Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Book 1) Book Club Questions
Welcome to the Buddy Book Club – we have a light-hearted comedic podcast that covers a variety of books. If you’re a fan of the podcast or the blog, you know that our reading abilities are limited… quite limited. So we typically stick in the YA category as much as possible. We never read Percy Jackson growing up, but heard many comparisons to the GOAT book series, Harry Potter. That’s all you have to say to get the BBC’s attention. Unfortunately, that lofty comparison didn’t necessarily come to fruition for us, but the first Percy Jackson book was still a good read and we had some fun discussing it on the podcast. Below are some pertinent questions for any Book Club.
Our book club questions try to be a little more outside the box/comedic than your typical book club questions – hopefully you enjoy them.
Book Club Questions – Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
-> There were a lot of head-to-head battles against other gods, which was your favorite?
I was a big fan of anytime Ares was on the pages, it had Percy all riled up and talking that shit.
-> Why wasn’t Percy stabbing everyone with his magical sword?
It only kills gods/half-bloods, why not immediately use it on any shady characters you think may be an actual god. The sword, which is a pen, really does give credence to the phrase ‘the pen is mightier’.
-> Why isn’t the Lotus Casino a real thing? Sounds pretty awesome.
As an adult the Lotus Casino sounds way better than any casino I’ve ever stepped foot in.
-> If your lifestyle matches Percy’s step dad, Gabe, does that make you a bad person?
Gabe loves sports, gambling, drinking, and a good layered dip. He’s also balding and overweight. This just describes me! Should I be concerned?
-> Why is everyone so mad at Percy for asking questions?
Throughout the book Percy is asking seemingly reasonable questions and everyone gets mad at him for doing so. Considering many the kids were in his same situation, you’d think they’d have some empathy. Why is everyone so angry at him for asking questions all the time?
-> Who is your favorite character outside of Percy?
For us it was Grover, seems like a good dude, but mostly because he is a saytr… which is “a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection.” No wonder he was walking so strangely throughout the book…
-> Who would you put on the Judgment Pavilion – seems like Thomas Jefferson may not be the best person to judge others.
Give me Hermione Granger, Mitch Rapp, and Bill Belichick as my judgment council.
-> Did you wish there was more time spent in the camp setting?
I think it would have been pretty cool to establish more characters, and the world they were in. Kind of like Harry Potter does with the Hogwarts.
-> How do you think this book compares to Harry Potter? How is it similar? Is it better or worse?
We personally didn’t really love the comparison, it seemed like these books were intended for a much younger audience.
-> Percy Jackson is coming back as a TV show, who would you cast in the new movie?
Looks like the actors have already been chosen but who did you imagine as these characters?
Have some comments/thoughts/criticisms? – Reach out to us or check out the podcast.
