Introduction Thread

[Betty]

Tell us about yourself! Tell us what genre of books you like, your favourite place to read, your favourite food... Anything!

[Naura]

Helloo!! Thanks for the thread Betty! :)

My name's Naura, I'm 21 and I'm from India!
It's been real fun at GR, although it seems to be dying a bit these days :P
I like almost all genres of books, and I can read anywhere xD
Also-I'm a big foodie :D So, no favourites there either ;)
If it's not books or music, then it's food!

P.S-Mod-your pic is adorable :D

[Emilia]

Yoooo I'm Milly, 23 from UK. Currently a law student, so struggling to find time for much other than studying, but I'm trying to fit in some more books in 2016. So hopefully you guys will help and inspire me to read more next year!

I like all books, but usually seek out LGBT+ lit. Also love historical fiction & fantasy. And the classics ofc (I cant resist, I did an English degree). Also hot for anything non-fiction to do with ancient history, politics, philosophy and law.

Love art, baking & video games too!

Look forward to talking with you guys :-*

[Betty]

My name is Betty! I'm a 22 year old film student (and ex-literature student) from Australia.

I love general fiction and literature and am not hugely into crime/thrillers/mysteries. I also love to seek out books that have LGBT+ themes, and I'm not ashamed to say that I still love young adult novels!!

I'm also really happy that we have people in this group from all over the world!! I think it'll give the group a new dimension and I'm excited to see where 2016 takes us as literature lovers!!

[Morgan]

I'm Morgan! I'm an 18 year old from the US!

I also tend to lean towards LGBT+ books (I loooove Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe), but I love fantasy, magical realism, anything really enchanting that can sweep me away! Not a huge fan of crime or dystopian/some facets of sci-fi.

I also love watching movies & making review collages in my journal as both a creative outlet but also because I'm very interested in becoming a film critic! Practically anything to do with the movie world fascinates me, I've always kind of wanted to be an actress, though I'm not sure if I could be an actress, you know? The thought of putting yourself out there in such a vulnerable way, like in emotional scenes for example, I don't know if I could put that on!

[Naura]

This is so cool!
Nice to know y'all :)

Milly
I know how that feels. You barely have time to sit down and enjoy the breeze, right? xD It drives me nuts for sure.
I'm doing my Master's in Clinical Psychology- I was a literature student too :D

Betty
That's really cool! How do you like film school?
Yeah, it's a good thing. So far, US, UK, Australia, India :D

Morgan
Interesting. I haven't read any Aristotle or Dante, but I'd love to! Any recommendations?
Film critic sounds really interesting. I know what you mean, but as an actor I think you can take a stand on what kind of movies you want to make? Not sure how that industry works :P

Good luck! :D



P.S.: If you haven't already noticed- I can talk non-stop :P

[Nicole]

Hi I'm Nicole! 22 from the US, about to start my first post-college job in management consulting.

I love fantasy (and YA fantasy above all) but also enjoy mystery and historical. Other than books there is of course my love for TV and movies. Still trying to figure out what other hobbies to pursue as an ~adult~ (joined some board game groups on Meetup.com, looking into ceramics classes, etc...).

Naura -- Aristotle & Dante etc is the title of a book :) I haven't read it yet, but I've heard good things!

[Naura]

Hey Nicole! :) Good luck with the job! :)

Yikes. Ignorance. *sighs*
Thanks for the info ^.^

[Jenna]

Hello I'm Jenna, 23, from upstate NY :) I work a 40 hr/week job as a receptionist/customer service rep that somehow still sucks up all my free time as well :/ Trying to get back into reading the way I used to.
I don't know if I have a concrete favorite genre to read--mostly I go through phases where all I want to read is sci-fi or historical fiction, etc-- but I'll give anything a try tbh.
I've been on goodreads for like 4 years but I've never joined a group so I ask only for your patience while I get used to this.
Pleased to meet all of you!

[Amanda]

Hi everyone!

My name is Amanda and I'm 25 from Lakewood, CA. I love reading and I wanted to join a book club that would open me up to a variety of different types of books. I decided to join an online book club because unfortunately I had to leave my in-person book club due to scheduling conflicts (which made me sad lol) I'm looking for a community of book lovers looking to discuss a monthly book. I feel like this book club would be a good fit because its smaller and doesn't seem super overwhelming like some of the other book clubs. I'm really excited to join this group and participate in some discussion and just getting to know other book lovers like myself

[Kinsey]

Hello!

