encyclopedia

**Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life** by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Questions: Kelsey Katie: Food/Discussion Leader Ali: Recorder
 * Week 1**

//**Questions:** Simply by her Reader’s Agreement, you can tell what this book will be like and how Rosenthal is as a person. What do you think? Are you excited to read it or are you turned off by her demanding nature and sarcastic tone?// Katie: I'm excited to read it. It seems funny. Ali: I like it. I think she's really self-centered and I don't know if I'd get along with her in real life, but it makes her book interesting. Kelsey: I love the way that she writes. I agree she comes off sort of self-centered, but I think she's just being honest, and saying things that many people have thought before but have been afraid to say.

//Did you have trouble following the “Evolution of this Moment” section? Do you agree that she must’ve been talking about her personal experiences, knowing that some people couldn’t understand?// Kelsey: I found certain parts annoying because I felt like it was sort of like witnessing a conversation between two people with an inside joke, and they won't tell you what the inside joke means. She makes some jokes, knowing that it will go over some people's heads, yet does it anyway. But I found it enjoyable anyway. (Ali and Katie agree)

//Do you find it funny how she remembers certain dates, like when she told her boss that their sign shouldn’t be round? Do you think there’s any reason for that? Do you think it’s all truthful?// Ali: It adds to the book, but I feel like she's trying to be witty and impressive. Kelsey: There's no way for us to know if it's truthful or not, and I think that although interesting, it's sort of unnecessary, but it doesn't bother me or affect the way I feel about the book.

//Rosenthal often makes fun of herself in the book in a teasing way. Why do you think she does that? Do you like it?// Katie: I like it. I think she just does it for humor. Ali: I think she does it to counteract how pretentious she can be, and I like it. I think it's a good device. Kelsey: I enjoy it because she reminds me a little of a lot of people that I know and that I'm friends with, and also myself a little bit. She's able to laugh at herself and knows that she can sound pretentious or unintelligent, etc. at times, and she knows how to deal with it.

//The way that she writes the encyclopedia itself, including her opinions and attitude, such as on her married name and the anagrams her father-in-law thought up for it, her chart of things that make her anxious, Ayn Rand, bagpipers, bowling, etc. really interests me. I love reading it because it reminds me a lot of how my friends and I talk, with a dry sense of humor. What do you think? Do you think it makes the book any less good because it’s not written traditionally like an encyclopedia?// Ali: I think it's clever. I enjoy reading. I feel like I'm getting to know her as a person. Kelsey: As I said, I really like it. I think it makes the book really intriguing, and I don't think that personal style takes away from the format or the content of the book at all.

//We arrived to our first week of Book Club. Katie left her book at home, but she brought in two cookies for each of us. Morone came over and looked at part of our book. He was as intrigued as we were at the unique and creative format of the book. We then begin to work on answering the questions Kelsey had prepared for us. We discussed the witty and sarcastic tone of the author. We also talked about the challenge that the format sometimes presented and some of the humor involved in the book. Overall, we are enjoying this book and I am glad that we confronted this unique challenge of reading a non-traditional novel.//
 * Summary**:

//The only character in this book is the author, Amy Krouse Rosenthal. We do not really know her background since she includes it as we go along, but we do know that she is married with three children. In some ways we really like her because she is very sarcastic and has a dry sense of humor, which we can all relate to and enjoy. Sometimes she becomes slightyly pretencious but it is understandable and she always redeems herself. She's very in tune with herself and is not ashamed of her "ordinary life." It is easy to like her and feel connected to her.//
 * Discussion**:

Kelsey: Discussion Leader and Food Ali: Questions Katie: Recorder
 * Week Two:**

//**Questions**// //1. Rosenthal makes many specific and detailed references to her family and their quirks and flaws. Do you think her very personal style of writing lends to itself to potentially cause more personal problems?// No, we think she comes from an understanding family with a sense of humor who supports. //2. In the passage, "Fiction" she says that she has trouble reading fiction because it seems so irrelevant because it's just completely fabricated. Have you ever thought of this before? Do you agree?// Kelsey: I don't have the problem with pure fiction as much as I do with fantasy, but realistic fiction rarely bothers me. Ali: It bothers me more when fiction is passed off like a biography or a memoir but it is largely fabricated. //3. The "charts" are very uncommon to see in books; they seem more characteristic of a blog or a magazine. Do you think it makes the writing seem unprofessional?// Kelsey: I don't think it makes it seems unprofessional, I think it makes it more personal and easier to read. Ali: I think it might make it unprofessional, but its not supposed to be unprofessional to start with. //4. We have all agreed in the past that her writing is very relatable. However, we all are girls from similar upbringings with seemingly compatible personalities. Do you think we would enjoy this book as much if it were written by somebody dissimilar to us?// No, it's an acquired taste and you have to have a certain sense of humor to enjoy it. //5. Do you feel that Rosenthal is sometimes too flippant about the trials in her life (see: Lows, page 131-132)? Do you think she overuses humor as a shield?// We think it's a coping mechanism. All three of us have been known to do that, so we can identify.

