Read of the Month | May | Aristotle & Dante

Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

☆☆☆☆☆

"Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be."




Plot/General Notes 

The plot line of this novel get me guessing throughout, and gave me "OH!" moments of surprise more than a few times. I really enjoyed the writing style, and the way the author let us get to know so much about the characters, including their family and close friends. This was a hard-to-put-down read, and I would recommend it to all readers; young and old. I don't want to house any spoilers here on this blog, but I will say this is much more than a coming of age tale.

Character Notes 

Dante: the eternal optimist, the dreamer ["escapism"], emotionally driven, loyal to a fault. Dante's character spoke to that little light in each of our souls that wants everything to end just the way we imagine in our dreams.

Aristotle: angry, disconnected, anxious about mostly everything. In the beginning Ari reminded me of a cornered dog acting very tough and untouchable but seems to be this way out of fear and anxiety.

Favourite Quotes

"I bet you could sometimes find all the mysteries of the universe in someone's hand."

"Words were different when they lived inside of you."

Other Books to Read by This Author

The House of Forgetting 
[Looking through the author's list of previous works, I wasn't struck by any of them really which surprised me because I loved this book so much. The synopsis of The House of Forgetting sounds pretty interesting however, and I'm sure I'll check it out sometime.]


Our next read will be Yours Truly by Annabel Pitcher. See you soon!

winter: The Book Break

Hi all,

Yep! It is officially winter, there is some snow sticking to the ground and we are all bundled in our puffy NWO jackets. I have been on a hiatus with school being so busy, giving my all to my work.

Here's my thought.... My winter break is coming up (freeeeeeeeedom!) I will be reading and doing discussion (most likely alone) on a novel called Keeper N' Me. This is by Richard Wagamese, who is a local Ontario author and he focuses on incredible First Nations storytelling.

Hope to hear from some readers, and get involved in a novel that I think is quintessential Canadian literature.

Paper Towns: cover to cover

Regardless of lack of feedback (you're all just super shy right? totally) I will continue my efforts to Book Club (v.) this thing! Only a few things to discuss for final post on Paper Towns, and hopefully a decision thereafter on our September Fall read.

1. What main ideas—themes—does the author explore? (Consider the title, often a clue to a theme.) Does the author use symbols to reinforce the main ideas? 
(Has anyone Google searched the dog's surname? *hint hint*)

2. I know there will be different opinions on this one - Is the ending satisfying? If so, why? 
If not, why not...and how would you change it?

3. If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask?  
There's copious interview material that I can scan through to find any answers too!

4. Rate the book! 1-5 with 1 being hated it and 5 being loved it.

I love this read like crazy, with all it's ups and downs and copious amounts of "tip your hat" type of references. I look forward to hearing any input or feedback, especially as we come to a close on our first novel together. Thank you all so much for reading with me. 

On to the next! 

Paper Towns: coming to a close

Happy Monday, right?

As I went out of town (immediately after having family in town) I am assuming I will be the one furthest behind on our adventure through Paper Towns. As it is, I will open up some questions to start discussion and get things going!

The questions can be applied to the novel as a whole for those of you who are finished, or can be kept to each reader's current place and experience. We will do one more discussion with prompts and spoilers and all that good stuff on the last Sunday of the month to wrap up our first read!

Feet first... 

1. How did you experience the book? Were you engaged right away, or did it take a while to get into it? 

How did you feel reading it—amused, sad, disturbed, confused, bored...?

2. Let's talk main characters—personality traits, motivations, inner qualities. 

   • Why do our characters do what they do? (Margo, Radar, Ben, Q, Myrna Mountweasel)

   • Are their actions justified? 

   • How has the past shaped their lives? 

   • Do you admire or disapprove of them? 

   • Do they remind you of people you know?

3. Can we talk about Q's view of Margo and how it changes? It's pretty drastic, as he has realizes that Margo was not an adventure but a girl. 

Why did Q originally see Margo as solely an adventure?

4. What do Q's conception of Margo and Margo's conception of Q have in common? 

Where do they differ?

5. Have you read other books by John Green? If you have, how did Paper Towns compare? 

If you haven't, does this book inspire you to read others?

Keep in mind, these are things I've pondered and talk to myself about while reading. Please don't feel obligated to write essays on each question or stick to them at all! 

These are just prompts in hopes to open up the floor for discussion, big or small. 

Can't wait to hear from everyone!

Let's Meet the Author | John Green

There's so many wonderful things to say about John Green, but we'll keep it short and sweet.

A stint working in a children’s hospital, on his way to Episcopal priesthood, inspired Green to write The Fault in Our Stars and take his life in a different direction.

Green is YouTube famous, alongside his brother Hank, originally for issuing one another a challenge to correspond through video only for an entire year. These posts reached a wide audience who became enamored with their humour and antics and have followed the brothers since.

He knows he’s a huge nerd, and we mean HUGE. And he’s cool with that. We’re cool with that.

His childhood experiences are worn as a badge, not a cry for attention. He speaks to his young adult audiences about the effects of bullying, overcoming, and how much better life gets.

Just a few small tidbits about the author of this month's novel, in hopes that you are inspired and continue to support John Green - keep enjoying his books!

august: Paper Towns by John Green

"Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life–dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge–he follows. After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues–and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew."

We have done it! The choice for the August read has been made, and it's a beauty! For the skeptics, try not to let the character names deter you (there is much to be discussed here as we read) as I know Margo Roth Spiegelman was a mouthful for me to start. 

Plan of action: pick up your copy and get reading! 

Then come back and check our page for discussion and questions. I will update weekly and every Sunday can be our online "meet and chat". If this day doesn't work out for some, we will take advantage of the glorious internet and chat at any time in a comment section. A slow and easy start for all of us; no time limits on chapters or any of that, just read what you can, enjoy the novel, and meet with the book club once a week!

Happy Reading! 

first: Welcome

Look at you.

You have stumbled across this little book club blog and made my day. Hi.

I’m not entirely sure how, when or what this little personal corner of my internet will grow up to be, but I believe in it and will feed it and cuddle it and be proud to watch it grow.

My goal is to start a little following or community, if you will, of readers that follow along with my journey through the world of books. This will, more often than not, be on the Young Adult Fiction path with the occasional stray into another genre if there is a novel elsewhere just demanding to be read. I plan to hit the classics, all ends of the young adult fiction spectrum, and I'd like to poll my followers’ opinions on reads we can venture through together.

(Full disclosure: I am an absolute Fitzgerald junkie and I'm sure it will present itself sooner or later) 

I am hoping to encourage the start of a snug community, so any and all feedback is encouraged. I would love to eventually be reading along the same timeline as my followers, something we have chosen together.

We can have lively discussions with cups of tea and cozy blankets.
All the things a book club does, right?
How would I know?


This is why I'm here.

from Latin: curare meaning "Take Care"

A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution (gallery, museum, library or archive) is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of material. The object of a traditional curator's concern necessarily involves tangible objects of some sort, whether it be artwork, collectibles, historic items or scientific collections.