CC Book Club anyone??

[Chris~n~Jen]

CC Book Club Members

ajlanden
Chris~n~Jen
endymion411
FutureGallucci
houseblend
JRose
lawyergirl25
MaineBelle
mili04
MSH
Nikker
PineKnot
Sherb
StacieLady
TracieB
vee05

Book List

April ~ Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

May ~ The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

June ~ The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

July ~ The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

August ~ The Known World by Edward Jones

September ~ Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson

October ~ Veronica by Mart Gaitskill

November ~ The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

December ~

[vee05]

Im game......i dont have the time to run ard but something online would be awesome!

[houseblend]

I'd be interested!

[Katy]

You guys are more than welcome to read and discuss the same books we (the LA group) are. Then again, I'm such a sucker for that "more is merrier" attitude :o

[Chris~n~Jen]

Yay, some takers. So I was thinking that maybe we would pick one book each month (starting in April), then open the thread to discussion starting on the 25th of each month. That leaves 5 or 6 days for discussion. Does this format seem like it would work??

Any thoughts on what our April book should be? I'm totally open to anything. I love reading all kinds.

[vee05]

im good with anything....i like the format....il be in on the april reading..unfortunately i will be out of the country on vacation all of May but i promise to restart in june.....

[lawyergirl25]

I'm in, no suggestions on a book though.

Yeah, I'm that slacker member of the group you all hate. ;) But I promise to post during the discussion period!

[ajlanden]

I want to join, but am afraid I won't be a good member. I try to read everynight, but only get through a few pages before falling asleep! :o Oh well, sign me up!

How about we all pick a book and someone can kinda put them in random order? That will be our list for the next few months. What do you think?

[vee05]

sounds like a plan...lemme find a good read....

[Chris~n~Jen]

Good idea Ashley!

Why doesn't everyone give me a book title. I'll throw them all in a hat and randomly choose the order. ;) If anyone has already read something that is suggested, just let me know and I'll discard that title and the person who suggested it can suggest something else.

Ok, I'm off to find a good book for my request!

[vee05]

The Tenth Circle

Jodi Picoult, Dustin Weaver (Illustrator)


This is B&N's April's book club read. We could read the same ones and discuss them.

[lawyergirl25]

I've got two, but they were popular not too long ago so I don't know if everyone's already read them.

The Known World by Edward P. Jones
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

[Chris~n~Jen]

Sounds good so far. Nothing I've read yet.

Here's mine...
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

[ajlanden]

I've read The Red Tent, but wouldn't mind reading it again. I LOVED it!

The next on my list was
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Ooooo, I'm excited!

[MaineBelle]

I'm in. I've heard good things about Veronica by Mary Gaitskill.

ETA: I'v read The Red Tent and The Known World, but would be up for reading them again.

[lawyergirl25]

I have an ulterior motive for wanting to read The Known World...I bought it for a class but never read it. It's still sitting on my bookshelf. :)

[Pineknot]

I'd love to be included. You've named a couple of books that have captured my attention. I also love the old classics.

[Chris~n~Jen]

I'm keeping a list of everyone's suggestions. Since there are a couple who have already read The Red Tent, I excluded it from the list. I'll leave The Known World in for now though. I think I'll wait for more suggestions through today and then this evening randomly select thier order. That way we have time to get our books and be all ready to start reading this weekend. I just finished reading some cheesy romance novel (it was the only book left in the office library that I hadn't read :o ). So I'm excited to get started on whichever novel we start with.

I am so excited! I'm glad to see so many others are interested. I was a little worried. I think I posted this thread on a Friday but didn't have any replies until Monday. So I was getting down thinking nobody was up for this. So now I'm super hyped!

[mili04]

Can I still sign up? I love everyone's book suggestions. The Known World and A Year of Magical Thinking have been on my list for a while and I already have The Tenth Circle on hold at the library. :)

My suggestions: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire and Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson.

[Chris~n~Jen]

Of course you can join! Welcome! I am excited because I think we have some really good books on this list.

