The VAA Book Club (Place your final vote for July's selection now!)

[Jaela]

Okay, maybe this is a lame idea, but I thought I'd give it a shot.
There are some lifelong readers on the VAA, and it's summer time... I was thinking maybe we could start a group, select a book every month or so, and discuss it here. I'm not entirely sure how we'd choose which books to read... we could vote, or if there's too many suggestions we could just draw from a hat or something. XD I have no idea. I'm not really very good at organizing things, so I might need some suggestions to work out the details.
But if it works out, I think it could be really fun.
Thoughts?


The VAA Book Club is:
Jaela
yukie
SiriusFan17
SulliMike23
seiyuu
YingFaStar
AlwaysRina
x0Michellex0
Kitty
BlackMystique
Kyoshiro-kun
Cheshire
MorningStarSmiles
Shuffle
Hatomikazuki
FullMetal Alchemist
Scheris
Saya_no_Michi
Gillis
happyheartmee
pullmyhairout
fukkatsu
Tsumari
Zelina


July's Selection:
This month's genre is FANTASY, due to popular vote.

Book votes:
The Golden Compass- Votes: 2 (Cheshire, Tsumari)
The young girl Lyra lives and plays among the scholars at Jordan College in an alternate world version of Oxford England. Her constant companion is her shape shifting daemon, Pantalaimon, a talking animal familiar. One day, from hiding, she sees Lord Asriel's presentation about his Arctic mission. Lyra learns of a city in the northern lights, and of Dust, not ordinary dust, but a magical particle with unique properties.
Children are mysteriously disappearing, taken by the Gobblers. Lyra's friend Roger becomes one of the missing. The glamorous Mrs. Coulter, who has a golden monkey daemon, volunteers to look after Lyra.
The Master of Jordan College gives Lyra an alethiometer, an instrument that can tell the truth. But how to place the instrument's hands around the dial and read the thirty six symbols Lyra has to learn for herself.
Lyra discovers more about Mrs. Coulter's Oblation Board, which is experimenting with daemons. Then Lyra becomes entangled in dangerous adventures that lead to the far North - to Bolvangar and to Svalbard. Along the way Lyra befriends gyptians looking for their missing children, witches that fly on cloud pine branches, a balloonist from Texas, and an armored polar bear.

Inkheart- Votes: 0
Meggie is a young girl with a head full of dreams and a house full for books. Her father, Mortimer(nicknamed Mo), is a "book doctor" with a heart full of secrets. When a mysterious stranger shows up at their house one rainy night, the two are thrust into a world of adventure. Meggie is desperate to understand the meaning behind the sudden appearance of the stranger, a book that Mo seems to be hiding from her, and a name she keeps hearing: Capricorn. Mo doesn't seem in any hurry to let her in on his many secrets, but she may just end up finding out the hard way.

The Dream of the Stone- Votes: 0
Sarah Lucas has a wonderful life: loving parents, a beautiful home, a brilliant and devoted older brother. But one snowy night her perfect world is shattered. A state trooper arrives with the terrible news that Sarah's parents have been killed in an airplane crash.
Sarah is sent to live in New York City, with an aunt and uncle she hardly knows. Her brother Sam, a physics prodigy who works for a mysterious organization called CIPHER, tells her it's only temporary. Once his project -- a machine, code-named Looking Glass, that will allow instantaneous travel from one part of the universe to another -- is finished, they can be together. For Sarah, the wait seems much too long. Her aunt and uncle are distant and unsympathetic, and she hates New York, with its crowds and dirt. She spends all her free time in the local library, trying to read herself back into the world of love and security she once took for granted.

Wild Magic- Votes: 3 (Zelina, SiriusFan17, YingFaStar)
Thirteen-year-old DaIne has always had a knack with animals, but it's not until she's forced to leave home that she realizes it's more than a knack — it's magic. With this wild magic, not only can Daine speak to animals, but also she can make them obey her. Daine takes a job handling horses for the Queen's Riders, where she meets the master mage Numair and becomes his student.
Under Numair's guidance, Daine explores the scope of her magic. But she begins to sense other beings too: immortals. These bloodthirsty monsters have been imprisoned in the Divine Realms for the past four hundred years, but now someone has broken the barrier. It's up to Daine and her friends to defend their world from an immortal attack.

