Welcome Everyone!

Hello everyone. We hope that you found the forum and got registered okay. We spent most of the night getting everything as perfect as we could. This is an opportunity for you to get to know other members of the book club. Please take a little time to write a little about yourself; who you are, what your favorite book is, what you expect from the group, and any questions you may have. After everyone has giving some feedback on the direction they hope to get out of this, we will begin discussing which book we will heard first. We are hoping to have a book selected by the weekend so discussions can hopefully begin sometime next week.

This first month might be sort of chaotic and a definite trial run, but we are hoping to have a consistent cycle running from the first friday of a month to the first friday in the next month. If we realize that a month is too long we may end up shortening the cycles, but we all know that life is very busy, and we want everyone to be able to go at their own pace.

This group is for anyone who is interested. We want everyone to be comfortable sharing their thoughts. If you didn't see, there are some basic guidelines on the home screen. Feel free to invite your friends to join the book club or the Facebook group.

We are super excited about the book club and we hope for some great conversation!

Hi everyone! My name is Nancy Moore I am so excited about this book club! Sometimes when I read a book, I will think, jeeze, I would like to see if I am the only one that thinks this or did I miss something? It will be fun to have some people to chat with about a book, I grew up in Big Timber. My sister in law and best friend there are in a book club there and I have always been a bit envious!

I was a hairdresser for 21 years, got divorced, and needed to get a full time job with benefits so I then got an administrative assistant job at a flooring store. I loved it and loved my co-workers! In 2003 I was diagnosed with MS. At the very end of 2008 I had to cut my hours and by the first part of 2009 I had to stop working all together. Although I am glad I look "normal" it can be frustrating as well. People don't "get it". My granddaughter was born that Spring and I am pretty sure she has kept me sane. I have worked since I was 15 yrs old and it was a hard pill to swallow not doing that anymore. My life has taken a turn that I never expected it to and I am in a position I never expected to be. Taking care of Bridgette while her parents work has given me a reason to get up in the morning.

I am pretty open minded, not very politically inclined. I usually see both sides of an issue.

Thats a little bit about me. I am looking forward to getting to know each of you.

Hello, I am terrible at grammar and spelling and everything having to do with writing. Maybe Starr can write for me? Just kidding!

Anyways, my name is Katie. I thought joining a book club would be a fun escape from my normal life routine which is anything but normal. I love reading books. Right now I am trying to learn how to balance life without feeling like I am running around with my head cut off. And well I have not doing a very good job at it yet.

I am originally from Roundup Montana. I currently live in Billings with a roommate. I am 25 years old for the time being. I have been told I have a dry sense of humor and very saracastic. So keep that in my mind when I post. I also tend to go off in many different directions. I apologize now for my lack of writing abilities.

Hey everyone. I am really excited about this book club. Kayla and I have been discussing trying to find a book club when we move to Billings. There is one here in Bismarck, but of course the meeting times are when we both work. Yesterday when I was sitting at work, I had the idea to start an online club pop into my head, and here we are!

I am Starr Brown, one of the masterminds behind the idea. I also put together this forum, so if you have any ideas of things to add, let me know. I am currently a senior in college at the University of Mary in Bismarck. I will be graduating in April with a double major in Psychology and Social Work.

I have always had a passion for reading, although since moving away from home and starting college, I would have to say that I have neglected that passion. I am hoping that this book club will rekindle the spark, and help me find many amazing books to read. I hope that this book club grows into something really amazing, and acts as an outlet for everyone.

I do have to let everyone know that I am not a fan of science fiction, but other than that I am pretty much down for any genre. Let's get to it and try to start picking our first book!

I'm Kayla! I'm 19 years old and I haven't read a book in 6 months. I prefer to read fiction but I like to write non-fiction. My favorite genre is probably historical/bibilical fiction but I'll read pretty much anything. I do have a hard time seeing the other side of the story and usually take pretty strong stances. I'm passionate about a lot of things and I like to argue.
 
I'm looking forward to getting to hear from everyone and see many things we have in common and all the differences we have. I can't wait to get started!

Hi everyone, my name is Steph Olson and I am a senior social work major at the University of Mary. I've always been a slow reader so I've never had much inclination to read because I'd just get frustrated, however a year ago my new years resolution was to read for an hour every day... I wasn't very successful in the last two months because my life just got too crazy, but before that I followed through and these were the books that I read in the last year:

Aesop's Fables - Aesop
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
The Comedy of Errors - William Shakespeare
Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran
Gap Creek - Robert Morgan
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
House Rules - Jodi Picoult
How to be Happy, Dammit: A Cynic's Guide to Spiritual Happiness - Karen Salmansohn
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne
Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
A Million Little Pieces - James Frey
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
Night - Elie Wiesel
Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult
No Exit - Jean-Paul Sartre
Othello - William Shakespeare
The Other Boelyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
Persuasion - Jane Austen
The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
Running with Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis
Sellevision - Augusten Burroughs
Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum

Mostly I'm just including this to show that I really have a wide variety of interest when it comes to books, everything from teen fiction to Shakespeare but I love the classics. My "to read" book list has over 550 books on it... so I've got a long way to go. (sorry for the really long post, it's like a book in itself!)