My name is Kinsey and I'm 26. I was born and raised on the plains of Colorado and am currently pursuing a degree in Psychology as well as being the primary care-taker to my younger brother. I have always been a voracious reading, although in recent years I have strayed away from the more "traditional" mediums because I found it hard to find books/characters that really resonated with me. When the uber-amazing Betty mentioned her book club, I thought that it would be a great avenue to rediscover my love of the printed page and I asked to join (plus, she has fabulous taste in lit)!

I am somewhat of a fantasy, sci-fi, and LGBT buff, although I do enjoy many different genres, and I hope that being a part of this group will open me up to even more types of books I would not have previously considered reading on my own! It's really nice to meet everyone and I look forward to discussing our current book with you all!

[Naura]

18 through 26! Awesome :D
Hello Amanda and Kinsey, welcome to the group :)

Amanda- I'm sure you'll love it here :)

Kinsey- High five on the Psychology degree :D
Looking forward to great discussions too

[Betty]

Hey guys!! It's so good to have you all along, I'm glad you thought our little book club was worth joining :)

[Theirdarkness]

Hey everyone!

My name's Steph and I'm 28, living in Belgium. I'm a graphic designer but currently working in retail ha ha ha, do you know that feel?

My favourite genre is fantasy but this year I've been branching out a lot and it's made me so happy! I've read some classics like Catcher in the Rye and The Call of the Wild, but I've also read some LGBT and ho ho ho, I'll definitely be reading more of that (No I'm not new to the genre, I just never read published LGBT). I found that reading went a lot faster and was less daunting when it's a stand-alone book. High fantasy book series ask for so much commitment, so it's very nice to have a casual read on the side~

Aside from that I also like to read graphic novels and children's illustration books, because that ties into my field and because sometimes they're just really downright awesome.

The year is not over yet but so far I think my favourite books of this year were the Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud :)

[Theirdarkness]

Nicole wrote: "Hi I'm Nicole! 22 from the US, about to start my first post-college job in management consulting.

I love fantasy (and YA fantasy above all) but also enjoy mystery and historical. Other than books ..."

I read Aristotle and Dante this year and it was such a gorgeous book! Very real and sweet and almost touchable, if that makes sense.

[Naura]

Hey Steph! Welcome to the group :)

[Noah]

I never did one of these so, uh, hello! I'm Sarah, i'm 21 and i live in Melbourne, Aus. I read whatever i'm feeling at the time. After I finish AMLS, I'm planning to pick up some YA fantasy so I can breathe a little. But I've definitely been moving more towards reading all the queer lit I can get my hands on this past couple of years. I get a lot of my reading done going to and from work on the train, but otherwise I like reading in bed or the bath.

[Naura]

Hey Sarah! Welcome to the group :)
Ooh AMLS! The Medical program ? We don't have it here, so I amn't really sure what it actually is, but anyway good luck with it :)

Haha, cool! I read pretty much everywhere too xD

[Paris]

I guess I should do an intro post to?? Hi! I'm Paris, I'm from Australia. I read seriously a lot as a kid (it was considered a genuine problem in my family, how much I would read instead of talking to people) but I kinda stopped reading through high school and uni. I took a semester break from uni recently and now I've started reading again!! My fav's so far have been The Raven Boys and Carry On, I read a lot of queer YA and classics and I love dogs :) it's nice to meet you all!!

[Naura]

Heya Paris :)
Welcome to the group! Haha, yeah- pretty much the same with me as an adolescent xD
It's great that you've started reading again! Have fun :)

[Noah]

Naura wrote: "Hey Sarah! Welcome to the group :)
Ooh AMLS! The Medical program ? We don't have it here, so I amn't really sure what it actually is, but anyway good luck with it :)

Haha, cool! I read pretty much..."

AMSL is As Meat Loves Salt, which i'm actually really enjoying at the moment! Great to meet you!!

[Naura]

*facepalm*
I should've known. I can't keep track of half the abbreviated forms, man xD

(See this is why I don't make many friends xD
LMAO. )

Good to know that you're enjoying the book. :D

[Betty]

Hi all!!

