Introductions!

[Alissa]

Hi everyone! I know Devin suggested that introductions would be good so we know who else is in here, so I thought I'd go ahead and introduce myself. My name is Alissa and I live in a small town in Iowa (USA). My reading choices are very eclectic. Obviously, I love a good fantasy series! Other than HP, some of my favorites fantasy books are the Song of Ice and Fire series, The Kingkiller Chronicles, the All Souls Trilogy, and The Faithful and the Fallen series (just getting ready to start book 3!). I've been a part of HRC since the Ministry of Magic race this year. I have loved the experience so far and am looking forward to another way to get to know and interact with fellow members! :)

[Heather]

Hi! I'm Heather and I have a feeling that a lot of us here are gonna lean toward fantasy/sci-fi books! I can't even name all my favorites because there are too many! I just recently finished the two books in the Carrier of the Mark series, and Ender's Game and Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card. I am quick to fall in love with a series and immerse myself into their world wholly. Alissa, I also love the Fallen series and can't wait for the next one and the movies! Friend me on here if you want to know more about what I've read. If I get enough followers I may actually start writing blurbs and post my progress on books instead of just rating them and marking them finished, lol!

[Nicole]

Hello, I'm Nicole. I'm in Boston MA for school right now. Obviously I love sci fi and fantasy. My favorite series right now is Sarah J Maas' Throne of Glass series- think if Cinderella were an assassin, but so much better. I'm also a fan of Brent Weeks' two series. On the sci fi end, I have read all the Ender's Game novels and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.

[Salli]

HI! I'm so pumped about this. I was born and raised in Utah but have lived in Oregon for the past 2 decades and feel like it's home. I LOVE my hometown of Oregon City. It has a lot of history, natural beauty, art, great food and amazing, quirky people. I actually like non-fiction a lot (don't worry, I won't suggest any for this group). I had a goal of completing this list of 100 classics before I turned 40 but got bogged down reading Middlemarch last December. Other than classic fiction I tend to lean more towards juvenile fiction like HP, Miss Peregrine's, Series of Unfortunate Events, The Hobbit...
I also enjoy writing but haven't for a long time. I also have a talent for not finishing stories.
I have 2 kids (boys) and am a stay-at-home mom, professional artist, soon-to-be student at our local college.

[Jennifer]

Hi all! I'm from Maryland, I'm just about to hit the one year anniversary of buying my first house with my sister. About a year and a half ago I felt like I had gotten stuck only reading fantasy books so I started a small book club with some work friends. We picked 4 genres then each picked books in those genres to make us read other things. It's worked out great! I'm really excited to join another book club and challenge myself even more :D

[Tamara]

Greetings from Florida!

I've been a stay-at-home-mom for the last five years, previously having been a teacher, NASA historian and political organizer. My daughter's school caught wind of my teaching experience and I'm now a proud part-time substitute teacher and I'm ready to go back to school myself. After becoming a mother I realized I needed to find a way to get "me" time, so I became the world's most reluctant marathoner. I'm really not a runner. I love to walk fast. Prior to being a mom, I was a voracious reader. I simply did not get quiet time to myself, and when I did I napped; but that's changed. I'm thrilled to dive back into books and pull back from 26.2 and embrace the half-crazy 13.1s.

I registered for my first HRC races with the Time Turner event--the Marauder's Map Challenge--go big or go home! I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and an unabashed grown woman with an embarrassing crush on grown-up Daniel Radcliffe. I'm also dragging my family to London to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in July. My husband is furious, so I may accept applications for a replacement. Dan...?

My favorite books are Pride and Prejudice, The End of the Affair, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy, The Left Hand of Darkness and the HP series. I'm also a big fan of humor memoir, science memoir and essays, and cookbooks with pretty drawings. I'm a frustrated non-astronaut and L-O-V-E all things space-related.

