November - Book Pick & Date

Based on the poll sent out last month, November's book pick is the perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It is a YA book, to go with our theme of BookIt!

The book discussion will be on December 1st at Joe Squared in Village (I know you were expecting Pizza Hut, but Joe Squared is amazing). Please let me know your RSVP for the discussion no later than November 26, so I can finalize it with them.



There will be BookIt! swag handed out for those of you who attend. Thank you and I look forward to seeing you in November! 

 

October - Discussion Questions

Here are some discussion questions to keep in mind for our meeting tonight. As always, please come with additional questions if you have them!

Questions for Discussion

1. The theme of this month's book was "scary/horror." Why do you think that this book won the most votes versus the other, more traditional horror novels?
   
2. Cormac McCarthy has a distinct style of writing. Did you like it or not? Did you think that his style lent to the story that was being told?
   
3. How did you feel about the main characters never being named? Why do you think McCarthy made this choice?
   
4. There is a lot of symbolism in this book. What does the road mean to the characters? To you?
   
5. What does "the fire [inside]" mean to the characters? To you? Do you believe that we all have the fire inside now, without trial?
   
6. There is a distinction for the boy about who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are in this book. Do you believe that keeping this idea of "them" versus "us" is helpful or hurtful for their survival?
   
7. Has anyone seen the movie (released in 2009)? What did you think of it in comparison to the written work?

Thank you for participating again this month! I look forward to seeing you for the discussion and ghost walk.

Choose Your Own Adventure - November

The theme for November is Book It! We will be reading books related to adolescence and hosting our discussion at a pizza place, with great prizes. Please vote by October 19.

Here are the contenders, in no particular order (all summaries have been pulled from Amazon & Google Books). Please respond to the poll at the end. Thank you!


School Days by Patrick Chamoiseau 

Through the eyes of the boy Chamoiseau, we meet his severe, Francophile teacher, a man intent upon banishing all remnants of Creole from his students’ speech. This domineering man is succeeded by an equally autocratic teacher, an Africanist and proponent of “Negritude.” Along the way we are also introduced to Big Bellybutton, the class scapegoat, whose tales of Creole heroes and heroines, magic, zombies, and fantastic animals provide a fertile contrast to the imported French fairy tales told in school.

In prose punctuated by Creolisms and ribald humor, Chamoiseau infuses the universal terrors, joys, and disappointments of a child’s early school days with the unique experiences of a Creole boy forced to confront the dominant culture in a colonial school.

 

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
A wildly successful first novel made Grady Tripp a young star, and seven years later he still hasn’t grown up. He’s now a writing professor in Pittsburgh, plummeting through middle age, stuck with an unfinishable manuscript, an estranged wife, a pregnant girlfriend, and a talented but deeply disturbed student named James Leer. During one lost weekend at a writing festival with Leer and debauched editor Terry Crabtree, Tripp must finally confront the wreckage made of his past decisions. Mordant but humane, Wonder Boys features characters as loveably flawed as any in American fiction.

 

the perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective…but there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. 

since its publication, stephen chbosky’s haunting debut novel has received critical acclaim, provoked discussion and debate, grown into a cult phenomenon with over a million copies in print, and inspired a major motion picture.

the perks of being a wallflower is a story about what it’s like to travel that strange course through the uncharted territory of high school. the world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. of sex, drugs, and the rocky horror picture show. of those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

Looking for Alaska by John Green
Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . . After. Nothing is ever the same.

About a Boy by Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby's second bestselling novel is about sex, manliness and fatherhood. Will is thirty-six, comfortable and child-free. And he's discovered a brilliant new way of meeting women - through single-parent groups. Marcus is twelve and a little bitnerdish: he's got the kind of mother who made him listen to Joni Mitchell rather than Nirvana. Perhaps they can help each other out a little bit, and both can start to act their age.

 

Please vote on the online poll (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WMBB55H) by October 19. Thank you!

October - Book Pick & Date

Based on the poll sent out last month, October's book pick is The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It is a dark, post-apocalyptic book to go with the theme of gloomy and dreary for the month.

Our meeting will be on October 26th and, like last month, it will be a two-part meeting. When you RSVP, please be sure to let me know if you are going to one event or both. 

The book discussion will be at Alexander’s Tavern (not one of the haunted pubs, but a good one nonetheless) starting at 6:00pm. I know this is early for a Friday, but the tour is at 7:30pm and I want to make sure we’ll have enough time. Please let me know your RSVP for the discussion no later than October 22, so I can finalize it with them.

Then, for those that want to come, we will be going on the Fells Point Haunted Pub Ghost Tour, beginning at 7:30pm. Please be aware that the ghost tour is $20 and you should buy your reservation ahead of time. I am a little worried about them selling out (they've already sold out of a few), so please buy your tickets as soon as you can, if you think you can go. This tour is really fun and you'll have somewhere between 4-6 beers while you're out, so also make sure you have a DD (we can discuss carpooling if needed).

 

Thank you and I look forward to seeing you in October!