The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Okay folks, I'd like to kick start this adventure by combining something new with something already cherished. I am a big fantasy fan, and one of my all time favorite authors is Terry Pratchett.

I fell in love with this author two chapters into the first book of his that I ever read; I laughed my way through the entire book and didn't realize until the end how much he made me reexamine my own perspectives. I love the way his no-nonsense characters work so hard to find (and then maintain...which is much harder than the finding) some sort of order in their totally nonsensical world. And although Mr. Pratchett has written several books full of wonderful characters, I'd like to introduce you to his newest series: The Tiffany Aching Adventures.

Our January book is the first book in the series, The Wee Free Men.

Now, bear in mind, you don't have to read past the first one if you don't want to...but if you're anything like me, you won't be able to stop after just one! Should you feel inclined to read on, the rest of the series continues as follows:

A Hat Full of Sky

Wintersmith

I Shall Wear Midnight

I would also recommend that this particular series be read in chronological order. (Again, you don't have to, but I'm kind of anal that way...so if you do read them out of order, don't tell me.)

These are shorter young adult novels, so you could very easily finish the entire series before February.

I wish you all happy reading in a brand new year and look forward to hearing what you thought of my choice!

New Idea for a New Year

It is a cherished custom during the New Year to take time to reflect on the old and anticipate growing and improving areas in our lives. Caitlin was thinking about ways she could socialize and stay in contact more often with friends and family; and craving feminine correspondence as an outlet for intelligent-ish discussion with like minded people. She called Chrissy to share a brilliant idea:

A Blogging Book Club!

We wanted to enjoy the companionship and meeting of minds to discuss what we are reading with our family and friends, some of whom live too far away to make a traditional monthly "book club" a viable option. (Plus some peoples *cough.. cough.. caitlin...* schedules are too busy to fit it in.) So we are going to do an online book club where we take turns selecting a book once a month and then can post our thoughts and opinions on it. The whole idea of this is to be something enjoyable and not an obligation. There is no penalty for not finishing a book or posting a less than favorable review. The only thing we ask is to treat each other with respect and remember that just as people have differing tastes in food, not everyone has to like every book. This is to be a literary smorgasbord where you can sample new flavors and no one will care if you have more than your fair share, or if you prefer fluffy indulgences over substance. (i.e. This isn't about showing off, no one is going to think you are smarter because you pick Moby Dick. If you really want to read Moby Dick go right ahead, but don't be surprised if no one else does...)

Then Caitlin had another brilliant idea:

The Million Page Year!

Our goal is that together the members of our virtual book club will read one million pages this year. (And after much debate it was decided that books begun after Christmas and finished in the New Year will be counted.) Once you've joined we will send you a link to our page tracker where you can record the information of the books you've read, and we will update the running tally on the sidebar once a week.

So here's how we think this will work the best:

(Bear in mind that this is something new for us so there are bound to be hiccups along the way. If you have any fun ideas or input on ways to make things run more smoothly please feel free to email us.)

Point 1: Getting Started

We would like everyone to email us (And by us we mean Chrissy. Let's be honest, Caite is the brilliant-idea-maker, Chrissy is the follow-through-and-keep-it-going gal.) 3-4 book suggestions and a short paragraph (that's at least 3 sentences folks...) about why they would recommend it.

Point 2: OOPs

(Official Operating Procedures)

The new book will be posted the 1st of each month. It will be chosen at random from the titles submitted. After that it's up to you when you finish reading and post about it. If you read it in two days and post multiple times, that's fine. If you don't finish it until six months later and then post something like, "Hey guys, remember January's book? It was really good;" that's fine too.

Point 3: Grammar-snobs are Great Big Meanies

We all have spell check on our computers. Please use it. We might not be discussing Voltaire or Tolstoy, but we have some standards. Also, those who don't proof-read may be exposed to ridicule. You have been warned. :)

Point 4: Recruitment

We aren't actively doing it, but it could happen.

If you have someone you think would enjoy participating with us, send us their contact information privately and we will issue an invite. Provided of course that they are our kind of people. This is our club and we won't have just anyone coming in and trying to raise the bar around here!

As we look forward to this exciting new endeavor we would like to take a moment to reflect upon our inspiration. Our mother, who taught us from a very young age to love the written word and shared the wonder that can be found in books.

"Every good book is worth owning." -Kim Madsen

You may not always be able to own the actual book but, once read, you can own the story forever. So here's to expanding our personal libraries in 2011!