Tongue-Tied? Pronunciation Guide!

Fantasy-genre books are great; in a different (made-up) world, there are different rules, giving you a sense that anything is possible.  The downside: the geography is different, the language is probably different, so the names of people-places-things can make for some REALLY HARD pronunciation guesswork. 

Throne of Glass definitely is no exception.  Seriously, who's going to guess correctly how to say "Eyllwe"? Seriously?

Lucky for us, Throne of Glass author Sarah J. Maas has provided a super-helpful pronunciation guide for the tricky bits!  Check it out here on the blog just in time for tomorrow's club meeting, or head to the author's website (sarahjmaas.com) and look for the guide under the "Extras" tab.

The pronunciations are... enlightening(?)... though a few of them aren't what I had in my head while reading about something for the ENTIRE book.  Did this happen to you? And if it did, which words, and what was your pronunciation?  Don't worry - since these are all made-up words, there isn't really a wrong way to pronounce them!

And don't forget to come talk about it in person at tomorrow's meeting - Thursday, December 5th, 6-7pm at the library!

Throne of Glass Novellas?! Um, YES PLEASE

So when I finished Throne of Glass, there was a little more than the usual grieving process of shucks, that was a great book, what am I going to read now; I really enjoyed this book, so it was more like OH MY GOSH IT'S OVER and THE SEQUEL'S OUT "FALL 2013"?!  THAT'S NOT EVEN A REAL DATE I NEED IT NOW SARAH J. MAAS I WILL FIND YOU AND--"*

You get the idea.  It was a bit traumatic.

So if any of you are also undergoing Throne of Glass-withdrawal, check out the Throne of Glass NOVELLAS!   These are four prequel stories about Celaena's missions as an assassin before she's captured and imprisoned in Endovier (where we meet her at the beginning of Throne of Glass).  They explain a lot more (almost 400-total-pages more!) about Celaena's backstory and Throne of Glass:  how she dealt with the Pirate King and his slave trade, her training with the Silent Assassins, who "Sam" is, and best of all, who betrayed Celaena and ensured her capture. Yes, you definitely want to know this. 

Bad news: they're only available as ebooks, and they're not free.  Good news:  they're really cheap! Only 99 cents each.  I read them on Google Play's site for books and downloaded the free app so I could read them on my phone; you can do pretty much the same thing with Amazon and a Kindle app or get the novellas in Spanish (!) at Barnes & Noble and use the Nook app (or just use a Kindle or Nook, if you're so lucky). Just click on any of the nice blue links in this paragraph - you can preview the first few pages for free!

From right to left, the order in which they're supposed to be read.  Y'know, if you're into following rules.

That's it!  And don't worry, you won't need to read these novellas for the book club meeting discussion - this is just an opportunity to get more Throne of Glass if you NEED MORE NOW like I did. Don't forget to come to the meeting, next Thursday, December 6th at 6pm.

*NOTE: I do NOT encourage threatening authors, either to get a sequel sooner or for your own crazy reason.  Authors are people too, and threatening them won't get a sequel to you sooner. F'reals.

December: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Ready for another great book, smithies?  Sure hope so, 'cause this is a book club.  In case you weren't sure. Y'know.

Anyways, December's pick is Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.  Not that we'd pick out anything not good for you to read, but srrsly, this one is LARGE AMOUNTS OF WIN.  It's like The Hunger Games meets Game of Thrones.  Or, if you've already read The Selection by Kiera Cass (think Hunger Games + The Bachelor TV show), it's like The Selection, but with ninja skills.  Yeah, awesome.

Check out the cover and summary:

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Though Celaena's bored stiff by court life, things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Mmmmmmawesome.  Sounds like a good way to spend your Thanksgiving vacation, no?  And don't forget to come to the meeting (and if you didn't get to read the book, come anyway): December 6th, 6pm.  BAM.

LIKE OMG, A QUIZ

THIS IS IS THE BEST THING SINCE KEYBOARD CAAAAAAAAAAATTTT!!!

Ermigeersh, who loves quizzes?!  Quick, tell the computer all your hopes and dreams and eyecolor and birthday and it will tell you where you will DIE!!! Wait, no, that's really morbid. 

Seriously though, Veronica's put together a quiz of Cinder trivia - test yourself to see how well you remember the book!  Click on the pretty blue words in the last sentence to take the quiz:  eleven questions in two minutes or less.  Aaaaannnnnddddd... GO. 

And don't forget to post your scores below if you want to brag.

November After-Meeting Mint: Ballgown [Not] Required

She's good with a wrench? Seriously?
NEVER saw that coming.

Thanks to everyone who came to the meeting to discuss Cinder last Thursday - my sources say the convo was excellent!  If you couldn't make the meeting, keep reading to catch up on the club's take on Cinder:

This book is set in the future, but it's set in future China, which is unexpected but works really well - a change of scenery did us good? - and it had some cool future tech, both good and bad; Cinder's cyborg abilities (lie detection) and the "portscreen" devices are great, but the ID chips that were implanted in everyone are way creepy, seeing as the government could always know where you were and what you were doing and everything else in your life, ew.  

And speaking of technology, the whole prejudice-against-cyborgs thing was no good; the reason behind this wasn't clear either, but we all agreed that it's not surprising that prejudice could exist in the super-future as much as now.  It's pretty hard to define what it means to be "human", though.  And as cyborgs are defined in Cinder, "cyborgs" probably already exist today (nerds, rejoice! Your sci-fi dreams are coming true!), so we could face this ourselves someday.

