The Host

Our next meeting will be:
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2010 from 6-8 PM
Age Range: Adults Ages 18+
Location: Independence Regional Library Community Room
No registration required.

We will discuss The Host (2008) written by Stephenie Meyer. Stephenie Meyer is also famous for the popular Twilight series that has recently been adapted to film.

Check out the book review on Reader's Club.

Summary: The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie Stryder's body didn't expect her to refuse to relinquish possession of her mind.

Here are some typical discussion questions you may want to keep in mind as you read the book. You can place your hold on the book through the library catalog.

If you would like to bring food or drinks (no alcohol please) to the next book club meeting feel free. I will have paper products, something sweet and something salty, coffee, tea, and bottled water available. See you at the next meeting!

November Flight

Society of Speculative Fiction Quiz Show : Maximum Ride - The Angel Experiment

View more presentations from Christie BW.

November was a cosy affair. This opened up the opportunity to really discuss how we felt about James Patterson's Maximum Ride. Most had finished the book or were at least half way through it. Immediate reactions were that this was a beach reading type book with common action adventure themes. We thought that the major appeal for readers was to imagine they could fly like the birdkids and to identify with one of the flock. Maximum Ride the manga was surprisingly well received. To be a title written by an American author, NaRae Lee adapted it to manga with style. Many commented that the artwork was better than they had anticipated. Everyone thought that "The Voice" was Jeb Batchelder. He seemed the only logical choice. Since Max didn't trust Jeb face to face anymore, this is probably the only way that Jeb could continue to coach and influence her. We thought that Max has the potential to be a good leader but she still needs a lot of work and her behavior was very annoying.

Our next book club selection will be The Host (2008), by Stephenie Meyer. We will meet on Thursday, January 21, 2010 from 6-8 PM. You can place a copy on hold to be sent to the branch of your choice in the library catalog.

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

Our next meeting will be:
Date: Thursday, November 19, 2008 from 7:00-8:30 PM
Age Range: Adults Ages 18+
Location: Independence Regional Library Community Room
No registration required.

We will discuss Maximum Ride: the Angel Experiment (2005) written by James Patterson. Mr. Patterson is also famous for the Alex Cross series, two Along Came A Spider and Kiss the Girls, have been turned into films. Another series that is fast becoming a hit is Daniel X. It has won acclaim as a series for reluctant male readers.

Summary: After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.

Here are some typical discussion questions you may want to keep in mind as you read the book. You can place your hold on the book through the library catalog. It is also available in graphic novel format.

If you would like to bring food or drinks (no alcohol please) to the next book club meeting feel free. I will have paper products, something sweet and something salty, coffee, tea, and bottled water available. See you at the next meeting!

Book Club Has A New Name!

Hello Outside The Inner Limits Book Club Readers at Independence Regional Library,

PLCMC Library Administration has re-approved all book clubs in the library system. Hurray! However, there are some restrictions that we have to follow.

PLCMC Adult Programming Guidelines

1. PLCMC is in support of all book clubs. However, because of the high number of book clubs in our community, library sponsored and independent, we cannot always supply every book club with all the copies they need to conduct their discussions. Book clubs must use materials already in the collection and available for circulation.

2. In terms of PLCMC sponsored book clubs, it is recommended that you choose books that are already in sufficient quantity to satisfy your book club without monopolizing the library’s supply. If you decide to choose a recently published book, be aware that there may be high demand within the community for this book and the book may have a holds queue. Holds queues cannot be shuffled to accommodate book clubs.

Since one of the original founders of the book club is no longer participating, we are broadening the focus of the book club to be more inclusive. The name of the book club has changed. It is now called "The Society of Speculative Fiction". Here is the definition of what books will be featured in the book club:

The Society of Speculative Fiction is a book club for adults ages 18+ . The definition of speculative fiction we are using is: "A class of fiction including but not necessarily limited to fantasy, horror, and science fiction dealing with worlds, themes and characters not part of everyday life." (Wiktionary) Some of the many kinds of books we read are: paranormal/supernatural, urban fantasy, superhero fiction, swords & sorcery, spies, utopian and distopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate histories. We include reading graphic novels and manga in this book club.

This was devised because many titles that are available today cross more than one genre. Many authors will write a book that will combine elements of multiple genres.
For example: Jim Butcher writes about Harry Dresden in the Dresden Files series. Mr. Dresden is a hard-boiled P.I. who solves crimes using magic. So the book could be classified as mystery, urban fantasy, or paranormal/supernatural depending on what parts you focus on. Also by naming science fiction and fantasy in the book club's title, it seemed too confining.

