Welcome to our November Newsletter.  The leaves are falling, the nights are getting longer and it sure is getting colder. So what better than to curl up with a good book! Here’s what we have in store for you this month November Book Groups: Since this month is all about Jane Austen, this month’s book groups are… ALL JANE AUSTEN, ALL THE TIME!

Hosted Book Groups: Emma - Jane Austen – Host: Ginger The Jane Austen Book Club – Karen Joy Fowler –  Host:  Ellie Click here to sign up for the discussions or visit The Book Group Discussions board In addition to the two Hosted Book Groups,  we hope you will be able to join us in some or all of the following: Jane Austen Movies Join us in watching and chatting about the following movies. *  Sense and Sensibility *  Emma (4 part BBC serial 2009) *  Pride and Prejudice *  The Jane Austen Book Club *  Becoming Jane *  Clueless (Emma) *  Bridget Jones (she had such a crush on Mr Darcy!) Click here to watch the movies or visit The Movie Theatre board Jane Austen Quiz How well do you know your Austen? Whether your answer is “really well” or “totally clueless” or somewhere in between, then this quiz is for you! Click to go to the Quiz or visit The Vault board Jane Austen Banner Contest This month our contest is all about Austen. Design your own banner or request one from one of the banner makers on site. Enter your Jane Austen inspired banner in the contest and wear it around the forum this month to show your love of all things Austen! Click to enter the contest or visit The Vault board Jane Austen Wallpapers Dress up your computer as well as yourself in something Austen.  Maybe it’s a closet Janeite and would love to wear something new. Click to view the wallpapers on offer Other Stuff Halloween Writing Contest – Voting Now Open Our wonderful writers have submitted some scary, spooky short fiction (800 words or less) in the Halloween Writing Contest. Please support them by visiting the Halloween Writing Contest thread to read the entries and vote for your favourite.  They really appreciate your votes.  Voting open until Friday 6th November 2009. Click here to read the entries and vote Paranormal Social Club This month (November) we will be reading and discussing Poison Study by Maria V Snyder.  This is the first book in the series and should be available for sale in a variety of formats and also in most libraries as it’s been out for a couple of years now. We are also hoping to work our way through Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong and On the Edge by Ilona Andrews but we are running a bit behind, which is good news for you and gives you plenty of time to catch up!  Hope to see you there Click here to view the PSC Book Discussions December Book Group Since everyone will be thinking of the Festive Season, we are only having one Hosted Book Group Discussion next month.  We will be discussing The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks and probably watching the movie too.  It’s a really wonderful story, quite a small book /quick read and a bit of a weepie so bring your hankies with you. The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks (Hosted by Forgotten) Click here to sign up for this group The rest of the month we will be investigating books for next year’s book groups.  Stay tuned for details of how you can help choose the books we discuss in 2010!

November 2009 Newsletter – All Jane Austen All The Time is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group

Just a quick reminder that this month we are reading and talking about The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides.  Both fantastic books and both discussions have just started so there’s plenty of time to join in.

In December we can look forward to 1984 by George Orwell and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.

Both The Virgin Suicides and Into the Wild will also have a book-to-movie discussion included.

Also this month we are featuring the Richard and Judy New Writers Club book, The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama, which is described as Jane Austen in India.  I have reservations that anything should be compared to Jane Austen but we’ll see.  Grab it and check it out for yourself, it looks like quite a quick read, and is apparently the start of a new series.

The December book for this New Writers Club is Loving Frank by Nancy Horan.  Don’t even get me started on the trouble I went through to get this book with the cover I wanted lol.  First edition was out in June, second edition with hideous cover came out in October, and quite honestly I wouldn’t want to read a book with a cover like that, so I made it my mission to track down a copy of the edition with the cover I liked (it is btw now out of print but you might still be able to find it in individual bookshops)  I know I know, don’t judge a book by its cover :p

Paranormal Social Club

The votes have been counted and the results are in, and November’s PSC book is Pleasure Unbound (A demonica novel) by Larissa Ione.  A book that is apparently full of wit and wicked hot demons!  First book in a brand new series, so come and join us.

What I’ve been reading

What I’ve been reading recently includes The Time Traveler’s Wife both in print form and as an audio book and I have to say that it is the best audio book I’ve “listened to” in ages.  The narrators were superb, completely faultless and utterly compelling.  I was just blown away and listened to it for 18 hours!!! There is also an abridged version but I just hate abridged books.  Just started on The Virgin Suicides for the book group and just finished the third instalment of David Wellington’s excellent vampire series, Vampire Zero.   Horror is not usually my thing and these are classed as horror/thriller.  I discovered them accidentally when browsing on Amazon and the second one was recommended to me.  I liked the cover, then discovered it was a sequel and hunted down the first book.  Kept them on the shelf for about a year lol before finding them again (there’s a lot of books there and a chair in front).  Read the first and the second and then couldn’t wait for the third one to be published here and ordered it from the US.  The vampires are not sexy, they are bloodthirsty fiends.  There are no superpowerful female characters, and no other type of supernatural creatures at all.  There are just cops and state troopers doing the best they can with what they have.  There is quite a lot of death and blood and gore but nothing to give you nightmares, they are really pretty exciting!  The books are:

13 Bullets
99 Coffins
Vampire Zero
23 Hours (is due out next year)

99 Coffins is an interesting book because it is billed as a historical vampire novel and it’s set in Gettysburg, so there is a lot in it about the civil war including flashbacks and historical references.

A bit more about the author I think is in order too since he’s very generous with his writing.  If you go to his website you will be able to read approximately six of his books online for free.  Yes, FREE.  Some of his books including 13 Bullets started off life as online serials which he wrote as a kind of test to see if it would work.  He has also written three zombie novels in the same way which are all available to read for free on his site, as well as for purchase in printed form.  Monster Island, Monster Nation, and Monster Planet – I think the titles might be an indication of how bad things get lol.  There is also another couple of books on there too, one called Plague Zone which features a Seattle librarian as its hero, and Frostbitten, a werewolf novel, which I am currently reading inbetween everything else, and it’s the first of his books that I’m reading for free on his site.  I’m about a third of the way through and I’m liking it so far.  Interesting take on the werewolf mythology.

Oh yeah and I forgot to upload a new audio to my phone so I got caught on the train yesterday with nothing new to read, so I started listening to American Gods again. It’s not Mr Gaiman narrating this time but the dude who is reading it is just perfect.  Another audio I would highly recommend.  I’m slowing collecting all of his audio books, so far I have six – The Graveyard book, Fragile Things, Stardust all read by the author, and Good Omens, Anansi Boys and American Gods.  On some of them there are some great interviews with Neil Gaiman which are just such a bonus to listen to.  The Anansi Boys is read by an British Comedian/actor called Lenny Henry who is very well known here but maybe not be so well known overseas.  He is just brilliant with all the Caribbean accents and really brings a unique flavour to the book.  I would of course, recommend them all

And now I need to go read more…

Book Group latest is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group

Book Group News

We are now in the last two months of the year and coming to the end of our Book Group schedule. For those who have participated with us so far, thank you and I hope you have had fun. For anyone who hasnt participated or dropped out, we hope you see you soon.

We have some great books being discussed and it’s not too late to join in. If you are interested in reading and discussing these books with us, then make sure you are in the Book Group and come on down! It’s fun really, and not at all like school – we don’t even have a pop quiz!

November:
Agents of Light & Darkness – Simon R Green: Join me and Forgotten on another trip into the Nightside. This is one of my favourite Nightside books. We got good, evil, angels, unholy grails, and Shotgun Suzie!

The Choice of the Cat – EE Knight: Join me (again) and Nabs for book two in the Vampire Earth series. Yes I am alledgedly hosting two books this month, which is why I need help lol. But if I can host two, then it’s even easier for you to sign up just to read one or two, right? Not to mention we have the terrific EE Knight himself popping in between Con duties, just to answer your questions!

Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen: Hosted by Becs, we have another of Jane Austen’s famous and best selling novels. All of her books have been made into films, she has written six of the top selling books of all time, and one of her books was even made into a Bollywood musical. The books are quite simply terrific and well worth the read. Unfortunately short of digging up the author and a spot of necromancy, Jane Austen will not be attending.

So what are you waiting for? Remember all members, authors included, are free to join us in any book discussions that take your fancy. Discussions are fun, informal and you get to read books at chat about them – what more could you want?

Book Group 2008

Book Buddy and My 52 Books will continue in 2008, but we also have some other great reading challenges for you. Just click on the Reading Challenges 2008 Board for more details.

Suggestions for next year’s Book Group.

The suggestion threads are waiting for your suggestions! They will remain open until Halloween, after which time we will be putting up polls for voting. So if you want a chance at getting your favourite books discussed with the Book Group in 2008, go to this board and make your suggestions before 31st October!

Book Group – November Selections 2007 is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group

Dead to the World – Charlaine Harris

Pride & Prejudice – Jane Austen

Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets – JK Rowling

Please join us to read and discuss these books on the Book Addicts Book Group and Forum. More information can be found on the forum.

Book Group – February 2006 is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group