring true? For that matter, does the name J. Edgar Hoover mean anything to you? I'm particularly pointing that question towards our younger readers.

No. I'm an old dude, and I know about that guy.


6. What was it that convinced you to give Boomerang a try?

This great book club. I am enjoying this!


7. Does the scene in which Doreen and Cy are confronted with Leslie and his crossbow move fast enough a convey a sense of danger, excitement?

Oh, heck yes.


8. When does the first character with the last name of Wilson appear? When does the next Wilson show up?

I cheated and read the answers posted by fellow book club members.


9. What is Leslie’s weapon of choice? What was Doreen’s weapon of opportunity?

Again, I cheated and know for sure the answers by reading the above posts.

[rachel]

1. We are introduced to a wide range of characters in these chapters. Ted Hogwood, Kenny Lush, Doreen and Amelia, crime boss Nicholas Gatting, Leslie the albino assassin, Bethie, Davis and L.C. Tracy and even Oz the woofer-dog. Which, if any, of the characters you have met so far have particularly captured your attention? Have any triggered that spark of recognition that says “I know someone like that” or even “I recognize something of me in him/her.”

I really liked Oz. I thought that was such a creative way for us the readers to see a portion of the story from a different (and shorter) perspective. I am not sure that I have read many books outside of children's books, that have a normal human setting and we are able to see the story from the pet's point of view.

I also enjoyed Amelia, I thought it was interesting how timid she was, I was expecting her to be a little more vindictive for some reason. I honestly didn't think she would leave the house without her special pants ... but the whole thing with the skirt was quite humorous.

2. How do the occasional digressions work for you? For instance, the rather lengthy one in which we are given the backstory with Doreen, Mr. Sniders and the way she involved herself and Amelia in Kenny’s plot?

I think the digressions help, it makes the story less fluffy. When you tell the plot and only the plot, the story becomes contrived in my opinion "then this happened, then that happened, then this last thing happened, the end." Chopping it up like you have, telling the backstories, etc... really gives the story a kind of depth that makes a book more enjoyable to read.

3. What was your favorite scene?

I'm gonna have to agree with Blue_Owl and say the scene in the bush with Kenny. I thought it very well written, conveyed his fear perfectly and left us wanting just a little bit more. I was convinced that Kenny had the boomerang all along even when Leslie was beating him. I only read my assigned reading up to chapter 13 so far, but I guess the tourists have it now, so he didn't but I liked that I didn't really know until that late in the story.

4. What was your least favorite scene?

The scene where Leslie beat Kenny was hard to take, I think because it was so well written though is why I didn't like it LOL I am not a fan of violence, but you sure got the point across that Leslie ain't taking no ****, and he'll hurt you for very little if need be. So it wasn't my least favorite because of the writing, but only because I hate violence.

5. Does the idea that J. Edgar Hoover might have attempted to meddle in the democratic process ring true? For that matter, does the name J. Edgar Hoover mean anything to you? I'm particularly pointing that question towards our younger readers.

Well I am 29 and I had no clue, in fact I thought it was a stretch for the book. LOL after reading the responses, I guess it wasn't much of a stretch at all!! Looks like I'll have to go do some more history reading ......

6. What was it that convinced you to give Boomerang a try?

I think your enthusiasm and the fact that you were one of the first authors to make this place home endeared me to your book. I was actually going to read it after I finished rereading the Outlander series (I wasn't going to read any books in between those), but I wanted to participate in the book club, so I went ahead and picked it up.

7. Does the scene in which Doreen and Cy are confronted with Leslie and his crossbow move fast enough a convey a sense of danger, excitement?

Yes I thought it was perfectly paced. I thought it was funny that Doreen was so hyper-focused on the boomerang, that she got no danger vibe from Leslie at all. Though I did think that rather than coming at them with a crossbow, Leslie was going to let them in the store and see if she found what he was looking for, then use violence to get it from her if she did. But maybe he had already destroyed the store looking and didn't want her to see.