I have wanted to join a book club for a couple of years now. I always hated reading when I was younger, but I don't remember why. I love to read now, even though I haven't picked up a book since August. I just got a Kindle Fire for Christmas though so this is coming at an excellent time.

My friend Evelyn really got me reading when I first moved to Bismarck four years ago. She talked me into reading the Twilight series even though I didn't want to buy into the teenage hype. I have to say I really enjoyed the series and started to read more and more since then. I can usually read a book pretty quickly, but it depends on how busy my life is and how interested I am in the book.

To share a little about myself; as I stated earlier I have lived in Bismarck for about four years. My husband I moved here from Oklahoma for employment. I'm 25 and he is 24. We currently have no children and aren't really trying for any until we move into our own house. We currently live in a third story apartment. I couldn't imagine being pregnant and living in a third story walk up.

Anyway, I'm hoping to expand my horizons a bit. Ever since I started writing my own book I realized how much I can learn just by reading other authors' work. So I'm excited to get to reading and really see many different points of views. Maybe one day a book club like this one will be reading my book and discussing it.

I am Elizabeth Bruchez, 34 year old mother of three wonderful kids-ages 12,9, and 3. I am a Youth and Family Support Worker at the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch CBS office here in Lewistown, where I have lived my entire life. I received my Addictions Counseling degree from Univ. of Great Falls in May and am STILL going to college to get my Bachelors degree in Psychology.
Reading is a passion for me.....my favorites thus far in my life include everyone from Jodi Picoult to Danielle Steel to Harlan Coben. I am currently reading Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker and really want to read the Hunger Games books, but haven't done it yet! I have always wanted to be in a book club and am looking forward to doing this just for me!!

I used to run an online book club, very different from this. I am a writer and rather unforgiving of poor writing--at least my idea of poor writing. I'm not very impressed by most literary writing, but I'm game to read most anything. Fantasy is my first love, but I read mostly inspirational romance suspense these days because I'm too brain-dead to read anything that requires thought. Favorite authors are Mercedes Lackey, Terry Goodkind, Dee Henderson, Kate Elliot, Heather Graham, and my hero, Douglas Adams. If you know those names, you know just how catholic my tastes are. I usually read the equivalent of at least 100 books a year.

I have a degree in computers that I've never used. I work for a call center and a pet store. The one puts a roof over my head and the other feeds me and my cats. I volunteer for Jillian's Haven Animal Rescue, running their website and Facebook page, working adoption events and fostering cats.

If I ever post something totally weird, l was writing on my phone and I Swyped too fast. Just so you know.

So that's who I am. Hi there!

Okay, I'm Kayla's mom and starr's mom2. I just love to read, I'm bad at grammer and spelling. I read just about anything, lately alot on brain injury. I m looking foward to discusssing books with all of you. Soni

As others have introduced themselves, I will take a turn. My name is Michelle Zarn, sister-in-law to Soni and Lucy, as well as aunt to Katie and Kayla, and hope to get to know Star better through this discussion.

I am 55 years old and work from my home. I have been an avid reader my entire life. My tastes are eclectic, but (at the moment) lean toward science fiction/fantasy and fiction about the south, with an emphasis on southern women. I went to college later in my life (38 – 42) and discovered the joys of book discussions in my literature classes. I haven’t been able to find a book club here in Billings that meets my needs, so I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in this forum.

Hi, I'm Evelyn, and I'm 23 years old. So I know I'm a little late in the game...but that's the story of my life. I tend to procrastinate like crazy, but I usually get things done by the last minute. I am originally from Minot and moved to Bismarck about four years ago, pretty much right around the same time as Rosie.
I am joining this book club for several reasons, the main being that I LOVE to read. Other reasons being that my best friend Rosie has joined and that I have always wanted to be in a book club. I love discussing books that I have read and how I felt about what happened or what I wished had happened. The problem for me used to be that no one else I knew read much, let alone nearly as much as I did. Then I finally hooked Rosie on my wonderful addiction and was able to talk to someone about books.
I will admit that it may take me a little time to get used to the whole forum thing, but hopefully I will get the hang of it and actually be able to keep up to date and post regularly. One thing that I can guarantee is that I will always be able to finish the book in the time allotted because I tend to read very fast and will usually finish a book within a day, maybe two depending on what else I have going on.
Also, I love re-reading books just like I love re-watching movies, so I have no problem with books being chosen that I have read before.