January 9th Meeting

Saturday, January 9th (date subject to change)

Big Borders

2:00 pm

We will be reading The Book Theif by Markus Zusak.

What inspired this novel was a story the author heard from his parents about bombings in Munich. One day, when his mother was six years old, she heard a noise on the street and started running with the other kids. She thought it was cattle, but was severely mistaken: it was people running from the destruction of bombs. There was this old man you couldn’t keep up, hobbling down the street. A teenage boy got bread from his house and gave it to the old man. The old man then fell to his knees, grabbed the boy by the ankles and kissed his feet. A soldier then came along and took the bread away. He whipped the old man for taking it and beat the boy for giving it. (amazon.com)

Liesel Meminger is only nine years old when she is taken to live with the Hubermanns, a foster family, on Himmel Street in Molching, Germany, in the late 1930s. She arrives with few possessions, but among them is The Grave Digger’s Handbook, a book that she stole from her brother’s burial place. During the years that Liesel lives with the Hubermanns, Hitler becomes more powerful, life on Himmel Street becomes more fearful, and Liesel becomes a fullfledged book thief. She rescues books from Nazi book-burnings and steals from the library of the mayor. Liesel is illiterate when she steals her first book, but Hans Hubermann uses her prized books to teach her to read. This is a story of courage, friendship, love, survival, death, and grief. This is Liesel’s life on Himmel Street, told from Death’s point of view. (http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/bookclubcontent.html)

Society Meeting

I'm sorry I'm posting this a week after the event, but it's crap week, what can I do?
Anyway...
Good outcome last weekend. Two Maui High students, Tori and Sara thank you for coming...Sara you really should finish the book...and two Seabury Hall Teachers, Mr. Ryan Walsh and Ms. Emily Davis, thank you both for coming. Mr. Walsh, you should finish the book, too.

We discussed what it was like to read a book comprised of letter, and what kind of effect the make on the reader. We decided it seemed more personal, almost like we weren't supposed to be reading them. We talked about Sidney and Sophie's friendship with Juliet. But the one person who really monopolized our conversation was Dawsey. He was our favorite character by far, I know I could identify with him the most. And we all agreed that in the beginning of the novel we thought him to be about 60 years old, kind of like the responsible Grandfather of the community. We felt that his life changed the most by being a member in the Society, because he was initially so shy and the more familiar he became with Juliet and the others the more he reached out.
Also, along with Dawsey, we felt Kit was the most memorable. I chipped in with my opinion that I think Kit and Juliet's relationship started from an unknown bond between Juliet and Elizabeth, and that Kit was drawn to that. Someone also said that they thought Juliet was ready to love someone, just not a man. Which makes a lot of sense....until the end :)
Now Stephen expressed how he was worried about Kit not having a permanent home. But, I believe it was Ms. Davis, she chimed in and said that Kit was so adaptable that she didn't need a permanent home as long as she was in Guernsey.
We then discussed how the book was so refreshing to read because it had no real genre and didn't really fit into any of the new fads of reading choices (ie vampires...) I think it's kind of Modern Historical Fiction book with traditional themes, such as a female in a powerful position and career.
We then wondered what would happen if there was a sequel. We came up with the same decision as our Tortilla Curtain sequel discussion (see previous entries): that it would ruin the magic and wonder of the book and maybe just an epilogue would suffice.
We then digressed to the Kindle...Who out there likes it? Thinks it's great? None of us here do. We feel it's taking away from the activity of reading and being able to hold the pages and words in your hand vs. having the material of several novels in your palm. It isn't the same and we don't appreciate it! Hmph! Well, that is except for College text books...

Sara and Tori recommend Winky by Cliff Chase.

More about the next novel later.

DATE CHANGED!

The meeting planned for Saturday, December 5th has been changed to this Sunday, December 6th due to a scheduling error. I hope to not have to do this again, however I do expect to hold more meeting on Sunday, if it cannot be avoided. The meeting time is still the same: 2:00 pm

The novel is still the same: The Guernsey and Literary Potato Peel Pie Society
I hope you are all enjoying it! I did. It's a great story with an intriguing plot and very friendly characters. I wish they were my friends.

