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One thing off my bucket list

I am feeling quite proud of myself: I have officially started a Book Club.

Ok, so I started it a while ago, but when you forget to schedule meetings and decide on a book to read...let's just say it doesn't really work out all that well.

But somehow, I have managed to pull it all together this time around. We have a meeting time, a meeting place, most members have bought the book AND (here's the important part) most have READ the book already.

Does anyone have any great books that they can recommend?

I have a hunch that this Wednesday will be the only successful meeting we manage to have, what with most of us being completely scatter-brained.

But hey, at least I can say I started a book club, albeit a short-lived one. So time to get out my pen and cross that off my bucket list!

ps. If any of you are from Canberra and want to join in on the fun, we are meeting at King O's at 7:30pm in the reading room. The book is called 'Of a Boy', it's in the Penguin Classics, and it's super short and a fantastic read. Completely and utterly depressing at the end, but still a great book!


pps. No caffeine and sugar (well I failed a little..so limited sugar) has made me feel great! I definitely won't stay in this teetotaling stage when it comes to tea and coffee for long, but for now I feel good :) more zen like again, and less likely to run someone over for looking at me the wrong way....

Comments

Unknown said…
I am so happy for you. It'll be so fun! I'm hoping the best for you with the book club!
lucy and sarah said…
So much thanks for the note. I am so happy to hear about the book club. Oh..Caroline is like my favorite actress!
ivy said…
This is great! Maybe you can have V.C. Andrews month..or even a Jane Austen club..who knows..where the book club will take you. This is fantastic!
~BB~ said…
Oh how fun! I've been working on a bucket list too!
books to recommend, lets see

The God of Small Things
Picture of Dorian Gray
Bell Jar
Anything by David Sedaris
Love in the Time of Cholera

let me know what you decide on since I would love to participate even in an online capacity!
Tiq said…
wowww..sound fun ! looking forward to hearing more of it!!

I hope you had a lovely weekend !!
ellie said…
Water for Elephants is big here....The evolution of Bruno Littlemore (I think thats the last name) is disturbing..but lots of people are interested in that book..as well as Discovery of Witches..but you might have some readers who just want to read something closer to home..like local authors..or cool authors like Palahniuk or maybe books that are going to be movies like Emily Giffin's Something Borrowed. And even adults love THE HUNGER GAMES.

All the best on the book club!
SJ said…
nice work! even if it doesn't last long, it's great that you got it started.
ummm, as for recommendations, i've been a bit of a nonfiction nerd lately and none of them have been that fabulous but i'll see what i can come up with.
Unknown said…
cooooool! congrats! can't wait to hear about it. ugh if you come up with a great book.. LET ME KNOW. haha, I need a new read!

xoxo
Sara Louise said…
How fun! I'd love to be in a book club.
I just finished reading The Bronze Horsemen, thought that was pretty good. And I'd of course recommend the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, loved it!
Brandi said…
Congrats on starting your book club! I've always wanted to be part of one too and if I were closer, I'd totally come to yours. I suggest trying Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist for your next book. It's shorter and such a beautiful story.

And I'm so happy that the caffeine/sugar reduction is working well for you!
becky said…
So many times I find myself disappointed that I'm not in the right continent to join in the fun in these amazing book clubs! I wonder if there is a way to start a virtual one---that would be amazing! I will put some thought into it. Heh. So glad to see that you've crossed another thing off your list---I love life-goal lists!

Also---totally agree with you about privatisation! Grrr. I don't see how people think these things are good ideas... And thankyou so much for reading the library post. I was worried that because it was so long, people wouldn't! I still wanted to share it because I thought it was just so good, summing up everything I feel. Such an invaluable resource!
Alli said…
That is an amazing idea! I'd love to do that sometime. Wow. I know there are some in the community but they usually focus around an author or something and I'm rather sporadic myself.