The book club blog's website address has also been updated. It is now: http://speculativefictionsociety.blogspot.com

The book club will still meet every other month to accommodate selections that may have holds on them. Meetings are bi-monthly (January, March, May, July, September, November) and normally the third Thursday of the month. I cannot always guarantee we'll get that particular Thursday but we will try to be consistent. We are still meeting in Independence Regional Library's Community Room. Our November meeting will be on Thursday November 19, 2009 from 7-8:30 pm. But beginning in January the program time will be from 6-8pm. Some participants in the past had mentioned that they would like an earlier meeting time so this is to accomodate them. Also it will facilitate more time for me to break things down after book club before the library closes.

Refreshments - feel free to bring something for book club. I will try to have coffee, tea, a couple of sodas and bottled water available. I will also try to have something sweet and something salty to snack on.

I hope to also have a Facebook page up at some point (hopefully around Christmas) so you can join that if that is how you like to keep up with your calendar of events.

Every other month I will send out 5 choices for book club members to vote on. The book with the most votes will be the book selected for the next meeting. Book selections will be formulated based on New York Times, Publisher's Weekly, Library Journal, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Borders best sellers and other media sources such film and TV series based on a book. I try to feature books that are stand alone titles or first in a series. That way if you like the first book you will be ready for the rest of the books in the series. I will only offer titles that do not have too big of a holds list and that I know the library has sufficient copies for the book club to use.

If you would like to suggest a book for inclusion in the selection of choices be sure the title has at least 7-10 copies in the PLCMC library system so that everyone will have a good chance to read the book before the club meets. Holds should be no more that half of the number of copies available. For instance: if a title has 10 copies in the library system, it should have 5 holds or less. If we select your suggested title, you must provide 10 discussion questions for the book and lead the discussion. I will continue to do the Quiz Show questions like I have done in the past for an icebreaker before the discussion.

Here are the book club selections for our November 19th, 2009 meeting (7-8:30PM)

1. Dark Fever (2006) by: Karen Marie Moning (320p.) Book 1 in the Fever Series (13 copies in the system, 1 hold.) (The latest book in the series, DreamFever, is on the NYT Bestseller list this week.)

Summary: The quest to find her sisters killer draws MacKayla Lane into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle her power to see into the dangerous realm of the Fae.

2. Wizards First Rule (1994) by: Terry Goodkind (First in the Sword of Truth Series) Now a TV series on WZJY called The Legend of the Seeker. (9 copies available, 3 holds.) (573 pages) (Goodkind's latest, The Law of Nines is on the NYT Bestseller list this week.)

Synopsis: The masterpiece that started The New York Times bestselling epic Sword of Truth In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help . . . and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence. In a dark age it takes courage to live, and more than mere courage to challenge those who hold dominion, Richard and Kahlan must take up that challenge or become the next victims. Beyond awaits a bewitching land where even the best of their hearts could betray them. Yet, Richard fears nothing so much as what secrets his sword might reveal about his own soul. Falling in love would destroy them--for reasons Richard can't imagine and Kahlan dare not say. In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword--to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed . . . or that their time has run out. This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.

3. Maximum Ride : the angel experiment / James Patterson. New York : Little, Brown, 2005. 422 p. (22 copies in the system, 1 hold.) (Amazon number 3 bestseller 46 days in the top 100, B&N Top 20 Bestseller)

Summary: After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.
Storyline: From Death Valley, California, to the bowels of the New York City subway system, 14-year-old Max leads her feisty "family" on a journey of action, adventure, and soul-seeking in this #1 "New York Times" bestselling series debut.


4. Perdido Street Station / China Mieville. New York : Del Rey/Ballantine Publishing Group, 2001, c2000. 710 p. (7 copies in the system, no holds.) New Crobuzon series, book 1. (one of the top 5 in Amazon.com’s Sci-Fi/Fantasy Bestseller list, 10 days in the top 100)

Summary: In squallid and brutal New Crobuzon, a Garuda requests eccentric crisis theorist Isaac to work with lab specimens, particularly a caterpillar that feeds on a hallucinatory drug until its evolution, when it will invoke malignant terror.

5. Full moon rising / Keri Arthur New York : Bantam Books, 2006, 291p. (13 copies, 2 holds.) (one of the top 5 in Amazon’s sci-fi/fantasy bestseller list, 10 days in the top 100)

Summary: When her twin brother, Rhoan, an assassin who protects the innocent from evil supernatural beings, vanishes, Riley Jensen--a young woman who is half werewolf, half vampire--joins forces with a sexy but disoriented vampire to find him.