[Jessie]

Hi! I'm Jessie. I was raised in CT, moved to VA, FL, and back to VA where I got married to my Gryfindor husband. My first HRC run was the 9 3/4k and I have time-turnered the Hedwig memorial run (as she is my second favorite to Luna) and the Dept. Of Mysteries so I can go for the Marauder's Challenge (having done the Patronus 5k)

I really love this group and its positivity and look forward to many more races with HRC :)

[Nicole]

Hello! I'm Nicole, and like the rest of you I enjoy a good fantasy/sci-fi story or series. I'm originally from Flagstaff, AZ, but since leaving there after college I've lived in So Cal, North Cal, Nevada, Idaho, Texas, and just recently moved to Columbus, OH. I don't have any two-legged children, but I do have an Australian Cattle Dog mix (Penelope/Penni), a frog (Kermit the Frog), and a uromastyx lizard (Mr. Tom, though since my animals are supposed be named after myths/astronomy and he came with his name, I sometimes jokingly call him "Lo-Tom"/Lotan).

The most recent new-to-me book I've read is Divergent, and I just finished re-reading The Graveyard Book and Coraline over Halloween, and then Howl's Moving Castle just for fun. If you can't tell, I tend to read more young adult fantasy than adult fantasy, but that's only because I find it difficult to find good quality adult fantasy/sci-fi books. It's impossible to choose a favorite book or series, but books I can read over and over again include: HP (duh), most of Tamora Pierce's books, most of Diana Wynne Jones' books, anything by Edgar Allen Poe, Patricia C Wrede's Dragon quartet, the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy, the Thursday Next series, the first three Anne of Green Gables books, and most classics (Jane Austen and Kurt Vonnegut are favorites).

My first HRC event was the Road to Hogwarts challenge alongside the Platform 9 3/4k. I've always been a "stress runner", and while Disney (Tinker Bell, in particular) got me into more organized running (and my first official half) I was overjoyed to find something else I could nerd-out in with HRC. Plus it keeps me moving when I might otherwise slack off on my training, haha.

[Christina]

Hello everyone! I'm Christina and I am in Kissimmee, Florida. I saw a few titles that I love in other people's introductions, and I thought I'd add a few more. I absolutely love David Eddings and his Belgariad/Mallorean series. I am a big Mortal Instruments and Twilight fan as well. Obviously the HP series, Divergent (even though I hated the ending), Hunger Games (another crummy ending). I was a big Dean Koontz fan, even though I haven't read anything lately due to my current YA kick.
I write as well and participate in NaNoWriMo for the past three years. I self published one of my books, I was very happy to have finished one. I am currently working on the sequel.
I am a middle school math teacher, have a wonderful husband and son.
I am looking forward to this group very much!

[Nicole]

Hi everyone! I'm Nicole and I live in Northern Virginia (Chantilly/South Riding to be exact). Back before I started driving 40 miles one way to work I read like 4 books a week. Now I'm lucky to get one in. But anyway I've wanted to get back into GoodReads as well in the hopes it'll get me back where I need to be.

When I'm not running (or driving to work) I love pretty much all books except Fantasy and Romance. I'm also going though a YA phase (which is odd because I'm in my 30s). And I love biographies. Can't get enough of them. And my other goal is to re-read the books I read in college now that I can read them and not worry about what my grade is going to be.

Also, as embarrassing at it is (bc I was an English Major) I totally love chick lit. But I'll never really admit that ever again.

[Shanda]

Hello Fellow Claws! I'm Shanda and I live in Buffalo, Illinois. It's about 30 minutes east of Springfield. I'm married to a redneck farmer, with 2 boys and a beagle. I joined the HRC in June. My first virtual race was the Department of Mysteries 6.2442 and I've been hooked ever since.

I've been a bookworm forever! I love reading all sorts of genres. Of course, Harry Potter is my absolute favorite series. I like to switch it up every now and then. I love children's books, YA, Chick Lit., romance, mysteries, horror, biographies...I can go on. I've been on Goodreads since January 2010 and it's one of my most favorite websites.