Sorry of any inconvenience.
Hope to see you all there!
~Sararose

Encouragement

I would like to quote Guernsey:
"At the start...the purpose of the speakers was to goad the listeners into wanting to read the book themselves. Once two members had read the book, they could argue, which was our great delight. We read books, talked books, argued over books" (51).

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a book club, started as a cover-up story, but became permanent when members started to enjoy their time together and socializing in what was such a devastating time. Although we are not currently in a restricting era like they were, I do hope that those you come to these meeting enjoy their time and hopefully will start reading the books I choose, or recommending books for us to read. Right now, every meeting I am encouraging those people to read these books, because they are good, but I hope that in the future they pick one up to read. Even if it is not the selected one for the month, it could be completely different, or from the previous meeting, but the point is to come together and discuss what kinds of things we like to read. The books I choose are simply to encourage.

Another quote that I enjoy the most is:
"That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive - all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment" (10).

I truly believe in this quote. It's what make up my bookshelf. It's what I'm here to do for you guys. I select a novel, if you enjoy it you'll move into that genre and/or follow the rest of my suggestions. This is truly what reading and book clubs are: picking and choosing.

Well, that's enough of my wisdom for the...however long....
I think this is the longest post I've ever done....pat on the back for Sararose. I hope I didn't bore you or lecture you too much.

Hope to see you in December. (It's really not that far off.)

December 5th Meeting!

Saturday, December 5th

2:00 pm

Big Borders

We will be talking about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

From Publishers Weekly:
The letters comprising this small charming novel begin in 1946, when single, 30-something author Juliet Ashton writes to her publisher to say she is tired of covering the sunny side of war and its aftermath. When Guernsey farmer, Dawsey Adams, finds Juliet's name in a used book and invites articulate—and not-so-articulate—neighbors to write Juliet with their stories, the book's epistolary circle widens, putting Juliet back in the path of war stories. The occasionally contrived letters jump from incident to incident—including the formation of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society while Guernsey was under German occupation—and person to person in a manner that feels disjointed. But Juliet's quips are so clever, the Guernsey inhabitants so enchanting and the small acts of heroism so vivid and moving that one forgives the authors for not being able to settle on a single person or plot. Juliet finds in the letters not just inspiration for her next work, but also for her life—as will readers. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

I'm about half way through this book and I completely agree with the review above! It's very intriguing but at times hard to figure out which letter is from whom; thankfully that information is provided at the beginning of each letter. Yes, the book is written in letter format, which makes for an easy read- so no one should be complaining!!

I would also like to take this time to thank a few people for showing up to the last meeting in October, where I encouraged them to read Howl's Moving Castle (see previous entries for more information on this novel.) So, Thank You to Jeremy Morton, his sister Danielle and their father, Sue Pircsh, Stephen Holding, and Sara Riley. It was nice having fellow students as well as adults show up. Thank you so much and I hope to you see you all there again! (I'm sorry if I've spelt your names wrong).

Meeting Adjourned!

Howl's Moving Castle has come to close. The final chapter read, the back cover closed. So much to talk about and share, yet no one to share it with. Because no one who attended the meeting read the book, except Sara, who actually went ahead and read the sequel! Thank you so much, by the way.
However, it was a surprising turn out since there had been no posters in the store. They were made and printed and handed over, but got lost somewhere I suppose...oh well, better luck next time.
Well, since no one read the book (which is fine, my job is to also inspire someone to read the novels I choose, it is not necessarily required to read the books, only highly recommended since the point of a book club is to share ones experience while reading the novel. Has no one seen the movie The Jane Austen Book Club?) Anyway, I digress, my lack of questions was just fine and my plan for comparing it to the movie worked. Hopefully I did convince them to read Howl's Moving Castle, they did know of Miyazaki, the genius he is!
To compare the two, I printed a Bunch! of pictures and screen caps and whatnot. I had hoped to then discuss the differences between the two, but, once again, no one knew what I was talking about, so I simply told them.
We discussed Anime/Manga, a fellow there did not know what it was. I expanded on Miyazaki's creativity and listed some other movies (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, etc.) Within this discussion I had a brain-fart (pardon the image) to, in the future, hold a meeting where we talk about novel's turning in to Mangas (Maximum Ride, Twilight, Cirque Du Freak, etc.) and Manga's in to Animes (InuYasha, Fullmetal Alchemist, Death Note, Naruto, Bleach, etc.). I look forward to that. Expect it in the future.

