Author: Kirk Olson

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Books will be available for pickup at the start of July. 
This book will focus on three key topics including: 

  • Plot overview
  • Character Analysis
  • Important Quotation Analysis

Quote to be Analyzed: 

During the four years since his puppyhood he had lived the life of a sated aristocrat; he had a fine pride in himself, was even a trifle egotistical, as country gentlemen sometimes become because of their insular situation.

Jack London

Questions to answer as you read through:

  1. What is Buck?
  2. Where does Buck live at the beginning of the novel?
  3. What is the name of Buck’s first master?
  4. Who kidnaps Buck from his home?
  5. Which dog gets killed immediately upon her arrival in the North?
  6. What is the profession of Francois and Perrault?
  7. Who is Buck’s great rival on the team of dogs?
  8. What event intervenes to stop a fight between Buck and Spitz?
  9. What event brings about the final confrontation between Buck and Spitz?
  10. What does Buck demand after Spitz’s death?
  11. Who buys Buck and the other dogs when they are sold by the mail company?
  12. What does Mercedes insist on doing that slows the sled down?
  13. What happens to the dogs during Hal and Charles’s trip to Dawson?
  14. How does John Thornton save Buck’s life?
  15. What happens to Hal, Charles, and Mercedes after they leave John Thornton’s?
  16. How does Buck save John Thornton’s life?
  17. What bet does Thornton win with Matthewson?
  18. What does Buck do when Thornton gets into a bar fight?
  19. What quest sends Thornton and his friends into the wilderness?
  20. While the men camp and look for gold, what does Buck do?
  21. What kind of animal does Buck spend four days hunting?
  22. What does Buck find when he returns from hunting?
  23. What happens to John Thornton?
  24. What does Buck learn when he attacks the Yeehat Indians?
  25. What does Buck do at the end of the novel?


The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Books will be available for pickup at the start of June. 
This book will focus on three key topics including: 

  • Plot overview
  • Character Analysis
  • Important Quotation Analysis

Quote to be Analyzed: 

I hadn’t had a bite to eat since yesterday, so Jim he got out some corn-dodgers and buttermilk, and pork and cabbage and greens—there ain’t nothing in the world so good when it’s cooked right—and whilst I eat my supper we talked and had a good time. . . .We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.

Mark Twain

 Questions to answer as you read through:

  1. What is the source of the fortune that Judge Thatcher is keeping in trust for Huck?
  2. At the end of the novel, which character informs the others that Jim is actually a free man?
  3. Which of the following symbolizes bad luck to Huck and Jim?
  4. Which Wilks sister is initially suspicious of Huck?
  5. How does Huck know that Pap has returned to St. Petersburg?
  6. What is the name of the wrecked steamboat on which Huck and Jim encounter the robbers?
  7. What is Jim’s initial destination when he and Huck start downriver?
  8. Where does Huck hide the Wilks family gold?
  9. Down which river do Huck and Jim travel?
  10. What event sets off the final gunfight between the Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords?
  11. How do Huck and Jim initially acquire the raft?
  12. What does the “witch pie” that Huck and Tom bake for Jim contain?
  13. How do the duke and the dauphin dress Jim so that he can stay on the raft without being tied up?
  14. What is the name of the town where Huck, Jim, and Tom live at the novel’s opening?
  15. Why does Jim run away from Miss Watson’s?
  16. What charm does Jim wear around his neck that he says cures sickness?
  17. Which of the following is the primary influence on Tom Sawyer?
  18. “Temperance” refers to the movement designed to abolish which of the following?
  19. What kind of animal does Huck kill as part of the plot to fake his own death?
  20. Who finally tells Huck that Pap is dead?
  21. Which of the following characters gets shot in Jim’s final “escape”?
  22. Where does Huck go after Sherburn disperses the lynch mob?
  23. What is Mark Twain’s real name?
  24. How does Tom travel to the Phelps farm?
  25. Where does Huck intend to go at the novel’s end?


The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Books will be available for pickup at the start of April. 
This book will focus on three key topics including: 

  • Plot overview
  • Character Analysis
  • Important Quotation Analysis

Quote to be Analyzed: 

Silas could feel his homeland testing him, drawing violent memories from his redeemed soul. You have been reborn, he reminded himself. His service to God today had required the sin of murder, and it was a sacrifice Silas knew he would have to hold silently in his heart for all eternity.  

