Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Book Club Books For May

I'm a member of several bookclubs, as well as a follower of some internet groups that share a book each month. This means that a lot of my reading is dictated by these clubs. I aim to read at least 50 pages a day for my book club books, which means that I finish books slowly enough that I remember them well enough to discuss them at the meetings,  Obviously I give priority to book clubs I actually attend or host; the internet ones can get done when I have spare time. And if they pick popular or new books, library wait lists may mean I don't get to them for several months after the rest of the crowd.

Of course, I've just found local meet-up for the internet clubs, so oops...

I'm going to look at what I'm reading or planning to read because of the clubs I subscribe to:

Friday Friends Club

This is what I think of when I say "I'm in a book club;" it's the one I host most often and hate to miss. We pick books because we want to read them, and sometimes we are wrong about that but usually not.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/84655869@N08/7820440138: Carrie Baughcum


Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop TalkingThe Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and OrganizingShiksa Goddess


Quiet, Susan Caid. We figure most of us fall on the introverted side of the line, so we wanted to read a book celebrating this. And although we aren't taking it too seriously, we talked a bit about The Life Changing Art of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and decided to try that. I've finished both of these, so I'm in good shape for May. Currently our June book is supposed to be Shiksa Goddess (Wendy Wasserstein), so I can start that whenever I feel like it. I'll wait until after the meeting, because we sometimes shake things up at the last minute.

Tuesday Night Movie Book Club.
William Shakespeare's Star ...The City's Son (The Skyscra...
https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2013/07/13/12/34/book-159880_960_720.png
This is another excuse to hang out with friends, virtually. We all read the same book, then start up a skype session and watch a movie, chatting over the movie about whatever strikes our fancy, including the book.

Star Wars: Verily a New Hope,  by Ian Doescher is the pick this week and next, accompanied by a movie chosen because the description claimed "it's not Shakespeare" -- and true, The Lady of Burlesque was not, and next week by an actual play, probably the Macbeth with Sean Connery in each, chosen for its short running time. I've got the next book,  The City's Son, by Tom Pollock, on my tablet but I like to read my sections on the weekend before the meeting.




Chocolate Chip Cookies - kimberlykv

Talbot Hill Elementary Book Club
The One and Only IvanThis was a compromise the kids and I worked out, now that Battle of the Books is over and we can read whatever we want. Interestingly, I've only listened to the audio of The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, and I've enjoyed seeing how differently I react to text rather than voice. The rhythm seems different, because I can see all the white space around the short chapters, especially the ones that are brutally short. I don't know the next book yet, although I think we won't have one -- it will be a Summer Party where the kids get to set up most of my summer reading list.


Vaginal Fantasy:

Shades of Milk and Honey (G...The Magpie Lord (A Charm of...Silver on the Road by Laura Anne GilmanClean Sweep by Ilona Andrews

Shades of Milk and Honey, Mary Robinette Kowal and The Magpie Lord, K.J. Charles were the books for April, and I've just got hold of them. So those are late. On the other hand, I'm very excited about the May books -- The Silver on the Road by Laura Gilman has been recommended by several people with compatible tastes, and I've already read Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews; in fact I suggested it to my Friday book club and it was our last pick! So I feel like I got even more than my usual money's worth from reading that one. Also my son likes it as well. And it's on the shelves at my local library, so I can start it soon. As I've just found a local meet up for this online club, I'm happy to see that I'll probably finish the book on time so I can go and have fun.

Sword & Laser
AuroraThe Fifth Season (The Broke...A Darker Shade of Magic (Sh...All the Birds in the SkyCity of Stairs (The Divine ...Annihilation (Southern Reac...

Ok, I'm a bit behind with this online book club, although I did track down their monthly meetup in Seattle last week since I had read one of the two books for April. I'm hoping to finish the May book for the next meeting, which is Aurora, by Kim Stanley Robinson. I've read other books by him, so I expect I'll like this one. I loved and recommended to a friend (who also loved) The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemison, which was the April book I did finish, although the library just got me the other book for April (it was a rare two-book month),  A Darker Shade of Magic, by Victoria Schwab. I'll read that when I finish the May books. Or maybe I'll read the book from even earlier that I also just got --  All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders. Or I can read the books from my shelves that appeared on earlier months picks --  City of Stairs,  Robert Jackson Bennett or  Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer.

I think I need to dedicate a shelf to book club books so I can keep them in order by reading priorities and deadlines. Hmm.

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