Glogster!

Diary: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk

Okay....you have plenty of time to read this one since our next book club meeting isn't until Feb. 16. We go from a book about a teenager in a coma to a book about an entire town in a coma.....hhmmmm. Check it out
http://books.google.com/books?id=4IZMi5pjE4sC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Diary+chuck+palahniuk&hl=en&src=bmrr&ei=l8EQTc_pCMG88gaPl6zvDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Going Bovine

Just started our December book choice – Going Bovine by Libba Bray. I have to admit that I am really enjoying it….and I didn't think that I would. She is absolutely right on the mark describing the philosophy of much of what goes on in a high school. I am finding her writing witty and intelligent and surprising.

NHS Library is now on FaceBook!

We librarians have been working hard to connect with our students using social networking sites.

Final thoughts 2007-2008

Well.... we obviously haven't kept up with monthly postings. It's interesting that in an attempt to facilitate more discussion through the flexibility of being able to post comments at one's convenience, this forum hasn't really been very popular with this year's group. I wonder why? We have had better overall attendance at book discussions, so I'm thinking that many of you prefer face to face discussion. Perhaps it was Eric's discussion of The Body Language Book that made you want to observe and interpret the gestures of your fellow members. Maybe you came for the snacks...... or maybe book discussions are just better in person! It was an interesting and enjoyable year for me, and I hope that our seniors will be able to fill the void next year by becoming involved in a book club at college or in the community. To those of you who are back next year, start making lists and keep reading..... see you in September. Have a great summer.

Romance Selection

The February selection is a Jane Austen classic - Persuasion - in honor of cupid! Masterpiece on PBS is running a series of Jane Austen novels, so let's watch for Persuasion. We may be able to do some viewing as well as discussing at the next meeting. Please feel free to start any discussion strands here before our next meeting -- Tuesday after February Vacation.

Horror Discussion

Great turnout for the discussion on horror this past week. The Matheson short stories that we read aloud provided some entertainment as well as challenge as there was no punctuation in the "stream of conscious" narrative. I particularly enjoyed some of the points made regarding the purpose and function of horror. The idea of "monster" and the relationship to our humanity was interesting. I do believe that horror allows us to excise that part of our humanity that we view as "evil, dark, monstrous" and view it as separate from ourselves -- to personify it in such a way as to make it other than us. I also buy the idea that horror does allow the vicarious experiences of the "darker side" so as to purge it from our inner selves. Rather "cleansing" like the Greek tragedy.

December Update

It has been awhile since the NHS Book Blog was updated. Our December meeting was well-attended, though the grab bag idea was a bit of a flop. An enjoyable discussion around humor books kept it light. We especially enjoyed the highlights from the Body Language book. The horror selection for January was I Am Legend by Matheson as well as The Mist by Stephen King.

The Book Thief, Marcus Zuzak

What a nice turnout for our meeting on Monday. It was nice to actually have some male representation. Hopefully you all enjoyed our discussion and will return for our next meeting on Monday, November 19. This time we decided to choose a theme -- War-- and a feature title - The Book Thief. All students are invited to read the feature title or share thoughts on any title that relates to the theme of war. Some of you mentioned Catch-22 and Suite Francais as titles that you might like to share.
We could get started with some basic focus questions --

While war brings out man's inhumanity to man, does it also serve to demonstrate our humanity? Does war serve a purpose? What war is a just war?

Any thoughts?

What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles

Our first book for the 2007-2008 NHS Book Club is a psychological thriller "full of suspense that will keep you flipping the pages until well into the middle of the night" (according to Erica) So, let's begin the discussion with your ideas about what the title means. We know the answer to the literal question, but by the end of her experience, what has happened to Cass? Has she been altered? What about David? Why has he killed himself? Who is to blame? What can we learn from this tale?

Female Author Choice

Okay, since we can't seem to get this going on our own, we're going to devote part of our meeting to discussing via the blog. Let's try to get everyone to post a comment about their choice of book for our female author selection. Identify the book and its author, then say a little something about it. After all are posted, let's each try to comment on at least one other person's post. Here we go.....

Life of Pi

I hope that most of you have gotten some free time over the break to get started on Life of Pi. I wonder if you found it difficult to wade through the first part of the book -- I thought it was quite heavily front-loaded. I had heard that it was worth sticking with, so I plodded through it and it did get better. "Part 2" was engaging and flowed much more quickly. So..... what did you all think?

The Swallows of Kabul

Our first book selection for the 2006-2007 school year is Yasmina Khadra's The Swallows of Kabul. There is an excellent discussion guide at the following link: http://www.randomhouse.com/anchor/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400033768&view=rg

Feel free to get this discussion started by responding to any of the questions or by posting a comment or question of your own.

The Kite Runner

This is the final NHS Book Club selection for this year. This title was one that many members wanted to read, but one that we saved until the end as we gathered up the courage to tackle the difficult subject matter. The novel allows us to look at human relationships against the backdrop of life in Afghanistan. There is an excellent discussion guide to the book that can be accessed at http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/kite_runner1.asp Feel free to use any question there (or your own question or comment) to begin our discussion.

Ishmael

Have you finished Ishmael? Better yet, have you started it yet? Those of you who have braved Justin's recommendation, get us started here with some comments. Actually, how about Justin getting us started here...

My Sister's Keeper

Just a reminder that our next meeting is Saturday, February 4, 2006 at 6PM at Kim's house. For those of you who want to get a head start, you may post any comments, reactions etc. that you have about Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. Did you see that ending coming? What about the mother and her relationship with each of her children -- was her protrayal realistic? Any ideas that you would like to explore with the discussion group?

Bel Canto Discussion

Well, thanks to an AP Bio test and a music appearance or rehearsal or something along those lines, we had a whopping 3 member turnout for last night's (Dec.7)book discussion. Oh well, everyone had a chance to get in on the discussion. Thanks to Erica for the 7-layer bars and thanks to everyone for putting up with the crazy howling and door bumping from Maynard (the bulldog).

We had a pretty good discussion of character and theme which focused on music, opportunity, social conventions/expectations ... The epilogue was discussed with a slight degree of incredulity -- possibly the effects of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)A suggestion was given that we may wish to schedule an additional discussion so that more members could share their thoughts. What do you think?

Also, My Sister's Keeper was selected as one of our next books to read for a Feb. 4 meeting at Kim's house. The idea is that we may want two titles to read over the break. We will meet before school this Wed., Dec. 14 at 7:15 to discuss this.

Stop in and let me know if you have any ideas.

Time Traveler's Wife

As I think about this book, I find myself coming back to the idea of the possibility of time travel after death. Actually, it's not really after death, since the travel to the future occurs while Henry is alive -- it's just that he arrives in Clare's future more than 40 years after he has died. What must Clare be feeling? She's known that this moment was coming (thanks to Henry's list of dates) ... and what's it like for Henry.. he sees a woman of 80+ For once, she's the one who knows what his future will bring. The irony of Clare holding the truth rather than Henry is an intersting twist to end with. Imagine if this were possible - death wouldn't really be the end....

NHS Book Club

This is a forum for members to post comments or questions regarding selected books.