John Umland
October 25, 2016 5:47 PM
Welcome to the Book Club. by John Umland
One of the downsides of being one of the younger children in a large family was that there were things John sometimes just took for granted. Organization was one of these. He had always been expected to do his part, which had varied according to how old he was at the time, but since he was five years old, he had been used to the underlying structure – the schedule which told him whether he was supposed to fold laundry or wash dishes, cook supper or weed the back garden, and so forth – just being there for him. When he had first taken over the Book Club after Julian left, it had been a bit of a surprise to find that formal arrangements for rooms had to be made and that snacks did not just materialize for club members to eat for the first and last meetings of the year or at Halloween and Christmas. He had learned that snacks did not appear ex nihilo as a general rule after Julian had gone to school and he’d suddenly had to leave his books and go to the kitchen to obtain such things, but he had sort of assumed things at Sonora were arranged so they’d automatically appear ex lauandi instead.That had been in his fourth year. Now, in his sixth, John thought he was a little better at all this. The Transfiguration room was not as pretty and cozy as it had sometimes been on special occasions when his sister was in charge, but he had done a bit of charmswork on a spare blanket to make it a temporary banner welcoming everyone back and had stayed up late enough to catch Obie and ask the prairie elf to make arrangements for a table with light finger foods (a couple of varieties of cookie along with some more sensible options for the health-minded or those who had too much sugar and needed something sensible to balance it out later) and apple cider. The spread looked good when John entered the room and so he made a mental note to stay up again to thank his best frenemy on the staff for the good work along with apologizing again for scaring him previously (now the only lights he could have on at night were on the end of his wand in bed behind the curtains, making his awake-ness apparently unexpected and alarming when he’d made his first request) before getting to work on putting seats into a big circle.
“Welcome,” he said as people started to arrive. “Welcome, come in and have a seat, and a cookie or some carrot sticks if you want, just try not to make too much of a mess….”
He stuck to fruit and sweets himself but put these aside when the clock told him it was time to start the first meeting of the year. “Looks like it’s when I said we’d start, so – I guess we should do that,” he said to the group, leaning on the edge of the desk he’d chosen for himself. “Welcome back everyone who’s been here before, and just welcome to everyone new,” he said. “I’m John Umland. Glad to have everyone, assuming you’re here for Book Club. We meet about once a month and mainly talk about books, though we might do other book-related stuff, too, depending on interest – but tonight, since it’s the first meeting, we’ll just go around, introduce ourselves, and tell everyone what we’ve been reading over the summer.” He looked to the student on his left. “Why don’t you start us off?” he asked.
OOC: Welcome one, welcome all! Glad to have you. Feel free to have sub-threads (John posts about what he read, Joe posts that he went next, Amelia replies to John’s post to ask who the author of something he said was again then puts up a reply about her summer reading set after Joe’s, etc.) to simulate moments of chat as everyone moves around the room.
Subthreads: Introductions and treats by Gia Donovan
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John Umland
Welcome to the Book Club.
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Gia Donovan
October 26, 2016 7:33 PM
Introductions and treats by Gia Donovan
Gia thoroughly enjoyed being part of the book club because she was able to expand her literary knowledge with books that she might not have otherwise thought to read. She didn’t like all the stories that were discussed, but generally she enjoyed the meetings and the discussions. Plus, she was able to meet and interact with others who enjoyed reading for fun just as she did. Her brother was the sort of person who only read required works (although he has read some classics) and as much as she loved Sammy, Gia didn’t think her best friend really read for the fun of it.Most of her own books were in her native tongue and by Greek authors, so they weren’t likely to be known or read those books, but she did try to read a couple that were written by English authors and listed as a popular book amongst her peers. She wasn’t entirely sure they were literary works of art that would impress people such as John Umland (who seemed far more into the more existential forms of work) but for the general population there may be some who would appreciate the works.
When Gia arrived, she took a seat next to the host. Normally, she wouldn’t have sat so close to him but she had a bag of treats (a mix of various cookies and cakes) that she wanted to give to him and it would have been easier to do it next to him rather than walk across the circle of people to do it. Gia did not know John well despite working with him on occasion in the library and in the book club, so she wasn’t sure how he would take her giving him a gift, but she wanted to thank him for not pushing the subject of her brother and his former roommates and changing his room around to accommodate Jax. There weren’t many people who would be so accommodating for her brother or for her, so it really meant a lot to her brother that John hadn’t made his time in that room unwelcoming. She knew her brother wasn’t good at showing appreciation, so she wanted to do it on his behalf.