So what do you all think about me listing everyone who has joined on the first page? Kinda like in the TTCing threads? Just so we can keep track of who all is joining us. Is that silly?

[ajlanden]

No, I think it is good idea. Then we know how many members we have!!!

[endymion411]

hi!

i'd like to join! i can't guarantee i'll be able to read each month (have 5 classes worth of reading to do!), but when i can, i'll join in. i have a list of about 30 books i want to read, so i'll be back later with some suggestions/

[Chris~n~Jen]

Ok girls, we have our book list. I actually wrote each book on a piece of paper and folded the pieces into tiny squares. I had DH pull each piece out one by one to reveal the order of our books. He thought I was kinda crazy. I wanted to be fair. :D

So I hope everyone is happy with the order. I just looked up the April novel and it looks very interesting. I am going to order mine tomorrow. :)

[lawyergirl25]

I'm glad someone suggested our first book, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - I almost did but left it off at the last second.

[vee05]

yaya i cant wait to start reading again :)

[ajlanden]

Isn't Wicked really long? :D I need to start NOW!

Yay, I am excited!

[lawyergirl25]

I ordered the first three books from Amazon.com last night, but they won't be here until the end of next week. I hope I can get through Wicked in time - is it really that long?

[Chris~n~Jen]

Just ordered Wicked. I won't have it in time to start reading this weekend, so hopfully I'll be able to finish by month end. Well if we are all having a problem finishing by the 25th, then we'll just extend the time. We can do that right? ;)

[houseblend]

Yeah! Sounds great! I actually already own a copy of Wicked, so that makes it really easy for me this month! I'm in the middle of another book right now, though, so I'll try to finish that up in the next week before I dive into Wicked.

[Chris~n~Jen]

I just saved some discussion questions for the first 4 books. I'm thinking that throughout the month I'll come in here to post some questions just to get us thinking while we are reading the novels. Then maybe re-post one or two questions per day starting on the 25th when we open for discussion. That will help us get started and give us something to talk about. :D

[MaineBelle]

Yay - Chris~n~Jen. Thanks for organizing this, I am excited! Although, my "to read" list keeps growing. Is it possible to put my suggestion, Veronica by Mart Gaitskill on the list for November?

I'm off to get Wicked!

[Regina Phalange]

I wanna join!
My New Year's resolution was to read more books but that's not really happening. I've never been apart of a book club and I am such a slacker at reading so I'm hoping this will keep me motivated. I've actually just finished "Year of Magical Thinking" so I'll be interested to hear other's opinions. It's draining...I'll tell you ladies that now. I saw Wicked on Broadway the year it opened and it was amazing. I've been meaning to read the book but just never got around to it. This gives me a great excuse! :)

[vee05]

okie ordered the first 2 ...theyl be here next week ...im so excited :)

[Nikker]

Can I join el dorko?

[mili04]

Is it possible to put my suggestion, Veronica by Mart Gaitskill on the list for November?
I just looked this book up on Amazon. It sounds intriguing and got some really good reviews. I think we should add it to the list.

I'll be buying the first two books at Barnes and Noble this weekend!

[TracieB]

I would LOVE to join. Lately I feel like I've been missing the intellectual stuff and critical thinking skills that I used in college 2 years ago and this is a great way to revive it!

I am on vacation for a week in April, but I'll try to keep up with the discussions. I'm going to go find the book today!

I'm really excited about this!!

eta: I should also mention that I live in a place where the bookstores aren't all that great and don't carry a lot titles, so I might have to specal order some of the books. It might make me a little late in the discussion if the book arrives late. Just an FYI.

[Chris~n~Jen]

MaineBelle, Your welcome! I am having so much fun doing this already. Veronica has been added as our November book.

FutureGalluci, you've been added. Welcome! To bad you've already read book #2. I had heard it is pretty emotional. I'm interested to read it. I am super excited about Wicked, though.