Dan Brown

Questions to answer as you read through:

  1. What striking physical feature does Silas possess?
  2. Who is the artist whose painting Saunière pulls from the wall of the Louvre in order to trigger the alarm?
  3. At which university does Robert Langdon teach?
  4. Where does Silas wear his punishment belt?
  5. What architect created the entrance to the Louvre?
  6. What animal does Collet compare Fache to?
  7. What does Jacques Saunière draw on himself before dying?
  8. What color is the namesake of the famous sundial line in Saint-Sulpice?
  9. What flower is depicted on Saunière’s key?
  10. What kind of birds normally frequent St. James’ Park in London, where the Teacher and Rémy meet?
  11. Which book of the Bible contains the verse that the priory has written on the keystone?
  12. What weapon does Silas use to kill Sister Sandrine?
  13. What is Rémy allergic to?
  14. What kind of wristwatch does Robert Langdon wear?
  15. What rank does Leigh Teabing hold?
  16. Which Da Vinci painting features a representation of Mary Magdalene?
  17. What famous scientist’s tomb is the site of the last clue?
  18. Where is the bug hidden in Saunière’s office?
  19. What color is the Magdalene’s hair?
  20. What does the altar boy in the Temple Church do when Silas grabs him?
  21. What piece of furniture does Langdon put the box underneath in Teabing’s study?
  22. What is the notable poetic structure of the poem inside the cryptex box?
  23. What disease disabled Leigh Teabing?
  24. What does Rémy drink when he is about to untie Silas?
  25. What kind of car do Rémy, Teabing, Langdon and Sophie use to escape from the chateau?

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Books will be available for pickup at the start of February. 
This book will focus on three key topics including: 

  • Plot overview
  • Character Analysis
  • Important Quotation Analysis

Quote to be Analyzed: 

I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss, and, in their struggles to be truly free, in their triumphs and defeats, through long years to come, I see the evil of this time and of the previous time of which this is the natural birth, gradually making expiation for itself and wearing out. . . .
I see that child who lay upon her bosom and who bore my name, a man winning his way up in that path of life which once was mine. I see him winning it so well, that my name is made illustrious there by the light of his. . . .
It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known. 

Charles Dickens

Questions to answer as you read through:

  1. A Tale of Two Cities opens in 1775. Which of the following does not characterize this period?
  2. Why are the drivers of the Dover mail coach hesitant to stop for Jerry Cruncher’s message?
  3. What object does Doctor Manette keep during his imprisonment in order to escape “in spirit”?
  4. By what name do the men in Defarge’s wine shop call their fellow revolutionaries?
  5. What skill did Doctor Manette develop in order to pass the time during his incarceration?
  6. What symbol does Dickens use to portend the bloodshed of the French Revolution?
  7. During her testimony, to whom does Lucie claim that Charles Darnay alluded on the boat ride from Calais to Dover?
  8. After Darnay’s acquittal, why does Sydney Carton claim to dislike him?
  9. To which animal does Dickens compare Sydney Carton?
  10. A Tale of Two Cities was published in weekly installments from April to November of what year?
  11. What image does Dickens frequently use to describe Lucie Manette?
  12. What sound does Lucie often hear echoing off the street when she is in her home?
  13. Which of the following characters is related to the Marquis, whose carriage runs down a small child?
  14. Who does Miss Pross believe is the ideal suitor for Lucie Manette?
  15. What does Mr. Lorry try to persuade Mr. Stryver not to do?
  16. Who promises Lucie Manette that he would, if necessary, die for her?
  17. What does Jerry Cruncher frequently go out to do at night?
  18. Who informs the Defarges that Lucie Manette has married Charles Darnay?
  19. On the night after Lucie and Charles are married, what does Doctor Manette do?
  20. During the storming of the Bastille, who decapitates the fortress’s guard?
  21. Why does the Paris mob kill Foulon?
  22. What is the duration of Manette’s psychological relapse after Lucie leaves for her honeymoon?
  23. Who develops a habit of watching and speaking to Lucie as she waits on a Paris street corner each day, hoping that Darnay will be able to see her from his prison window?
  24. Who does the spy John Barsad turn out to be?
  25. Why was Doctor Manette imprisoned?


Holes by Louis Sachar

Books will be available for pickup at the start of December. 
This book will focus on three key topics including: 

  • Plot overview
  • Character Analysis
  • Important Quotation Analysis

Quote to be Analyzed: 

“If only, if only,” the woodpecker sighs, “The bark on the tree was just a little bit softer.” While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely, He cries to the moo-oo-oon, “If only, if only.”

Louis Sachar – Holes

 Questions to answer as you read through:

  1. For what crime is Stanley wrongly convicted?
  2. How did X-Ray get his name?
  3. What is Zero’s real name?
  4. Where do Zero and Stanley go after running away from Camp Green Lake?
  5. What does Zero survive on after he runs away from Camp Green Lake?