Not sure if this is the appropriate space for it (let's say it is), but I thought I'd let you know that I also post about the books I'm reading over on my Instagram (@bettyisonline) if any of you are interested in taking a peep!! :)

[Paris]

I knew I know you from somewhere Betty!! I got confused lol, I follow you! My instagram is pariskhardie and its like a book/personal account too

[Naura]

I'll follow you two :D

maybe we can have a separate thread for Instagram accounts?
If people want to share it, that is :)

[Cayce]

Hi! I'm Cayce, 23 (24 in 2 weeks) and from Texas!

I've been internet friends with Betty for a few years now and saw that she was doing this and wanted to join in!

I really love all different kinds of books, but i'd say the bulk of the books I read are YA! I was an English minor in college & my favorite non-YA genre is the post-modern novel (a little broad, I know).

Since college was very reading intensive for me, I found that I wasn't reading outside of assigned readings as much and now that i've graduated i've been wanting to get back into the habit.

It's nice to meet all of you and I'll probably pick up in February so I look forward to discussing that book with y'all!

[Naura]

Hello Cayce ! Welcome to the group :)

What are you reading, at the moment?

[Cayce]

I just started The Magicians by Lev Grossman! It's one of those books that has been sitting on my bookshelf for years and I found out they were making a show about it and finally picked it up again!

I'm also perpetually in the middle of reading Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller because I stopped to do something one day and haven't picked it up since because I'm good at avoiding the pain I know it's gonna bring me lol

[Naura]

Oh The Magicians is something I've heard people talk of- haven't read it !
Interesting...I wonder what sort of a book that is xD

*sigh* The only negative of talking to fellow reader is that I realize how many other books there are that I haven't heard of and that I should have probably read them/ be reading them.

[Anna]

Hello (it appears exclusively?) ladies!
I'm Anna, 22, I live in Perth, (the Australian one, not the Scottish one) and I'm a receptionist at an accounting firm in the City.

My book collection is pretty strongly leaning to the YA side, but I adore psychological thrillers, sci-fi, slice of life, romance, anything with social commentary and anything that will make me cringe. I'm not huge on Epic Fantasies because I find them quite clunky and trope-filled, but it could be my ignorance talking.

I'm also a big fan of Graphic novels and have a steadily growing collection of those cluttering my books cases.

I'm a slow reader at the best of times, but I love every hour it takes me to chip through a good Dystopian Sci-fi or (I will admit my ultimate weakness) a good love triangle.

I'm joining the group because my surroundings are most definitely lacking in reading buddies (I actually am met with shocked faces when I bring a novel in to work from the train) so I was hoping to find some like-minded individuals to share with!
Looking forward to chatting!

[Betty]

Anna wrote: "Hello (it appears exclusively?) ladies!
I'm Anna, 22, I live in Perth, (the Australian one, not the Scottish one) and I'm a receptionist at an accounting firm in the City.

My book collection is pr..."

It's so good to meet you, Anna!

I know I speak for all of us when I say that it's great to have you on board!

Feel free to add me as a friend on here if you want to - I'd love to see what you're reading and what you're getting up to!! As you can probably see, this group is pretty low maintenance, and sometimes the only thing we actually do as a club is read the same book and not really talk about it (I'd like to change that though!). So feel free to do whatever you're comfortable with! Hopefully we can be a group where you can share your passion for reading :)

[Anna]

Thanks Betty!
Even a little chat is more than I get at home!
And thanks! I'll hop right to it :)

[Naura]

Welcome to the group Anna!
And I totally agree with Betty, it's great to have you here :D

And yes we need to get things moving around here. I apologize I haven't been the most active member here either *sheepish grin*

[Anna]

It's easy for forums to fall behind on the list of priorities, especially when you're hardly finding time to read, let alone talk about reading!

Please go right ahead and add me if you'd like!
So as a foodie, what's your absolute favorite cuisine?

[Kinsey]

Anna wrote: "Hello (it appears exclusively?) ladies!
I'm Anna, 22, I live in Perth, (the Australian one, not the Scottish one) and I'm a receptionist at an accounting firm in the City.

My book collection is pr..."

Hi Anna! I, too, love a good sci-fi or fantasy novel. I have many of the "classics" (like Dune) on my to-read list but I'm honestly afraid I'll end up finding them rather...dry? What are some of your favorite sci-fi novels? I hope you enjoy our little group and I look forward to reading alongside you! :)

[Anna]

Pleasure to meet you Kinsey!

