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

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

The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy play in three acts. It follows two young gentlemen living in duplicity in order to win the girls' they want.

Reading a play versus watching it is a different experience. As you dive into this play, how do you feel about reading it? Do you think it looses something? Or does the witty, fast-paced dialogue still make the impact it's supposed to?

Don't forget to vote for December's Online Book Club book! Poll is open until November 15th. Click here to vote!

Happy November! Only two months left of 2018's challenge. How is everyone doing? Are you ahead? Behind? Getting ready for a big push? I'm gearing up for a big push. I have 30 library books checked out and I want to at least half that stack before the new year. They will also count toward my 52 which I am so incredibly behind on.

Do you have any strategies to finish strong this year? I usually make a list of all the books to read with their page numbers to see how many pages a day I need to read. But I know it's basically a book a day if I want to make my goals. Lol

As we head into these final two months, I will begin preparations for prizes! Generally, a Kindle Fire is the grand prize. Would you all like to continue with that as your grand prize? Or is there something else you would potentially like to see?

Keep up the good reading! We're almost done!

What were your final thoughts on Strange Weather? Did you like the short stories? Was there one you liked more? If so, which one and why?

Tell us your thoughts!

Our final Online Book Club book poll is live. Vote now for which book to read in December.

Join us this month as we read Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.

I know this week has almost concluded (where is time going) and that we are already in November! Time is flying. What is everyone reading this week? Any good books?

Let us know in the comments!

Fall weather is here! It's definitely time to bring out those hot drinks (if you missed the discussion last week, what's your favorite?). It's also time for curling up in a reading nook with a blanket and a book. Too bad there's work.

What is everyone reading this week? Any good fall books? I'm working on The Supervillain and Me because I love cute YA romance (and with superheroes!). After that, I have some manga volumes to read and then probably Rome: A History in Seven Sackings and Black Wings Beating.

Let us know what you are reading this week!

November's Online Book Club book is the play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

Pick up your copy today!

The second story in Strange Weather is the longest of the four. It's also the one that will probably make you the most uncomfortable. It is a horror story but one based in reality. This is what makes it so horrifying.

Fiction is a mirror; writers hold it up to show us our reflection. Is our reflection lovely? Most of the time, no. The sequence of events in "Loaded" showcase humanity as it is- sometimes good, but bad and ugly.

How did "Loaded" make you feel? Do you think Hill was trying to say something with the story? Do you think it's important for authors to use their works to reflect reality, to try and teach us something?

Ah, October. Now that we are halfway through the month, we've finally hit some cooler weather. Which means hot drinks! Is there anything more refreshing with your book than coffee, tea, cider, hot chocolate?

What is your favorite fall drink?

I drink coffee every morning (I need the caffeine), but cider and hot chocolate are my favorites to pair with books. Trader Joe's has this amazing spiced cider that is good both cold or hot. I also found a great recipe for hot chocolate where you add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Delicious.

Delicious drinks also can be paired with cozy reads! What are your favorite fall cozy reads?

Enjoy this cooler weather!

Strange Weather is made up of four distinct novellas. "Snapshot" deals with a young man who finds his neighbor wandering the streets. She tells him to beware the man with the Polaroid camera. Come to find out, if he takes a picture, you lose a piece of your memory.

Memories are important. Memories inform our current actions; they can drive our wants and desires; they are painful, beautiful, joyful, saddening - they encompass all ranges of our emotions.

Did this story make you think any differently about your memories? Do you have a special memory, one you would most want to protect from the Polaroid Man?

Don't forget to vote for November's Online Book Club play! You can vote here.

Let's talk covers. You all know the famous saying - never judge a book by its cover. But let's be honest, how many of us judge a book by its cover? You're walking through the library or bookstore and something just catches your eye. Of course you're going to stop and pick it up. Or, you see something that looks "weird" and immediately think, "That's not for me."

Have you ever read a book you wouldn't normally have because the cover caught your eye?

Is there something in particular that appeals to you when you look at covers? I'm not sure I have a type for covers, but I do like something that evokes fantasy or magic. Those tend to catch my eye more and I'm more inclined to pick the book up.

What books do you think have the best covers? Link the titles in the comments. You can see some of the recent ones I've seen below.

October is all about the horror! Join our Online Book Club as we read Joe Hill's Strange Weather. Discussion posts start next week.

November's Online Book Club theme is Plays. Vote now for which one we should read.

Happy October 1st! We are rapidly heading toward 2019. I can't believe it's only 3 months away. How is everyone doing on their reading goals? Are you ahead? Behind? Right where you want to be? I'm behind. I've been reading a lot of graphic novels/manga which makes my count look higher than it is. My goal is to work on the pile of library books sitting on my floor; maybe if I focus, I can hit my goal!

What are you reading this week? Anything fall themed? Or horror themed? I'm hoping to start Strange Weather for the book club but besides that I'm not really reading anything themed. I have The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (which has been rather entertaining so far) and The Fall of Gondolin (because we all know I love Tolkien). I might get to another book but I'm going to start small for this week.

Let us know what you are reading this week!

Editor's note: You know how you think you did something, you remember doing it, but come to find out that you didn't? This is October's book. I distinctly remember going to grab the link for the catalog but something must have happened and I never finished. But we're here now! And with basically five weeks this month, we'll use this week as the cheat to grab the book and start reading.

Once again, we had a tie. The title we pulled out of the tie hat is... Strange Weather by Joe Hill.

Grab your copy today!