Additional Questions 

In which state was Louis Sachar born?
Louis Sachar’s first book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, was based on his experiences as a _.
Who inspired the character of the counselor in There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom?
Which prestigious literary award did Holes win?
Camp Green Lake was inspired by the notoriously hot summers in which state?

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Books will be available for pickup at the start of March. 
This book will focus on three key topics including: 

  • Plot overview
  • Character Analysis
  • Important Quotation Analysis

Quote to be Analyzed: 

He was not the same. The plane passing changed him, the disappointment cut him down and made him new. He was not the same and would never be again like he had been. That was one of the true things, the new things. And the other one was the he would not die, he would not let death in again.

Gary Paulsen – Hatchet

 Questions to answer as you read through:

  1. Who gave Brian the hatchet?
  2. How did the pilot of the plane die?
  3. What was “the secret” to which Brian’s thoughts often wander?
  4. What happened during Brian’s car ride with his mother from the city to meet the plane?
  5. What was Brian’s father’s job?
  6. What was the purpose of Brian’s trip to the Canadian woods?
  7. How did Brian’s father feel about the divorce?
  8. What led to Brian’s eventual rescue?
  9. Why does Brian suddenly realize that he may be out there in the woods for longer than he had anticipated?
  10. When Brian has to fly the plane himself after the pilot’s heart attack, what prior experience helps him?
  11. What were Brian’s thoughts on the plane ride?
  12. Where did Brain decide was the best place to land the plane?
  13. What did Brian see on a bike ride with his friend Terry?
  14. What is the first food that Brian finds in the woods?
  15. Where did Brian see a bear?
  16. What kind of animal hurt Brian?
  17. Who appeared in Brian’s dream to show him how to make a fire?
  18. What kind of eggs does Brian find to eat?
  19. What tool did Brian have to reinvent?
  20. After a plane flies overhead and does not spot him, by which method does Brian try to kill himself?
  21. Why does Brian take four baths a day at a certain point?
  22. What was sticking out of the water after the big storm?
  23. How did Brian get out to the plane in the middle of the lake?
  24. What happened when Brian was trying to cut into the side of the plane?
  25. How did Brian feel about the rifle he finds in the survival pack?


The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Books will be available for pickup at the start of August. 
This book will focus on three key topics including: 

  • Plot overview
  • Character Analysis
  • Important Quotation Analysis

Quote to be Analyzed: 

“He must go,” cried Gregor’s sister, “that’s the only solution, Father. You must just try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor. The fact that we’ve believed it for so long is the root of all our trouble.” 

Franz Kafka – The Metamorphosis

 Questions to answer as you read through:

  1. What does Gregor Samsa do for a living?
  2. Where does all of the action of the story take place?
  3. What kind of creature has Gregor become?
  4. What does the picture on Gregor’s wall depict?
  5. Why has Gregor stayed in his job?
  6. What does the office manager accuse Gregor of?
  7. Why does it take Gregor so long to answer the door when the office manager arrives?
  8. How does the office manager react when he sees Gregor?
  9. How does Gregor react to the milk and bread in his rooom?
  10. Where does Gregor feel most comfortable?
  11. How does the mother react when she sees Gregor?
  12. Who is Gregor’s primary caretaker?
  13. What was Gregor’s dream for Grete?
  14. How does Gregor feel when he learns that the family will need to work?
  15. What does Gregor do to spare Grete’s feelings when she is in his room?
  16. Why does Grete want to remove Gregor’s furniture from his room?
  17. What does Gregor try to prevent from being taken from his room?
  18. Why doesn’t Grete want others to help her take care of Gregor?
  19. How does the father react when he thinks Gregor attacked the mother?
  20. What serious injury does Gregor sustain?
  21. Who takes care of Gregor when Grete begins to lose interest?
  22. What small concession does the family make to Gregor after the father injures him?
  23. How does Gregor react when he hears Grete’s violin?
  24. How does Gregor die?
  25. How does the family feel after Gregor dies?


To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Books will be available for pickup at the start of June. 
This book will focus on three key topics including: 

  • Plot overview
  • Character Analysis
  • Important Quotation Analysis

Quote to be Analyzed: 

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.

