Every day

Well I have finished my latest book between book club sessions and it was a really interesting read called Every day by David Levithan. The concept was new to me. It is about a person who wakes up in the body of a different person every day. They have to "access" past memories to find out how to fit into the life of the person whose body they are in for 24 hours. "A", the central character has set guidelines by which to live and is careful not to form attachments. That is until A wakes up in the body of a teenage boy and meets the boy's girlfriend. The rules go out the window as A does everything possible to keep a relationship with her going as A falls in love. It is well written, imaginative and I really got to like the central character.
Although the character is gender neutral I found myself writing this post as if the character was a boy and had to correct myself. I wonder if others found this too.

John Green

The latest John Green book that I finished 2 days ago was Looking for Alaska. This was a good read and captured teens and the way they think, talk and act. It was also written with humour which lightened the darker moments. The main character is a boy, Miles, who leaves the safety of home to go to boarding school leaving behind his fairly boring life to search for what he calls the "Great Perhaps". At school he makes new friends including  a funny, loud, emotional, smart, gorgeous girl who fascinates him and he falls in love with her. Until...can't say anymore as that would be a major spoiler. The first half of the novel is written as a BEFORE section and the second part as AFTER signifying a change of pace in the storytelling after a crucial moment in the story. 

Interestingly, during the week of July 29, 2012, Looking for Alaska broke into the New York Times best seller list at number ten in Children's Paperback, 385 weeks (more than 7 years) after it was released.
This is possibly because his hugely sixth novel, The Fault in our Stars, had been released and fans of that story started looking for other John Green novels to read which increased sales of all his books.




 

Bookclub - a beginning

I found this on Youtube...not quite the way we run our bookclub, we actually read the books.

Book Week

Lots of schools are having book week activities around this time and are actively encouraging both staff and students to read widely. The school I work at held competitions and ran games and activities at lunchtime with fun and prizes for all.
A fun week for those of us who like to read.

Next bookclub story

We are now on the hunt for our next bookclub read. We are thinking of doing an autobiography which is a genre we have not done yet but have not yet come up with a story we are all happy to read?
Any suggestions are welcome.

An Abundance of Katherines

This is the latest John Green book that I read. It is written about and for teenagers and this is about a boy who has dated a number of girls called Katherine but they have broken up with him every time. He goes on a road trip with his best friend to get over his heart ache. He has plans to prove a maths theorem that will predict the future of any relationship. He has an adventure and steps outside his comfort zone to try new experiences and to meet new people.

This is an engaging story about trying new things, being brave and adventurous when it comes to new relationships.

Bookclub

Last Friday we met for breakfast Bookclub at a cafe (coffee not great apparently, I am a tea drinker but the muffin was delicious). We usually catch up for half our time and discuss the book for the other half.
We read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. It was an endearing tale of a couple who discover love later in life and it is a story which includes old fashioned courting in a quiet village where everyone has set attitudes about race, religion and dating for older members of the community. The main character is a retired army Major who values things like his properly brewed tea, honour and decorum and his love interest is a village shopkeeper whose family come from Pakistan.  They have both lost their partners and are drawn together by their mutual interest in literature. It is well written with humour and warmth and is a modern love story for two people of a different generation.