Welcome Nikker, my sister from another mister! :p

TracieB, I'll add you right now. I always order my books from amazon. I paid just over $13 for Wicked. It should be here by the end of next week. They offer free shipping on orders over $25. I almost ordered the first three books to get the free shipping. Anyway, just wanted to let you know in case you have a hard time finding the books.

[Sherb]

I wanna join!

And I have a suggestion: The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

[Nikker]

A great book that I even have my grandmother reading is Candace Bushnell's Trading Up. It is kind of long, in the 500 page long range but it is very good. She is the woman who wrote Sex in the City.

[Chris~n~Jen]

Added you Sherb, Welcome! Also added you book as December.

If anyone has already read the December book then let me know and I'll add Trading upif nobody has read that one. I'm thinking we should only pick books up through December at this point. In October we'll decide on January's book and so forth. I'm afraid to schedule the books to far in advance. New releases will come out that we will want to read. Does that sound good to everyone? :)

[vee05]

I agree about the posting Jan books in October ....there r so many books i want to read :)

[TracieB]

Just wanted to mention that we skipped September on page 1... is there a reason that I missed reading about? Just wondering!

Otherwise, the schedule looks great to me!

[lawyergirl25]

I want to read so many of the books posted. I wish there was a way to read more of them in the group!

[Chris~n~Jen]

Just wanted to mention that we skipped September on page 1... is there a reason that I missed reading about? Just wondering!

Otherwise, the schedule looks great to me!

No reason other than I apparently don't know my months. :o Oops! I'll just move Oct & Nov books up a month. So should I just leave December open or would you guys like me to add Trading Up as the December book and then be done with the schedule until October?

Ok, off to fix the schedule. Sorry! :(

[Nikker]

Ok, I just bought Wicked! It's paper back and about 406 pages. It also has Discussion questions in the back and a map of Oz, how cute!:p

[JRose]

I would like to join! I've read a few of the books already, but I'm always looking for an excuse to reread them, especially since I have to steal minutes to read and tend to miss things. Wicked is awesome and I cannot wait to start reading it again! :D

[MSH]

I would be interested in joining too. I've been wanting to start reading more. I cannot guarentee I will make the discussion deadline every month as I am suffering from PGcy fatigue but I will try my best :)

[TracieB]

I've read Trading Up. Sorry :(

Just an FYI for ya'll... I had to special order Wicked from the bookstore. It'll be here in 9-15 days. Guess I'll need to speed read to catch up!

[StacieLady]

I have read Wicked, and I would love to join and discuss. Thank you for the invitation, mili04.

[ajlanden]

I am already behind...I thought my sister had the book so I waited until she got home from her honeymoon. Of course she can't find it. So now I need to get it. WAH! I need to hurry! :)

[Chris~n~Jen]

Welcome JRose, MSH, & StacieLady!

DH and I went to Key West for the weekend and Wicked was waiting on me when we got back last night. So the shipping from Amazon was really fast. I ordered the book on Wednesday and it was delivered on Saturday. So for those of you having a hard time getting the book, it might be a good option for the future books.

I only made it through the first chapter last night, though. I was quite tired from our "vacation". Most of the reading guide questions I had found for this book are the exact same questions in the back of the book. So wasted effort on my part, but that's ok! I also have reading questions for most of our other books so it all worked out. :p

I know not everyone has started reading yet but I am going to go ahead and post the first question. I just think it's good to have the questions in the back on my mind while reading. I tend to be more focused and pick up on details that I would otherwise skim over. :D

[Chris~n~Jen]

Remember, I will re-post these questions when we open for discussion. Just posting now to get our brains focused and thinking.


The novel opens with a scene in which the Witch overhears Dorothy, the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman gossiping about her. She's "possessed by demons," they say. "She was castrated at birth . . . she was an abused child . . . she's a dangerous tyrant." How does this scene set the stage for the story, and what themes does it introduce?

[vee05]

oops am behind already.....Overstock's package should arrive tuesday hopefully :)

~V

[endymion411]

just got an e-mail from the local library that my book is there to pick up (it's a little library, so you can borrow from other libraries). can't wait to get it and start reading!