Please vote by Friday September 11, 2009 at 3PM. I apologize for only giving you one day to vote but our deadline for inclusion in our library events magazine, Check It Out, is tomorrow. Thanks!

Who Watches the Watchmen?

Outside The Inner Limits Quiz Show : Watchmen

View more presentations from Christie Bw.

May book club saw four new members! For two of them, it was their first time ever participating in a book club. First Timers--*ding, ding* :) We discussed Alan Moore's graphic novel, Watchmen. Most had finished the book but a few did not get to finish because the hold list for the Watchmen at the library was very long. One person got 10 answers out of 12 correct on the Quiz Show and we had two people get 9 answers right. So they all received goody bags for being the top three winners. Some wanted to read the graphic novel after seeing the movie premier in March, others had been long time Watchmen fans.

We all thought that since the movie already clocked in at 3 hours, doing Alan Moore's original ending would have added another sub-plot to an already long movie. I know that purists were sad but for those of us that went to the theaters to see it, we were already running to the restroom at lightning speed when it was over. All of us enjoyed the soundtrack for the film. Some of the songs were covered by artists other than the originals referenced in the graphic novel but everyone was OK with this. The new artists brought another level to the film. The most favorite character by far was Rorschach. His observations and one liners were certainly the most memorable. In a world where superheroes were real, we wondered, how do we get those great superpowers? We felt that the stories within the story, Tales of the Black Freighter and Under the Hood, added to our understanding of what was happening in the current action. Also we felt that the numerous allusions added to the depth of the story. Sometimes we felt like there was too much going on to really appreciate all the references! Now that Dr. Manhattan has left Earth, the balance in the world has been restored. We felt that Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias) should have asked Jon Osterman (Dr. Manhattan) to destroy all the nuclear weapons before he left Earth instead of using the alien invasion tactic. That way it would force both the U.S. and Russia to live without the nuclear war card, at least for a while. If the alien invasion doesn't happen soon, people will begin to ignore it and go back to their previous habits.

This will be our last book club until all PLCMC library adult programming has been reclassified according to new guidelines. We hope to resume in November 2009. Hope to see you then. Keep reading!

Watchmen

Our next meeting will be:
Date: Thursday, May 14, 2008 from 7:00-8:30 PM
Age Range: Adults Ages 18+
Location: Independence Regional Library Community Room
No registration required.

We will discuss the graphic novel Watchmen (1987) written by Alan Moore, illustrated/lettered by Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins is the colorist. Alan Moore is also famous for other acclaimed graphic novels including V for Vendetta, From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, two of which have been turned into films. Check out the book review on Reader's Club.

Summary: A group of super heroes plagued by all too human failings fall from grace while the concept of the super hero is dissected and inverted as strangely realistic characters are stalked by an unknown assassin.

Here are some typical discussion questions you may want to keep in mind as you read the book. You can place your hold on the book through the library catalog.

If you would like to bring food or drinks (no alcohol please) to the next book club meeting feel free. I will have paper products, something sweet and something salty, coffee, tea, and bottled water available. See you at the next meeting!

Wicked Reading

Outside The Inner Limits Quiz Show : Wicked

View more presentations from Christie Bw.

March Bookclub was a Blast! We had one new member and discussed Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Some of us did not have time to finish the book but hoped to finish soon. Everyone got seven or more answers correct on the quiz show, even without finishing the book! Hmm...does this mean I need to make the questions more challenging? One thing we zeroed in on was the difference between the liasons that Melena had with visitors to her house and the possibility of liasons that Sarima may have had with visitors to Kiamo Ko. We wondered how this may have affected the affair between Elphaba and Fiyero and their views of whether it was wrong to pursue or not.

We also talked about the upcoming film to be based on the musical set to be released in 2010. We thought that a film based on the book would be much better. The musical is different in how things are presented than the book, even though it covers the same content. Many were surprised to realize that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written over 100 years ago and the classic film starring Judy Garland was released in 1939. Most everyone agreed that their favorite character was Elphaba, with the remaining votes going to Dr. Dillamond.

Our next book club selection will be the graphic novel, Watchmen (1987), by Alan Moore. We will meet on Thursday, May 14, 2009 from 7-8:30 PM. You can place a copy on hold to be sent to the branch of your choice in the library catalog.