The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

One of the November 2023 Book of the Month is Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Please discuss here and remember to use spoiler tags as needed, as everyone reads at different speeds and may start at different times.



In this exhilarating novel, two friends--often in love, but never lovers--come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn't heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won't protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.

Book Club Questions: (view spoiler)[
What’s one thing you liked about “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow”?
What’s one thing about this book you would have changed?
Did your familiarity with video games (or lack thereof) matter to your enjoyment of the story?
Which of the main characters did you identify with most?
Sadie and Sam feel that their relationship is deeper than the word “love” can even reflect, yet they hide many of their biggest struggles from each other. What do you think about the depth of their relationship?
Did you want or expect Sam and Sadie to end up together?
What did you think of the more surreal chapters, the ones that read as if the story was a game?
How did Sam’s tragic backstory impact the way he went through the world?
Sadie deals with sexism in the industry — for example, the Ichigo character becoming a boy, and assumptions that Sam was the primary creator of their games. What kinds of sexism does your industry experience?
Why do you feel some people, including Sam, didn’t take Marx seriously?
If you were any of these character’s therapists, what would you want to say to them?
Sadie notes that the students in her class have a very different attitude toward telling their stories, in life and in games. How have you observed similar shifts with today’s teenagers?
Which of the Unfair Games creations do you wish existed in real life?
Would you have taken the deal with Cellar Door Games or Opus Interactive to produce Ichigo?
Like the decision above, there are a few key points in the story that affect the trajectory of the trio’s careers. How has your career path evolved over time? What were the inflection points where you headed in a new direction?
What do you think is special about video games as a medium?
What video games have you formed an attachment to in your life, as a child and/or as an adult? What about the gameplay, story or characters drew you in and left an impression on you?
What do you think happens next for Sam and Sadie?
What was your take-away from the book? (hide spoiler)]

I’m excited about starting this book. We all read a book and interpret it differently. I can’t wait to see the different perspectives.

Spoiler alert

What a great book. I kept rooting for a happy ending.

Ummm could I have read that any faster? Probably one of my favorites of the year!

Agree with everyone else easily one of the best books I’ve read this year.

This should prompt some good conversation, I think. You don't need to be a gamer to follow and enjoy the story of these people's lives. Loved it!

I started this, but stopped after the first section because I didn't like any of the characters, which is too bad because I've liked other books by her.

When this book first came out it didn't sound very interesting and I didn't understand the hype..but after reading it I totally get it. I ate this book up and enjoyed every minute of it! Honestly one of my top reads this year!!

Im starting this book tonight.. looking forward to it. Can’t wait to discuss with y’all!!

its rlly a very good book, and the cover is actually one of the prettiest I own!!

@Melindam: When are you posting the nomination thread for January?