Joanna’s Comments (group member since Dec 27, 2013)

Joanna’s comments from the CPL's Book a Week Challenge group.

From the ALA After the Flood discussion guide:

"Myra talks about what is and isn’t passed between generations: her grandfather taught her to read the water in order to catch fish; she realizes Pearl will grow up with no concept of museums or bubble baths. What skill would you pass on to the next generation? What memory of a nonessential item or experience would you share? What lessons do you think Pearl is learning from Myra?"

This is hard one. How do you explain an item to someone how would have no concept of how to even imagine it? Think of Pearl trying to figure out what a moose would look like. Could you even pass on that memory? If I was going to try, my answers to both would be connected - reading and libraries.

Chama wrote: "I have about 90 pages left of Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk. I've been very slowly recovering from years of illness where reading books was usually difficult. It's so great to be nearly done with one..."

That is amazing! I'm glad you are on the road to recovery and are able to read once again.

Our October Online Book Club book is now available for checkout on Overdrive! Click here to check it out. We'll start our discussion of it next week.

What is everyone reading this week? I'm planning to start After the Flood for the book club. In addition, I have about 150 pages left to finish Serpent & Dove. It's such a good book. It has everything I love- a snarky protagonist, enemies-to-lovers, and great world building. I'm a bit sad I'll have to wait almost a full year for the next book. Once that's finished, I got Mirror, Mirror, a Disney twisted tale, through inter-library loan. I need to read it before it's due back.

Tell us what you are reading!

After the Flood is now available on our OverDrive!

Click here to check it out!

We'll start our discussion on it next week.

October's Take It or Leave It challenges are below. Do one, do all, do none! It's totally up to you.

1. Libraries Transform - Read the ALA and Overdrive Libraries Transform book pick After the Flood by Kassandra Montag

2. This is Halloween - Read a book with a Halloween theme

3. Glued to the tube - Read a book that was turned into a tv show

4. What do you think? - Review a book on Goodreads. Post the link to this thread for 2 points!

5. She sells seashells by the seashore... - Read a book with alliteration in the title

6. Orange is the new black - Read a book with an orange cover

7. Happily ever after - Read a fairy tale retelling

8. Mental Health - Read a book about mental health

Good luck!

Happy October! Spooky season is here. Bring on all the ghosts, goblins, witches, black cats, candy corn, and pumpkin spice. And yes, the list definitely moved into more non-spooky and food related territory. What is your favorite part of October?

Keeping with the theme of spooky, recommend the group some good horror or suspenseful thrillers!

Stephen King is considered the king of horror and I’m sad to admit I’ve never actually read any books by him. I’d like to change that at some point. I have read some non-mainstream horror books, though. The scariest book I’ve ever read is The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike. This is a translated book from Japan. The slow building horror as the family realizes they are not alone in the apartment and how people slowly start disappearing… *shudders* Obviously, don’t expect a happy ending. A little less on the scary side, Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake is a YA horror about a ghost who spares a boy’s life and they unravel the curse surrounding her and the house she’s tied to. Along the same lines is Rin Chupeco’s The Girl from the Well which is about a ghost who takes the lives of killers to free the ghosts of their innocent victims.

Moving back to adult fiction, The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue and The Damned by Andrew Pyper are also worth reading for both the suspenseful pacing and outright horror.

Tell us about your horror/suspense recommendations!

October's Online Book Club book has been posted! The American Library Association is partnering with our main ebook vendor, Overdrive, for the Libraries Transform Book Pick. Between October 7th and 21st, After the Flood by Kassandra Montag will be available for checkout as an ebook without restrictions, meaning you won't have to wait for it. Read more about the book pick here.

What is everyone reading this week? I'm working on Nadine Brandes' Romanov which I am enjoying but not nearly as much as her first book. I'll probably pause my read of that, though, because I finally got Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell. I have been waiting 4 years for that book. I am so excited that it is finally out. I love the first book so much that I'm hoping this one won't disappoint.

Tell us what you are reading this week!

Arlice wrote: "I just finished The Whisper Man by Alex North. I am currently reading The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

What did you think about The Whisper Man? I've heard good things about it.

September's winding down and we should be almost done with our "school" assignment!

How did you like the book you picked? Did it bring you back to the classroom? If you read it in school, did you like it more or less this time around?

Thanks for participating in this school read!

The American Library Association has partnered with Overdrive to host the Libraries Transform Book Pick.

After the Flood by Kassandra Montag will be available through our Overdrive between October 7th and October 21st. Because of the nature of the program, the book will be available to everyone without any holds or wait list.

Join us in reading this book in the month of October!

Short post this week- what are you all reading? Are you enjoying it? Or just pushing through? I finished How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England at the end of last week and really enjoyed it. Plenty of interesting tidbits (did you know that "thee" and "thou" were more informal than "you"?) and it was obvious the author knows her stuff. To the point where she mentions that she has tried certain behaviors, like not showering and instead using linens to keep clean. Not sure I could ever do that. But it was fascinating to read about.

Over the weekend, I started Gods of Jade and Shadow. I greatly enjoy books based on mythologies but I do tend to focus on Greek/Roman and Norse mythologies. One of the big draws of this one is that it is based around Mayan and Mexican mythologies. So far, the book is really good. She has an interesting writing style but I'm enjoying the plot and I like the characters.

Tell us what you are reading!

Think about the book you are reading. Why do you think it was required reading? What qualities does it possess? What does it showcase?