A Wizard of Earthsea- Votes: 0
The young Ged has always had a knack for the unusual and the unnatural. After a local witch discovers his natural powers, he begins his journey to become a great wizard. As he embarks on a quest to discover and harness greater and greater magic, he might just find himself in a place he never dreamed, facing perils he never hoped to encounter. When, with a single spell, he bites off more than he can chew, he finds himself on the run from a peril he brought upon himself.


Important: To vote for this month's selection, state your vote in a reply to this thread for one book only. You may also suggest a new book in the fantasy genre, though it is not encouraged as the final selection will be chosen on Friday, July 7th.



New members may join the book club at any time, so please come and join us!

[yukie]

I'd join! I love reading 8)

[Jaela]

Awesome! I'm glad to see that someone's interested. XD I think I'll start a list in case anyone else happens upon this thread.


-Jaela

[Sirius]

Are you kidding me? This sounds totally awsome! Book clubs are awsome. Like every month everyone could throw out suggestions and then we could vote on which one to read and discuss. I love the idea! (Although I can see the spoiler tag comming up alot. ^_^)

[Jaela]

Yay! More interest= Jaela is happy!
And yes. The spoiler tag will show up frequently, won't it?
But that's okay, because I LOVE the spoiler tag. =)


-Jaela

[SulliMike23]

Ahh what the hey! I like reading! Count me in!

[seiyuu]

I'd love to join!!!!

[YingFaStar]

I'm in :D!

And yes. The spoiler tag will show up frequently, won't it?
But that's okay, because I LOVE the spoiler tag. =)

Me too!
I think that's the first time I've used that thing XD

[AlwaysRina]

oOo! I think I have some suggestions, and I'm willing to read some new ones! Count me in!

[x0Michellex0]

I'll join! :D

[Kitty]

Wtf. A CLUB. WITH JAELA IN IT?!?!?!?! *runs out of the party van*

OMFG I JUIN. =D!!!!!!<<33333223r28r23y89rhywenfoewjklfsd.

[Kelly]

I wanna join, though I'm not always active ._. Reading is love!

[Mii-kun]

Join? Maybe? hm?? Reading books is what I do ^^

[Cheshire]

Awesome idea! Seeing as how I'm a total bibliophile, sign me up for sure. :3

[MorningStar Smiles]

Sounds like it could be fun. Sign me up too please ^^ Since this is a voice acting forum, maybe we should read one book on voice acting or voice acting related once a month. For instance, one month could be a book on dialect, another could be on the care of your voice, another could be on auditioning, another could be on acting techniques or directing, etc etc ^_^

[Jaela]

This is going to be so fun, even though like... almost everyone is girls. XD
Well, I think we have enough people to at least start. But new people can join at any time!
Anyone want to suggest books to read? I think I'll either hold a vote
or put everyone's suggestions into a hat and draw one each month.
Tell me which method you prefer.
Here are some books I'd suggest for this little club of ours:
-Anything Anne Lamotte, especially Plan B
-Anything Annie Dillard, especially The Writing Life
-Chain Mail
-Be With You
-Socrates in Love
-Bad Idea(one of my daddy's books!)
-Blue Like Jazz

[Panzyo]

-Socrates in Love

Loved it to death.

Sign me up.

As for suggestions, um, I dunno what to suggest. The only things I can think of, I've already read. Should I suggest things I've read and wouldn't mind reading again? In that case:

- Socrates in Love
- Flowers for Algernon
- The Catcher in the Rye
- The Alchemist
- Rx
- Veronika Decides to Die
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Great Gatsby

As for stuff I've been meaning to read, but haven't gotten to:

- The Count of Monte Cristo
- Faust
- Don Quixote
- The Good Earth
- Prep


I've never actually been in a book club before, so I dunno how suggestions work.

[Kitty]

The Count of Monte Cristo. <3 Prep was really good as well.

[Hatomikazuki]

I'd love to join too! =D Sounds fun =3

Suggestions:

-Light Novel series of: Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (and the other vols too, theres a good site where it's translated) (fantasy/sci-fi/pychogical thriller?)

-Howl's Moving Castle(fantasy/romance)

-Any of the series by Tamora Pierce(fantasy/romance)

-White Out(scifi/mystery/thriller) , or Eye of the Needle(historical fiction/mystery/thriller) (I don't know how old everyone in this is, so they may not be appropriate...)

-The Golden Compass (fantasy)
Whoot!xD

[SulliMike23]

-Moby Dick
The book is just one great drama.

-Christmas Carol (the book is a whole lot better than the movies)
I would recommend this around the Holidays

-Then There Were None (Ten Little Indians)
If you like Mysteries, this is one Mystery novel that you will love!

