Book of November 2013

So at the end of October we had a very successful (and "thrilling"!) movie night. I would like to thank everyone who came out and made it a success.

In past meetings, we have disccused the possibility of having this book as our Book of November, and we finalized it at our last meeting.

So, the Book of November will be...

October movie night - final details!

Playing: The Shining
Location: Board Room, Hart House
Date: Oct 25, 2013
Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Note: drinks should be okay, but food is not allowed in the Board Room.

Book of October 2013

It's here! Our theme for this month was thriller/horror. This book is a companion to the movie we will be watching at the end of this month, and is sure to scare your socks off!

October movie/book nominations!

I can't believe it's already October! We're having a movie night this month as Halloween is coming up. Thanks to everyone who sent in nominations. I tried to shortlist the ones that had a corresponding book. Here are the nominees!

Book of September

Thanks to everyone who voted and came to our first meeting - it was a great success and a pleasure meeting you all!

And without further ado, here is our Book of September!


"Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky

The book can be found in many libraries and stores, both in hard copies and ebooks.

Happy reading!

Nominations: Book of September

Thank you to everyone who sent in nominations. Here they are!

First meeting details

Thanks to everyone who voted in the doodle! Here are the details for the meeting:

Where: Bickersteth Room, Hart House
When: Friday, September 13, 5:30pm - 6:30pm

Don't forget to vote for your favourite book for this month.

See you all there!

Welcome to 2013-2014!

Hello Bookenders!

Welcome to a new year of Bookends. School is right around the corner and I hope everyone's excited to be coming back. We are looking forward to having an amazing year filled with great books, discussions and movies.

A few announcements:

• Amina - our previous co-director - has graduated and will not be returning to Bookends this year.
• Our new co-director is Anoo. Some of you might have met Anoo at our meetings last year. She has been a member of our club for a few years now and served on the social committee last year. So please join me in welcoming her to the Bookends exec team. I look forward to working with her!
• We are now looking for a new social committee for the upcoming school year! If you are interested, please email me (Aditi) at bookendsuoft@yahoo.com with a little blurb about yourself and your ideas for social events.
• Nominations for Book of September are now open! The theme for this month is "fresh" - interpret this as you will. It can be anything from a "new beginnings", coming of age story to a fantasy adventure to delight your inner child. Pick something you think others might enjoy :)
• To submit a nomination, send us an email at bookendsuoft@yahoo.com

Our first meeting will be held on Friday, September 13. Since this will be the first meeting of the month, there is no book discussion. Instead, we will have ice breakers to try and get to know one another and discuss our ideas for the book club this year. You will also have a chance to vote on the Book of September at the meeting.

Please go to this doodle to choose your preferred time for the meeting: http://doodle.com/k9mmtsm2dya3m2hs

See you there!

-Aditi

March 2013 Nominations & Meeting

Hi guys!

It's that time again. Thank you to everyone for sending in their nominations for book and theme. Please look below to find the nominated books/themes and their descriptions and then scroll down to the poll to cast your vote. Please also vote for your preferred meeting time for this month by going to this doodle: http://doodle.com/8pf75uuu9w6emr3c

Book of February 2013!

Thanks everyone for voting!

The book of February (with our theme of Romance) is....

Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell! 

Set against the dramatic backdrop of the American Civil War, Margaret Mitchell's epic love story is an unforgettable tale of love and loss, of a nation mortally divided and its people forever changed. At the heart of all this chaos is the story of beautiful, ruthless Scarlett 'O' Hara and the dashing soldier of fortune, Rhett Butler.

I hope you enjoy this book and I look forward to discussing this with you guys at our next meeting!

Happy reading!

- Aditi.

February Nominations

Happy Valentine's Day!

For the month of love, we're reading a book with a "Romance" theme. 

Here are your nominations for this month's book!

Movie night this Friday! "John Dies At The End"

Hi guys,

So our social committee has put together a movie night for us this Friday (25th). The movie is "John Dies At The End", based on the book we read last October.

The film was released a while ago in limited capacity, so this is an exciting opportunity to see the movie you might not get a chance to see otherwise! 

The details are below:

What: John Dies At The End movie screening

When: Friday, Jan 25th at 4pm sharp!

Where: Media Commons in Robarts 3rd Floor, Room #1

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my9Pr-W92SM]

Many thanks to Anoo from the social committee who will be on hand to set up!

See you guys there!

Book of January 2013!

I'd like to thank everyone for voting.

It was close, but the votes are in and the book of January is....

January Nominations + meeting!

Hi everyone, 

The January nominations are in! Here are the 3 books nominated for this month are: 

1) "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel H. Pink

The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: artists, inventors, storytellers-creative and holistic "right-brain" thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn't.

Drawing on research from around the world, Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others) outlines the six fundamentally human abilities that are absolute essentials for professional success and personal fulfillment--and reveals how to master them. A Whole New Mind takes readers to a daring new place, and a provocative and necessary new way of thinking about a future that's already here.

2) "Imagine: how creativity works" by Jonah Lehrer

Did you know that the most creative companies have centralized bathrooms? That brainstorming meetings are a terrible idea? That the color blue can help you double your creative output?

From the New York Times best-selling author of How We Decide comes a sparkling and revelatory look at the new science of creativity. Shattering the myth of muses, higher powers, even creative “types,” Jonah Lehrer demonstrates that creativity is not a single gift possessed by the lucky few. It’s a variety of distinct thought processes that we can all learn to use more effectively.

Lehrer reveals the importance of embracing the rut, thinking like a child, daydreaming productively, and adopting an outsider’s perspective (travel helps). He unveils the optimal mix of old and new partners in any creative collaboration, and explains why criticism is essential to the process. Then he zooms out to show how we can make our neighborhoods more vibrant, our companies more productive, and our schools more effective.

3) "Sex at Dawn" by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá

Since Darwin's day, we've been told that sexual monogamy comes naturally to our species. Mainstream science--as well as religious and cultural institutions--has maintained that men and women evolved in families in which a man's possessions and protection were exchanged for a woman's fertility and fidelity. But this narrative is collapsing. Fewer and fewer couples are getting married, and divorce rates keep climbing as adultery and flagging libido drag down even seemingly solid marriages.

Ryan and Jethá's central contention is that human beings evolved in egalitarian groups that shared food, child care, and, often, sexual partners. Weaving together convergent, frequently overlooked evidence from anthropology, archaeology, primatology, anatomy, and psychosexuality, the authors show how far from human nature monogamy really is. Human beings everywhere and in every era have confronted the same familiar, intimate situations in surprisingly different ways. The authors expose the ancient roots of human sexuality while pointing toward a more optimistic future illuminated by our innate capacities for love, cooperation, and generosity.

Vote for the books here: