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Current Season Letter and Schedule

May 21, 2022 - Jessica - Light from Uncommon Stars
August 20, 2022 - Julie - The Trees
October 15, 2022 - Anne McD - The Keeper of Lost Things
January 21, 2023 - Lindsay - The Ten Thousand Doors of January
March 18,  2023 - Shannon - The Arabian Nights
May 20, 2023 - Ann B - Addie La Rue
July 15, 2023 - Kim - Parable of the Sower 
September 16, 2023 - Janet - Hitchhiker's Guide 
November 18, 2023 (Potluck and book choosing)- The Museum of Extraordinary Things 

The selected books for Season 9 are:

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - Ann B

The Keeper of Lost Things  - Anne McD

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Janet

Light from Uncommon Stars - Jessica
The Trees - Julie
Parable of the Sower - Kim

The Ten Thousand Doors of January - Lindsay

 The Arabian Nights - Shannon

1. Please choose a date that works for you, and reply to this email with your first and second choice. I will put out a collated list after everyone has chosen. 

May 21, 2022 - Jessica
August 20, 2022 - Julie
October 15, 2022 - Anne McD
January 21, 2023 - Lindsay 
March 18,  2023 - Shannon 
May 20, 2023
July 15, 2023
September 16, 2023
November 18, 2023 (Potluck and book choosing)

For our potluck book, I took the second most voted for book in each person's list and added it here. Anne had two books tie for second place, so both of her choices are there. Please vote for the potluck book through the link below. You have two votes, and you CAN vote for the same book twice if you want (use both of your votes on one book).  


Season 9 - Feb 18, 2022
It's that time again - season nine is upon us. Time for recommitment (or not) book choice submissions and voting!
First and foremost, this is the get out of book club free moment. If you have any reason at all for not going forward, this would be a good time to go - no guilt or questions asked. Once we start a season, it is best to have only the ones committed to being active members of the group (including hosting one time in the year, and being part of a potluck at the end of the season). 
The theme for this season is Fantasy. You can use the Fantasy theme to choose as few as 0 of your books, or 1, 2, or 3 of your books if you are really into it (Beyond the theme, any and every genre of books is welcome. Please just make sure they are books YOU are interested in reading. I suggest that you truly be yourself in your book choices - we want to read what you want to read! That’s the point of the group - to sometimes get out of our comfort zones, and have a shared experience through that journey. It's fun. 
After voting has ended, the books for the next season will be revealed, and ties will be broken at our  book club meeting in March (still to be determined if we want to do potluck in person, or stick with the online for this one - we can vote). We typically meet the third Saturday of every other month, but will choose dates to accommodate big events (birthdays, weddings, world travel, etc.). Please put the dates in your calendar as soon as they are released. 
I usually give my spiel regarding the requirement to DO YOUR ABSOLUTE BEST to attend each meeting because it is cool and fun to be at the meetings, but life happens of course, and missing one once in a while is ok. If you continuously miss meetings, consider if this is the best group for your time. We are kinda serious about our commitment to communication, shared experience, and being active members in each other's lives one evening every two months, lol. That being said, I hope you all decide to continue. I love you all. 
This season will end in 2024 or something crazy like that, so keep that in mind. 
As for your submissions, you have two weeks to send me your 3 choices (between today, Feb 18 to March 4). I will upload the choices to our website after I relearn how to do it. 
Please paste the title and author of each book you choose into an email ONLY to me (amazon link is nice too). I will be posting these selections on our webpage and will let you know when voting is open.
Have fun picking out your books. It's really a joy for me to see what you choose, and I'm excited to get back into this season together - hopefully in person like the before times :)

3 Action ITEMS to respond to this email only to me:
Please vote if you want to do the potluck on 3/19 in person or stay online for that meeting.
Please respond if you plan to recommit, or chose to not commit to season 9. 
Start choosing your books and email me when you have your 3 books. 

Lindsay   

Season 8

Ready to go on a mysterious virtual journey across time and space? Yes, of course we are! Here's our travel itinerary: 

