Jane Eyre discussion to Commence August 1st

The Imperial Readers has reconvened!

Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" is first up on the discussion list, followed shortly by "Tess of the d'Ubervilles" (Thomas Hardy).

Following these two "Chick Classics" will be a "Dude Classic" still to be determined from a list including authors Hemmingway, Burroughs, & Dickens.

Discussion notes to be posted.

Summer Book Crunching

HEY!!!!

Summer Reading up and running (finally)

Books will be divided into two traditional, sexist categories.

TDB (The Dude Books)

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TCB (The Chick Books)

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This is grossly generalized, but it is being done to appeal to Sanne & John's conflicting tastes.

Upcoming Selections TBA!

~Chris

Currently Reading - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Currently Completed - The Ox-Bo Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark

Book Break - Semester Interval Allots Extra Reading Time

Last Novel Reviewed:
"So Big" by Edna Ferber

Mixed Reviews:
-Sanne: "I loved it, it's a fave of mine!"
-Ole: "Shallow characters, no development."
-Charlotte: "Ditto Ole."
-Chris: "Enjoyable, I'd read it again."


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The Book Club has been on a bit of a stand-still on account of Chris' summer semester classes and practicum, Susan's trip to England, John's commitment to the construction of Sanne's sunroom, and Charlotte's trip to Japan. Whew! We're all over the place. Charlotte gets back this Saturday so we'll have a little meeting to discuss what novel we'd like to do next . . . In the meantime:

BOOK TRACKER:
- Chris -> "The Postman Always Rings Twice"   by   James Cain

- Charlotte -> "Outliers"   by   Malcom Gladwell

- Susan -> "Tess of the d'Ubervilles"    by   Thomas Hardy   

Notes from Meeting Two and Upcoming Novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin"

Lots of discussion developed last week from "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

NOTES: To be posted.

Upcoming Schedule: (tentative)

Meeting Three: Saturday April 25th 1pm, Susan's

Novel: "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beacher Stowe

Meeting Four: Sunday, May 3rd 1pm, Granny's

Novel: "So Big" by Edna Ferber

Meeting Five: Saturday May 9th, Granny's (Susan absent)

Novel: "The Carpet Baggers" by Harold Robins

Meeting Six: Saturday May 16th, Granny's (Susan absent)

Novel: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostyoevsky

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Sadly, we're going to be missing Susan for 4 meetings on a account of her trip to England. Have a blast Sanne! We'll miss you! Bring back nick-knacks and such for your spoiled nephew!

Great Success with the book club so far. I'm really glad we're doing it!

~Chris

Success! Book Club Meeting Goes off without a hitch! (mostly)

The first book club meeting was a complete chit-chat success! There was plenty of discussion and insightful opinion.

Opening Comments:

Sanne: "I don't appreciate it for the genius it's touted to be."

Charlotte: "I read it because I was suppose to and I wouldn't recommend it."

Ole: "A look into middle class people in an isolated world."

Chris: "An attractive, gothic story that modern critics of today's society can appreciate."

Closing Comments:

Sanne: "I'm glad we had this discussion, this book is a worthy read."

Charlotte: "Good connections to 'current' society."

Ole: "I don't think we should worry about the dramas of 18th century women ... hysterectomy!"

Chris: "This novel seems just as relevant today as when it was written."

All in all a good start! For next time, we're going to work on limiting interruptions while individuals are responding to questions (Conch Shell mentality).

Next Meeting: Friday April 10th 1pm --> Breakfast at Tiffany's    by    Truman Capote

This meeting will be in conjunction with an end of semester partay! See you there!

~Christopher~

Book Club Established!

The Imperial Readers Book Club is now official! I chose the name to make us sound superior, sophisticated, and important; not that we really need a special name like that to remind us how amazing we are anyway    :-)

Group Members to Date:

- John Abildgaard

- Susan Abildgaard

- Charlotte Wallace

- Christopher Wallace

Moderator and Food Connoisseur: Elinor Abildgaard (aka Granny)

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First Selected Text:

- (Sanne) Wuthering Heights   by   Emily Bronte

Meeting Date:

Saturday, April 4th 2009

Second Selected Text:

- (John) Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

Meeting Date:

Saturday, April 11th 2009

I'm very excited about the upcoming texts. I'm certain our first meeting will be very interesting

since Wuthering Heights is by far one of my favourite classics to date.

Cheers!

~Chris

Book Central

Hello all!

This is a revamp of a book blog that I had up and running for my first couple years of University; but after moving I didn't access it for several months and it was automatically deleted. So alas, we start anew!

This site is dedicated to a discussion of literature. Like before, persons can post a desired text for discussion by replying with a comment titled "Book Club".

I love books. The only thing better than reading a book is discussing one with friends and family. You get a chance to rekindle your enjoyment (or hatred) for what you've just read and you have the opportunity to learn what other people have taken from the text. I find this enriches our experience of the novel, and helps to solidify our comprehension of the text.

Current Reads:

- The Civil War Years   by   Robin W. Winks

- Tortilla Flat    by   John Steinbeck

- Don Quixote   by   Miguel de Cervantes

Suggested Reads:

- Stephen King's Pet Sematary

- Paul Auster's City of Glass