Book Selected for January

Hey Bookenders!

The vote for January was quite tight, but the winner (by just a single vote) is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Hard copies and e-books of this historical fiction/mystery can be obtained through the Toronto Public Library. I hope you all enjoy your break to the fullest, and we'll see each other again come the end of January!

Hurtling into the future (that is 2018),

Annoj 

 

Book Selection for January

Hey Bookends!

If you're reading this right now, you're still surviving the drought of exams (this is fantastic news!).

An overwhelming number of amazing historical fiction nominations have been suggested for January's read. Of these five have been shortlisted for voting, and were selected to best diversify themes as well as setting. The link for voting is below, and you are free to vote for up to two of your favourite books.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CYX7CKL

The survey will be open until Wednesday, December 20th, so make sure to get your votes in by then! Descriptions of each novel can be found below.



Choose wisely,

Annoj

Memoirs of a Geisha
Arthur Golden, 434 pages, 1997

An alluring tour de force: a brilliant debut novel told with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism as the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.

Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love, always elusive, is scorned as illusion.



The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson: A Novel
Jerome Charyn, 348 pages, 2010

Channeling the devilish rhythms and ghosts of a seemingly buried literary past, Charyn removes the mysterious veils that have long enshrouded Dickinson, revealing her passions, inner turmoil, and powerful sexuality. The novel, daringly written in first person, begins in the snow. It's 1848, and Emily is a student at Mount Holyoke, with its mournful headmistress and strict, strict rules. Inspired by her letters and poetry, Charyn goes on to capture the occasionally comic, always fevered, ultimately tragic story of her life-from defiant Holyoke seminarian to dying recluse.



The Night Circus
Erin Morgenstern, 387 pages, 2011

The circus arrives at night, without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within nocturnal black and white striped tents awaits a unique experience, a feast for the senses, where one can get lost in a maze of clouds, meander through a lush garden made of ice, stand awestruck as a tattooed contortionist folds herself into a small glass box, and gaze in wonderment at an illusionist performing impossible feats of magic.

Beyond the smoke and mirrors, however, a fierce competition is underway - a contest between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood to compete in "a game," in which each must use their powers of illusion to best the other. Unbeknownst to them, this game is a duel to the death, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will.




The Wonder
Emma Donoghue, 291 pages, 2016

A village in 1850s Ireland is mystified by what appears to be a miracle--a little girl seems to be thriving after months without food. An English nurse and an international journalist try to get to the root of why the child may actually be the victim of murder in this psychological thriller.




The Passion of Dolssa
Julie Berry, 478 pages, 2016

In mid-thirteenth century Provence, Dolssa de Stigata is a fervently religious girl who feels the call to preach, condemned by the Inquisition as an "unnatural woman, " and hunted by the Dominican Friar Lucien who fears a resurgence of the Albigensian heresy; Botille is a matchmaker trying to protect her sisters from being branded as gypsies or witches--but when she finds the hunted Dolssa dying on a hillside, she feels compelled to protect her, a decision that may cost her everything.

Call for January Nominations

I hope everyone's had a chance to read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's such a serious not-so-serious novel that makes you wonder if anything that matters, matters at all...

So, while we did get to engage in some rowdy Jeopardy brawls at our meeting (congrats Gargle Blasters!), what we did not do was decide upon our book of the month for January. (In case you're wondering, course notes are the 'book of the month' for December.) Nominations for breathtaking Historical fiction novels are welcome until December 13th. Preferences for nominations include being less than 500 pages in length, strong reviews online, and copies available at the Toronto Public Library. 

Best of luck with exams, and I'll see you all on the brighter side!

Towel in hand,
Annoj

Meeting of the Month - November

Hello Bookends!

I hope you're all well and keeping your heads above the storm of evaluations. Our meeting of the month has finally been set for Wednesday November 29th from 5-6 pm at University College Rm. 53. It's a cosy round table-styled room in the basement of UC, and its closest entrance is across from the UTSU office. I'm looking forward to seeing you all there, and in the meantime...

Don't panic,
Annoj 

Book of the Month - November

Hello Bookends!

