Fresh Start

Here marks the beginning of something beautiful!

A dear friend of mine, and one of her closest, have decided to involve ourselves in a book club. The long and short of it will be one book a month, pacing yourself as you see fit. Each member takes turns choosing the read monthly, as long as no other member is absolutely in objection to a suggested title. We have agreed (and thus far been unsuccessful) to meet after each novel to have discussion and choose the next read. 

So with that, the following will be a short review or "journal entry" on the book, as guided by Well-Read Women: A Reader's Journal. This is a fantastic tool if you are like me and tend to fly through books, without holding onto those small moments or characters that you cherished so much during the read. For the first novel, we all collectively decided upon Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. The review will be up today!

Thanks for reading!

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! 

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.