Everyone seemed to really like this book because it so unusual - even people who don't like to read loved this book!  If teens spread the word, the book could be pretty popular  - really, it's that different from other dystopian novels.  But we mostly thought that this book would be more popular with girls than guys, even though the main character, Cinder, is a mechanic (the luuuvvv aspect of the book was a hit). 

So if you still can't get enough of Cinder  - the sequel's not out for A.  WHILE.  - then keep talking in the comments.  Tell us what you thought about the cyborg-superpowers, the ID  chips, the  cyborg hatefest and prejudice in general, whether or not cyborgs already exist (!), or just what you thought of the book in general.  Or tell us something else random - it's a free country, do what you want.

And get ready for next month's book, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (more on that later)...

Meeting Tonight!

... in a galaxy far, far away... wait, wrong story.

Tonight's the night!  The night for November's meeting!  We'll be in the conference room (off to the left side of the library's lobby) at 6pm to discuss this month's book, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, and to sign up for next month's meeting.  Be there like share-ware.
Speaking of which: if you're already signed up for the book club this month, we have a FREE COPY OF THIS MONTH'S BOOK (Cinder, like I said) with your name on it waiting for you in the teen room!  Just ask at the teen reference desk for your copy.

Also, here are some basic questions about Cinder to be thinking about for the meeting: 

• Was the plot predictable (snoozefest), or did it take you by suprise?
• Could you see someone make the same decisions as the Cinder and Prince Kai in real life?
• Were there any decisions made by Cinder, Prince Kai, etc. that you disagreed with?
• Did you like the ending (no spoilers!)? And did it suprise you?
• Did the book have larger meanings to think about?
• Like it? Hate it? Meh? Recommend the book to friends?

Come by tonight and argue about it.  Nicely. Or just discuss.  Conference room, 6pm, be there, be square, comb your hair.

November: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Our first meeting has come-and-mostly-gone (you can still discuss it in the previous post)! If you missed the first meeting - you were busy, sleepy, avoiding the potential for an awkward first-date club meeting vibe, whatever - you won't want to miss our second meeting, because the book we've picked for November is GOOD.  Check out this sweet cover-art-eye-candy (and the synopsis):

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

"Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future."

Hmm... smells a bit like a certain fairy tale.  But before you start thinking about singing mice and pumpkin carriages, this book is far from the fairy tale you grew up reading/watching. Like, lives-on-the-moon far.  (Inside-book-joke intended.)  And before you get all oh-no-I'm-not-reading-ANOTHER-dystopian-novel, just chill; this book is just as different from other dystopia-set books as it is from other fairy-tale-retold books - in a good way.  

So come by the teen room and check it out! Or put the book on hold early - the next meeting is November 1st at 6pm.

October After-Meeting Mint: You Were Always My Favorite...

The first meeting of the SPL Teen Book Club was last week - woohoo!  Thanks to everyone who came to talk about their favorite books and helped break in the club like a shiny new shoe.  If you wanted to avoid the first meeting and join the club at a fashionably-late second meeting, you can still discuss your favorite books here!

Some of your favs from the meeting included the Maximum Ride series, The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, Withering Tights by Louise Rennison, Tangled by Carolyn Mackler, See You At Harry's by Jo Knowles, Willow by Julia Hoban and the Harry Potter series (OF. COURSE.).  Reasons for liking these books included enjoying them for the action, for adventure, romance and humor; for the issues in some books and for how other books made you think. Topic- and genre-wise, it's a pretty diverse list, which only makes for a more interesting meeting.

Teen librarian/bound-paper-aficionado Veronica McKay also read some juicy bits from some of her own newer favs, including Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough.

So how about you, anonymous internet reader-person?  What are some of your favorite books, and why do you like them?  Or is there a book you just LOVE, but didn't want to be the only one talking at the meeting (because you can tell us about it here - and it's anonymous...)?  YA books, non-YA books, or just a favorite genre - let us know!

Welcome! Willkommen! Bienvenidos! ...Or whatever!

Welcome to the official blog for the Smith Public Library Teen Book Club! Here you'll find all the info and food-for-thought you'll need to participate in the club, whether you attend the meeting or not.

Here's what you do:

1. READ DA BOOK. Find out about the next meeting's book here on the blog or SPL's website's teen page (OR you could just call the library and ASK which book.  If that's your thing.).  Check out a copy and get to reading!  
2. READ DA BLOG [QUESTIONS].  We'll have posts with talking points to think about and discuss at the meeting or here in the comment section.  
3. GO TO DA MEETING. We'll meet on the first Thursday of month at 6-7pm in the multipurpose room at the library.  This month's meeting is TONIGHT, October 4th.
4. READ DA BLOG... AGAIN [SEE WHAT YOU MISSED].  Even if you can't come to the meeting, you can weigh in online.  There'll be posts covering topics/friendly arguments (*cough*) from the last meeting so you can sound off with your opinions even if you miss a meeting.  

Lather, rinse, repeat for the next meeting.

BY THE WAY, if you don't finish reading the book before the meeting, no worries - you can still come to the meeting.  This is a book club for YOU, and we want to hear YOUR opinions!

That's it!  We'll see you around - at the library OR here on the blog.

The Smithees Favs.

Croak by Gina Damico                

                                              Leviathan by Scott      Westerfeld            

Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld 

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz

                                    Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Come tell us about your favs. Oct. 8th at 6pm