[Cali]

Hi I'm Cali, I currently live in Oklahoma, but am from New Jersey. I am married to a USAF officer and have two boys, a dog and a cat. I love reading fantasy and historical fiction when I can find the time away from the 1.5yo and 3mo.

[Cali]

Nicole wrote: "Hello, I'm Nicole. I'm in Boston MA for school right now. Obviously I love sci fi and fantasy. My favorite series right now is Sarah J Maas' Throne of Glass series- think if Cinderella were an assa..."

I went to school with Sarah Maas, it's crazy to see how amazingly her books are doing!

[Sandra]

Hi everyone! I'm Sandra and I'm from southern Alberta, Canada! I love sci-fi, fantasy and young adult reads.

I could spend hours at the bookstore just reading the back covers of books looking for my next read. Our city library recently gave out free memberships and this has been a turning point! I have read so many books in the last few months that I needed to get a Goodreads account to start keeping track and seeing what books I wanted to put on hold!

I love to spend time reading with my kitty curled up next to me!

[Kelly]

Hi all, Kelly here. I live in the near north suburbs of Chicago, Skokie/Evanston, where I also teach 5th grade. I've been a runner for about 12 years, and an avid reader forever. I don't really have favorite books, apart from HP and LOTR. Favorite authors, though: Neil Gaiman, Jane Austen, Sharon Bolton, Stephen King. My oeuvre is probably fantasy/scifi, but I read everything and have fairly high standards -- without being especially snobby (I hope). The story line has to work, but the writing needs to be good too.

[Jessica]

Hello, Hogwarts friends! I live in Cincinnati, OH, and have been a member of HRC since the 9 and 3/4 race. Only a couple months, but I love it so far! I read a little bit of everything and am always up for trying something new. I just finished The Dark Tower series and have been struggling to find something to catch my interest since that saga. Obviously HP is one of my favorites. I also like Stephen King, Augusten Burroughs, Gregor Mcguire, and many others. Looking forward to discussing our reads with all of you!

[Shaina]

Hi everyone! I'm Shaina and I live in NYC and work as a theater technician. I started running (C25K) in July. I joined HRC somewhere in between this year's Platform 9-3/4 and the Patronus 5K. I'm currently training for a Hanukkah themed Half Marathon in December. I read a lot of SF/F and am currently almost done rereading the HP series.

Some of my other favorites include The Name of the Wind, The Martian, Orson Scott Card, John Scalzi, Gail Carriger, Margaret Atwood, Rainbow Rowell, Richelle Mead.

[Devin]

Tamara wrote: "Greetings from Florida!

I've been a stay-at-home-mom for the last five years, previously having been a teacher, NASA historian and political organizer. My daughter's school caught wind of my teach..."

TAMARA! I have an absolute *wonderful* book that I just have to recommend to you. "The Time It Takes To Fall". Please just look into it. I think you might like it even more than I do, and I like it... a lot a lot :]

[Devin]

Cali wrote: "Hi I'm Cali, I currently live in Oklahoma, but am from New Jersey. I am married to a USAF officer and have two boys, a dog and a cat. I love reading fantasy and historical fiction when I can find t..."

Cali! Would you happen to live in OKC?! I'm a transplant too- grew up in Iowa, but ended up here because of the Air Force. I used to be an aircraft maintainer, but our mission has recently changed. I'm still waiting to find out what my new AFSC (aka career) will be (:

[Devin]

Hello everyone! I'm Devin and I grew up in a small city in northwest Iowa (the same city that T.Swift's lead guitarist grew up in)! I now live in Oklahoma City with my husband, who happens to be a Gryffindor. I just recently (and FINALLY!) convinced him to read all of the HP novels and watch all of the movies while we were on our previous deployment. I have ALWAYS been a bookworm. I carry books with me everywhere. And I mean *everywhere*, haha. I get made fun of for it even now, but I really don't care what people think. Except when I'm around other avid readers. You know, there's always the books you *want* to read, but then there's the books that you definitely want to be *seen* reading. ;) I pretty much love all genres, but I have a special fascination with folklore of all cultures, especially when it is retold in a modern way. I hold a special place in my heart for historical fiction, writing that reads like prose, and any novel that has *substance*. Usually I'm disappointed with YA fiction because it feels so shallow. Of course, I have found exceptions- His Dark Materials trilogy is a good example of this, being based on "Paradise Lost".

[Emma]

Hello I am Emma. I am also from Iowa. I am loving all the Iowa connections in here! I discovered HRC in July. I rediscovered running this year and am so excited to find all of you and HRC as well. I am an elementary school counselor. I don't have much time to read for enjoyment during the school year. I am excited for this book club to give me the push to find the time!

[Salli]

You guys all sound amazing. Ravenclaw is the best!!

[Misti]

Hey folks! I'm Misti, born and raised in Texas. I love to read. I'll read almost anything. I'm so happy to have found the HRC!! I love this group and can't wait to see how far it goes! I've never done a book club before, so this is also exciting for me. I love embroidery and all kinds of crafts too.

[Meghan]

Hi All! My name is Meghan and I live in the sticks of Virginia. I read anytime I have a spare moment and always have an audiobook going in the car when the kids aren't riding with me. I am also horrible at introducing myself! I joined the HRC right before the Platform 9 3/4 race of this year and am very glad that I was introduced to it.

[Tracey]

Hi y'all.
My name is Tracey. I live in San Antonio, TX. I work full time, school, Girl Scout troop leader, and recently joined the HPC Running Club. As a graphic design student, I usually read art books. Love HP, books by Rick Riordan, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Mark Twain, and Poe are my favorites. I am trying to catch up on the classics like Austen, HG Wells, and others. I love writing. It calms me down. After reading Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King, I realized if I wanted to write better I had to read more. I'm looking forward to a book club expanding my reading list.

[Sara]

Hello, everyone! My name is Sara and I reside in the Green Bay area of Wisconsin. I'm super excited to get a chance to have some book discussions that are outside of academia! I am currently in the process of getting my master's in English literature. I'm supposed to have an area of concentration, but I always seem to change my mind once I've settled on something. I'll read just about anything and find it interesting in some way. My literary heroes are Douglas Adams, Agatha Christie, Jack Kerouac, JK Rowling, Edith Wharton, JRR Tolkien, Isabel Allende, Neil Gaiman, William Shakespeare, Margaret Atwood... Oh no, I've done it again. I can't decide on only a few! I also love to travel, though it's difficult with grad school and a full-time job at a non-profit, but I went to Paris and the Normandy region of France this year and will be going to England (Manchester, Oxford, and London) next spring. I look forward to our discussions!

[Glendaliz]

Hello everybody! I'm Glenda. This is my first book club.
I am original from Puerto Rico but currently living in TX.
I have very mixed interests in books. I like drama, Swedish crime novels, sci-fi romance, young adult (yeah, I know, I'm over 30 but love YA).

I loved Songs of Ice and Fire and eagerly awaiting GRMartin to decide to finish the series.

I loved Millennium series by Steig Larson.

I am currently on book 5 of outlander.

I like dystopian novels and books with strong female characters (still love Pippi Longstockings).

I also enjoy hispanoamerican literature, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende, but it has been a while since I read anything from them.

[Karina]

Greetings from Connecticut (but a Rhode Island girl at heart who still works there!). My name is Karina and I am an avid reader. I am part of the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die Club (which is a great book club that you guys should also check out) so I am very much into the classics but I do enjoy fantasy as well, a la Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones (though I've only read the first two, not ready to tackle the third yet). I own more books that I have no where to put and buy more than I read. I will read just about anything! My favorite book of all time is Pride and Prejudice that I try to read on a yearly basis. Who doesn't love Elizabeth and hate to love Mr. Darcy?