First off, thanks to everyone that showed up Monday in full spirit to discuss the book, and congratulations to Team James for taking the win in our Jeopardy-styled trivia of Silence of the Lambs! Somewhere in between the cookies and the game, we got to vote on what will be our book of the month for November: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! It's a relatively short read (~160 pages) and hard copies can be found at the Toronto Public Library. For online readers, a link to the entire series can be found below:

https://aufbix.org/~bolek/download/guide1.pdf

I'd also like to post a Doodle for our upcoming meeting come 3-4 weeks from now. The poll will be up until November 17th, so make sure to have your say by then.

https://doodle.com/poll/hgnui84tyt7c78iy

Again it was great to see everyone at our meeting yesterday, and I'd love to meet those who weren't able to make it. Happy reading (week), and best of luck with midterms, essays and the rest of the stew.


Cheers,
Annoj

Selections for the month of November

These are the shortlisted nominees for the month of November. A big thank you to everyone that contributed to this list! We will be voting at our meeting this Monday, November 6th at SS2101 from 5-6 pm. Alternatively, if you will not be able to make it to the meeting, feel free to e-mail your vote to bookendsuoft@outlook.com by 4 pm this Monday with subject heading "November Vote."
Cheers!

Blackwing
Ed McDonald, 360 pages, 2017

Under a cracked and wailing sky, the Misery is a vast and blighted expanse, created when the Engine, the most powerful weapon in the world, was unleashed against the immortal Deep Kings. Across the wasteland, teeming with corrupted magic and malevolent wraiths, the Deep Kings and their armies are still watching—and still waiting.

Ryhalt Galharrow is no stranger to the Misery. The bounty hunter journeys to a remote outpost, armed for killing both men and monsters, and searching for a mysterious noblewoman. He finds himself in the middle of a shocking attack by the Deep Kings, one that should not be possible. Only a fearsome show of power from the very woman he is seeking saves him.

Once, long ago, he knew the woman well, and together they stumble onto a web of conspiracy that threatens to unmake everything they hold dear and end the fragile peace the Engine has provided. Galharrow is not ready for the truth about the blood he’s spilled and the gods he’s supposed to serve…



Ender’s Game
Orson Scott Card, 324 pages, 1985

Once again, Earth is under attack. An alien species is poised for a final assault. The survival of humanity depends on a military genius who can defeat the aliens. But who?

Recruited for military training by the world government, Ender's childhood ends the moment he enters his new home: Battle School. Among the elite recruits Ender proves himself to be a genius among geniuses. He excels in simulated war games. But is the pressure and loneliness taking its toll on Ender? Simulations are one thing. How will Ender perform in real combat conditions?



A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams, 179 pages, 1979

It's an ordinary Thursday lunchtime for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly afterwards to make way for a new hyperspace bypass and his best friend has just announced that he's an alien. At this moment, they're hurtling through space with nothing but their towels and an innocuous-looking book inscribed with the big, friendly words: DON'T PANIC. The weekend has only just begun...



Cold Burn of Magic
Jennifer Estep, 323 pages, 2015

It's not as great as you'd think, living in a tourist town that's known as "the most magical place in America." Same boring high school, just twice as many monsters under the bridges and rival families killing each other for power.

I try to keep out of it. I've got my mom's bloodiron sword and my slightly illegal home in the basement of the municipal library. And a couple of talents I try to keep quiet, including very light fingers and a way with a lock pick.

But then some nasty characters bring their family feud into my friend's pawn shop, and I have to make a call--get involved, or watch a cute guy die because I didn't. I guess I made the wrong choice, because now I'm stuck putting everything on the line for Devon Sinclair. My mom was murdered because of the families, and it looks like I'm going to end up just like her...

Meeting - Monday November 6th

Hello Bookends,

We had a close vote on the Doodle page, but our meeting is now set for Monday, November 6th from 5-6 pm at Sidney Smith Rm. 2101. It aligns with the first day of Reading Week, which is apt for all the recreational reading we do. :-)

Also, the search is still on for Sci-Fi/Fantasy themed nominations, so send over any suggestions you may have by Monday, October 30th.