Next Meeting:
December 5, 2009
2:00 pm
Big Borders
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Recommendation!

Do you just want a book that is simple, non-committal, and sequel-less?

Well, your reading the wrong blog post, my friend!

I have become OBSESSED! with The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith and I must share it with you!

I started reading them because I heard it was going to become a new CW series with strange parallels to Twilight, so naturally I was curious. I watched the first show. OH MY GOD! was it a good show! I was sucked (for lack of a better word) in immediately! I wanted to watch it over and over again and I needed to see more! So how else could I get what I wanted then to read the novel?

The next day I had bought the book and was several chapters into it. I couldn't put the book down! I saw the similarities between it and Twilight which angered me a little, but this book was first published in 1991, there's no way it was copying Stephenie Meyer. And don't get me wrong, I'm not judging her creativity by any means either. It was just interesting.

However, my obsession was only increasing. I finished the book quickly as well as the second. And soon found fellow followers at school, passing on the books I had completed. Now I am finishing the fourth (final? not sure) novel. I still can't put it down. And am sad it could possibly be ending. But on the bright side, I still have the show!!!!

The show and the novels are completely different! Same characters and whatnot but very different. Hard to explain how, you'll just have to trust me.

So obviously, I very highly recommend this series and the show (Thursday at 7 pm on the CW).

This entire series has so many ups and downs, I promise there's no way your letting go of this book until you've finished all of them.

Heres some pictures!!!

The Awakening

and

The Struggle

The first and second novel in one!

The Fury

and

Dark Reunion

The third and fourth novel in one!

Here's the cast for the CW series:

Damon, Elena, and Stefan in the flesh!

Recommendation!

I have a recommendation! From me, myself and I!

So, I just bought a new book today and I was all "hey, why don't I tell Book Club people about this, since it is my other favorite pass time." But here's the catch, the book I bought isn't really a book-like a novel book- its a graphic novel, a comic book, a Manga.

Manga's are Japanese comic books, basically. Anime's are Japanese animation, or cartoons. And the new Manga I bought today is the 19th installment of my favorite Manga/Anime ever! Fullmetal Alchemist! It's about two brothers who lose everything, even their original bodies. The eldest brother, Edward Elric, has a prosthetic right leg and left arm, while his younger brother, Alphonse Elric's soul is attached to a body of armor. They journey around their country trying to find a way, using Alchemy, to get their bodies back, hopefully to find the Philosopher's Stone. The Anime is how I found out about this glorious story on Adult Swim, it is a lot shorter than the Manga and is completely different! But see, they aren't hard books to read because they are comic books!

Here's a picture!







This is the cover of the First Volume.


And this is the first page!!! How EPIC is this first page! Blood and tragedy all in one and on the first page too!! What can suck you more into a story than that?!!!








THIS IS AN IMITATOR!!!
DO NOT READ THIS ONE!! THIS IS NOT THE GOOD COPY!!! IT IS RIDICULOUS AND STUPID AND LEAVES A BUNCH OF STUFF OUT AND IT ISN'T A COMIC!! ITS A NOVEL!! BEWARE OF ITS STUPIDITY!!!









So, if you want to read this Manga, or any others (for more just ask me [aka: COMMENT]) go to:
http://www.onemanga.com/

Also, if you have any recommendations leave a COMMENT and let us know what book you enjoy the most. It may even become the topic of our next conversation!