The Count of Monte Cristo is an interwoven tale with many moving parts that all come together seamlessly at the end. Reading the book, for me, it's hard to see what you could leave out. Dumas knows how to tell a tale, how to keep an audience invested, and how to tie it all up at the end. I think these qualities are why it ends up being required reading.

September is here and with it Autumn (or, the illusion of it since it's still warm and does Hampton Roads ever seen a true fall?). I love this season. I love the falling leaves. The cooler weather. Being bundled up. Wood fires. And all the comfort food. Everything from hot soup to coffee and tea to mashed potatoes to apples to pumpkins. Yes, I am one of those pumpkin people. Lol.

Thinking about all the good things to eat, what is your favorite drink or treat to eat while reading? I'm not big on eating while reading (one word- crumbs) but I generally have a nice cup of coffee or some water with me.

Books also contain a wide variety of food. Is there any particular bookish drink or food you've always wanted to try in the real world? I've been curious to try the lembas bread from Lord of the Rings. And who can forgot Harry Potter's butterbeer?

Has anyone found any good recipes for bookish food or drink? Share them here!

This is more a general question than one about the specific book you chose, but how did you all feel about required school reading? Were you excited to see what books were chosen? Did you dread it? Did your attitude change the older you got?

I will admit, required reading felt like a chore to me for the longest time. I dreaded the list of books and always crossed my fingers that there would be at least one that wouldn't be awful. Because I was homeschooled, I generally got a list I could chose from as opposed to only having one book option. My attitude adjusted a bit when my mom forced me to read Pride and Prejudice. I wasn't pleased but after 30 pages, I was hooked. It's now one of my all time favorites.

That story is an exception, though. For the most part, my required reading for school (both high school and college) was tolerable to unpleasant and almost none are on my list to reread.

Happy September! I hope everyone enjoyed their long holiday weekend. Did you do anything fun? Any last hurrahs before the end of summer?

September's Online Book Club theme is Back to School. Join us by reading a book you would normally read in school. And no, Spark Notes don't count. ;)

September's Take It or Leave It is now live. Do one, do all, do none. It's totally up to you.

What is everyone reading this week? Any fall themed books? I managed to finish A House of Salt and Sorrows over the weekend. Part murder mystery, part retelling, part horror, it was a wonderfully atmospheric tale. I grabbed Spin the Dawn for this week which is a Mulan retelling. I guess I'm just in the mood for retellings. Do you ever just get in the mood for certain kinds of books?

Tell us what you are reading!

September's Take It or Leave It challenges are below. Do one, do all, do none! It's totally up to you.

1. Back to School - Read a book you would generally read for school (and come participate in our Online Book Club!)

2. Fall Leaves - Read a book that has fall colored leaves on the front

3. More Than One - Read a book by two authors

4. Sing It - Read a book with song lyrics in the title (you have to tell us which song they are from)

5. Digital World - Read an e-book

6. Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder - Read a book with an ugly cover

7. Who You Calling Short? - Read a short story

8. Hurricane A Comin' - Read a book that features a hurricane

Have fun!

September has started which means it's back to school time! Our theme this month is school books - read a book that you generally have to read for school. It can be anything, from a classic to modern lit to Spark Notes (just kidding).

I'm going with the classic The Count of Monte Cristo. I feel most schools have you read an abridged version but I'm tackling the full version. I love this story so much and hopefully I'll be able to finish it before the month is out.

Elizabeth wrote: "I’m reading And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I’ve not read mystery novels in quite a long time, so this is a fun change."

I love And Then There Were None! It's such a great tale with an amazing twist. You'll have to let us know what you think of it.

Susan wrote: "We have a book club with some work gals. This months pick was Verity by Colleen Hoover. It’s got a pretty wild twist at the end. It’s been fun as the group finishes it and we’re getting ready to di..."

I've heard some things about that twist! I may need to add it to my list of books to read. Have fun at your book club tomorrow!

Short thread this week- what is everyone reading? I'm finishing up The Shadow Queen and then looking to start Master & Apprentice. I also grabbed the three volumes of Monstress after they were recommended to me.

What books are you diving into?

Also, if you haven't already, go check out last week's thread and recommend some good mysteries for us to read.

Do you like recommending books to other people? Do you find it easy? Or do you find it hard? Do you find yourself recommending the same book all the time or do you mix it up a bit?

Recommending books can be a lot of fun. But I think it can also be terrifying - what if they don't like it and then judge you for liking it? At least, that is how it always goes in my brain. Though, most people understand that tastes will vary; we might be friends but that doesn't mean we like to read the same books. Still I think offering and receiving book recommendations is on the whole a very positive experience.

With that in mind, I'd like to try to do threads on recommending specific genres of books. You all read so much and I'd love to hear what books you think we all should read.

This week: Recommend me a Mystery!

What are your favorite mysteries? Which ones do you recommend? Why? Tell us which mysteries we should add to our tbr piles.

I admit, I don't read a lot of mysteries with the exception of Agatha Christie. I will always recommend her, especially And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express. The incredible plot twists in them were pretty unique at the time (and have since been copied quite a lot). Both books kept me glued to a seat until I read to the end. I will admit, I never figured out the solution on my own.

Surprisingly, J.K. Rowling's Cormoran Strike series (written as Robert Galbraith) is also pretty good. The mysteries I felt were compelling and I enjoyed Cormoran and Robin's relationship.

Going old school again, the Sherlock Holmes series and Wilkie Collins books The Moonstone and The Woman in White are also great mysteries.

Tell us which ones you like!