Hope to see you all at our discussion of Silence of the Lambs!

Cheers,
Annoj

Doodle Reminder + Suggestions for Book of the Month
  
Hey Bookenders!

I hope you're all plowing through your courses, as well as our book of the month Silence of the Lambs. A big thank you to everyone who's filled out Doodle so far. The race is tight between several dates, so make sure to get your say in by this Tuesday, October 17th.

https://beta.doodle.com/poll/dfacuiui9riv4hph#table

A point worth noting is that some of the proposed Doodle dates fall under Reading Week. :-)


Also, the online version of Silence of the Lambs is reposted below for those who prefer it over the hard copy:

http://theaquacadet.tumblr.com/post/120635440842/all-the-hannibal-books-by-thomas-harris-in-pdf

I've been informed recently that Bookends mail is often re-routed to the Junk folder, so do fight the good fight and keep your eyes peeled for any lost mail there.

Lastly, the club is now open to suggestions for Sci-Fi/Fantasy nominations (i.e. our book for November). Four to five novels will eventually be shortlisted for voting, based on the following criteria:

• Favourable review by readers
• Novelty in terms of plot, structure or subject matter
• Less than 500 pages in length
• Copies available at Toronto Public Library branches

As an aside, University College is running their phenomenal annual book sale this weekend, with books selling for half-price on Monday. Yum!

Yours truly,

Annoj 

Hello Bookenders!

I hope you're all soaking in this stretch of sun and heat in good spirit!
On an unrelated note, we'll be having our first Bookends meeting this Thursday September 28th from 5-6 pm at Sidney Smith Rm. 1083! Just to clarify, there are no requirements or fees to join the club, just bring your eager selves over for some fun and good snacks! Among other things, we'll be voting on the book of choice for October, as well as the monthly themes for the rest of the school year. Do feel free though to take a jab at the pre-determined theme for October...

With chills and shivers,
Annoj

A Warm Welcome from Bookends

Hello fellow mortals,

I'd like to cordially invite you all to another fantastic year at our fiction-oriented book club, Bookends! If this is your first time hearing about the club, we're basically a read-a-book-every-month-and-discuss-the-hell-out-of-it type of crowd. We feature a variety of genres throughout the year and welcome students from all paths of life to join in on the fun!

If you're hooked, just stick around and a survey will reach your mailbox regarding the first meeting. If you'd rather not hear from the club again, please do reconsider before hitting the unsubscribe button at the bottom of this e-mail.

Your friendly overlord,

Annoj Thavalingam

End of Year + New Director

Hey Bookends!

Just wanted to let you know that Bookends will not be active (having meetings / social event) until September, when the new school year begins. That being said, I (Taneeta) am graduating and will no longer be serving as Director.

For the 2017-2018 year, your Director will be Annoj Thavalingam! He'll be taking over the mailing list and website and will be facilitating meetings. If you have any questions he'll be your first point of contact.

Thanks for all your participation and enthusiasm this year. I'm glad to have been your Director for 2016-2017 and wish you all the best in the future!

Best,

Taneeta

Final Games Night!

Hi everyone!

As you may have noticed, there was a tie in the Doodle, so I broke it!

Date: Friday. April 7 (this Friday!)
Time: 6:30pm (leave whenever you want)
Location: Snakes and Lattes on College/Bathurst
Note: Please remember there is a $6 cover charge.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for participating in the polls, meetings, and generally making this club fun! If you're busy (or just don't want to come), hope you have an easy time with exams and enjoy your summer!

Best,

Taneeta

Book of the Month March 2017 + Games Night

[UPDATE: 28 MARCH 2017]

Hey Bookends! 

Hope you're surviving the last couple of weeks. The book of the month for March 2017 is...

The Housekeeper and the Professor
Yoko Ogawa

I'm guessing it had something to do with the fact that it was the shortest book on the list :D Nevertheless, here are the details for our final meeting of the year!

