Post 3: Book 1 Project

 

By purchasing the Hollow City Fan Kit, fans will be transported into the world of the peculiar children. Whoever acquires this kit can relive Jacob’s journey of helping Miss Peregrine. The fan kit includes pictures, Jacob’s 21^st century phone, train tickets, a Map of Days, and a few stories from Tales of the Peculiar.

The first item in this fan kit is a collection of old pictures that fans can use to create their own stories. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs is based off of pictures that the author has compiled over many years. Riggs has gone to countless flea markets and garage sales just to find them. When the main character, Jacob, finds Miss Peregrine’s house in the first book, there is an old photo album in one of the rooms filled with creepy pictures of kids doing weird things. Riggs creates the characters and story from the children in these pictures, so I thought it would be fun to recreate the process Riggs went through to create his book. The second item is Jacob’s phone from the 21^st century. This is an important item because when he and the peculiar children are traveling, he feels his phone in his pocket and is reminded of the home he left behind. The phone symbolizes Jacob’s old life and is constantly mentioned throughout the book. The third item in the kit is a few train tickets the children used to travel to London. The fan would have their own ticket, being part of the experience along with the children. The fourth item is a limited edition of the Map of Days, which was a crucial part for the children to get back to shore. This item was one of many that were thrown overboard, but there are still a few in existence. When Millard realized it was gone, he felt like a part of him was left at sea. “’It was of incalculable value! Not to mention it contained years of my personal notes and annotations!’” (31) Millard had made many notes on the document, and was very upset when it washed away. Not only that, but they didn’t have a map to find their way. The fifth and final item contained in the fan kit is a small book with a few important tales from "a three-volume collection of stories called Tales of the Peculiar"(30). This is a gigantic book of tales, mostly made up, the peculiar children carry with them on the journey to London. It is very important to the kids because hidden between the lines of the tale is the entrance of the loop they need to enter. There are many different loops, but they needed to get to one in particular, and the book helped them do that. Also, Miss Peregrine used to read the tales to the younger kids before they went to bed each night, so the book provided a sense of comfort to them when they felt lost. “’At least we still have the Tales of the Peculiar. I can’t get to sleep at night without hearing one’”  (30). The children’s belongings were tossed overboard and one of the few things left was the book full of tales. It was one of two things from their old home, which gave the children the comfort their overseer could not give them.

            Not only will this kit be full of adventure for a person who read the book, but someone who did not read it could also be entertained. A full explanation of each item is included within the package, so they would not be left clueless. After purchasing the kit, they might be very interested in the book and want to read it. This could broaden the audience to visual readers and even readers looking for another good book. 

Post 2: What is a book?

A book is another world hidden in plain sight. Many people say that they are transported to an alternate universe when they read. An author creates a completely different world than ours, and it's amazing to see and experience what they come up with. When I read, it doesn't feel like I'm actually reading. I can see myself in that world with the characters as if I'm in the TV show. I would compare books to music. When I have my headphones in, everything around me drowns out and I get to create for myself what is going on around me. The same is for books: everything around me seems to disappear and the characters' world comes into my mind.

While we read "Scribble" by Victor LaValle in class, I found myself completely disagreeing with his opinion. Sure, books are mass produced, and there is a stereo-typical teenage girl fiction novel that everyone loves. But every book has a different story, with different characters, and with different situations altogether. I also disagree with LaValle when he says that treating a book like a pair of stone tablets is "a pretty Old Testament way of thinking." I think that we should be treating books like a pair of stone tablets. This excerpt and most of the others had a bit in there that said that iPads and Kindles will eventually take over the industry.

I also agree with most of the writers when they say that a book has a certain feel and smell to it. There is something different from reading a book on your tiny little screen and holding the book in your hands. The smell from the books in the thrift store is a little too much, but it reminds me of the real world. I'm always staring at a screen. It's a good change to hold the book in my hands and look at physical words on a page. The other day I was at the store and I saw a copy of Divergent. I begged my mom to buy it because I wanted to have a paper copy of it since I read it on my Kindle app. I'm dreading the day when books rarely printed and e-readers are the most popular way to read.

New York Times Article by Mohsin Hamid here