Month: May 2022

#34 Book Club meeting

Published on by nancysylapranyLeave a comment

Hi everyone

Thanks for attending our meeting in Week 3 and for voting for the genres we will read this year. The most popular genres included fantasy, historical fiction, mystery and suspense, science fiction and classics. As discussed, we will start with a couple of Agatha Christie books as well as a couple of other options to do a ‘genre study’ of mystery and suspense novels. This means that we will discuss a few books that fit into the mystery and suspense genre at our next meeting.   Please see the previous post in class for the links to the books (many are available in Sora)

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Books shared in our last meeting included:

  • Iron to Iron by Ryan Graudin (sequel to Wolf by Wolf) – currently being read by Faith, Year 7 – this book sounds like it has an interesting angle (an alternate history or ‘what if’ situation to consider) plus appeal to a wider audience (with some romance too).
  • Solitaire by Alice Oseman, author of the popular Heartstopper series, this book is about Charlie’s sister, Tori – read by Olivia, Year 7
  • Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta is an enduring favourite for Year 9/10 students – read by Deeya, Year 9
  • To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee – a classic that consistently appears in reader’s lists and must-read booklists – read by Anastasia, Year 9
  • My sister’s keeper by Jodi Picoult; The Obsession by Jessie Q. Sutanto (always available in Sora; interest level – Yrs 9-12) – read by Gretel, Year 12
  • A child called It by Dave Pelzer (confronting true story about Dave Pelzer’s childhood) – re-read by Garima, Year 12
  • The Great Gatsby by F.S Fitzgerald – Zoe, Year 11 (here’s a link to the graphic novel version). Zoe commented that she has been starting a lot of books and not finishing them. I think we can all relate to this until we find that ‘just right’ book that hooks our attention and in which we be drawn into a deeper reading experience.
  • The Stand by Stephen King (this sounds like a big tome with over 1000 pages!) – currently being read by Katie, Year 11. It’s available in Sora for Years 9-12 students. Katie noted that this is a more character-focused book with graphic details and swearing.
  • Lillian, Year 11, is looking forward to the release at the end of May of the third book in the Prison Healer series.
  • Future Girl by Asphyxia – read by Mrs Sylaprany. It is about a near future Melbourne
    Future Girl by Asphyxia

    where government enriched food has become scarce. People are hungry and resources such as petrol are limited. The main character, Piper, is Deaf and her scientist mother has just lost her job. Life is getting quite tough. Piper meets Marley who is CODA (Child Of a Deaf Adult). His mother mother is also Deaf. It is through Marley’s mother and Marley that Piper begins to learn new skills, different ways of thinking, and begins seeing herself in ways that she would never have expected. 

  • Ms McNamara donated More than I love my life by David Grossman, winner of the International Man Booker, to the library. 
  • Mrs Lacey has been reading non-fiction books including Dr Karl’s book on climate change, and David Attenborough’s book, A life on our planet. 
  • The Cousins by Karen M. McManus – read by Mrs Ryan – another popular mystery and suspense book from the author of One of us is lying.
  • Mrs Hanratty will share what she has been reading at our next Book Club meeting in Week 9. 

Thanks for sharing your reading experiences and conversation about books. What a diverse mix of books we have all been reading recently!

Extra:

If anyone is interested in learning about Auslan (which is in Future Girl), you might like to read this blog. Or, go to the blog and scroll to the bottom of the page to see a video of author, Asphyxia, fingerspell the alphabet. It’s only 34 seconds long and fun to watch (and try yourself).

Next book club meeting:

As mentioned, we are reading one of Agatha Christie’s books for our next meeting:

Happy reading until our next meeting!

Mrs Sylaprany