[Angelfish]

I don't know if I want to joing book club, but I have just finished reading this book, so I can talk about this one.

[lawyergirl25]

Wicked arrived today - will start reading tonight!

[Nikker]

Castrated..... Maybe just because her father's side was all men they assumed that she would be a man as well. And being born a girl, saying that she was castrated at birth is kind of an odd way of putting it. And in the first chapter it didn't seem to me that she was abused by anyone but herself. Or maybe I just read it wrong...

Any one else's thoughts......

[Chris~n~Jen]

Castrated..... Maybe just because her father's side was all men they assumed that she would be a man as well. And being born a girl, saying that she was castrated at birth is kind of an odd way of putting it. And in the first chapter it didn't seem to me that she was abused by anyone but herself. Or maybe I just read it wrong...

Any one else's thoughts......

Nikki, do I have to jump over this cubicle and slap you with this book!@! LOL :D

We open for discussion starting on the 25th of each month. I am only posting the questions now to get us thinking about it while reading. You don't want to spoil things for everyone who hasn't started reading yet, do you?

Just giving you a hard time. :p

[Regina Phalange]

Bought Wicked this weekend and have started reading. I must admit this is a diffcult read being that I've seen the show and know how things (for the most part) turn out. :o

[Nikker]

My bad :rolleyes:

Just want to make sure I am understanding this book....I'm a little blonde sometimes...:confused:

[Katy]

hey guys, just a suggestion, you might want to start a new thread for each book. You can continue this thread to talk about the challenges of shipping and what not and this way, the discussion thread won't get bogged down with a ton of different scattered thoughts.

Pick a threadmistress (so she can edit the thread) if you want to keep it one longish thread. Just be sure to call it something like "CC BOOKCLUB - title" and either change the thread title each book or close it down and start up the next one at the end of the discussion (ask a mod for help).

[lawyergirl25]

I like Katy's idea. Let's keep this as our chit-chat thread, but have new threads for each discussion period like she suggested.

I'm willing to be a co-threadmistress.

[Chris~n~Jen]

Sounds good to me. I've never been a threadmistress on any threads before so I'm not really sure about things like closing threads or whatnot. lawyergirl would we get one userid that we could both log into to make changes and updates? Or do you know how to do this? My only knowlege of threadmistress/co-threadmistress comes from hearing talk in the TTC threads. :o I don't mean to sound ignorant.

[lawyergirl25]

We can get a single ID - like CCBookClub or CC_Book_Club - and both log into it (after clearing it with Katy or flygirl, of course). Since we're not mods, we can't close threads, but we would just PM the mods in charge of the forum to do that. I imagine our biggest responsibilities would be to keep the member list updated, opening the discussion threads on the appropriate days, and closing the threads. I don't know that we need a moderator for discussions, but we can do that too if the group wants us to.

(We would have to start a new chit-chat thread though, so that the first few posts are under the single user name.)

[Chris~n~Jen]

I like CCBookClub. I'm leaving work here in about 10 minutes and won't be back on-line until I get home in a couple of hours (gotta hit the gym). If you want to pm katy and get the user name then we'll re-start this thread. Just pm me if you do, otherwise I'll get working on it when I get home.

Thanks a bunch!

[Katy]

sounds like a great idea ladies! Happy Reading!!!

[vee05]

Im so mad....still no book...wondering what their doing with it!!!!:mad:

[lawyergirl25]

Im so mad....still no book...wondering what their doing with it!!!!:mad:
Growing the trees for the paper. ;)

Hope it arrives soon!

[ajlanden]

vee05-I am in the same boat! Where the heck are you book?

Excited for the new thread!

[CCBookClub]

Hi Ladies!

Here it the link to the new thread. CC Book Club (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?p=659911&posted=1#post659911)

This thread will be closed and we will post various "chit chat" in the CC Book Club thread. We will also be creating a seperate thread for each book that we will open for discussion. I hope everyone is happy with the new format. :D