Date: Friday, March 31, 2017
Time: 4:00-5:00pm
Place: Hart House, Committees Room

Also, I was hoping we could have another Games Night to cap off the school year. Please email me with the best times for your schedule (I'm thinking the week of April 3-7, before exams start, but if before / after works for you, let me know!) I will bring this up at the meeting as well.

Enjoy the book!

Best,

Taneeta

March 2017 Nominations

Hey everyone!

Sorry about the delay, school stress! This month's theme wasn't decided at the last meeting, so I randomly picked one: Books Under 300 Pages!

Here is the link to the Doodle, as usual.

And here are the nominations:

Still Alice / Lisa Genova

Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life--and her relationship with her family and the world--forever.

[292 pages]

Interpreter of Maladies / Jhumpa Lahiri

Some of these nine tales are set in India, others in the United States, and most concern characters of Indian heritage. Yet the situations Lahiri's people face, from unhappy marriages to civil war, transcend ethnicity. As the narrator of the last story, "The Third and Final Continent," comments: "There are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept." In that single line Jhumpa Lahiri sums up a universal experience, one that applies to all who have grown up, left home, fallen in or out of love, and, above all, experienced what it means to be a foreigner, even within one's own family.

[198 pages]

Euphoria / Lily King

Inspired by events in the life of revolutionary anthropologist Margaret Mead, Euphoria is the story of three young, gifted anthropologists of the 1930s caught in a passionate love triangle that threatens their bonds, their careers, and, ultimately, their lives.

[256 pages]

The Incomparable Atuk
Mordecai Richler

Transplanted to Toronto from his native Baffin Island, Atuk the poet is an unlikely overnight success. Eagerly adapting to a society steeped in pretension, bigotry, and greed, Atuk soon abandons the literary life in favour of more lucrative – and hazardous – schemes.

[192 pages]

Peril at End House / Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot is vacationing on the Cornish coast when he meets Nick Buckly. Nick is the young and reckless mistress of End House, who has recently narrowly escaped a series of life-threatening accidents. 

Something tells the Belgian sleuth that these so-called accidents are more than just mere coincidences. It seems all too clear to him that someone is trying to do away with poor Nick, but who? And, what is the motive? In his quest for answers, Poirot must delve into the dark history of End House. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the more certain he is that the killer will soon strike again. And, this time, Nick may not escape with her life. 

[287 pages]

The Housekeeper and the Professor
Yoko Ogawa

He is a brilliant math Professor with a peculiar problem--ever since a traumatic head injury, he has lived with only eighty minutes of short-term memory.  She is an astute young Housekeeper, with a ten-year-old son, who is hired to care for him.  And every morning, as the Professor and the Housekeeper are introduced to each other anew, a strange and beautiful relationship blossoms between them. The Housekeeper and the Professor is an enchanting story about what it means to live in the present, and about the curious equations that can create a family.

[180 pages]









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Feb 2017 Meeting & Movie Final Details

Here are the details for our February 2017 meeting:

Date: Thursday, March 2, 2017
Time: 6:30 pm
Place: Boardroom, Hart House (second floor)

The meeting will be from 6:30-7:30ish, and then we'll start the movie. You're welcome to stay if you like, but you don't have to :) We'll be watching The Grand Budapest Hotel!

See you then!

February 2017 Book of the Month & Pick a Movie!

Reading Week is finally here! And with it, you have the chance to relax - and, well, read. Our book of the month is...

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling.

The meeting date/time is Thursday March 2, at 6:30 pm. I'll post again about the place (which will most likely be at Hart House). 

Here is the survey for our Movie Night (also March 2, right after the meeting):

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February 2017 Nominations

Hey everyone!

February's theme is Humour. (After January's somewhat depressing book, and considering it's the middle of winter, we all need this!) 

Here's a link to the Doodle for our meeting date & time.

