November's Book: Paper Towns by John Green

The book for November is Paper Towns by John Green. Here is the synopsis from Amazon:

Green melds elements from his Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines— the impossibly sophisticated but unattainable girl, and a life-altering road trip—for another teen-pleasing read. Weeks before graduating from their Orlando-area high school, Quentin Jacobsen's childhood best friend, Margo, reappears in his life, specifically at his window, commanding him to take her on an all-night, score-settling spree. Quentin has loved Margo from not so afar (she lives next door), years after she ditched him for a cooler crowd. Just as suddenly, she disappears again, and the plot's considerable tension derives from Quentin's mission to find out if she's run away or committed suicide. Margo's parents, inured to her extreme behavior, wash their hands, but Quentin thinks she's left him a clue in a highlighted volume of Leaves of Grass. Q's sidekick, Radar, editor of a Wikipedia-like Web site, provides the most intelligent thinking and fuels many hilarious exchanges with Q. The title, which refers to unbuilt subdivisions and copyright trap towns that appear on maps but don't exist, unintentionally underscores the novel's weakness: both milquetoast Q and self-absorbed Margo are types, not fully dimensional characters. Readers who can get past that will enjoy the edgy journey and off-road thinking.

In case the name John Green is familiar to you, he also wrote The Fault in Our Stars and is the host of Mental Floss. Here is an awesome Mental Floss video for your enjoyment:

Book Club Questions: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

Please post your thoughts in the comments below?

1. How did you like the book? Had you heard of it? Would you normally read this style of book?


2. How would you characterize Juliet? Did you like her?

3. Who was your favorite character?

4.If you had lived on Guernsey just before the occupation, do you think you would have sent your children to England without you?

You can always e-mail me if you have ideas for additional questions?

Also, you may be interested in checking out this web site about the book:

http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/guernsey/book-clubs/

October's Book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

The book for October is The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society. Please try to have this read by the end of October. Amazon's description reads:

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Welcome to Our Online Book Club!

Hi, Everyone,

Thanks so much for joining. I have been wanting to participate in a book club for a while, but don't seem to have the time to do a physical meeting once a month. Hopefully, this model works better for all of us.

You should have received a link to view a Google doc. I created with a list of possible books, as well as, a list of members. These books are just some quick ideas I jotted down so feel free to add your own suggestions. Not everyone is going to like every book, but I encourage you to try and participate as best you can as use it as a chance to give something new a try.

The Plan:

1. Before the start of each month, I will post that month's book. I will give at least a week so everyone has a chance to get a copy.

2. At the mid-way point I will post a reminder, as well as, a non-spoilery question for you to think about as you read.

3. At the end I will post several questions as a blog post and you can reply to each of them and each other. Hopefully, this builds a good conversation.

4. If there is interest (ie. at least 3 people) I will host a Google Hangout where we can chat about some of the questions and the thoughts on the blog.

5. I thought it would also be fun to share a recipe each month. This is totally optional, but I thought it would make it kind of like a real book club where people bring treats to share.

Please let me know if you have any other ideas! October will be the first official month since September is already underway. I will post the October book soon...