Kelsey, without a voice, brought Oreos and we all had waters. In an attempt to speak louder, Ali increases the brightness on her computer. Thens she discovers the "Mooncup" and decides that she thinks it would be very efficient. We ate the majority of the Oreos and then Ali began to ask her questions. First, Ali asks if we think that the author's family is understanding of her making fun of them, and Kelsey answers that she seems to come from a very understanding family who enjoys that type of humor. Then she asks us if we would enjoy the book as much if it was not as relatable. We all agree that we would not. To answer her next question, we all said that her humor relating to serious matters was just a coping mechanism. Ali discovers the "mooncup" and decides that she wants one for her birthday. We discuss the language of the book and all decide that it is very conversational and seems as if we're talking to a friend
 * Summary**:

Our book's language is extremely easy to understand. Rosenthal writes this as an encyclopedia, and uses simple vocabulary. Certain parts of it are conversational, and some parts she doesn't even write in full sentences. This book could be read by anyone over 9th grade most likely, because some of the issues it deals with are mature, even though Rosenthal writes it in a simple way. A lot of it is as if she were talking to one of her friends. She doesn't talk down to the reader, but also doesn't make it impossible to understand. She wants people with "ordinary lives" to be able to relate and enjoy the book, and she does exactly that. She is not one to pose deep, thought-provoking, unsolvable questions for her readers. She tells it like it is and says what she thinks, and that makes the book easy to read and potentially enjoyable for anyone over about 15.
 * Discussion: On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why?**

Kelsey: Discussion Leader Ali: Recorder and Food Katie: Questions
 * Week Three/Four:**

//1. Were there any entries that you felt personally connected to your life?// The more in detail the entries were, Ali felt that she could relate more to. She said that the more detail she put into her feelings, she felt she connected more to. Kelsey feels very connected to "dreams" and "Good to Bad Mood," which we can all agree on. //2. Comment on the poem on page 144, "You Want A Social Life, With Friends"// Ali says that even though the author relates to the poem as an adult, it applies equally with a teenager and is generally universal. Kelsey likes it because it is universally relatable and anyone can understand it and everyone feels like that sometimes. //3. Rosenthal clearly mentions her sons and husband much more than her daughter. Why do you think this is?// We think that it is because the author, herself is a girl that she is more interested in how young boys act and is already familiar with how young girls act. //4. Why do you think she gives some people names and some people are only given first initials?// The people with first initials, we think, the author is not as close to her and she would have felt awkward including their full names //5. How closely can you relate to entries such as "tears" and "thankful"?// We agree that everyone can relate to "thankful" and being thankful for the daily things that sometimes go unnoticed. Kelsey can relate to tears because she cries a lot, but about legitimate things. But Ali says she cries about everything and could relate exactly. //6. What was your favorite aspect of this book?// Our favorite aspect of this book was the way we could relate so easily and just enjoy reading it. It was funny and was a light read that kept our attention throughout the whole thing. //7. What do you think the author's motivation was to write this novel?// We think that the author knew that she wanted to write a some kind of novel and like, most people wanted to write about what she knows best. Clearly she knows the mo st about her own life, and since she is very creative, she decided to create an "encyclopedia" of her life. //8. Do you think she intentionally started with "Amy" and ended with "you"?// We all agree that this was most likely intentional. Since there is no plot to tie together at the end, we think that she probably wanted to tie together the characters and the audience for a more fulfilling ending. //9. If you had an entry about your name, how would it read?// Ali said that her entry would be much like the author's, since they are very similar. Kelsey's would also be quite similar, but less sarcastic. //10. Overall, how did you feel about this book?// Everyone really enjoyed this book. It was both easy and fun to read and we all agree that it was a great choice for our last book club.
 * Questions:**

We arrived in class. We missed doing Book Club last week because all three of us were at Teen Arts. We had a great time there, but we’re still sorry we missed it! Now we are combining two weeks into one. First, we began to eat the chips that Ali brought. Katie said that they sucked, because they are, in her words “disgusting.” She continued to eat the lion’s share of them, however. We did the first topic of discussion, the tone of the book. We decided it was a mostly humorous book. Katie said her favorite part was she talked about nipples. “I can’t help it!” she says. We then discussed the structure of our book and moved onto answering Katie’s questions. Katie had some great questions! We were unable to answer all 10 because the bell rang, so we all have work to complete over the weekend.
 * Summary:**

Week 3: **Discuss the mood or tone of your book. What is the overriding emotion of this book? What examples back up your claim?** Our book is mostly humorous, and it's very sarcastic. Although there are some depressing and sad things that have happened in Krouse's life like the death of family members (sister-in-law) and the betrayal by friends, she either makes them into funny things, or she brushes over them as if they weren't as heavy as they probably were in real life. She's very sarcastic, which makes the book easy-going and funny. Every once in a while, something is sad, but overall the overriding emotion is happiness and humor. She talks about her life and her mistakes and personal experiences, and makes the reader enjoy what she's talking about and makes it funny. It's inevitable to laugh and smile and be in a good mood while reading this book.
 * Discussion:**

Week 4: **Discuss the structure of your book.** Our book is set up exactly like an encyclopedia. Words or phrases or events or people or anything else that had an impact on Amy Rosenthal Krouse's life are in this book, in alphabetical order, described by means of an encyclopedia entry. She includes photographs in her book as well, like an encyclopedia, and sometimes adds in charts, also seen in reference books. Krouse also includes little notes on the bottom of entries that say things like "See also: Magazines". She did a great job creating something interesting to read, yet still sticking to the classic format of an encyclopedia.