the big house book club

well, in case you missed the announcement last thursday, last friday was our first potluck. yeah, we probably should have reminded you more maybe, but it has been plastered on our homepage for about a month now, so i don't feel too badly about it. but we did miss those of you who couldn't make it. a lot! 

here's a quick recap of what went down: we introduced ourselves, watched a video of sarita reading from the dead & the gone, read an email i got from sue pfeffer (the author of the book!), passed out autographed stickers that ms. pfeffer mailed us (she's so nice!), shared what we loved about the book (it made darlene cry!), recorded (like 3 times!) a video thank you card for ms. pferrer, and we talked about what to read next.  click here to see pics of the potluck! 

so, yeah, we did a lot, and we did it all while stuffing our faces w/ slice after slice of delicious dominoes pizza (whom we profusely and graciously thank for their very generous educator's discount)! =)

we do not have a next meeting scheduled yet because a lot of you still haven't turned in your books yet. we can't buy new books until we have the old ones back to trade in. so turn them in. like asap. please. thank you! =)

hey there happy readers! are you finishing up the book?! =) awesome! i can't wait to talk w/ you all about it! and "you all" is getting bigger again! we've got 4 more new members! that brings us up to 28! that's just totally awesome! let's give a warm book club welcome to sonja, lovepreet, joanna & jovanni! =) you guys better read fast! the rest of these guys have had like forever to finish this one and some are still not done yet. they say they're always busy w/ homework! like i'm supposed to believe that! (kidding! kidding!) anyway, just read already, and come see me to have your pic taken pls. thx! c U n 2 weeks: next mtg: fri nov 14th: @ lunch in the lib! =)

p.s. btw, happy halloween! if you're not going out trick-or-treating tonight, your loving librarian recommends curling up in bed w/ a good book, where the ghosties can't get ya! start w/ this list of  scary stories for teens.

1. new members... wow! can you believe we're up to 24 members already?! =) allie, angel , ben, cody, darlene, deva, jessie, karla, laura, maria, marina, mary, memo, miss helen, mrs. reed, ms. koval, paige, renesha, sabina, sarita, sophie, suzy, taylor, and zack! =) welcome to all our new members and wassup to all our old-timers! =) there's room for more, so if you know anyone who wants to join us, tell them to come see me. and warn them, there's a camera involved! =)

2. books... i changed my mind. you're not going to buy them. at least not from me. not unless you want to. so when you're done reading the book, please return it to me or miss helen so we can let someone else read it. and, that way, when we're all done, i can trade in our entire set at copperfield's and use the credit toward our next book! =) sound good? gr8! so, the two of you who already paid me, come see me to get your cash back. you know who you are! =)

3. donations... i've added a wish list page to our website so if you know people who want to help us, they can, and now they'll know what we need and how to get it to us. please have them contact me for more info. thank you! =)

4. next meeting... next thursday october 30th... the day before halloween... at lunch in the library... in our office... i'll try to remember to make you passes to get out of class a little early. but i'm new and so i'm not sure if this is kosher at casa yet. anyway, thursday is an a day, so it would really help me & miss helen if you please tell me or email me your full name, what teacher you have 2nd period, and what the room # is. thank you! =)

5. food... marina is baking us cookies!!! deva is bringing balloons!!! if you'd like to bring sodas or anything else, please do!!! the more the better!!! =)

love & stuff,
ms. koval =)

Since times are tough and money is tight, the Big House Book Club is officially begging for spare change. But fear not, dear readers, we won't go belly up. This book club will go on no matter how little money we can scrounge up, but every little bit of help helps. So, if you know of people who are independently wealthy and philanthropically-minded, please subtly and suavely inform them of our new Wish List page and encourage them to donate generously. Every bit of help helps! =)  

1. our pictures... (they're on the about page of the website, too.) i totally love how they look! but if you want to re-do yours, you can. just come see me at lunch or tutorial for a re-take. =)

2. your copies of the dead & the gone will be here on thursday! copperfield's books in petaluma has special-ordered them for us, and they're going to give us 20% off! yay and thank you! =) so, how do you want to handle this? do you want me to pick up the books from the bookstore and then you come get them from me in the library or do you want to go to copperfields and buy them by yourself? i think it's easiest if you get them from me, and that way i can take your pictures with them! but if you want to be all responsible and independent and get them on your own, that's cool. just let me know asap please. we've got to decide by thursday! =)

3. next meeting: let's meet again this friday (10/03) at lunch in the library one more time so i can take your pictures with your books! =)

4. pizza! think about where you want to order it from, and if you know of any places that give the big house a big discount, pls let me know! =)

5. comments. if you're reading this, holla! it's no fun blogging all by myself! please post a comment to this blog post or leave a message on the talk back page!  =)

6. thanks for being a book clubber! have i told you lately that i love you??? =) i love you all!!! =)

The poll is complete, the votes are in, and the winner is "The Dead & The Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer!!!!!

CLICK HERE to read a summary of the book. And stop by the library next week to get your copy!

Soon we'll set a date to finish the book by, but it'll probably be sometime around the end of October. Thank you for playing Pick-Our-First-Book! =)

So, just who are the big house book clubbers? Who would actually join a book club, you must be wondering. Well, you might be surprised! Our members are diverse in their genders, ages, ethnicities, and interests. We all have different ideas, and that makes for lively discussions. Take a look at our family photo album. Get to know us, and you just might want to join us! =)

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Casa Grande High School's got a brand new book club! Woo hoo! =)

Yup, you've heard the rumors, and we're pleased to report that they're all true! We do have a book club! We do have members! (Like 10 of them already!) We do have advisors! (Two of them, in fact, but there'll more info about that in the next blog post!) And now we have our own website, too! =)

Surf our site and you'll see some fun stuff: pictures, polls, books, a blog, and a cool new way for you to tell us what's on your mind. Just click the TALK BACK tab in the nav bar at the top of the pageand post your comments.

Tell us what you think. Do you like it, love it, want some more of it? 

Give us ideas of what you want to read. Sci-fi, manga, romance, real life, what ever! 

And share your hopes for what you wanna do with this new book club of ours! Raise money for needy libraries, pass out books to impoverished readers, help stamp out illiteracy, or just read some not-boring books and talk about them while chowing down on the food of the gods (pizza). =)

This club is all yours! =) I'm just glad I get to help you with it! =) Happy reading! =)