Oops! Sorry I'm a bit late! Here it is...book #3!

The book is I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak (as I said earlier) and the meeting is going to be on Saturday, January 15 (2011!) at 2:00 pm.

I know I say how excited I am for every book, but seriously, I'm really excited for this one. I, being a book nerd who loves to re-read books, have actually read this several times, and I love it. It's hilarious, beautiful, mysterious and touching. And it's SHORT. I'm really pleased with the reaction so far to this book, a lot of people seem especially interested, as it is a book that can appeal to a wide range of people, especially teenagers. (The length helps too). I'm stoked to see the turnout and reaction to this, so get reading!

Love,

Laura

Yay!

Why am I excited? Well, the meeting yesterday went great! More people showed up than I expected, and the conversation was good, which totally made my day :) I'm also very excited about the next book, Markus Zusak's I Am the Messenger which I think a lot of people are going to enjoy. I'll post more about it later.

Until then,

Laura

It's really quite simple, actually....

YOU
MUST
READ
THIS
BOOK

That's right, Cutting for Stone is one of the best books I've read in a while. I just finished it today, and I was absolutely blown away. It was one of those books that you sneak glances at to read even when you have no time, simply because it's such a great read. You still have time to start it if you want to come to book club, I'm hoping to have a better turnout this time!

Seriously, read this book.

Now. (Please)

--Laura

P.S. Oh yeah....read it. Did I mention that?

Well, are you reading yet?

You SHOULD be....for a variety of reasons:

1) The book is absolutely amazing
2) There's a month left until the meeting, and it is a bit long
3) It's engaging, compelling and extremely interesting
4) You should at least start reading so that you can be there
5) The book is fantastic
6) You need to be there (there perhaps might be cookies)
7) If you don't go, you kinda suck
8) The book is seriously good
9) Cookies (I feel this point needs repeating), conversation and extra credit (where applies for the last one)

Need I say more? Amazing people are going to be there...and you know that you, person reading this, are one of those people.

Be there. You have a month. Now read!

--Laura

Announcing Book #2....

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese! I'm excited about this one; I've heard some amazing things about this book. Although I thought I was only going to select books that I'd already read, I got such great feedback whenever I heard this book mentioned that I knew it would be a good choice. I'm a bit over a hundred pages in right now and I'm really enjoying it. It's a long book, but it seems to go by quickly. The medical aspect of the book is particularly interesting, and I'm already engrossed. The meeting will be Saturday, Novemeber 20 at 2:00 pm. Get reading!

--Laura

First meeting!

We had the very first meeting today, and I had a fantastic time. The turnout was pretty low (only the amazing Ms. Davis and Ms. Pirsch showed up) but we had a great discussion. I'll be working out the next book and meeting very soon, and hopefully I'll work it out so that extra credit could be an option. (Yay for bribery!) You'll be hearing more soon!

--Laura

GET EXCITED!

Yeah, that's right! Guess what's going down tomorrow? Oh, only the very first meeting of the Borders Young Adult Book Club! It's going to be really really fun, I'm super excited about this! See you then!

--Laura

One week to go!

Hey everyone!

One week to go until the very first meeting on October 2nd at 2:00! Hope to see you there, it's going to be great!

--Laura

And the first book is......(drum roll, please!)

......The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon! It's one of my all-time favorite books and an incredible read that quite fulfills my desire for my first book to be an amazing one. I've planned the meeting for Saturday, October 2nd at 2:00 pm. I'll be announcing the book early next week. I'm so excited! It's an incredible book, everyone should read it! (On a random note, I've never seen the cover picture I have posted, but it's the coolest one I've seen for the book) So, what's this excellent, amazing, fantastic book about? See below! (I've edited it a bit in case of spoilers):



"At the first light of dawn in postwar Barcelona, a bookseller leads his motherless son to a mysterious crypt called the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. This labyrinthine sanctuary houses the books that have lost their owners, books that are no longer remembered by anyone. It is here that ten-year-old Daniel Sempere pulls a single book-The Shadow of the Wind-off of the dusty shelves to adopt as his own. With one fateful turn of a page, he begins an adventure that will unravel another man's tragedy and solve a mystery that has already taken many lives and will shape his entire future.

When Daniel speaks with Gustavo Barceló, a local booktrader, to find out more about his new treasure, word begins to spread that he has uncovered a long-sought rarity, perhaps the only copy of any of Julián Carax's works in existence. Soon after, a mysterious stranger whom Daniel recognizes as Laín Coubert, the leather-masked, cigarette-smoking devil from Carax's novel, propositions Daniel, offering to buy the book from him for an astronomical price. Daniel refuses, in spite of the man's thinly veiled threats. With the help of his bookselling friends, Daniel discovers that Laín Coubert has cut a swath of destruction through two countries, methodically searching for and destroying all of Carax's books while erasing every trace of Carax's life.

Daniel is swept up in unraveling the great mystery of the author's short but wretched life, an epic of two Barcelona families devastated by a secret no one could have guessed. Only when a woman is brutally murdered for trying to reveal the truth, and Fermín is framed for the crime, does Daniel begin to understand that the threat to his life is very real. And what begins as a young bibliophile's hobby turns into a diabolical murder mystery that, if Daniel is not careful, may write his own tragic ending."

--from http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/shadow_of_wind1.asp

Home sweet home!

Why, hello there! Guess who's back on island? Well, me...the new Book Club girl. I've brought a few friends in tow, from England, Italy, and Spain--new books! I'm really excited to be back and get things going! I'm already starting to think about possible options for my first book (yikes, pressure!) and I want to choose a really really good one. (Being in Barcelona and re-reading an old favorite for the zillionth time may have inspired me to make a very predictable choice....). So I'll be mulling and debating by myself and also getting some advice from my amazing advisers at school (mainly Ms. Davis and Ms. Pirsch). I plan on making calls and getting things together, beginning in the next few days, so that when school starts up I'll already be ahead on this. I'm planning on making announcements in several assemblies to get interest up and encourage more people to come, including more of the Middle School. I can't wait to get going; you'll be hearing more from me soon!

Laura

P.S. Like the new blog template? I love it; I saw it and just couldn't resist! :)