SHE WROTE: Beer & Chocolate: The DLD Reading Guide

We started the New England conference today, and it's going beautifully, so well run (and special thanks to Cathryn Perry for being an amazing conference chair), and tomorrow we have to give the keynote at 7:30 AM (I know, what were they thinking?) so I'm crashing now. But in the interests of more serious thoughts, below is the Don't Look Down Reader's Guide, designed for co-ed book clubs.

(And yes, I'm still crawling on my belly like a reptile after my flame-out yesterday. We were sitting at the banquet table tonight listening to the speaker, and I had to go to the bathroom so bad my eyeballs were floating, and Bob said, "What's wrong?" and I said, "Drank too much water. Bathroom," so he picked up his water glass and slurped it loudly. And I didn't throttle him.

But that's ONE.)

And now the reading list (and for Randy: SPOILER ALERT):

Beer, Chocolate and Don’t Look Down:
or
The Don’t Look Down Reading Group Study Guide
Something Else For Men and Women To Argue About
By Bob Mayer and Jennifer Crusie.
Or Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer.
(Actually Jenny doesn’t care whose name goes first. Must be a guy thing.)

About the Book:
Don’t Look Down is the story of two strong people--Lucy Armstrong, a film director, and J.T. Wilder, a Green Beret—who are forced to work together when somebody begins to take “shooting a movie” too literally. It was written by two stubborn people--Jenny Crusie who wrote the scenes in Lucy’s point of view and Bob Mayer who wrote Wilder’s scenes—who teamed up to create a romantic adventure that reflects both Crusie’s background writing romantic comedy and Mayer’s background writing military thrillers. This study guide focuses on some of the discussions they had while writing the book.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers, just opinions. These are fictional characters we’re discussing, so feel free to speculate.* Preferably aloud, in complete sentences.** And be nice, no eye rolling.

1. As the book opens, Lucy Armstrong is on the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge when a black helicopter appears on the horizon. She thinks, “That can’t be good,” but inside the helicopter is J.T. Wilder. What does the helicopter symbolize? What does the bridge symbolize? Do they symbolize different things to women than they do to men? Do men even think in symbols or do they just want to talk about how big the guns are?

2. Tyler thinks that money will get him any woman he wants. Althea thinks that beauty and impressive breasts will get her any man she wants. Connor Nash does get almost every woman he wants. What makes these people desirable, even though they’re not shining examples of humanity?

3. What, if anything, is wrong with Wilder thinking he’s ‘taking one for the team’ when he encounters Althea naked in his bed? Under what circumstances is it appropriate to “take one for the team”? And what the hell does “take one for the team” mean, anyway?

4. Why does Wilder think about telling Lucy to stay behind when Pepper's in the swamp? And why doesn’t he? Why does Lucy let Wilder tell her what to do in the swamp?

5. Why does LaFavre buy Ginnie new breasts when she treats him like garbage ? Why does Ginnie treat him like garbage when he’s cute and has money?

6. Stephanie and Karen clash over Nash. Wilder and Nash square off over Lucy. This possessive/jealousy thing, is it different for men and women?

7. Why does Lucy get mad when she finds out Wilder’s been married twice? Why does Wilder apologize even though he has no idea why she’s mad? Would Wilder’s apology work in real life? And why does Bob still not understand why she’s mad?

8. In the beginning chapters of Don’t Look Down, everybody assumes Moot is male. Then they see her eggs and realize that, as Tyler puts it, “Moot’s a chick.” How did that change your perception of the gator, cold-blooded reptile though she was?

9. The situation on the bridge reminds Wilder of High Noon. Why is Will Kane such an iconic hero, and what is it in particular that Wilder responds to in his character? What does it mean that Lucy’s the only person in the book who hasn’t seen High Noon? What does it mean that Jenny still hasn’t seen High Noon? In spite of that, how does Don’t Look Down pay homage to High Noon?

10. If Wilder has Will Kane, Lucy has Wonder Woman and her Golden Lasso. The Golden Lasso is a symbol of Wonder Woman’s power but it’s also often used against her. How does Don’t Look Down co-opt the Wonder Woman legend? How does Lucy’s power work against her at times? And how about that rope?

11. Clothes are important symbols in Don’t Look Down. What does it mean that Wilder wears body armor, that Lucy wears red cowboy boots, that Pepper won’t take off her WonderWear? And why does Bob still think it doesn’t matter what they’re wearing?

12. In the first draft of Don’t Look Down, Wilder never said, “I love you” to Lucy because Bob said four days was too soon for an emotional commitment. After being booed by a bunch of romance writers, he rewrote the scene in which the helicopter is coming in to drop off Wilder and Lucy, each of them on skids on opposite sides of the chopper, so that Wilder yelled "I love you!" across LaFavre in the middle, who made jokes. At that point, Jenny took it away from him and had Wilder say it later, at a place Bob approved of (right after Wilder laments his missing night vision goggles). Was it realistic for Wilder to say it there? Why or why not? And what is it with guys and commitment anyway? And why do women have to hear it? Don’t actions speak louder than words?

13. One of the central themes of Don’t Look Down is the human need for community. How have both Lucy and Wilder formed communities in the past? What community do they form together, and what sacrifices do they have to make to keep that community safe? Is it worth it? Why is it easier to make a commitment to a community/team/book group than to a lover?

14. At the beginning of the book, both Lucy and Wilder make assumptions about the opposite sex based on their previous experiences. How do those assumptions change by the end? Why do they change? How are those changes embodied in the final scenes? Is it believable that those changes happen in four days?

15. Don’t Look Down is about trust and power, in particular about trusting someone enough to give up power to him or her, both physically and emotionally. How do Lucy and Wilder negotiate both kinds of power issues? Is their relationship at the end one of equals sharing power?

16. Writing Don’t Look Down was about trust and power. Can you tell there were two authors in the text? Does having two genders share the storytelling balance the story or does it still seem predominantly male or female? What differences in this story did you find that might stem from having both a male and a female author? How many huge screaming (ALL CAPS IN E-MAIL) fights do you think Bob and Jenny had writing Don’t Look Down?

17. When Bob and Jenny combined genres, they ended up with a hybrid that’s a little bit hot romantic comedy, a little bit violent military thriller, leading some people to wonder if the book is “action-packed passion” as one reviewer described it, or “passion-packed action” as a blogger suggested. Bob and Jenny are calling the hybrid genre “romantic adventure.” How would you describe it?

*If you agree with Bob, you’re right. Just don’t say it out loud around a woman.

** Oh, PLEASE. There aren’t any right or wrong answers, these are discussion questions. They’re just here so we can talk and honestly share our feelings . . . Bob? BOB?