8. When does the first character with the last name of Wilson appear? When does the next Wilson show up?

I will admit that a multitude of characters in a story does confuse me. There are some characters that I already forgot about, but I know that I will know them once they reappear in the story, and the good thing about using an eReader like the nook is I can use the search function to find the last scene they were in to remind myself from whence they came. I will now have to do a search on the Wilson thing since it seems to have some kind of meaning.

9. What is Leslie’s weapon of choice? What was Doreen’s weapon of opportunity?

Leslie seems to like his crossbow and Doreen will yell until she gets her way I think .... I wonder if these have more meaning now since you chose to put this question in here and word it like that ..... LOL


I really enjoyed the first 13 chapters, I was confused through most of it, but it actually was okay with me. I am willing to read sporadic bits and pieces and trust that by the end it will all fall into place for me. Kind of like the Time Traveler's Wife, you have no clue what is going on really until towards the end, but once you know you can piece it all together, which I think makes the whole book more rewarding. So far I have enjoyed reading it and am excited to read the next section. I also enjoyed reading everyone's comments here, it's neat to see everyone's perspective on the book.

Cheers!
Rachel

[dcq2]

1. We are introduced to a wide range of characters in these chapters. Ted
Hogwood, Kenny Lush, Doreen and Amelia, crime boss Nicholas Gatting,
Leslie the albino assassin, Bethie, Davis and L.C. Tracy and even Oz the
woofer-dog. Which, if any, of the characters you have met so far have
particularly captured your attention? Have any triggered that spark of
recognition that says “I know someone like that” or even “I recognize
something of me in him/her.”

For me, it's a toss up between Amelia and Oz the woofer-dog. Although
Amelia is clearly submissive to her sister, she has a generous, thoughtful
and creative side that is appealing. Discovering that she learned how to
hot-wire a car from Kenny was a delightful surprise.

As an animal lover, I often consider my pet's opinion about the world
around them. I initially considered "Oz's voice" as a bit of shock, came
to enjoy his presence, and thought he was a good addition to the story.



2. How do the occasional digressions work for you? For instance, the
rather lengthy one in which we are given the backstory with Doreen, Mr.
Sniders and the way she involved herself and Amelia in Kenny’s plot?

I tend to read quickly, and did find myself a little confused or uncertain of details at times. But, I think the digressions add extra detail that is necessary to develop the characters and storyline.

3. What was your favorite scene?

I loved the scene where Doreen stomped off, leaving Amelia behind. I expected Amelia to find some missing keys, but it was even better when she had hotwired the car.

4. What was your least favorite scene?

Nothing comes to mind.


5. Does the idea that J. Edgar Hoover might have attempted to meddle in
the democratic process ring true? For that matter, does the name J. Edgar
Hoover mean anything to you? I'm particularly pointing that question
towards our younger readers.

Sorry, I'm Canadian, and not a student of American history. My knowledge of Hoover is limited to the occasional TV or movie reference.


6. What was it that convinced you to give Boomerang a try?

My interest in nookboards. I'm hoping to expand my reading horizons via my new gadget.

7. Does the scene in which Doreen and Cy are confronted with Leslie and
his crossbow move fast enough a convey a sense of danger, excitement?

Yes. I thought that scene was especially well written.

8. When does the first character with the last name of Wilson appear?
When does the next Wilson show up?

Wilsons? Sorry, didn't notice the name. But, it is an especially handy feature of e-reading to be able to search for such a reference.

9. What is Leslie’s weapon of choice? What was Doreen’s weapon of opportunity?

Leslie, his crossbow.... very inventive.
Doreen, her abrasive personality, loud voice, and whatever she can get her hands on. She's fearless and bullheaded.

[plumboz]

Hi dcq2,

Welcome to the festivities!

Alan

[dcq2]

Hey, Alan! Thanks for the hospitality... I'm really enjoying your book so far!