Our January Selection

“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.” 

-Mark Twain

Dear Members,

We are well under way in 2013! January came and went, and now that we've said our hellos to February, it seems that time is going quite fast!
For those who like to make resolutions, this is the perfect time to reflect and really stick to these goals. I for one, will do my very best to fulfil them all: some include travel plans, be more healthy, learn a new instrument, bike more, paint more, write more, and of course, read more!

I am beyond thrilled to realize that our lovely little book club has stepped into another year with great success. Looking back, we had some very fun and special moments, including a beach trip, a mystery murder event, inviting author C.S. Richardson along for a Q & A, and of course, catching up on everyone's lives and what they're reading! We welcome new faces, and look forward to seeing familiar ones.
I wish everyone a fantastic year- there are lots of things to look forward to! New places to meet, new titles to select, with possibly more authors to visit, and best of all- more picnics as we look forward to warmer weather- won't be long now!

Thank you all.

Joanne


Meeting Update

Our January 2013 meeting took place at Panera Bread on a Saturday. Everyone was catching up on the last films such as Les Mis, Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook, and much more. We discussed our previous read, Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child, which many enjoyed. Characters such as Esther were unforgettable, as well as the love story between Faina and Garrett and the enduring trials and triumphs of Mabel and Jack out in Alaska in the 1920's. Many agree the ending was too much, especially with the disappearance of Faina, but overall the writing was wonderful, and the draw between what's real and what's fantasy about the "Snow Child" leaves us to ponder whether she was indeed, human or mythical.
Lastly, the draw for our January selection came about, and with a draw of a slip of paper picked by Lauren, our January book club pick is:

Summary: Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Note: I want to say that, during that very weekend the group met for our monthly meeting, I was in Montreal shortly after and read this book. Instantaneously, I was hooked, and I highly recommend everyone to follow this read- after the Amanda Todd incidents and many other similar occurrences, this is definitely a book which will raise many interesting questions that will make a fitting discussion in our next meeting. Many thanks to Shirley, who recommended this title in the first place.

See you all very soon in our February meeting!