Harper Lee – To Kill a Mockingbird

Questions to answer as you read through:

  1. What is Scout’s real name?
  2. What is the verdict in the Tom Robinson case?
  3. Whose house burns down?
  4. Who is the editor of the local newspaper?
  5. Who insists that Bob Ewell’s death is an accident?
  6. What is Boo’s real name?
  7. What does Scout first find in the knot-hole?
  8. What does Dill find in Dolphus Raymond’s bottle?
  9. Why does Atticus admire Mrs. Dubose?
  10. Who founded Finch’s Landing?
  11. How did Miss Caroline learn her educational techniques?
  12. Who is the president of the United States at the time that the events of the story occur?
  13. Who tells Jem that it is a sin to kill mockingbirds?
  14. Where does Dill live during the school year?
  15. On what writer did Harper Lee base Dill?
  16. Who tucks Scout in at the end of the novel?
  17. Who beat Mayella Ewell?
  18. Whose actions lead Mr. Cunningham to disperse the lynch mob?
  19. How old is Jem when the action of the novel starts?
  20. What are Jem and Scout shocked to discover about Atticus?
  21. Who takes the children to the black church?
  22. Where does Boo leave presents for Scout and Jem?
  23. Who mends Jem’s pants?
  24. Who runs away from home?
  25. For what does Uncle Jack reprimand Scout on Christmas Eve?


Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Books will be available for pickup at the start of April. 
This book will focus on three key topics including: 

  • Plot overview
  • Character Analysis
  • Important Quotation Analysis

Quote to be Analyzed: 

John Galt is Prometheus who changed his mind. After centuries of being torn by vultures in payment for having brought to men the fire of the gods, he broke his chains—and he withdrew his fire—until the day when men withdraw their vultures.

Ayn Rand – Atlas Shrugged

Questions to answer as you read through:

  1. What kind of company does Dagny Taggart run?
  2. What does the rhetorical question “Who is John Galt?” express?
  3. What does Hank Rearden invent?
  4. Who is the most powerful man in Washington?
  5. Why did Lillian marry Hank Rearden?
  6. Why do Dagny and Rearden drive to the Twentieth Century Motor Company?
  7. How does Dagny find a good engineer to reconstruct the static engine?
  8. Why does Dagny become Galt’s maid in the valley?
  9. How does Rearden know Dagny has fallen in love with another man?
  10. What is the intent of Directive 10-289?
  11. According to Francisco, what has replaced the Aristocracy of Money?
  12. Why did Francisco remain as head of d’Anconia Copper?
  13. Why is Eddie Willers troubled to see Rearden’s robe in Dagny’s apartment?
  14. What formula does Ragnar Danneskjold use to determine how much to deposit in his accounts for the victimized industrialists?
  15. Why is the John Galt Line closed down?
  16. What job has John Galt been doing all along?
  17. Which ships does Ragnar Danneskjold sink?
  18. Why did Richard Halley quit?
  19. What is the Wet Nurse’s real name?
  20. Who is John Galt?
  21. How does Mr. Thompson find John Galt?
  22. How does the Ferris Persuader work?
  23. What does Jim Taggart finally realize he is motivated by?
  24. Which of Halley’s concertos is played throughout the strikers’ valley?
  25. Why does John Galt address the nation on the radio?

1984 by George Orwell

Books will be available for pickup at the start of February. 
This book will focus on three key topics including: 

  • Plot overview
  • Character Analysis
  • Important Quotation Analysis

Quote to be Analyzed: 


war is peace 
freedom is slavery 
ignorance is strength  

George Orwell 1984

 Questions to answer as you read through:

  1. How old is Julia?
  2. Winston commits thoughtcrime by writing which of the following in his diary?
  3. What piece of evidence of the Party’s dishonesty does Winston remember having coming across several years earlier?
  4. What organization urges children to turn their parents over to the authorities?
  5. The psychological principle that allows an individual to believe contradictory ideas at the same time is called what?
  6. Who really wrote the manifesto that O’Brien gives to Winston?
  7. What does O’Brien use to torture Winston in Room 101?
  8. Where do Winston and Julia make love for the first time?
  9. What is the last line of the St. Clement’s Church song?
  10. What does Winston trace in the dust on the table at the end of the novel?
  11. How many times does Julia claim to have had sex with Party members?
  12. Which of the following characters is secretly a member of the Thought Police?
  13. What happens to the glass paperweight?
  14. Where is the telescreen hidden in the room above Mr. Charrington’s shop?
  15. What is the name for the mass rally held every day?
  16. Besides Oceania, what are the two countries that make up the rest of the Earth?
  17. What project is Syme working on at the beginning of the novel?
  18. Who turns Parsons in to the Thought Police?
  19. What does O’Brien say when Winston asks if he has been captured?
  20. To what organization does Julia belong?
  21. Winston has a memory of running away from his mother and sister and stealing what from them?
  22. The setting for Winston’s fantasy about Julia running toward him naked is
  23. In what nation did Orwell work for the British Imperial Police?
  24. In what nation was Orwell born?
  25. What was George Orwell’s real name?