December selection - The Divergent series by Veronica Roth

The results are in - we'll be reading the Divergent series by Veronica Roth!  This series is planned as a trilogy but only the first two books have been released.  At our next meeting, we'll be discussing both Divergent and Insurgent.  (The third book is tentatively titled Detergent - teehee!)

As an aside, there were two series that were runners-up: The Daughter of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce (Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen), and The Gentleman Bastard sequence by Scott Lynch (The Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies).  Both Stephanie and I loved the Tamora Pierce series, and I thought The Lies of Locke Lamora was a fantastic novel (but fair warning, there is a fair amount of violence and swearing, so it may not be for the faint of heart).  If you are looking for some good books to read over the holidays, those are some great options!

We'll post soon about a meeting date/time - the meeting will be sometime in early January.  Until then, best of luck with your papers and finals, and happy reading!

December selections - Let's pick a series!

Thanks to everyone who attended our meeting yesterday - it was a lot of fun, as usual!

For our field trip to see the Hobbit in theatres, we're planning on going in the first couple of weeks of next semester - that way, everyone should be in town but not too swamped with schoolwork!  It looks like it will be easiest to go to the theatre in the World Exchange Plaza on Albert downtown.  We'll post more details closer to January.

For December, we decided at the meeting that it would be fun to read a trilogy or series over the holiday break since we'll have more free time to read.  The poll is currently posted - please vote by Wednesday, Dec 5 at 11:59 PM.

There were a lot of suggestions, so here are some further details on each series.  Some of the series have more than three books, so we've limited each series to the first three books.  Please keep in mind the length of the books when you're voting!  Click the book titles to find more information on each book.

1. The Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson:
1. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo 
2. The Girl Who Played With Fire
3. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest
2. The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner
1. The Maze Runner
2. The Scorch Trials
3. The Death Cure 
3. The Irish Country Doctor series by Patrick Taylor
1. An Irish Country Doctor
2. An Irish Country Village
3. An Irish Country Christmas
4. The Divergent series by Veronica Roth
1. Divergent
2. Insurgent
5. The Sea Beggars series by Paul Kearney
1. The Mark of Ran
2. This Forsaken Earth
6. The Sea of Trolls trilogy by Nancy Farmer
1. The Sea of Trolls
2. The Land of the Silver Apples
3. The Islands of the Blessed
7. The Daughter of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce
1. Trickster's Choice
2. Trickster's Queen
8. The Gentleman Bastard Sequence by Scott Lynch
1. The Lies of Locke Lamora
2. Red Seas Under Red Skies
9. The latest books by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
1. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
2. Antifragile: How to Live in a World We Don't Understand

Please vote for which series you'd like to read over the break by Wednesday at midnight.  Best of luck with all your assignments, papers and exams at the end of the semester, and we'll see you soon!

We'll meet in UCU301 - here's a map!

Hey Bookworms!

We've received confirmation for our room location - the meeting will be held in UCU301.  If you're unfamiliar with the location, perhaps this map will help you as much as it helped Bilbo:

Also, we've added a new tab to the blog called "Philobiblian Tidings".  We receive emails every once in a while about some interesting book-related events around Ottawa.  From now on, we'll post any news we hear under that tab so you can all be in the loop as well!

See you next Saturday, Dec 1 at 2PM in UCU301 (on the Running River).

On we go!

“Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.”

"'Go back?' he thought. 'No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!'" - Bilbo Baggins

And we're on our way too!  Be safe on your journey to the Lonely Mountain, and we'll meet back with you on Saturday, Dec 1 at 2PM!  We'll post the room location once we know it.  We'll be sure to bring plenty of tea and treats, just in case you missed second breakfast.

See you soon!

"I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging"

"I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone" -Gandalf

"I should like to know about risks, out-of-pocket expenses, time required and renumeration, and so forth!" -Bilbo

Thankfully it's not hard to find anyone to share in the meeting about The Hobbit since we're not off to chase after dragons! Let us know what day/time you want to meet - poll is up on the right as usual. Voting closes Wednesday at midnight.

Enter Middle Earth

After the most voting we've ever had, you have chosen The Hobbit to read! Enjoy following Bilbo's adventures and delve into this fantastic world created by Tolkien.

Choose the book!

The poll is now up to pick the book in the "Upcoming Movie Book" genre! We've chosen books whose movies will be out by the time we return for the Winter Semester (i.e. possible field trip to go see the movie as a book club!). Voting closes this Friday (November 9) at midnight! Keep in mind we are planning to have the meeting before the exam period starts so take into consideration book length.

Here are the books in the "Upcoming Movie Book" genre with links to the book synopses and corresponding film trailers:

1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Book Synopsis       Film Trailer

2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Book Synopsis     Film Trailer

3. The Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant (The film Lawless is based on it)

Book Synopsis    Film Trailer

4. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Book Synopsis    Film Trailer

5. On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Book Synopsis   Film Trailer

Stay warm Bookworms!