1. September 19, 2020 - The Name of the Rose - Italy, 1327

2. October 17, 2020 - The Confessions of Frannie Langton - London, 1820

3. December 19, 2020 - Complete August Dupin Stories - Paris, 1840

4. Feb 20, 2021 - How Much of These Hills is Gold? - Gold Rush California, 1849

5. April 17, 2021 - Sherlokian - London, 1893/New York City, Modern Time

6. June 19, 2021 - Opium and Absinthe - New York City, 1899

7. August 21, 2021 - In the Time of Butterflies -  Dominican Republic, 1960's/1994

8. October 16, 2021 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - England, 1998

9.  January 15, 2022 - Devolution - Washington State, The Near Future 

***Book Selection Period***  

10. March 19, 2022 - The Guest List - Ireland, Modern Day
Let's get this season 8 started, huh? Time for book choice submissions and voting!
The theme for this season is Mysteries. You can use the Mysteries theme to choose as few as 0 of your books, or 1, 2, or 3 of your books if you are really into it (bonus points for picking a mystery written by an underrepresented voice, or a classic mystery - jk, there are no points, but it is a cool idea to keep in mind to blend some of our past themes with the present). Beyond the theme, any and every genre of books is welcome. I mean, nobody has ever picked a cookbook, a book of poems, or a super ancient text (maybe for a reason...). Please just make sure they are books YOU are interested in reading. I suggest that you truly be yourself in your book choices - we want to read what you want to read! That’s the point of the group - to sometimes get out of our comfort zones, and have a shared experience through that journey. It's fun. 
After voting has ended, the books for the next season will be revealed, and ties will be broken at our  book club meeting in July. We typically meet the third Saturday of every other month, but will choose dates to accommodate big events (birthdays, weddings, world travel, etc.). Please put the dates in your calendar as soon as they are released. I usually give my spiel regarding the requirement to DO YOUR ABSOLUTE BEST to attend each meeting, but with the crazy reality Covid presents, this season has some serious flexibility built in. If you are uncomfortable meeting or hosting, if you, or a family member is not feeling well, and you can't make it, if zombies take over, etc., everyone will understand. That being said, if you are on the more cautious side of the Covid spectrum, I suggest you schedule your hosting time towards the end of season 8 (which spans 20 months, and will end in 2022). 
2022?? Yeah, every year we all get kinda blown away by the date of our final book club meeting of the season, but the time really just disappears - like a victim in a mystery. 
As for your submissions, you have two weeks to send me your 3 choices (between today, June 22 to July 6). I will upload the choices to our website after I relearn how to do it (same thing every year...you'd think I'd write it down somewhere). 
Please paste the title and author of each book you choose into an email ONLY to me (amazon link is nice too). I will be posting these selections on our webpage and will let you know when voting is open.
Have fun picking out your books. It's really a joy for me to see what you choose, and I'm excited to get back into this season together. Just email me with any questions if you have them. 
Waving to you from the Mystery Machine,
Lindsay   




------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season 7 Books
November 17, 2018 - Anne - Giant

January 19, 2019 - Kim - Between the World and Me

March 16, 2019 - Lindsay - The Secret Life of Color

May 18, 2019 - Ann - For Whom the Bell Tolls

July 20, 2019 - Shannon - Atonement

September 21, 2019 - Julie - Rebecca

November 16, 2019 - Tiffany - Alias Grace

January 18, 2020 - Ann B- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

March 21, 2020 - Jessica - Grapes of Wrath

*Choosing Books Period and Voting*

May 16, 2020 - Potluck - Ghosted -Hosted By Anne McD

July 18, 2020 - 1st meeting of Season 8


 It’s book choosing time again! *(see note at the bottom please)
The theme for this season is Classics! You can use the classics theme to choose as few as 0 of your books, or 1, 2, or 3 of your books if you are really into it. Beyond the theme, any and every genre of books is welcome. Please just make sure they are books YOU are interested in reading. I suggest that you truly be yourself in your book choices - we want to read what you want to read! That’s the point of the group - to sometimes get out of our comfort zones, and have a shared experience through that journey. 
After voting has ended, the books for the next season will be revealed, and ties will be broken at our last book club meeting in September, at Chelsea’s house. We typically do the third Saturday of every other month, but will choose dates to accommodate big events (birthdays, weddings, world travel, etc.). We have had some experiences in the past with members (no longer with us ...Rest In Book Club Peace) who did not put the dates in their calendars in advance, and it became challenging for the rest of us who plan on these dates nearly two years in advance. We also understand that life happens, and sometimes you can't make it, but I am asking that you do your best to make the once every two months meeting. 
From the set of agreed upon dates, everyone will pick a single time to host (this is a non-negotiable - if needed, you can switch your date around far in advance or trade if someone is willing).
We also discussed adding a final POT LUCK meeting to the end of our season for book choosing. We will have a book chosen from the list of second place choices across the group. I'm excited about this one! Our potlucks are pretty amazing.  
Soooooo, send me your 3 choices anytime between now and August 11 (one month). This will give us enough time to make sure there are no repeats or overlaps, read through the synopses, and vote for our choices on our webpage (and for me to figure out how the heck to do the whole webpage and poll daddy thing again - every time I forget). Voting period will occur between August 18-Sept 1 (two weeks). 
Please copy and paste the synopsis of each book you choose into an email to me (amazon link is nice too). I will be posting these selections on our webpage.
Have fun picking out your books! I can't wait to see what you choose!
Cheers, 
Lindsay 
A FEW RESOURCES (not included: the kinda questionable PBS Great American Read List): 
BBC Book List link Chelsea found: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml
A Stuffy Brit's List from the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/oct/12/features.fiction

*This is also the time you are free to fly away from the club! You are no longer obligated in any way to stay, so if you do not want to sign on for another 20 month season, PLEASE just let me know by replying to this email with tagline: OPTING OUT, and of course do not send any book choices. That's it! No explanation required. 

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