Book Club, New Purchases, Unshelved and Design

It's book club night! I am always excited about book club. You may think that is nerdy of me (well, it is!), but I really love my book club. Aside from being able to discuss books, characters, themes, ridiculously overused words in PR *snickers* and as well as tour news and new books coming out, we find out the latest gossip circulating about future books, authors and the like, and it is a great source for finding new books to read! The members have become friends, either on facebook or in the real world. I love everything about it! Well, not everything! As I was discussing with Kat from BookThingo on Twitter yesterday, we need more room. There needs to be a dedicated space for our book club meetings. At the moment we take up half of the space between the Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy and Horror shelves, and it is two rows of chairs, not a circle. It means that there is normally two or three conversations going on at once. I try and sit in the middle so I can take part in both LOL We used to have a book/series of the week, but lately those haven't been set. That has both good and bad aspects. It means that those who haven't read the book can keep up with the conversation, and lets face it, we rarely stuck on topic any way! But it also means that there isn't as much structure to the sessions. I always go to the first book club of the month, but am planning to start going to the second one as well. See, there were too many people interested in attending a Paranormal Romance book club, so they had to split us up. But they are fine with you picking and choosing, as long as you RSVP. I am looking forward to getting to know some new people. I know some who go to the other meeting, because they sometimes come to ours, and we have had a joint book club, as well as meeting them at signings. The only things I do on Thursday nights are shopping and book club, and I don't mind sacrificing one night shopping a month to talk more about books LOL So tonight and next Thursday I will be surrounded by people who share my love of books with bite :D

Last night I bought the new Richelle Mead Vampire Academy novel Spirit Bound. I am currently rereading the series, and am about a quarter of the way through the book preceding it, so I hope to start Spirit Bound next week. I am currently reading Richelle Mead as my "before bed" series, which is why I haven't finished it yet. I also bought Nora Robert's new Bride Quartet instalment, called Savour the Moment. I am loving this series. Nora Roberts is the only straight romance author I read, so it is kind of a guilty pleasure... I am not used to reading non-speculative fiction unless it is a classic or mystery LOL Her books are a lot more girly than I normally read, which is why it is such a guilty little pleasure for me. Tonight at book club (10% discount!) I am buying Erica Hayes second book Shadow Glass (I met her last Sunday!) and will look around for one more book to buy. I haven't been keeping track about what is out, so it should be interesting!

^Haha so true! I love Unshelved! I see both sides of this. Speculative Fiction readers are very particular and very predictable. There are so many types of readers in this genre, and we all have our likes, dislikes and just don't cares. It makes it hard for non-readers to recommend books that the aficionado would approve of. And a lot of those lists are stereotypical or recommend the flashy books that aren't worth reading. I think a general hint if you are trying to write this sort of list is to ask for help, research and then read the books yourself! Just because I think Dune is one of the best science fiction books ever written doesn't mean you agree with me. Its a good idea to stick to the masters of science fiction though, if you are making a list of science fiction for people who aren't fans to read!

I am thinking of changing my blog design. I normally have dark blogs with light text, but I wanted it more approachable so I went for a clean design. I am thinking of heading back to my personal preferences and maybe doing either a steampunk or goth template for this blog. What do you think? Which do you prefer to read, light or dark? Do you want a minimalist design, or something interesting? I am not quite sure which path to take... Maybe I should take yon bonny road that winds about yon fernie brae?