Bookcircle discussion for www.WATCH by Robert J Sawyer

Hi and welcome to our first Bookcircle session. Be forewarned that we will be covering Chapters one through to three, so may contain Spoilers for those who have not read the book.

Massive shout out to smyleegrl for the Bookcircle idea

The premise of presenting an A.I that isn't set out to take over the world and destroy humans but is friendly is certainly intriguing.

Opening the start of the first chapter is a familiar quote of a quasi-genesis which ideally sets the tone of story, familiar in the sense of the mythical tones of creation stories.

Catilin is portrayed as a young intelligent adult, savvy with the popular social networks and internet tech in general and certainly a reflection of the current generation from the last decade, but still faced with typical uncertainties that all school children bear such a social conformity and a hundred other little instances of trials that form social groupings. Catilin's eyesight flaw and the hope of a cure for it adds another sympathetic element to drive the story along.

With a cat named Schrodinger and the portrayal of her mathmatical intellect, no doubt from her father being theoretical physicist the story is set up for us to expect these key elements to be repeated and expanded upon throughout the book.

So by the end of chapter three we have a few scenario set ups including their main character involements and an alarming question of a new disease threat.

reply to post by Tindalos2013

Tindalos and Smylee,

Hip Hip Hooray, and I am downloading now! I have not been involved in a book club before, so please educate me as to the ettiquette and protocols of book circle participation.

Thanks and congratulations,
Gwynn

Originally posted by gwynnhwyfar
reply to post by Tindalos2013

 

Tindalos and Smylee,

Hip Hip Hooray, and I am downloading now! I have not been involved in a book club before, so please educate me as to the ettiquette and protocols of book circle participation.

Thanks and congratulations,
Gwynn

I think the idea is to look at way how to reason questions from the story. For example, after the second chapter was you settled into the story or did you find it difficult to understand.

I have a funny feeling we will be reading more about Schrodinger.

Originally posted by gwynnhwyfar
reply to post by Tindalos2013

 

Tindalos and Smylee,

Hip Hip Hooray, and I am downloading now! I have not been involved in a book club before, so please educate me as to the ettiquette and protocols of book circle participation.

Thanks and congratulations,
Gwynn

I have been looking forward to this. I echo gwynnhwyfar. Have no clue.

Also, having trouble finding the download.

reply to post by liveandlearn

I downloaded the book via iBooks, but you might be geting thrown off trying to find the book itself, because the actual name of the book to download is: "WWW: Watch".

Good luck!
Gwynn

reply to post by Tindalos2013


Great job getting the thread started. S&F!

I have a question. Is www.WATCH book two in a trilogy? If so...I'll have to read the first book before I read this one. I feel like I'm already behind.

Does anyone else feel this way, or have you all already read the first book, WWW.WAKE?

reply to post by smyleegrl


I've read as far as chapter three of the first book, looking forward to reading some more later. There are some discussion points I'll post tonight for every one to get stuck into. The book itself certainly lends its appeal to adults as well as to teenagers.

I'll probably skip this book and wait for the next one...

In the first book, Wake, of the www triology (yeah I put the wrong title up for this thread as Watch is the second book but we are discussing Wake, sorry for the mix up) there is a short quote from Helen Keller.

What a blind person needs is not a teacher but another self

Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.[1][2] The story of how Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate, has become widely known.

A prolific author, Keller was well-travelled and outspoken in her convictions. A member of the Socialist Party of America and the Industrial Workers of the World, she campaigned for women's suffrage, labor rights, socialism, and other radical left causes.

H.Keller - Wiki

?Why do you think the author chose that quote and how do you think it relates to the story.

?What kind of person is Caitlin.

reply to post by Tindalos2013


Okay, I got the second book instead of the first. No wonder I was confused!

Now that I've got the correct book figured out, I'll be back tomorrow.....

reply to post by smyleegrl

Oh shoot, I was just starting to get into it. Well, I'll go download the first book now.

?Why do you think the author chose that quote and how do you think it relates to the story? What kind of person is Caitlin.

reply to post by Tindalos2013


Spoiler Alert!



I've found Caitlin to be very convincingly written. She's obviously an intellectually gifted child, (you can tell by her reading list!) but she's also a typical teenager. She speaks like a teenager, thinks like a teenager, behaves like a teenager. I'm quite drawn to the character.