The February nominations are:

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole,
Aged 13 3/4 | Sue Townsend

Adrian Mole's first love, Pandora, has left him; a neighbor, Mr. Lucas, appears to be seducing his mother (and what does that mean for his father?); the BBC refuses to publish his poetry; and his dog swallowed the tree off the Christmas cake. "Why" indeed. [source]

The Sellout | Paul Beatty

Paul Beatty's The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game. A biting satire about a young man's isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, it challenges the sacred tenets of the United States Constitution, urban life, the civil rights movement, the father-son relationship, and the holy grail of racial equality—the black Chinese restaurant. [source]

The Indifference League
Richard Scarsbrook

Sexy, racy, hilarious, and even moving, The Indifference League is a story of what happens when the starry-eyed optimism of the Greatest Generation crashes into the obsessions and fears of the New Lost Generation. 

Under the faded banner of Superman, Wonder Woman, and other heroes past steps the Indifference League: The Statistician, Time Bomb, Hippie Avenger, SuperKen, SuperBarbie, Miss Demeanour, Mr. Nice Guy, Psycho Superstar, The Drifter, and The Stunner. All archetypes of Generations X and Y, they are here to show us just how much things have changed.

Sex and love. Religion and politics. Left and Right. Right and Wrong. Can anyone be a hero in an age where the lines are so blurred? When they meet again at The Hall of Indifference for a long weekend together, The Indifference League will fight to find out. Or not. [source]

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
(And Other Concerns) | Mindy Kaling

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?” 

In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka. [source]

Weird Things Customers Say
in Bookstores | Jen Campbell

This Sunday Times bestseller is a miscellany of hilarious and peculiar bookshop moments: 'Can books conduct electricity?' 'My children are just climbing your bookshelves: that's ok... isn't it?'

A John Cleese Twitter question ['What is your pet peeve?'], first sparked the 'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops' blog, which grew over three years into one bookseller's collection of ridiculous conversations on the shop floor. 

From 'Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?' to the hunt for a paperback which could forecast the next year's weather; and from 'I've forgotten my glasses, please read me the first chapter' to 'Excuse me... is this book edible?: here is a book for heroic booksellers and booklovers everywhere. [source]

Wake Up, Sir! | Jonathan Ames

Alan Blair is a young, loony writer with numerous problems. He's also quite skilled at getting into trouble. But luckily for Alan, he has a personal valet, a wondrously helpful fellow named Jeeves, who does his best to sort things out for his young master.

Our tale begins in Montclair, New Jersey, where Alan gets into a scrape with his uncle Irwin, a gun-toting member of the NRA. So Alan and Jeeves flee New Jersey and take refuge at a Hasidic enclave in Sharon Springs, New York. Unfortunately, more trouble ensues, so Alan and Jeeves again take flight, this time landing at a famous artist colony in Saratoga Springs, New York. There Alan encounters a femme fatale who is in possession of the most spectacular nose in the history of noses. Such a nose can only lead to a wild disaster for someone like Alan, and Jeeves tries to help him, but... [source]


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Snakes and Lattes Game Night

Hey Bookenders!

I have closed the poll, and the votes are in! Here are the details for our Games Night:

Place: Snakes and Lattes, College/Bathurst location (apologies for the error)
Date: Thursday, February 2, 2017
Time: 7:00pm to however long you can stay :)

Please note that there is a $5 cover charge! Also, there's a possibility that we may have to wait for seating as it is first-come, first-serve. In this case, we can try the Bloor/Bathurst location. 

Thanks for all your votes!

Best,

Taneeta

January 2017 Meeting Details

Hey Bookenders! 

Here are the details for our January meeting /

Book: Ghosted / Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall

Date: 26 January 2016

Time: 6:30-7:30 pm (time changed, scheduling conflict)

Place: Committees Room, Hart House

Also, we're thinking of doing a games night at Snakes and Lattes. Here is a Doodle for some possible dates. Please let us know if you prefer the Bloor/Spadina location or the College/Spadina location via email, the Discord app, or by replying to this post!

Best,

Taneeta

January 2017 Book of the Month

Hey Bookenders!

Hope you enjoyed your winter break (and if you didn't get much of one, I hope it happens soon!) Thanks to all of you who voted for the book of the month. Without further ado, it is...

Ghosted, by Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall.

Here is the poll for the meeting time/date. I'm hoping the place will be somewhere that's relevant to the book! Let me know if you have any ideas as we go along.

Best,

Taneeta