The Next Chapter Book Club has been very busy since I wrote the first article. We now have three new members who have joined the original five members.
We finished our second book “The London Eye Mystery” by Siobhan Dowd. We had Vancouver Public Librarian, Dana Horrocks, come to the group and help us read to pick out clues so we could make guesses to solve the mystery. While we were reading we then kept our own list of clues and guesses to figure out: Where is the missing Salim?
It was a challenging read, but we stuck with it and never gave up. When we finished we went to one of the member’s place and celebrated in their common room. The story took place in London England so we ate fish & chips for dinner. We were going to play the game Clue but ran out of time. We were having so much fun eating the fish & chips and reading the last 10 pages. Hopefully we can play the game next year.
We are now on book three. It is called “What I came to tell you”, by Tommy Hays. The book club went to the main public library and Linda Lines, another Vancouver Public Librarian, presented 12 very interesting books to us. We picked this book as it is like “Because of Winn Dixie”, our first book.
(photo of book ideas by Deb Simcoe)
The back cover of this book says
Since his mother’s death, Grover Johnston has been having a hard time. The only thing that makes him feel better is the art he makes in the beloved bamboo grove near his home. But his grief-stricken father feels his work is a waste; he tells Grover he’s throwing his live away. When news spreads that the bamboo forest will be knocked down for a development, things reach a boiling point. Yet with the help of their new neighbors, who have moved down from the mountains, a prickly stalwart older friend, and their community, the Johnstons learn that they are not alone, and that they can begin to live again.
On November 10, 2014 our group was part of a Read-a-Thon. We are raising money to send members to the Next Chapter Book Club conference in Chicago, April 2015. The Read-a-Thon was at Joe’s Table in Burnaby and we raised $1,050!!
(members and supporters at Read-a-Thon. Graphic facilitation by Aaron Johannes and Liz Etmanski)
I really hope I am one of the members that gets to go to Chicago. We are still raising money and we will be having a bowling event in February in Abbotsford. People can still contribute by donating online at Spectrum Society for Community Living (the agency that sponsors our group) or by sending a check to Spectrum Consulting.
