The Longest Ride, Week 3

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Longest Ride.

Did you enjoy this section? Are you still enjoying the characters? I really enjoyed reading about all of the artists that inspired Ira and Ruth. I can't imagine having that kind of art collection at my home. I think it might be a little stressful to have to care for all of those important pieces of art, but Ira didn't seem too stressed by them. Did you think it was surprising that such normal people could have such an exciting collection of art? 

What did you think of Luke's revelation that he needs to keep bull-riding to get enough money to help his mom pay off the mortgage on the ranch? It was so sad that his medical care put them in such a dangerous financial situation. It's frustrating that Luke sustained such horrible injuries, but he's not telling Sophia about them. I couldn't believe when Luke's injuries were finally revealed to us, and we found out that he had a steel plate in his head and probably wouldn't survive another blow to the head. What did you think when he fell off the mechanical bull and knocked his head? Do you think he is going to be able to recover from that headache? Is he going to go to the doctor to tell them about this new injury? What do you think Sophia will think when Luke finally tells her what's been going on? Do you blame Luke's mom for not being able to talk to him every time he goes to compete in another event? 

A big character in this section was Daniel McCallum, the boy that Ira and Ruth had hoped to adopt. Wasn't that a really sad storyline? I think the saddest thing was that he just disappeared and they didn't get any closure about him. I feel so sad that Ruth wanted to have a child and never had the option to have one. I wonder why they didn't look into adopting a baby earlier. What do you think happened to Daniel? 

Were you shocked that Marcia and Brian started dating? Why would Marcia want to date someone like that? I thought that was a big surprise, and I wasn't sure what it added to the story. Maybe it will become more important later. 

What do you think is going to happen to Luke? Will he continue bull-riding, or will he have another injury? Do you think he will ever tell Sophia what's really going on? What about Ira? Do you think he's going to be rescued, or do you think he will be found after it's too late? 

Are you interested to learn more about Black Mountain College, the place that inspired Ruth and Ira to start their art collection? Check out the video below to get a glimpse at some of the famous people who spent time at the school. 

Thanks for following along this week! I hope you'll join us again next week as we finish the book. Make sure to leave me a comment to let me know what you thought of this section!