[Ashley]

Hello from Pennsylvania. I was born and raised in New York (NYC and the Finger Lakes) but now live just outside Philadelphia on the Main Line with my husband, our 2 sons, dog, cat, tortoise and fish; I put my foot down when they asked for chickens and an alpaca. I taught Middle and High School History and Government in NYC for 10 years before I had my kids. Now I stay at home with them, but in the past year have started substituting at my little one's preschool and teaching ESL to Congolese refugees. As a result of all my work with 'tweens and teens, I have a soft spot for pretty much all YA fiction. I love Gayle Forman and John Greene and The Hunger Games and everything in between. I have yet to meet a genre I do not enjoy, and usually have at least 2 books going at any given time. We travel quite a bit to what my friends consider unusual places, and we always bring our kids. One of my favorite things is the take a book/leave a book shelf in hotels and cafes when I travel. I often find treasures that I wouldn't have otherwise picked up. We are heading to Sri Lanka next month for holiday and tend to spend a great deal of time in East Africa, specifically Tanzania and Rwanda. When we are in Tanzania or Rwanda it is usually for at least 2 months, and while I am there I teach English as well as do work with conflict resolution with primary school students. I come from a family of avid readers who all have a soft spot for Brit Lit. My mom is a children's librarian and gave me Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone when it first came out, so Harry and I go way back. My older son is 7 and we read the first Harry Potter together last year. Chamber of Secrets was put on hold, walls whispering death and murder was a bit too scary at 6, but I think we are going to give it another go when we go on vacation next month. Right now I am reading American God's (Gaiman), The Housekeeper and The Professor(Ogawa), and I just finished Sister's In Law:How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World(Hirshman). Which means I have an opening on my bedside table for The Book of Lost Things!

[Ashley]

Devin wrote: have ALWAYS been a bookworm. I carry books with me everywhere. And I mean *everywhere*, haha. "

I will only buy a purse if it's big enough hold a book. :-)

[Devin]

Haha, Ashley! I *only* carry a purse to help tote my current read around (:

[Nicoconsd]

Hi Everyone, I'm Nico and I live in San Diego CA and love love love to read, although I don't always find the time for it. I love all things YA Fantasy/Sci Fi.

This will be my second book club. The other one I am participating in is a Graphic Novel book club and it's fabulous! We meet once a month at our local library and although I am new to Graphic Novels I am loving every min. Maybe one month we can do a graphic novel for the group it would be a fun change of pace possibly!

Cheers!

[Devin]

Nico, the hope that I have for this group is to read all sorts of genres to hopefully have something of interest for everyone! A graphic novel is absolutely a possibility (: I hope each person who holds the conch feels comfortable in nominating something that they love, so that we all may be exposed to new things that we may find that we love as well, but wouldn't have known otherwise.

[Amanda]

Hello y'all, I've been in the Ravenclaw Goodreads group for a while but haven't had the chance to introduce myself. I'm a struggling bibliophile, as I love to read but life has been making it nearly impossible the past decade. I'm a Mom of three crazy, exhausting but so full of life kids (oldest son 12 is my Ravenclaw, my middle daughter 10 is a Gryffindor and my youngest 7 is a Gryffindor, no doubt), that haven't allowed much free time the past decade first with diapers and then PTA duties. My sister and I decided to do Modern Mrs. Darcy's reading challenge for 2015 and I've gotten back into the reading saddle. Just like I carve time out for running, I carve time out for reading, too, usually 3 or 4 books at once. And yes, every purse must be able to hold a book, if not at least my nook. Glad to be here and look forward to trying out new books and authors!

[Amanda]

Forgot to add my favorite books besides the obvious HP. I really enjoyed the Mortal Instruments but definitely preferred the Infernal Devices. I just read Dead Wake and am now hooked. Erik Larson's style of weaving historical accounts that read like a story are so intriguing. I have a few of his in queue. I read a ton of YA Fantasy to preread content for my oldest son. Started HP back in the day to preread for my niece and I was hooked! The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite classics from school along with Grendel. Currently I'm reading the Outlander series, but that's going a bit slower than I hoped because of me moving internationally in a month from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Miami, FL. Puts a damper on your reading game when you're too exhausted to even get pajamas on your body! About a third of the way through Les Miserables right now. I made it halfway when I was pregnant with my oldest and have started it few times since then. Hope to finish it this year, finally so I can scratch it off my list! Looking forward to see what new author's we can explore together!