I actually just finished the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown and found that really enjoyable.
He was really good at keeping the war/military planning stuff short and broke up potential dry parts with character banter, which I really loved. He does a great job at focusing on character relationships and the bromance in that is legendary.
Other than that I adored the Choas Walking Trilogy (starting with The Knife of Never Letting Go) by Patrick Ness. That series made me absolutely lose my mind and nothing has ever topped it for me. I seriously can ramble on and on about the incredible world he built, the character development, the plot twists, cliff hangers, feminist views, religious and social commentary, literary choices, and heart wrenching story line in that book.
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is another all time Sci-fi, YA favourite as well as Delirium by Lauren Oliver.
But those are all series!

How about yourself?

[[deleted user]]

Heeelllloooo, I'm nikky, 26 from England, I'm a massive history fan and because of that I read alot of ancient literature both east and west, I love my manga but have only recently gotten back into reading them, ill read anything really as long as it has a good review, I'm not a big fan of biographies or autobiographies but I will try at least, sorry I haven't posted a little sooner

[Anna]

Hi Nikky!
What's your favorite manga?
(My heart lies firmly with Fruits Basket)

[[deleted user]]

Hello Anna
I absolutely love fruits basket!!! I know people always say how good it is but there right!!! Everything from the character's to the story to the artwork is amazing, I love how all the character's are different, how there all flawed and damaged and have good inside them, such a breath of fresh air from the typical good vs evil cliché. I'm a huge fan of death note too, its only recently ive gotten back into reading manga, so its only short stories like wolf children and uzimaki, sorry for the long message :')

[Anna]

I know! The character development in it is incredible too!
Such subtle changes! I loved how hate-able Akito was and that every character got a chance to shine.
It definitely took a quality turn that I wasn't expecting from such a cutesy plot idea.

I've seen the wolf children movie and loved it, I'm assuming it's related?

[[deleted user]]

I don't know how i got into fruits basket, i think i saw a review and though od try it, what a good choice I made!!! I haven't fully read it but the movie and the book are almost identical!!! I don't know fully if there's and difference in the main plot, I just randomly saw it in a shop so I got it :3 I use to read bleach but I lost interest in it, I'm not a massive fan of long running series. What other manga do you like?

[Anna]

Yeah the long running ones kill me.
I usually just read some cheesy terrible romance ones when I'm in between books, ones that I don't even bother to learn the names of haha, they're just weekend quick-fixes. I don't keep up on any.
I do that for comics instead, I buy them as they come out. You read any comics?

Sorry! I feel like we've high-jacked the intro-board :,D

[Kinsey]

Anna wrote: "Pleasure to meet you Kinsey!

I actually just finished the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown and found that really enjoyable.
He was really good at keeping the war/..."

I will definitely add those to my 'to read' list! For all my love for the genre, I have sadly read few scifi books. The #1 of my heart will always be the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, of course. I also really enjoy some good old-fashioned George Orwell and Orson Welles, although I would characterize their work as more 'dystopian' than true scifi. :) However I am a true scifi nerd when it comes to tv or films of which my favorites are the Stargate series, Firefly/Serenity, Killjoys, The Expanse, Star Trek, Star Wars, and countless others!

[Anna]

Kinsey wrote: I will definitely add those to my 'to read' list! For all my love for the genre, I have sadly read few scifi books. The #1 of my heart will always be the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, of course. "


I haven't actually read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which is shameful and shocking I know! I'll recify it ASAP!
And in all honesty, my sci-fi experience does actually include mainly Dystopian futures, so if you count that as a separate sort of genre then a few of those fall in that category (namely Uglies and Delirium.)

That's awesome to hear! My best friend loves all of those sorts of things. I've honestly only seen the bare minimum when you get down to it!
I'm more of a Walking Dead type.
Which again, Dystopian, so I guess we have a theme here.

[Kinsey]

Anna wrote: "Kinsey wrote: I will definitely add those to my 'to read' list! For all my love for the genre, I have sadly read few scifi books. The #1 of my heart will always be the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Gal..."

