The second week of class was devoted to binge reading. This group read the Mercy
Thompson series by Patricia Briggs for six hours a day over three days. Here's what the
students in the group had to say about the book and their experience with binge reading,
both alone and in a group.
Heather Dukes:
I had never heard of Patricia Briggs, so I had hoped I'd like her work. The cover of her
book looked very interesting, however I am a huge believer in not judging a book by its
cover so I hoped the book was as good as the cover made it seem. On the first day of the
binge I had a migraine but I pushed through. I was impressed that Mercy was a strong and
independent female main character. The next binge I was sad to discover that she lost
some of her independence and was more submissive. I loved the Second book Blood
Bound better. There was more action to me and Mercy regains some of her independent
nature. I think the First Book, Moon Called, was slower paced because the author had to
explain what Mercy was as well as introduce the werewolves and vampires. Overall I liked
the series, but I just don't see myself continuing it.
Wanda:
I was really excited to get started on the reading portion of the binge since reading is
what I do. While there was an excitement going into the TV binging there seemed to be a
different type of excitement going on as we started the second portion of the binge. Patricia
Briggs's Mercy Thompson series serves up plenty of characters to try to keep straight and
that one could connect to. Although the story was completely fictional with its werewolves,
vampires, fae, a witch and coyote the setting was believable in its descriptions of
Washington State and winter in Montana. This book is definitely meant for a younger
audience as it provides a pleasurable literary escape from reality. If you're looking for a book
that provides something deeper this may not be the book for you.
Suzanne:
I was excited to have a chunk of time to dedicate to recreational reading instead of
textbooks, but reading in a group killed some of the excitement. The other group members
themselves were great, but reading is something I’ve always done on my own so I can get
lost in the story without feeling pressured to catch up or slow down or talk about the plot.
The Mercy Thompson series is decent for getting lost in. I’ve always liked books about the
supernatural - they make me think about what other hidden things might be right in front of
me that I haven’t noticed, which inspires me to be more aware of my surroundings and to
enjoy the fact that there are things I don’t understand rather than be irritated about them. I
may not ever reread the books, but I am still working through them even though the binge is
technically over.
Yuki St. Amour:
This is probably the first time I've ever binge read a book series. Despite lasting only three days, I was able to complete one and three quarters of Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson book series. Completing the first book, I definitely noticed that it was a refreshing change for me personally of what I binge. It never occurred to me to try binge reading, usually I only did video games and TV shows. However, I feel that binge reading this supernatural fiction series has started to increase my interest in reading once more. The dialogue between the characters displays their personalities as well as their cultures (vampire, werewolf, shapeshifter, human). It was refreshing to have time to read a book new book series that I grew an interest for due to the description rather than the usual readings that I do which revolve around research articles. Overall, I may actually continue reading the rest of the series.
Andrew Hinckley:
This is the first time I binge read a book. I despise reading and I thought that I would have a hard time with this, but reading this book was not as bad as I thought it would be. The characters were well done and the plot was exciting and surprised me at some points. If only the book would stop focusing on minute details it would be a lot better. I was not able to finish the book, but I got really close and I do want to finish it at some point.
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