[Mandy]

Hello Claws! My name is Mandy and I am a stay at home wife to Jean, living on the side of a mountain in Linden, Virginia (about an hour west of DC) with our enormous Irish Wolfhound, Grimmauld (Grimm).

I have a BA in Psychology and MA work in Irish Studies, and I do just about nothing with either! I work part time from home for the National Stuttering Association as Editor and Social Media Coordinator. My husband is a person who stutters, and we are very active in the stuttering community.

Most of the rest of my time is spent reading, at the gym or in yoga class, knitting, scrapbooking, cooking/baking, caring for hubby's needs (as he runs his home renovation business) and our home.

What I read is fairly varied, though tried-and-true faves include the Little House series, HP (of course), and recently the Peculiar Children series.

[Tricia]

Hello from NYC!

My name is Tricia, and I joined up with HRC in the fall, just in time for the Patronus 5k. I'm a performer and photographer at heart, but I work for Barnes & Noble as the audio book buyer to pay my bills. As a result, I have quite the range of interests in my reading. I do tend to lean heavily on the sci-fi/fantasy side when reading, but try to branch out as often as possible.
Other than HP, some of my favorites are:
JK Rowling's adult crime series under her pen name, Robert Galbraith.
Anything by Richelle Mead-- adult and young adult. Doesn't matter, I love them all. I'm particularly a fan of her YA series, Vampire Academy, and her adult Georgina Kincaid series. She always has strong female protagonists.
Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine series. If you aren't familiar with it, check it out. He found weird, old photos at garage and estate sales and created a fascinating world around them.
Chris Colfer (yes, of GLEE fame) and his The Land of Stories series. I've listened the audio books, which I found tiresome because I'm not a fan of his speaking voice, but I do love the way he weaves all the old fairy tales together with the modern world.
I also love Rick Riordan's various young adult Greek/Roman/Egyptian series. I read the Red Pyramid before going to Egypt a few years ago, and all my guides thought I was incredibly learned with Egyptian mythology. Who knew I'd learn more from a YA fantasy novel than my guide books??
I've had a tough year, so I haven't done much reading (or listening) this year, but I'm hoping to get my reading back in check in 2016! Looking forward to seeing what everyone is reading!

[Dani]

Howdy!!

I've read through everyone's posts and I'm so excited to see so many read-a-holic Ravenclaws.

Personally, I read just about anything. I'm a professor at a small university in San Diego which makes me think that I get paid to read for a living (though I'd love to moonlight as a librarian or bookseller).

My favorites are Our Town, We Are Liars, Wuthering Heights, Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, This is Where I Leave You, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Here, Summer Sisters...I could go on and on. I'm also a big reader of comics!

I can't wait for December's book and look forward to a great discussion :)

[Katherine]

Hi I'm Katie. I spent my childhood in Colorado and have been living in Ohio for the past twelve years. Reading has always been my escape from reality and was the only thing that didn't change during my parents divorce. I will read anything I can get my hands on. Other than the HP series my favorites include Gone with the Wind, Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Mike, and the Poison wood Bible. My favorite authors are Jamie McGuire, Tillie Cole, Mimi Jean Pamfiloff, and Barbra Kingsolver.
I'm really glad to have discovered this group and I'm excited to read with my fellow Ravenclaws!

[Kristi]

Hi! I'm Kristi. I live in a small town of Bethalto, Illinois. I work in Cat Scan and xray at two different hospitals.
Other than HP, my favorite books are: Rebecca, Pride and Prejudice, Wicked Lovely series, the Hunger Games and Divergent(though I also didn't like the ending of either of these). I have one daughter who is 15 months old, and am enjoying all the time we get to spend together! I'm looking forward to reading with all of my fellow Ravenclaws!!