-War of the Worlds (The actual book)
The movies don't have anything compared to the actual book.

-The Hunt for Red October
If you like Tom Clancy novels, I recommend the book version of this.

[FullMetal Alchemist]

I'd like to join~

Holes and I Smell Like Ham are good books. Especially "I smell like ham". Its kiddish, but hilarious...>.>;

[Cheshire]

-The Golden Compass
Whoot!xDI totally second this! The 'His Dark Materials'(fantasy) series is just wonderful. Howl's Moving Castle(fantasy) and War of the Worlds(sci-fi) are awesome, too.

[Sirius]

-Moby Dick
The book is just one great drama.
In the words of my english teacher, "Never read something by Melville unless you enjoy using a dictionary while you read." xD Seriously though, it is a good book. I've just always wanted to repeat that line to someone. ^_^;

Anyway!...

Rather than everyone throwing out every singe book they've ever recomended, how about we go with a little more organization? Maybe we could first decide on a genre, then everyone recoment one book that fits it and we vote from there?

*shrug* It's an Idea.

[Jaela]

In the words of my english teacher, "Never read something by Melville unless you enjoy using a dictionary while you read." xD Seriously though, it is a good book. I've just always wanted to repeat that line to someone. ^_^;

Anyway!...

Rather than everyone throwing out every singe book they've ever recomended, how about we go with a little more organization? Maybe we could first decide on a genre, then everyone recoment one book that fits it and we vote from there?

*shrug* It's an Idea.
I like this idea. =)
If you could, will everyone who's posted titles please edit your post with a genre for each book? I'll do the same. We can pick a genre each month depending on how we're feeling.
It would also be cool if everyone could email me their IM handles so we can do a group chat sometime or something. =)
My address is loveofbeauty @ gmail . com.


-Jaela

[Scheris]

Is it...too late to join? ;_;
Please let me in! D:

[MorningStar Smiles]

My genre vote goes to: acting/directing related books :P They're really are some good ones out there! Really! Like Harlan Hogan's Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor. It's like a memoir of his life as a voice actor of 25 years and is filled with lots of fun and interesting stories as well as the lessons he learned along the way about the business.

My gmail is listed under my contact info in my profile btw.

[Saya_no_Michi]

May I join? >///< I love reading and I'm currently looking fro some good books. I'd love to be in a club like this.

[Mii-kun]

My suggestion on a genre is the Fantasy/SciFi/Adventure books, those keep people awake and what not...unlike romance novels...those are all the same >.>

[Sirius]

I second the Fantasy Nomination, with a side suggestion of Mystery. I've got plenty of both that are good.

[yukie]

Oh, no romance is a given, I would think :D I mean, I like a bit of romance within a story but not a whole book OF romance. I've tried those in the past... they either made me hate all the characters or refuse to finish the book.

Fantasy is the way to go :D

[Jaela]

If it's fantasy, has everyone already read Inkheart? The movie's coming out next year, so it might be fun to read that. But maybe it would be better to read that later in the year.
I'm trying to think of a fantasy with romance and an element of mystery. XD I guess His Dark Materials series would fit? And it's been suggested a few times, so that's a definite possibility.
I'm not completely opposed to reading books about acting/voice over either, though.
I'll try to compile a list later so we can vote.

I'd also like to reiterate that new members may join at any time, and we'd love to have you if you're interested!


-Jaela

[Chinomi]

I dont have time to join at the moment, but here are suggestions from moi:

"His Dark Materials" trilogy
"A Song of Ice and Fire" series (#1 is "A Game of Thrones")

Two of the greatest series' ever.
I'd mention Harry Potter, but everyones already read that shiz =P!

....Also, GOOSEBUMPS AND ANIMORPHS LOLOLOLOLOOL

[SulliMike23]

Am I the only Guy that likes to read?

[FullMetal Alchemist]

Yargh. I just bought Freedom Writers Diary yesterday. Its a real good book so far~

[Jaela]

Am I the only Guy that likes to read?
Shuffle joined. =)


-Jaela

[Sirius]

I've got His Dark Materials sitting on my shelf, but I've never gotten around to reading it, and alot of people seem to be going for it, so that could be a good one...

[MorningStar Smiles]

I've never even heard of that. I'm all for books I haven't read yet though ^^

[Jaela]

...Is it possible to add a poll to an existing thread? If so, can someone let me know how?


