The time has arrived, dear readers, for our very own virtual book club! With my Buzz Book Club I'll choose a title every month for everyone to read — or re-read, perhaps — and discuss.
For the very first installment I've chosen The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. It's a timely decision, too, as the film version of The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, conveniently opens on the last day of the month (Friday, Feb. 29).
Here's how it will work:
I'll announce the book on the first of each month (or the first weekday). Every week I'll suggest chapters to complete by the next post (which, in this case, will go up every Friday in February). In these weekly Book Club posts, I'll posit a few discussion-provoking questions for you to think over and respond to in the comments section.
By the end of the month we will have gotten through this saucy piece of historical fiction together — and then we'll be fully equipped to watch the movie and see how it compares. To see what The Other Boleyn Girl is all about, and to get your first assignment, read more.
The synopsis for The Other Boleyn Girl reads:
"When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands."
Your first assignment: Read from Spring 1521 to the end of Spring 1524. (Feel free to read ahead, but no spoilers, please!) We'll chat about that section next Friday, Feb. 8.
Ready? Set? Get reading!
Acne Jeans
Gabor
Hugo Boss
i love this concept - i've never really gotten into the whole book club thing - but this could be a great way to get into it. good choice on the book, and i'm excited for the movie!
1This sounds like fun .. and this was such a good book. I hope the movie is great as well.
2What a great choice for the first book, Buzz. I've been wanting to read this forever and now I have the incentive to do so. I love the virtual book club concept. Happy reading everyone!
3This book is absolutely fantastic, can't wait to hear thoughts... AND see the movie!
4I can't wait to watch the movie! I LOVE Natalie!
5I LOVED this book!! If you haven't read it yet, you're definitely in for a treat.
6What fun!!! I love reading and have never been part of a real life book club. Not sure what to talk about! I'll pick this up over the weekend!!!
7I read this book months ago and I loved it. Can't wait to see the movie!
8I already read this book recently, but I'm excited for this concept!
9Hey Buzz,
10Great idea!!! I wish you had told us about the book earlier before starting to read. My local library has a great selection but sometimes it takes a while to get a hold of the book. I rather borrow than buy, or a lot of time, I'll buy after reading the book and am sure that I will want to read it again. Just a thought.
This book is great! I couldn't put it down! I can't wait for the movie!!!!
11Sounds great. I'm in.
12What a cool idea.
13Ha! I just finished this book last night. I wasn't expecting it to be so good! Loved it. And I think they chose well for the actors in the movie, I can totally picture those ladies in the roles.
14Can't wait to discuss!
Great idea!! I'm in.
15yay im so excited to join my first book club! and i've also been wanting to read this! : )
16What a wonderful idea!! Hopefully I can pick it up this weekend!
17Ha I am toward's the end of the book! This will help my to finish it
and also
remember what I have read. I am so glad you decided to this Buzz!
18Great idea and a great book. I finished it this summer... hope I can remember what happened!
19I read this book years and years ago, recently listened to it on audio (which was amazing) but i will read it along with everyone again.
20I liked this book, but I think I did enjoy The Boleyn Inheritance a bit more, so when you finish this one, move on to the next one!!
21I am SO excited about the book club, Buzz! Way to go!
22The book club is great idea , Buzz! Now if I can actually get the book read remains to be seen...
23i read this book last year. i really enjoyed it, even though it's not completely historically accurate (though there is a lot of debate over who was older: mary or anne). i will say, i had a really hard time putting it down. i think i read it in about a week (which is good for me; i read like a third grader
).
24ohhhhh...i love this idea! i'm heading to the library now to check it out!
25This is great! Gives me incentive to read more.
26I'm totally psyched to try this! I will be heading to the store tomorrow to purchase the book!
27I'm such a book eater, thi is just perfect! Great book choice by the way
28I'm definitely in!
29Yay! I'll pick this one up ASAP. I've been looking forward to the movie and reading the book makes sense to me.
30I LOVED this book. I literally couldn't put it down. I took it on vacation with some girlfriends and they thought I was crazy to be reading a historical fiction book. When I couldn't put it down they all began reading it and they became addicted too. Her books are wonderful!!
31LOOOOOVED this book! Seriously could NOT put it down. I hope the movie does it justice! This is a great idea Buzz! I'm in!
32YaY!
33Buzz this is so much fun! I read this book over Thanksgiving weekend after I saw the trailer here. I watched the trailer and went, wait the book is sitting in my stack of books to read, I should read it.
34This is a great idea!! I had this book in my hands last weekend at B&N but I put it back. Now I have a reason to go back and get it!!
35Ooo, fabulous idea, Buzz! I'm actually going to the library this afternoon to return some things so I'll see if I can check this out.
36Love that book! I'll start rereading!
37What a conincidence! I just got the book in the mail yesterday.
38I read this book a couple months ago, in like, 2 days..seriously! It's such a page turner.
39oh i just read this recently and LOVED it! It's put me on a huge phillipa greggory kick, I'm loving her. I wish I could take part in this but I think I will still chat about it if I can manage without mistakenly giving away spoilers! good choice, buzz!
40I picked this up right after I saw the first episode of Showtime's TUDORS. I read it in 2 days because I couldn't put it down. Can't wait to discuss next Friday! Tudors are in reruns so if you're loving the book, the show as a visual is fun to watch. Check it out.
41It is a good book. I kept calling my friends who teach social studies to check facts. There's so much accuracy and it's well worth the read. Hopefully the movie will be good though. It was originally supposed to be released in Decemeber, but now it's coming in March I think. I am worried because a period film like this should warrant Oscar buzz unless it isn't a good one. Hmmmmmmm. King Henry is disgusting!
42i'd love to participate but i am reading about 4 novels right now that i need to have done by the end of february for classes. maybe i'll be into this next month, though! i like the assignment idea as it is a good motivator to get it done a bit at a time!
43I've already read all of the Philippa Gregory books, and they're so full of history and intrigue, I just LOVE them!
44I LOVED this book, it put me on a huge spree of reading all kinds of fiction that takes place during this period. I read it years ago though, and I can't remember the details, so I am going to try and read along with you buzz!
45I've already read WAY past Spring - once I start, I can't put it down!
46This sounds like fun. Looks like I'm a bit late for this one, but hopefully I can join in for the March book.
47This is a great book and I am so excited to have a online Book Club to check in with. It is always nice to hear what other people think about the same book.
48Fabulous idea Buzz. I'm sorry I'm missing out on this first book, but I can't wait to get into the mix next month!
49How do I join? This is a great idea...I'm kind of late on joining in on this first round, but next time I hope to be a part of the reading!
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