I've always adored the way Douglas Adams could take a serious topic and show the utter absurdness of the situation! It could be the darkest day of my life and all I would have to do is read one of his paragraphs and immediately feel better. That man truly had a gift!

It's really interesting to me how much fantasy/scifi/dystopian media is really interchangeable. "The 100" novels and tv series for example is considered scifi, even though I would put it down as more futuristic dystopian? The Walking Dead (definitely a favorite for my family, we get into epic meta fights about it!) is puuuuure dystopian nightmare with a side of zombies, while the Stargate series is (to me) pure scifi (the goa'uld and the wraith ain't got nothing on the sheer pants-wetting terror of a zombie horde). I guess it's just up to personal interpretation!

[Anna]

Kinsey wrote: "I've always adored the way Douglas Adams could take a serious topic and show the utter absurdness of the situation! It could be the darkest day of my life and all I would have to do is read one of his paragraphs..."

I love hearing about authors who can change your world like that! Looking forward to it!

Yeah! You could even put Zombie's in the fantasy genre if you wanted, a mix between the science of reanimated life and the fantasy of mystical creatures! (and obviously horror)
But I agree, Zombie horde takes the cake for terror.
Have you read the comics? Zombies were always a sort of...whatever concept to me, but The Walking Dead just roped me in and didn't let me go until I played all the games, watched all the episodes and read all the comics.
I love how the focus isn't on the Zombie's so much as the factioning of people and the tribal mentality, the moral dilemmas and stuff that make you argue with your family hahaha.

Yeah, I guess the only real Sci-fi elements in the 100 are the fact that they come from a spaceship?
Though, season two did end with that (view spoiler)[AI (hide spoiler)] thing...

In any case, I love that they all interlock like they do. Means you can flow through genre's when some elements of one pique your interest.

[[deleted user]]

Anna wrote: "Yeah the long running ones kill me.
I usually just read some cheesy terrible romance ones when I'm in between books, ones that I don't even bother to learn the names of haha, they're just weekend q..."

Hehehe well I don't have friends who read manga so unfortunately I don't get a good choice, I do prefer shorter ones, any genre, any recommendations?

[[deleted user]]

Kinsey wrote: "Anna wrote: "Pleasure to meet you Kinsey!

I actually just finished the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown and found that really enjoyable.
He was really good at kee..."

Hello Kinsey, I don't read much Sci fi unfortunately, but I've read a couple of George Orwell books, 1984 and animal farm and I loved them!!! I don't read many novels at all, its only in the last year or so I've gotten back into reading, any recommendations would be great

[Kinsey]

Nikky wrote: "Kinsey wrote: "Anna wrote: "Pleasure to meet you Kinsey!

I actually just finished the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown and found that really enjoyable.
He was rea..."

Hi Nikky! I would definitely recommend the "Magicians" trilogy by Lev Grossman if you like urban fantasy. We read the first book for the book club but I absolutely devoured the other two books (as well as the tv series)! Another amazing book is "Geek Love" by Katherine Dunn, although I will tell you that the subject matter might be hard for some people to read. It's honestly one of the books that inspired me to write and, at least for me, I see everything as a time "before" I read Geek Love and a time "after".

[Kinsey]

Anna wrote: "Kinsey wrote: "I've always adored the way Douglas Adams could take a serious topic and show the utter absurdness of the situation! It could be the darkest day of my life and all I would have to do ..."

You make a really strong case for zombies as a fantasy creature, Anna! I mean, it *is* true that Mary Shelly's 'Frankenstein' is considered to be the beginning of science fiction, so why shouldn't other re-animated beings be considered that as well? ;) Plus in video games such as "Dead Space", scifi/fantasy is directly intertwined with zombie/horror tropes!

I never read the Walking Dead comics, although I do know enough to get by (hence why I am seriously side-eyeing this next season if they directly follow what happens in the comics), but I did play the first season of the Tell Tale game and have been emotionally scarred ever since...

I had a difficult time with placing The 100 in the scifi genre because, to me, there needs to be something more...fantastical?? about the machinery or people or w/e. Something that doesn't or straight up *can't* exist within our lifetimes. So it was like: people living on a space station? Already have that. Nuclear war and the new Earth it creates? Can happen quite easily. Even the whole 'Grounder's blood' thing was a medically feasible idea. But yes, I totally forgot about Alie, so I stand corrected! lol