[Tabitha]

Hello! I'm Tabby. I live in New Mexico. I own and operate a home daycare, homeschool my 5 year old daughter, am a daisy troop leader and a distributor for Usborne books. On top of all that I am a complete book nerd! My reading preferences are very diverse, honestly if it sounds good I'll read it! I love Pride and Prejudice, Dystopian novels, Great Expectations, Beautiful Disaster and tons of others! I love forward to read with you all each month and getting to know my fellow Ravenclaws a little more!

[Devin]

Glad to have you, Tabby!

[Amy]

Hello! I'm Amy. While I currently live in Utah, I am originally from Oregon. I am an elementary school teacher. I just barely joined the Ravenclaw group and am excited to run and read with everyone. I am an avid reader and currently have way more books than bookshelf space but that's perfectly alright with me. I love reading historical fiction, biographies, and any dystopian/post-apocalyptic books.

[Chris]

Hi everybody! My name is Chris, I JUST joined the HRC today. My wife informed me all about this, but she was sorted into Gryffindor and as such won't be in this lovely house that is Ravenclaw! I am from Lasalle, IL, you get on I-80 west from Chicago for 90 miles and you'll find this tiny town. I have a long list of living places, but we will suffice for I grew up in NY out on Long Island. I am a mining engineer currently working as a project engineer at a cement plant. I'm a nerd, a geek, and a dork all wrapped into one!

I love reading, my wife and I partook in a 100 book club when we lived in Louisiana that challenged library patrons to read 100 books a year. I will literally read anything, in 2014 I read 50 Shades of Grey right after reading The Count of Monte Cristo and followed that with Ender's game, if it has words I'll read it. Don't be discouraged if you check out my profile, I only joined goodreads last year, I have read way more than 75 books :-)

I'm excited about this book club and look forward to adding the club books to my reading list each month, I'll get cracking on this month after I finish Elantris!

Chris

[Devin]

Welcome, Chris! We're glad to have you!

[Caitlin]

Hello, my name is Caitlin. I live near St. Paul, Minnesota (USA). I am a middle school teacher with 3 daughters (7, 5, and 3). I work with some pretty tough kids, as I am a special education teacher, so I've found myself reading mostly young adult fiction and romance novels (Nora Roberts) the last year or so. I'm really trying to branch out this year, so I like to be part of a book club. Once I get into a book, I like to read most anything.

[Jess]

Hey everyone :) I'm Jess. I've been a member of HRC since last January; I am AMAZED at how much the club has grown since then and super excited about it. I didn't work last summer while I was transitioning between jobs and was able to spend a lot of time reading and "hanging out" in the common room, but I left for the Army in the fall and haven't been around much. Y'all have been doing an awesome job keeping this group going and I'm excited to jump back in to it; I'll get on track with the February book selection.

[Cindy]

Hi everyone, I'm a,single mom, living in SW Missouri. I have a fairly eclectic reading list; I'll read almost anything if it catches my attention. Some of my favorites are Jane Austen, The Mortal Instruments series, and Sherlock Holmes. There are far more, far too many to list. I'm excited to see what reads the group goes through and the discussions. I love Goodreads, but find myself quite the lazy user. I am absolutely terrible about posting that I've started a book and never updating to reflect that I've finished. I'm hoping that being an active member of the group will help with that.

[Sandra]

Hey everybody :)

I'm Sandra, and I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada! (Seriously, how bizarre that there are TWO Sandra's from Alberta in this group...)

I have loved reading from a very early age, and I like pretty much everything. Notable favorites include: Harry Potter, everything Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, Anne of Green Gables, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hunger Games, The Kingkiller Chronicles, Les Miserables...
So, you know, fantasy, romance, and EPIC classics ;)

Looking forward to joining in! I read 71 books in 2015, just trying to decide what to tackle this year!

[Devin]

Hi Sandra! Have you ever read the Emily of New Moon trilogy? I highly recommend it (: