Overview: Groups

50 Book Challenge! 3082 books / 3105 members / 18057 posts When asked about the new Amazon Kindle product, Steve Jobs CEO of Apple computer had this to say: “It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.” Welcome to the the 50 Book Challenge, where we fly in the face of Steve Jobs. Basically .... the challenge is to read 50 books in one year. OR ... establish a goal for yourself more or less, it's up to you, just because we say 50 books doesn't mean that has to be your goal too. Start a thread, WITH YOUR NAME IN THE SUBJECT OF YOUR ORIGINAL POST, and log your books. It is a very good idea to bookmark (when in your post, add it to your internet browser's favorites) your post for easy location for future updates. Things move quickly around here. If you haven't been keeping track of the books you've read, start when you join. Thanks for being here and have fun. If you have any suggestions or questions, feel free to contact me. The books we loved in 2007: 1. Harry Potter the final - 15 votes 2. The Kite Runner - 12 votes 3. A Thousand Splendid Suns - 11 votes 4. Twilight - 5 votes 4. The Thirteenth Tale - 5 votes With 4 votes each: Water For Elephants, The Road, The Red Tent, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Middlesex, Eat, Pray, Love With 3 votes each: Eclipse, My Sister's Keeper, Suite Francaise, Shadow of the Wind, The Lovely Bones, Jane Eyre, His Dark Materials (plus 3 honorable mentions), The Glass Castle, Girl With the Pearl Earring, Darkly Dreaming Dexter With 2 votes each: 19 Minutes, Black Swan Green, Dogs of Babel, Heart-Shaped Box, In the Woods, Into the Wild, Kafka on the Shore, On Chesil Beach, The Book Thief, The Memory Keepers Daughter, The Stolen Child, No Country for Old Men, Marley and Me, New Moon

Biracial-Multiracial-Transracial-Interracial: Culture & Diversity 160 books / 128 members / 312 posts Discuss and broaden your knowledge of yourself and of the people around you, wherever you are in the world. In this group we read and exchange our thoughts about what is important to us when it comes to matters of race and the societies we live in, and how these issues related to racial mixtures are represented in books, both fiction and non-fiction. We are interested in our own racial identities, whether "coffee", "vanilla" or "chai tea", and what it means when our families are racially mixed--whether that means by birth we are multiracial or by family of choice. We read and discuss books that deal with questions such as-- which racial group do we identify with when we are from more than one? -- what do we call ourselves? -- does how we identify change when the social or geographical context changes? -- how does a child relate to his/her mother/father who doesn't look them? -- what happens to kids who are adopted by parents who don't look like them? -- how does it work to love/date/marry someone from a different ethnic and racial group? This group has "given birth" to two other fantastic groups here on Shelfari: SHADES OF LOVE For an amazing collection of multicultural and multiracial children's books, and some lively discussion about them, please visit the Shades of Love: Multicultural Children's Books & Literature Group, which is the "child" of this group, for books & reading resources for transracial kids and families, as well as for those who want some diversity and representation on their children's reading menu. DIVERSITY WORKS For broader issues of diversity (race as well as gender, class, sexuality, etc.) please visit the page of our sibling group, Diversity Works. CELEBRATING ADOPTION is our sibling group and has two wonderful shelves of books for children and for adults. We are doing a group read over there too so please check us out!

What about this one? 4 books / 2 members / 21 posts General Book Club...

Diversity Works 513 books / 777 members / 7989 posts "This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren." Barack Hussein Obama 44th President of the U.S.A.!! Diversity Works is a where we acknowledge our differences, celebrate our commonalities, and make an honest effort to navigate between the two. We hope the setting here feels safe enough for you to examine, consider, and challenge ideas and thoughts expressed here. It's not about being right, but being heard. Tell us what you think.

Maggie's Book Group 3.0 46 books / 9 members / 19 posts This is the second online incarnation of a real life book group, located in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, established in April 2003. A couple years back we started a Yahoo group which is great for staying in touch, but not so great for talking about the books we are reading. This seems like a better way to take our book group to the cyber level once and for all. The tricky part now is getting them to join Shelfari....

What are you reading? 2445 books / 5831 members / 13849 posts This group is for anyone, of any background or age group, who is interested in talking about...Books. Books you want to read, have read, are reading, books you have heard of and not yet read. Books of any genre. You are welcome to ask for recommendations or opinions.

Friendship for Universal Peace 1348 books / 2855 members / 18446 posts There are many languages - The Best language is the Language of the Heart. There are many relationships in the World - The Best relationship is Friendship. We welcome you to join this group and share your knowledge, learning, Worldly Wisdom, Love and Friendship for "Universal Peace."

Book Club 51 books / 2 members / 0 posts These are the all the books our group has read over the last few years.

Cleveland Park Library Book Club 52 books / 3 members / 2 posts Our groups meets the second Tuesday of every month at the Cleveland Park Library in Washington, DC. We read all kinds of books.

Memoir 93 books / 48 members / 202 posts Well-written memoir that touch at the heart of the issues that affect us all.

Book Appetit 80 books / 3 members / 6 posts We are a group that has been meeting regularly since 2000.

Women of Lore 277 books / 249 members / 4372 posts Women of Lore is about women who have obtained knowledge,and wisdom. Women who still love fantasies,and folklore .A place where we can share our beliefs with others and respect other opinions . A group that can talk about the humorous side of life, and lessons learned. A place to have fun. What would you like to talk about?

McMickin's Bookworms - 1 20 books / 18 members / 115 posts This group is for students in Mrs. McMickin's 1st block class. On this site you will make a statement or pose a question about the book you are reading. The heading for the post should be the title of the book. You will also respond to at least three other posts. Upon completing your book, you will write a review under your original post. (Be sure you don't "tell all" ....don't ruin it for a future reader!)

Our Scottsdale Book Club 39 books / 6 members / 2 posts This is the place to find more information about the books we are reading. You can read ahead if you like, it will contain all the books we have ever read. This list and all the members are completely private. We are the only ones who can see this list. You have to email me and receive an invitiation from me to join. That way you can invite dear friends, sisters, and book reading family members if you like. You can make up a login name if you don't want to use your real one! ~Happy Reading!, Dawn (The Administrator)

Anti Racists Determined to Deconstruct White Privilege 60 books / 34 members / 19 posts The name says it all. This is a group for people of all "races" who like to read and learn about race theory. I hope it will especially useful for white people who are working on moving from useless guilt to becoming useful allies.

Memorable Memoirs 100 books / 52 members / 30 posts This group is about memoirs and the amazing people who wrote them.

NoVA Bookclub 56 books / 15 members / 44 posts This is an online companion group to the NoVA Bookclub which meets twice a month at 7pm - the first Thursday to discuss Fiction and the third Tuesday to discuss a non-fiction selection. Feel free to use this group page as an online supplement to the group meetings, or as a way to participate if you are unable to join us in person. Please add your comments about our books below anytime. Also, if you'd like to impact our book selections, please respond to the relevant discussion thread below. ___________________________________________________________________ When you reread a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you than there was before. ~ Chris Fadiman

PHAIR: Public Health Against Institutionalized Racism 63 books / 10 members / 5 posts

What the Hoo Hoo Sisters Want to Read Next 35 books / 6 members / 0 posts The Hoo Hoo Sisterhood Sub-Club: Books listed here are only our "wish list" of books we'd like to read but haven't decided on yet. Everyone is allowed to add to the wish list and add comments!!!!

Tuesday Night Book Club 33 books / 7 members / 4 posts

Hong Kong Book Club 62 books / 8 members / 9 posts

Wild Women Book Club 106 books / 8 members / 1 posts

Brilliant Babes (And Dudes) Who Read Selectively 647 books / 167 members / 8090 posts So, what makes you a selective reader? If you like Dan Brown, Danielle Steele, Nicholas Sparks, or similar works, you MAY not be into this club. We are a group of intelligent persons who love both thought-provoking literature and quality brain candy. Actually, I mainly started it for myself and my friends, but anybody can apply if you think you're down with the Brilliant Babes--just send someone a note explaining why YOU think you are a brilliant babe (or dude) who reads selectively. This is a super-casual group. Anybody can suggest a book to read, anybody can add books to the reading list. We welcome any and all intelligent book discussion (not to mention whining about books we hated or gushing about books we loved). And don't worry if you have a really embarrassing book on your shelves...we all have skeletons in the closet. To ask for an invite please DO NOT use the admin message box, leave a note on the profile pages of either rob or Suze...we will get back to you as soon as we can...thanks for your patience...and if you insist on asking for an invite via the group admin message box you will be ignored...so don't. Also, please remember that, although we TRY to get to everyone's requests in a timely manner, we do have other responsibilities that sometimes delay us from looking at your shelves. Your patience will be rewarded A note about being snobs: As hard as it is to believe, with all of the nice people here on Shelfari, we get an e-mail once every week or two saying that we are snobs. That really just depends on your definition of a snob. Yes, this is a private group. Yes, we jokingly call ourselves brilliant. Yes, we have rather defined reading tastes that cut out a lot of mass-market fiction. Does that truly make us snobs? We hand-picked many members of our initial group around what we like to read or think we'd like to read. I don't think this makes us so much snobs as "people who want to discuss the kind of stuff that they like to read and don't care to discuss stuff that they don't like to read." (shrugs) We're pretty accepting. So, before sending us mean e-mails, see above for the joining process. And just remember: If you don't make it in, you probably haven't read the same books that we've all read and we'd have nothing to talk about! A special note from the admin: We want everyone to have a great time here. All we expect is that everyone plays nice! Good-humored sarcasm is in; putting down or harassing our members is not, and we won't hesitate to remove a repeat offender from the group. Note on the threads: please feel free to go back and resurrect any of the earlier threads that you find interesting... Our One and Only Love List... Love in the Time of Cholera...Gabriel Garcia Marquez (J.M.) Pride and Prejudice...Jane Austen (littlemom) Jane Eyre...Charlotte Bronte (AthenasDaughter) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...Betty Smith (Dana) A Room With a View...E.M. Forster (Kiki) To Kill a Mockingbird...Harper Lee (unfinished woman) The Virgin Suicides,,,Jeffrey Eugenides (ballroom pink) Dragonfly in Amber...Diana Gabaldon (Aimeesue) Watership Down...Richard Adams (rob) Persuasion...Jane Austen (AvidReader) The Once and Future King...T.H.White (Alicia) The Sound and the Fury...William Faulkner (katie) Gone with the Wind...Margaret Mitchell (dickensfan) The Forsythe Saga...John Galsworthy (cubachick) Catcher in the Rye...J.D. Salinger (gbett) Fall On Your Knees...Ann Marie MacDonald (HemingwayHeroine) Return of the Native...Thomas Hardy (Aaro) Fight Club...Chuck Palahniuk (Tania B.) The Great Indian Novel...Shashi Tharoor (ophelia) Reading The Three Musketeers: The Serial Schedule Part/Chapters/Start Date/Discussion Date one/author's preface, 1, 2, 3, 4/17th May/25th two/5, 6, 7, 8/26th/1st June three/9, 10, 11, 12/2nd/8th four/13, 14, 15, 16/9th/15th five/17, 18, 19, 20/16th/22nd six/21, 22, 23, 24/23rd/29th seven/25, 26, 27, 28/30th/6th July eight/29, 30, 31, 32/7th/13th nine/33, 34, 35, 36/14th/20th ten/37, 38, 39, 40/21st/27th eleven/41, 42, 42, 44/28th/3rd August twelve/45, 46, 47, 48/4th/10th thirteen/49, 50, 51, 52, 53/11th/17th fourteen/54, 55, 56, 57, 58/18th/24th fifteen/59, 60, 61, 62, 63/25th/31st sixteen/64, 65, 66, 67, epilogue/1st September/7th http://www.strandbooks.com/ http://www.daedalusbooks.com/ http://www.hippocrenebooks.com/ http://loyolaclassics.loyolapress.com/

Late Night Bookies 52 books / 63 members / 331 posts The Late Night Bookies is the book club that Optic Junkie and I started up about three years ago. We are located in the Rocky Mountain West in the United States--hot summers and bitter winters...but beautiful mountains and forests and wonderful people! We called ourselves the Late Night Bookies--because we're pretty much late night people who love to read, our book clubs always go late, late into the evening...(read early morning hours)...and sometimes...if we start reading, we just can't stop until we've reached the end. We've read a lot of books--had some book swaps, eaten some great food and had some good laughs along the way. I wanted to share the books that we have read, as well as open up to discussion recommended books for future reading and ideas/recipes for continuing to enhance our book club experience. I hope you enjoy the visit! Book Shelf Key: Books Read: Books Read by the Book Club Books To Read: Suggested Titles for Future Book Clubs The icon picture: Sunset, Boracay Island, The Philippines A weekend during a business trip a few years back. I chose it because it could be dusk or dawn--a magical time, especially for the imaginative book reader!

Strong Girls Grow Up to Become Strong Women 220 books / 16 members / 2 posts These books involve strong girls or women as protagonists. If you know of any books which aren't included here, please feel free to add them.

Eyes Wide Open 45 books / 453 members / 114 posts This group is for adults that want to read a variety of african american books.

The Plot Tenders 19 books / 5 members / 43 posts Once a month The Plot Tenders discuss a book and eat a fabulous meal at one of the local restaurants. Our motto is "Eat, drink, and be merry!" Everyone takes turns choosing a book and we read many different genres. Book club stretches us as readers and lovers of books.

The Cedars Book Club 19 books / 6 members / 0 posts