Editor's note: Two for the price of one! Apologies for not posting a question last week. I somehow completely forgot.

There is a general rule of mystery writing that says the reader should be able to solve the mystery. Christie violates that rule here, making it nearly impossible for us to solve the mystery. How did that make you feel? Did it bother you? Or did you not even notice it in the drive of the story?

Did you have any thoughts as to who the murder was? What clues did you see that made you suspect that particular person? Were you right?

How did everyone like And Then There Were None? I love this book; even though I know how it ends, I always read it hoping for a change.

“A dangerous book will always be in danger from those it threatens with the demand that they question their assumptions. They’d rather hang on to the assumptions and ban the book.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin

“Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.” ― Isaac Asimov

This week is National Banned Books Week! We are celebrating our freedom to read and the joys of open access to information. The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom has chosen "Banning Books Silences Stories. Speak Out!" as this year's theme.

Books are challenged/banned for a multitude of reasons- content, language, unpopular points of view, offensive to someone's religion, inappropriate for an age group, etc. But when we ban these books, we ban their stories and our ability to have conversations about those stories. As the above quote hints at, we need to challenge our own assumptions.

As Haruki Murikami says, “If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”

So celebrate books this week- from your favorites to those that challenge you in different ways- celebrate that we have the freedom to read. Speak out!

Have a favorite banned book? Tell us here!

Interested in more information? Check out ALA's Banned Book page.

Banning books is nothing new and sadly, it's nothing old either. These were the most challenged books in 2017:

1. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

3. Drama by Raina Telgemeier

4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

5. George by Alex Gino

6. Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth

7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

8. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

9. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell, Justin Richardson, and Henry Cole

10. I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings, and Shelagh McNicholas

October is only two weeks away and you all have selected Strange Weather by Joe Hill as the Online Book Club book! Grab your copy today!

How is everyone doing after our weather last week? I hope everyone is doing okay. We were lucky that we did not take a direct hit from the hurricane. I'm looking forward to a week of normalcy here.

What is everyone reading this week? I managed to read some graphic novels/manga over the weekend plus The Wrath and the Dawn (an Arabian Nights retelling) and a fun book called The Book of Books which gives fun facts about the 100 books selected for PBS' The Great American Read.

Tell us about your current reads!

Ten people are invited to an island by a person none of them know. They are all given various reasons for the invite- a party, work, etc. It quickly becomes apparent that all is not as it seems.

What do you think of these "Ten little Solider Boys" (and girls)? As their crimes come to light, are there any you feel sympathy for? Do you think they all get what they deserve?

How do you feel about the use of the poem to drive the plot? How do you think the use of the poem affects the characters psychologically as the story progresses?

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you this public service announcement.

As I am sure you are all aware, Hurricane Florence is heading our way. Predicted to be a Category 4 when it makes landfall, we will be seeing crazy storm surges, wind, and rain. Please take time this week to prepare and make yourself safe during this storm.

Know Your Zone- Find out which zone you are in! These zones coordinate with the flood zones; if they call for evacuations, they do it by these zones.

Virginia Hurricane Evacuation Guide- Good general information to have and know.

Chesapeake Alert- This is the city's alert system. Sign up now to receive information during emergency situations.

Make a Plan- Checklist steps to take to make a plan for emergencies.

Also make sure to follow the City of Chesapeake on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information from the city.

Stay safe everyone!

September is here which means it's time to vote for October's Online Book Club book! The theme- Horror. Which spectacular spooky tale do you want to read and discuss? Click this link to vote now.

Join us this month as we read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. This tale of suspense is one of her most popular novels. Come be part of the discussion now.

Yesterday, while looking through the library donation bin, we came across a pile of books all in Japanese! There were mail order magazines, cookbooks, guides to learning the language, and manga volumes. But the coolest thing was a copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! It was so neat to see a familiar book in an unfamiliar language. The chapter pictures were different as well.

This is the second item in a month that I have collected from the donation bin that's been in a different language. I ran across three volumes of a gorgeous manga only to realize that they were in German! Despite not being able to read them, I bought them for the art and because I'd never seen manga in anything other than English or Japanese.

Do you own any books in other languages? If so, which ones? Can you read them? Also, what is the coolest item you've ever found at a book sale? Tell us about your hidden treasures!

Agatha Christie is often referred to as the Queen of Crime or Queen of Mystery. She wrote over 60 detective novels as well as numerous short stories and even a play. Her works have been read by billions. A few of what we now consider to be mystery tropes were started by her. She is known for that surprise twist at the end; the one where you think you have it figured out, only to see it all collapse.

And Then There Were None is one of her most famous novels. Not connected with any of her famous detectives, it is a stand alone story about a group of strangers trapped on an island. And then people start dying.

And Then There Were None was my first introduction to Christie, back in the early 2000s. I read it and was hooked. I have spent the years since trying to read through all her works (it's been a slow process), but this novel will always be one of my top favorites. You might think you know what's going on, but you probably don't.

Have you ever read anything by the Queen of Crime? If so, what works of hers have been your favorite? If you read And Then There Were None before, what did you think of it? (Please don't spoil the twist).

How did you all like The Scarlet Pimpernel? Did it simplify too much? Was it the perfect combination of adventure and romance? Are you thinking of reading the sequels?

I love this book. And I forget how much I love it. I understand that it gives a very basic interpretation for a complex situation (the French Revolution) but that is set dressing. The book is an adventure novel. And that's what I love about it.

Tell us what you thought of the book!