Some books I like lately:

- Water for Elephants ( a lot to talk about here)
- A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (I highlighted half of this book)
- The Hunger Games (gov't and rebellion here, in a fantasy-esque genre)

Those are the top ones I'd suggest right now for a book club because they'd garner good discussions.

I'm usually a fantasy reader and if you want some of those I liked Clare's Mortal Instrument Series.

Good luck with keeping regular meetings and great job on being so inspiring!
Aquí said…
I've recently read two books that I really loved. The first is called Dove, its about a boy who sails around the world in a 24 foot boat and falls in love. Really cool story, one of the many things that has inspired me to travel. The other one is called The Alchemist, which I'm sure you've heard of. If not though, its about a boy who travels in search of treasure. An amazingly insightful story about life. Congrats on the book club!
Missy said…
oh that's great! I wish I was nearby, I've always wanted to be in a good book club.
Bonnie said…
I love book clubs. My whole life is a book club since I am an English lit. grad student. I love discussing books in groups and hearing everyone's opinions.
One of my favorite books EVER is "The Bell Jar," by Sylvia Plath. I also really love "Wieland," by Charles Brockden Brown.

http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
Twitter: @GlamKitten88
k said…
I am so lame, I haven't even started mine yet!
Joyti said…
What a great idea (the book club).
What sort of books are you looking to add to it? I am really into Haruki Murakami at the moment...
Jo said…
Book clubs are so much fun! I started one as well, and while I really enjoy it, organizing meeting times can get tricky. We're small in number still, so we try to find times that work for everyone. Once we add a few more members it'll be easier to pick a date and know that even if a couple of people can't make it, there will still be enough people present to make it worth while.

As for the caffeine...I was indeed very grumpy when I quit. And sleepy! Oh was I sleepy! Now I allow myself a fairly good sized cup of coffee in the morning. After reading about how great you're feeling, I think I'm getting inspired to cut out my morning cup! We'll see. ;)
Deidre said…
Aw, a book club sounds like so much fun!

And congratulations on crossing some thing off your list. I haven't crossed anything off my list ...in well a long time!
christine donee said…
One of the best books I've read in a while was Catcher in the Rye. I feel like I was late to the party with that one, but loved in nonetheless.

I love the idea of a book club... I can't wait to see how it turns out.
keishua said…
a book club that sounds super fun. I think having some partners in reading is always good. I am super happy for you! Happy Reading.
Alison Gibson said…
Cool! I've been wanting to start a book club for a while, but I might have to wait until this semester is over.

I love Ian McKewan at the moment, especially Enduring Love and Saturday. J.M. Coetzee is great if you want something a bit disturbing and violent (which you might not!), Disgrace is one of my favourites of his. Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body is fairly intriguing, especially if you figure out the trick (which I didn't)!
Paige Hadley said…
Oooo! Well, firstly, I wish you absolutely all the best in your endeavours and I hope that you can have a really fantastic time despite organising stress! Secondly, if you are interested in reading 'Mrs Dalloway', it is actually has book-club-potential, being relatively small, very relevant, and beautifully written. Just a suggestion. And also, I'm sorry about it, but I responded to your last comment on my OWN blog because I wasn't really thinking - so yeah. I'm going to follow you and will thus be able to talk less confusingly. But all the best again! Take care.
Jessica said…
Brava! I started a book club when I moved here too, and it is SUCH a lovely way to get together with some great girls (in my case at least) and have a night in. :)
Sarah said…
I loved the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--it is a way better read than it sounds like it is. I adore Anthem by Ayn Rand, even though I don't share her philosophy/belief system/what have you...
I also love Jane Eyre--total classic, love it to pieces. And I think Interpreter of Maladies is wonderful, but it's a collection of short stories, rather than a novel.
Random, yes... but those are the books I would start with if I had a book club.
becky said…
You're worrying me, Kaylia! After you said you were sick you haven't blogged---I sure hope you are starting to feel better? :)

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