October 24th Meeting!

Saturday, October 24

2:00 PM

Big Borders

We will be discussing Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.

Sophie Hatter realizes that as the eldest of three daughters, she is doomed to an uninteresting future. She resigns herself to making a living as a hatter and helping her younger sisters prepare to make their fortunes. But adventure seeks her out in the shop where she sits alone, dreaming over her hats. The wicked Witch of the Waste, angered by "competition" in the area, turns her into an old woman, so she seeks refuge inside the strange moving castle of the wizard Howl. Advertised by his apprentice as an eater of souls, Howl lives a mad, frantic life trying to escape the curse the witch has placed on him. So goes this intricate, humorous and puzzling tale of fantasy and adventure which should both challenge and involve readers. Jones has created an engaging set of characters and found a new use for many of the appurtenances of fairy tales seven league boots and invisible cloaks, among others. At times, the action becomes so complex that readers may have to go back to see what actually happened, and at the end so many loose ends have to be tied up at once that it's dizzying. Yet Jones' inventiveness never fails, and her conclusion is infinitely satisfying. Sara Miller, White Plains Public Library, N.Y.

This book is one of three and I hope that if you enjoy this book (which I know you will) that you will then read Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways.

Howl's Moving Castle has been made into a movie, produced and directed by the genius Hayao Miyazaki. He is one of my favorite directors and creates some of the most outrageous story lines and characters. It is my favorite movie of his and one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm really looking forward to reading this book and discussing it with all of you.

See you soon,

Sararose

Another Accomplished

Ah...I feel so much more relaxed since I we had this meeting. The 3 book choice thing was way more stressed then I anticipated!
Anyway, this is what we discussed:

The Turkish Holocaust, how the Turks deny it ever happened or that it was ever that bad. We also discussed the conflict between the Turks and the Greeks. One person told us a story of how is grandfather died by walking in the midst of the conflict at the wrong time. Then I learned that it was against the law for anyone to say anything against Adaturk (spelling?), not that anyway does...
Then we compared The Perks of Being a Wallflower to Catcher in the Rye. How Charlie and Holden are very observant, so much so that it could be life-changing. The one contrast was that Charlie doesn't get into trouble to get attention, he's actually a really good kid.
We also compared Speak to To Kill a Mockingbird.

The we digressed and discussed the newly popluar Vampire genre and its over done explosion.
Does anyone agree with this?

Authors discussed:
James Patterson
Jules Vern

Almost There!

Hey people!

Two weeks left until our next meeting. I'm freaking out, as usual, except this time it's pretty legitimate. You guys are so lucky you only have to read 1 book! I've finished 2 out of 3 (Speak and The Perks of Being a Wallflower were both really good. I found a few similarites between them, but I'll save them until the meething. I'm only 4 chapters into Daughters of War and I'm really frightened that I won't finish it in time. I'm making it my goal!) I was crazy for assigning so many choices for one meeting! Who let me do this? Well, whoever it was, don't ever let me do it again! I'm so behind this month with school starting, it's crazy. I'm also procrastinating.

Just as a shout out:
I went to The Throwdowns concert last night in Wailea. It was beyond sick! No joke. Their new debut cd, Don't Slow Down, was released last night. Everyone should look them up! Support your local bands!! Kihei Town!!!!!

September 12 meeting!

So our second meeting is approaching quite quickly and I feel that I should explain this next idea:

Saturday September 12 we will be "commemorating" 9/11 by reading some troubling novels.

There will be 3 choices to choose from. You can choose to read all 3, but 1 is really only required. On the day of the book club everyone will hopefully have read the different books, then the discussion will be held between the similarities and differences of the characters lives. And maybe even how 9/11 affected our lives and how it could possibly relate to the novels. Make sense? I hope so...it's a bit complicated.

So anyway...

The first choice is:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

It's about a boy named Charlie who has just started high school in the year 1991! We hear about his day through mysterious letters in which he likes to remain anonymous.
I've just started this book. It's an easy read but really sucked me in. Something about it being like a diary that intrigues me.

