Sammy's Hill: Discussion #4

Happy Friday everyone! Kelly is hosting this week's final discussion for Sammy's Hill! Thank you so much! I enjoyed the recap because it reminded me of things that irritated me that I wanted to talk about! ;)

Hi everyone, I’m Kelly from She Wears a Red Sox Cap and I’m guest posting here to finish up our discussion of Sammy’s Hill. Thank goodness!

When we left off last week, Bramen was taking credit for RG’s health care benefit package but also speaking out against it, which caused RG to really turn against him and endorse Wye for President. When this happens, Sammy meets Bob Espin, who she remembers from her blackberry snafu. Bob and Sammy start to date (sort of), but nothing really comes of it, and it’s clear Sammy is not all that emotionally involved.  Other notable things that happen in this section include:

-Charlie writes an article bashing Bramen and Bramen drops out of the presidential race after losing several states
-the Ex-Secret Service guys question Sammy about her relationship with “Mr. Lee” who is apparently an agent of the North Korean regime
-Aaron starts working for Wye and telemarketers drive him crazy
-Sammy ends up in the hospital with IBS and Charlie stays with her (I did laugh at this whole section- as someone who suffers from this, I TOTALLY agree with her that giving it a better name would be awesome)
-Charlie broke a story that Wye’s speeches were plagiarized, by none other than Aaron (it also came out that Aaron was a compulsive gambler-WTF?)
-Wye wins the election, Charlie and Sammy get together and Sammy sends out an e-mail where she says the greater “pubic” good instead of “public”

Wow, just reading all these things I can see just how many UNBELIEVABLE and ridiculous things occurred in this book, just in this section! Here are my questions:

What changes would you make to Sammy’s character in order to make her someone that her target audience would relate to, rather than be annoyed by?

Do you feel the kind of passion towards your job/boss that Sammy does? Why or why not?

Although we don’t plan to read the sequel, what do you predict will happen next for Sammy?
What was your favorite thing about this book? (I thought I’d be positive, it’s the kindergarten teacher in me)

Discussion #2 Sammy's Hill

Welcome back to week 2 of Sammy's Hill.  Any and all are free to comment.

So, Aaron seems sketchier and sketchier. The plot seems more and more predictable and Sammy sounds like a girl I'd like to throttle.

Just one shining example of Aaron's jerkiness.. 

" However, when he'd complained about y going away with RG and I'd pointed out that he'd just gone to New Hampshire with Bramen, Aaron suggested that Bramen's trips were more important." pg. 111

SERIOUSLY???? And how about ignoring her when she got puked on at a bar? Dismissive of her roles. Ugh Ugh.  And it is so nauseating to hear her talk about their future daughter and everything.  Though, the few moments of her sanity when she mentions, how their future is somewhat cloudy, I'm like YES.  And why won't her friends just tell her he is fucking around?

Questions:
1.) Have you ever had an embarassingly blackberry/email whoops like Sammy does with her whipped cream summit message? Speaking of, what did you think of the article Charlie wrote about it and Aaron's reaction to the article?

2.) What was your reaction to Bramen's comment about RG and his staff not doing anything to help the bill they wrote? What do you think of Bramen? Do you agree with Sammy's assessment?

3.) Would you continually keep getting the same animal if you kept kiling it/it kept dying on you?

4.) When do you think Sammy will finally talk to Charlie about whatever he wants to talk to her about?

5.) Do you think Sammy's character is growing and maturing or do you think she is staying stagnant so far?


Next week we will discuss from Faded Luster to Breathe in Deep, It's all Fresh Air (pg. 299).  Lisa will be providing the post for us and I can't wait to hear what she has to say!  Don't forget to vote on a selection for the May Group Read.  I will be putting the poll up on April 17th!  If you would be willing to guest post in May let me know, and if a particular date works better for you let me know that as well!

Sammy's Hill: Discussion #1

Welcome everyone! This is our first discussion over April's Group Read, Sammy's Hill by Kristin Gore.  Any and all are welcome to participate.  You can have already read the book in the past, currently be reading, start up and catch up with us, or if you just feel the need to comment on something mentioned.  We like to talk books.

Okay, so this is a painful read.  How stupid can one supposedly smart girl be? It hurts me to keep reading.  I mean really.  She is a fanatic about health care, yet is one big hypochondriac.  She is a domestic policy advisor, yet is incapable of  normal functioning half the time.  And has a HORRIBLE taste in men.  A disastrous approach to dating and I am sure if I thought some more I could keep 'em coming.  I think this is going to be a hard book to read for me because of how badly I want to wring her neck.

In theory, I love reading books about Washington and politics but this is just rough.   I want a smart girl, who makes smart decisions and kicks ass.  Not a klutzy, irresponsible, neurotic.

I think this quote from the NY times sums up how I am feeling...

This flighty bumptiousness makes ''Sammy's Hill'' a painfully frustrating read. Wacky behavior makes a poor substitute for comedy and strange tics for character; the many humiliations the author rains upon Sammy don't make her seem adorable, just slightly deranged. Sammy's little experiment in imaginary amputation, for example, results in her boarding the subway wearing nonmatching shoes -- and not just any nonmatching shoes ''but a tan sandal and a bright red sneaker.'' This is probably supposed to be a hilarious exaggeration of a mistake anyone might make, but the specifics here betray the other trait that undermines the whole book: Gore's maddeningly careless writing. I was more puzzled than amused that anyone able to dress herself could confuse tying a shoe and buckling a sandal. - Ana Marie Cox

1.) What do you think of Sammy's late night phone conversations with telemarketers? Have you or anyone you know started conversations with them? Or called them?

2.) What is your opinion of Aaron?

3.) Do you find it refreshing or heart-breakingly naive of Sammy to have such a positive/sunny view of her boss? How do you think she is going to recover from his 'betrayal' on the health care bill?

4.) Do you think that Sammy's quirks are funny and make her character or do you think there are too many quirks/weirdness that make her character unbelievable?

5.) What are your feelings on the current health care situation in America?

Next week's discussion covers Roadshow through Faded Luster (pg. 204) next Friday, April 15^th.