-Jaela

[Saya_no_Michi]

V_V Sorry, I don't know how. But if it's a fantasy/sci-fi with a twist of romance and adveture, my favorite is "Dream of the Stone".

Meh. If it sounds interesting mayhaps someone might look it up. From my experience, though, it's pretty hard to get. At least where I live.

[Panzyo]

I think my four biggest suggestions would be:

The Alchemist - Kinda fantasy-ish.

Rx - Drama, I guess.

Flowers for Algernon - Officially, they call it sci-fi, but that's a stretch. A big stretch. It's more of a drama.

Socrates in Love - Drama, romance. Shh. It's still good. : P

[Hatomikazuki]

What reading level are we going for here? It really depends...

I suggest: The Wild Magic quartet by Tamora Pierce for Fantasy, or the Circle of Magic Quartet by Tamora Pierce.

Oooor Murder on the orient express...(mystery <3)

[Jaela]

What reading level are we going for here?
Any and every one!

Since I can't figure out how to make a poll, will everyone please post their top two votes for genre, and one top choice for a book? Thanks a lot!
I'd still love to hear from y'all by e-mail. =)


-Jaela

[Sirius]

I'll Use the Mafia voting technique. ^_^

Genre: Fantasy
Genre: Mysery
Book: His Dark Materials

[yukie]

I like to try all sorts of books, I'm fine with any :D

Or so I say until a decision gets made and THEN I complain. Usually. Hopefully not xD~

[Panzyo]

Drama, fantasy.

Um, probably Flowers for Algernon.

[MorningStar Smiles]

Jaela, you should just make a list of categories people have suggested and then, since it seems like we're going for fantasy this month, make a list with people's choices so far for the fantasy category with the numbers of how many people voted for them next to each title. Then just update it as more people vote. And that second list would be changed each month as we select a new category. Also, you could keep up the old categories but cross them off so we can see we already did them.

-----------
Ex.
Categories:
-Fantasy
-Acting/Voice/Directing
-Classical

July: Fantasy
-His Dark Materials (3)
-The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo (2)
-etc.
-------------

My Top Choices in Order:
1. His Dark Materials (just because I've never read it before)
2. The Alchemist (that is, if you're talking about The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo (sp?) then that would be a good one to read. That book is awesome. I've been meaning to read it again anyways because I was thinking of doing an audio book version of it.) This isn't a typical fantasy though, there aren't any elves and the story is more reality based.

[Jaela]

Jaela, you should just make a list of categories people have suggested and then, since it seems like we're going for fantasy this month, make a list with people's choices so far for the fantasy category with the numbers of how many people voted for them next to each title. Then just update it as more people vote. And that second list would be changed each month as we select a new category. Also, you could keep up the old categories but cross them off so we can see we already did them.

-----------
Ex.
Categories:
-Fantasy
-Acting/Voice/Directing
-Classical

July: Fantasy
-His Dark Materials (3)
-The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo (2)
-etc.
-------------

My Top Choices in Order:
1. His Dark Materials (just because I've never read it before)
2. The Alchemist (that is, if you're talking about The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo (sp?) then that would be a good one to read. That book is awesome. I've been meaning to read it again anyways because I was thinking of doing an audio book version of it.) This isn't a typical fantasy though, there aren't any elves and the story is more reality based.

Yup, that's what I'm doing. =D I guess I should go ahead and put it in the main post.
[edit] Done. And since I'm a member too, I've chipped in my vote, too.
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Book: Inkheart(although The Golden Compass would be my second choice if I was allowed one.)

-Jaela

[Kevin Gillis]

Being a big reader that I am (4 books within 4 days)... I do have a life however, I read at work >.>

Fantasy and History (that deals with war mind you)

I do suggest the Romance of the three kingdoms books, having one without the other makes no sense so it's only right to say that both are suggested

[Cheshire]

My vote:

Genre 1: Fantasy
Genre 2: Mystery
Book: The Golden Compass

[Saya_no_Michi]

Um >.< I guess Fantasy and ...Um...anything wlse that's good. >.< Sorry.

I'm open to new books all the time.

How about....The Dream of the Stone.

Sorry >.< Not much help.