What I find interesting about Caitlin is how she views her circumstances. Blind from birth, she's not let it embitter her. When she receives the "eye-pod" and nothing happens, she is obviously dissapointed, but then shrugs it off.



Question: Do you agree with the Chinese Government's decision on how to handle the flu outbreak? Why or why not?

The over cautious procedures of the Chinese government to contain the outbreak is something I disagree with. Instead of being open and honest and perhaps gain favor with the rest of China, and the World they opt for secrecy and deception which is never a good thing. In this case they could have announced there intentions openly, gaining sympathy and be seen as doing good deeds to protect the people but since they plan to enact a massacre in such a way they have kinda fated themselves to decption and lies. And given the savvy of the internet age there is always information leakage which will no doubt invite a huge backlash.

Originally posted by Tindalos2013
The over cautious procedures of the Chinese government to contain the outbreak is something I disagree with. Instead of being open and honest and perhaps gain favor with the rest of China, and the World they opt for secrecy and deception which is never a good thing. In this case they could have announced there intentions openly, gaining sympathy and be seen as doing good deeds to protect the people but since they plan to enact a massacre in such a way they have kinda fated themselves to decption and lies. And given the savvy of the internet age there is always information leakage which will no doubt invite a huge backlash.

I agree completely. Great answer.

reply to post by smyleegrl


It's definitely not the Western reaction, and surely sets up for fallout that will happen later in the story. As far as a containment plan for the outbreak, might it be effective? Perhaps, but life usually finds a way to go on, including viruses.

How appropriate is it that H7N9 Bird Flu is all over the news as we are reading this?? Good choice!

reply to post by Tindalos2013

What a blind person needs is not a teacher but another self.

I think is has to do with loneliness and wanting to feel understood and be able to understand others. A teacher can share information with you and help you to understand concepts and learn facts, but I think Caitlin wants to understand other people better and feel like other people care about her, especially her father. She doesn't want to be lectured to or condescended to. Her yearning is to be herself, yet be other than what she is, in other words, to be another self, with her own feelings and opinions, but a self who can see.

I think this feeling is not unique to blind people, humans universally tend to want to feel understanding and bond with others. However, being blind is a more obvious isolation than most of us experience.

Caitlin is a hockey fan:

“...that circle there, say, represented the site she’d created years ago to track statistics for the Dallas Stars hockey team, and that this one was the site she’d just started in July for stats about the Toronto Maple Leafs, now her local team (even if they weren’t nearly as good as her beloved Stars).” Excerpt From: Robert J. Sawyer. “WWW: Wake.” PENGUIN group, 2010-02-26. iBooks. This material may be protected by copyright. Check out this book on the iBookstore: itunes.apple.com...

Are blind persons commonly sports fans, and, if so, do you think it is because of the role of public radio in broadcasting?

Originally posted by gwynnhwyfar
Caitlin is a hockey fan:

“...that circle there, say, represented the site she’d created years ago to track statistics for the Dallas Stars hockey team, and that this one was the site she’d just started in July for stats about the Toronto Maple Leafs, now her local team (even if they weren’t nearly as good as her beloved Stars).” Excerpt From: Robert J. Sawyer. “WWW: Wake.” PENGUIN group, 2010-02-26. iBooks. This material may be protected by copyright. Check out this book on the iBookstore: itunes.apple.com...

Are blind persons commonly sports fans, and, if so, do you think it is because of the role of public radio in broadcasting?

That's an interesting question, and one I've not really considered. But when I think about it, listening to a sports broadcast is so detailed, those announcers really paint a vivid picture of what's happening. I would imagine that a blind person would get more from that sort of entertainment than others....so it makes great sense.

I'm a writer, so one of the things I pay attention to is how the author crafts the story. And I must say, this author has really impressed me.

How would you write a scene where someone sees for the first time? I think he captured her confusing, excitement, disappointment, and overall tumult perfectly.

Same for the rising sentience of the AI character (I'm assuming its AI). The way the author started with basic words to describe basic concepts, then gradually increased the complexity of those thoughts...brilliant. I especially found the scene where the consciousness is beginning to define itself as "me" and "not me" especially poignant.

Question: do you think Caitlin's mother's insistence on her daughter gaining "real sight" is fair? Would you, as a parent, want to explore the situation Caitlin is now in, or keep trying for "real sight?"

This is a wonderful book! So glad we picked it! I'll probably be done with it by Monday.