The second choice is:

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Something completely terrible drove Melinda Sordino to call the cops and bust a party. She can't tell her friends, peers, or parents, she can't even admit it to herself. This terrible secret she cannot speak about, in fact she cannot speak at all.

I haven't read this book yet, but it's the one I'm looking the most forward to.

And last but not least, the third choice is:

Daughter of War by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

This book takes place in Turkey in 1916 during the Armenian Holocaust. Marta, disguised as a Muslim escapes. Risking her life at being caught, she is forced to leave her sister and betrothed.

This book is a bit graphic, but I thought it fit into our discussion and time period. It is also a good choice for those who don't necessarily want to read a YA book.

Well I hope people enjoy these book and I'll see you in a couple of weeks!

Saturday September 12

Big Borders

2:00 pm

Oh, and look for advertisements around town, they'll be showing up soon.

Accomplished!

Alas, our first meeting has come and gone! God, I was so nervous, I really didn't expect the turn out!

We started our discussion with the end, I believe. Mixed feelings were expressed about it, some did not like how it left us hanging. Would Delaney be more positive towards Mexicans or would he not change whatsoever? But most seemed to have accepted the open ending and left to their imaginations. We discussed the racisim in the book, and being in Hawaii, the similarites we found between them.

Many different opinions were expressed and I'm very happy with it's result and I look forward to the next meeting!

Thank you everyone who showed! I hope you come to the next one!

Saturday, September 21

2:00 PM

Big Borders

Look for more advertisements around town and in Borders.

More information will be poster later.

Again, Thank you so much,

Sararose

Unrelated Cool Things I Found!

So the other day, I was shopping around and I bought this cool necklace from this lady named Sarah, she has a buisness called Aloha Bottle Cap Earrings. There's a whole bunch of cool things on her website with a lot of different styles to choose from!! There's earrings, necklaces and magnets and a lot of other stuff. Check it out!

http://www.alohabottlecapearrings.com/

Just had to share it with you guys!

I've finished!

I'm so excited! I've finished The Tortilla Curtian! As of right now I'm finalizing the discussion questions and other miscellaneous things. It's a very tedious job and now I fully understand the roles of teachers. You guys are great, to do this everyday- I don't think I could handle it! Anyway, just wanted to share my excitement for finishing the novel.

19 days until the first meeting! I'm very nervous. I hope it goes over well.
See you then,
Sararose

Look for these posters and hand-outs in the Borders around town!

Our First Novel

In The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle, the realization that life is perpetually unfair and disappointing is the common thread that connects an illegal immigrant couple named Cándido and América Rincón and an upscale, yuppie couple named Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher. Both couples have their own version of the American Dream, and both find their dreams to be merely illusions, even though one couple has reached its goals and the other is still fantasizing about them.

July 21

Big Borders

2:00 PM

Highlight and make notes.

If you have any questions, write them down and bring them to the discussion!

Book Suggestions

Whats your favorite book? Tell us about it and it may become the star of one our discussions!

Alan Hodara already did! He likes The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Check it out!

In her first novel, award-winning Indian screenwriter Arundhati Roy conjures a whoosh of wordplay that rises from the pages like a brilliant jazz improvisation. The God of Small Things is nominally the story of young twins Rahel and Estha and the rest of their family, but the book feels like a million stories spinning out indefinitely; it is the product of a genius child-mind that takes everything in and transforms it in an alchemy of poetry. The God of Small Things is at once exotic and familiar to the Western reader, written in an English that's completely new and invigorated by the Asian Indian influences of culture and language. ~ Amazon.com Review

Our Very First Meeting!

The Borders Young-Adult Book Club is going to have it's very first meeting on July 21 at 2 PM. We encourage all teens on Maui to come and join us! We will be discussing TC Boyle's The Tortilla Curtain. Borders will have this book in stock, but feel free to get it from another source. Please come and join us and add to our discussion!

Thank you.
Sararose

More will be posted later.