[YingFaStar]

Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Book: Inkheart (I've been meaning to read this anyway so wheee)

[Hatomikazuki]

Genre: Fantasy
Title: Wild Magic (if not that, Golden Compass)

[MorningStar Smiles]

Genres: Voice/Acting/Directing (I think this would be termed as a "Self Help" Genre but I'm narrowing it down a little :P ) and Fantasy

Book: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Book Bio: "Long before Harry Potter came along, Ursula Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea imagined what a school for wizards would be like. Ged, its hero, will become the Archmage of a world in which magic is as common as electricity, but this is a tale from before that time." --Classic of the Month (http://books.guardian.co.uk/childrenslibrary/story/0,6194,1048795,00.html)

I've only read the first couple of chapters but I'd love to read the rest someday. It was really good. ^_^

Oh! Also, does the voting end on the 30th? That way on the first we can start reading (or go get) the book of the month. ^^

[happyheartmee]

i wanna join :D i love reading!
>D

[Pull]

I wanna join! I love books, and reading!

[yukie]

I've already read A Wizard of Earthsea several times years ago, so I'd rather not do that one again. But it IS a really, really good book though, and I'd still recommend anyone to read it :D

[happyheartmee]

Genre: Romance
Book: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

[Icypopcorn]

I wanna join! I just hope we're not like required to do anything cause I never know if I'll actually be able to get my hands on a book. D:

But um I think The Kite Runner would be an awesome book for a discussion. :] It's on the college reading list (Cause my sis's gonna be a college freshman next year and I'm gonna be taking AP World History next year and we both have it on our reading lists) and from what I've heard it's an excellent book. :] Plus I really wanna read it lmfao. :]
As for genres... Romance, Mystery, or History. I can't pick. Just put my vote for whichever two have the least votes at the moment. :]

[Jaela]

I LOVE The Kite Runner. I'll put you on the list, Icy. =)


-Jaela

[Icypopcorn]

I LOVE The Kite Runner. I'll put you on the list, Icy. =)


-Jaela

Yay thanks and GAH I wanna read it sooo bad! O:

[Pull]

I want to vote for a Fantasy Gernre, but I have to read The Grapes of Wrath this summer anyway, so I'll vote for that.

[AlwaysRina]

Genre: Fantasy/ Mystery
Book: The Golden Compass

mMmMm... this reminds me... I think I lost my library card O_o

[Jaela]

This month's genre has been chosed by popular vote, and the list has been modified to only include suggestions in the fantasy genre. See the main post for information on how to cast your final vote.
I could go for either Inkheart of The Golden Compass, so I won't cast my vote just yet.
Remember that today and tomorrow are your last days to vote... mainly because I'd like to get this started ASAP, and I'm going out of town for a few days on the 8th.


-Jaela

[Cheshire]

Totally cast my vote for The Golden Compass.

[fukkatsu]

I would totally love to join this book club as I am such a geeky reading lover! I am a part of that 50 books per year club as well *^_^*!!!

I am all for Fantasy!

If I could make suggestion! When suggesting a book to be voted upon it would be totally awesom to write or give a summary of that book for people who don't normally ready that genre or have never heard of that book or author!!!

[Jaela]

I would totally love to join this book club as I am such a geeky reading lover! I am a part of that 50 books per year club as well *^_^*!!!

I am all for Fantasy!

If I could make suggestion! When suggesting a book to be voted upon it would be totally awesom to write or give a summary of that book for people who don't normally ready that genre or have never heard of that book or author!!!
Welcome to the club! Glad to have you!
And your idea for summaries is awesome. I'll try to get that done tonight or tomorrow morning.


-Jaela

[Jaela]

I'm bumping this because I've just added summaries for all of the current selections. Some I wrote myself, and others are just copy/pasted from random websites. =P
PLEASE vote for your final choice as soon as possible so we can all start reading.


-Jaela

[Zelina]

May I join? Im more into supernatural/paranormal/fantasy stuff, but I like My Historical non-fiction too!

I love Tamora Pirece books, and the Diane series is one I haven't gotten to yet. So Can I vote for that one? Or can I suggest: Trickster's Choice?

[Sirius]

Actaully, now that I've read the summaries, I would like to Vote: Wild Magic. Even though I already have the Golden Compass, Wild Magic just appeals more to me. :/

[Jaela]

Wild Magic DOES seem pretty interesting. I hadn't really read up on it until I had to go look for a summary. XD *shot*
Uhmm yes.
PLEASE, EVERYONE, VOTE!


-Jaela

[YingFaStar]

Alright, with summaries I vote: Wild Magic.

[Jaela]

Alrighty guys, I'm taking off for camp. I'll either pick this up when I get back or have Tsumari take charge in my absense so y'all can start reading sooner.
I'm looking forward to reading with everyone!


-Jaela