I don't know about you, but sometimes I forget how important it is to prioritize "fun" books in the midst of work-related reading.
Especially in school, it's easy to neglect literature when you're worried about getting through dense textbooks in time for class.
That's why I'm inviting you to join in an online book club, From Left to Write. I recently became a member, and will be writing once a month on my response to the assigned book.
Especially in school, it's easy to neglect literature when you're worried about getting through dense textbooks in time for class.
That's why I'm inviting you to join in an online book club, From Left to Write. I recently became a member, and will be writing once a month on my response to the assigned book.
What They Do
From Left to Write's website:
From Left to Write takes the book club online where our bloggers/members create a virtual discussion of a book and how it relates to their lives and in turn, everyone’s lives.
From Left to Write was founded June 2010 and is now run by Thien-Kim Lam.
From Left to Write holds monthly online book clubs, featuring a range of topics and writing styles. Our bloggers do not write traditional book reviews, but instead use the books we read as inspiration for blog posts on our personal blogs that are about our own experiences. The authors join in on the discussion as well, to give their perspectives on the various posts. We invite you to buy the books, read along with us and add your voice to the discussion. Happy reading!
In other words, this is an online book club dedicated to writing posts that connect a story with one's personal experiences.
What I Do
I let everyone know what the book of the month is and the target date to read it by. I will write a post about the book by FLTW's deadline, and it will circulate among the book club's members.
Members of the book club will read and comment on each other's posts, and you are welcome to also check out their reviews and leave a note.
Members of the book club will read and comment on each other's posts, and you are welcome to also check out their reviews and leave a note.
What You Do
Catch the announcement for the book of the month. Read it by the deadline. Feel free to leave comments here, on other members' posts, or start your own blog!
Participating in this kind of book club stands to benefit you as a student in two major ways. First, it gives you some non-academic reading material, so that you can escape school for a little while through a good story. Second, it allows you to engage in the kind of scholarly discourse expected of college-level students.
That is, by reading the thoughts of others and offering your own critiques and comments, you are operating a more sophisticated level of analysis than a regular book report requires.
Moreover, our responses, which connect a book's plot, theme, or symbols to our own life experiences, serve as a model for what a winning college or scholarship applications might look like. Remember - application essays almost always look for you to write a semi-autobiographical account of something meaningful that has happened to you.
Participating in this kind of book club stands to benefit you as a student in two major ways. First, it gives you some non-academic reading material, so that you can escape school for a little while through a good story. Second, it allows you to engage in the kind of scholarly discourse expected of college-level students.
That is, by reading the thoughts of others and offering your own critiques and comments, you are operating a more sophisticated level of analysis than a regular book report requires.
Moreover, our responses, which connect a book's plot, theme, or symbols to our own life experiences, serve as a model for what a winning college or scholarship applications might look like. Remember - application essays almost always look for you to write a semi-autobiographical account of something meaningful that has happened to you.
SEPTEMBER'S BOOK
Josephine Hurst has her family under control. With two beautiful daughters, a brilliantly intelligent son, a tech-guru of a husband and a historical landmark home, her life is picture perfect. She has everything she wants; all she has to do is keep it that way. But living in this matriarch’s determinedly cheerful, yet subtly controlling domain hasn’t been easy for her family, and when her oldest daughter, Rose, runs off with a mysterious boyfriend, Josephine tightens her grip, gradually turning her flawless home into a darker sort of prison.
Written with the style, dark wit and shrewd psychological insight that made SMASHED a bestseller, Zailckas’s first novel is unforgettable. In the spirit of classic suspense novels by Shirley Jackson and Daphne DuMaurier, MOTHER, MOTHER is the terrifying and page-turning story of a mother’s love gone too far, and the introduction of a commanding new voice in fiction.
See the full description on Amazon.
Since this book isn't available until September 17, readers can plan on finishing by October 1. I'll probably post my response before then, since the FLTW deadline is earlier.
I hope you'll consider joining in!
Written with the style, dark wit and shrewd psychological insight that made SMASHED a bestseller, Zailckas’s first novel is unforgettable. In the spirit of classic suspense novels by Shirley Jackson and Daphne DuMaurier, MOTHER, MOTHER is the terrifying and page-turning story of a mother’s love gone too far, and the introduction of a commanding new voice in fiction.
See the full description on Amazon.
Since this book isn't available until September 17, readers can plan on finishing by October 1. I'll probably post my response before then, since the FLTW deadline is earlier.
I hope you'll consider joining in!