“Hello, I am Gia Donovan.” Gia introduced herself as the attention was turned to her. “This summer I read the book, Life is Pi?” She ended the phrase in a bit of a question because she couldn’t recall if that was the exact name of the book, her Greek accent coming out more so than usual as she wasn’t actively paying attention to her words. “As well as something called The Notebook.” She stated with a pleased smile, happy that she recalled the names of her books. When the introductions moved on, Gia leaned in a bit to get John’s attention briefly. She slid the bag of treats his way. “This is a thank you for having to deal with my brother.”
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Introductions and treats
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Aislinn Nicolls
November 03, 2016 7:56 PM
Being a joiner by Aislinn Nicolls
For as long as Aislinn had been going to school, she hadn’t joined any clubs. Unfortunately, it was only recently that she had realized that universities cared about extracurriculars. It wasn’t going to be enough to get good grades. She actually had to show that she was interested in something beyond academics. She wasn’t one for sports so Quidditch was out. She wasn’t interested in Spirit Club or really anything that was offered except for one and that was Book Club. The bonus to Book Club was who ran it.So, here she found herself at Book Club for the very first time. She took a cookie nervously. She wasn’t really one for social interaction and felt awkward for just joining. Though, he started talking and she found herself staring at him, but thankfully, it was one time that she was actually allowed to stare. She tucked her hair behind her ear and listened intently to his voice. Amazing. Though, focusing on what he was actually saying took a little more effort. The fact that the club didn’t take much time was good so that she could work on homework and such.
The first person to go after John was Gia, a girl in her year and her sister’s roommate. She didn’t know much about the girl otherwise aside from that. She hadn’t read the books that Gia mentioned and considered asking her about them later. She was about to take her turn when she noticed Gia looking intimate with John. It felt like her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. Were they dating? How could Sutton not tell her that John was taken? She felt completely stupid for liking him when he was with someone else. And that someone wasn’t her.
“Oh, um,” Aislinn started, choking back everything that she was feeling. “I’m Aislinn Nicolls. Over the summer, I read Someone Else’s Love Story.” The title coming off her lips was so strange after watching John and Gia and seemed utterly appropriate at the moment. She thought about excusing herself, but decided that would draw more attention to herself. She continued to eat her cookie hoping it would be enough of a distraction from them.
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Being a joiner
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Laila Kennedy
November 06, 2016 1:54 PM
Hijacking this ship! by Laila Kennedy
Over the first few days back at Sonora, the Blood Moon Rising series, written by M.S. Spencer had consumed most of Laila's thoughts when she wasn't worrying about whether or not Tanya Spencer was sinking her teeth into Scott Tucker while she was away or thinking about how much more lovely Jax Donovan had become over the summer, so she was excited when the first meeting of the semester was called. She arrived too late to grab a seat next to her friend, Gia, but Laila chose the next best thing and sat on the other side of one of the twins in Gia’s year. She was fairly confident that it was Aislinn since the Pecari twin had come back to school with a new haircut, and she smiled politely to her as she took her seat.Although John typically read drier books, he did not start them off that meeting and both Gia and Aislinn had books that were more up Laila’s alley and so it was without any fear of condemnation that she happily announced the series she had read over the summer. “It’s a really fantastic series,” she explained after saying the title. “It explores all kinds of lore behind vampires and werewolves and,” she turned to John so that he knew she had looked this part up particularly for his benefit. “There are a lot of themes and stuff about society put into it. Everything seems to be a metaphor for something else.”
She turned her attention back to the rest of the book club after that, however, because her mission that day was to make sure everyone came away wanting to borrow her book so that she would have lots of people to talk to about it. “It’s mostly about the war between the vampires and the werewolves as three guys compete over the heart of the main character,” she continued. “There’s Kern the vampire, Gayle the werewolf, and Gilbert the hybrid. He’s Gayle’s brother. And they’re all super yummy.”
Laila smiled again. “I have it with me, if anyone wants to borrow.” She offered another smile and flounced back down into her seat to let the next person go.
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Laila Kennedy
Hijacking this ship!
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John Umland
November 14, 2016 9:51 PM
Aargh. by John Umland
The Notebook was not a very good title (John’s guess was that it was a dirt-cheap, utterly nondescript, and unrealistic spy novel, or else something very modern and disjointed), but Life is Pi sounded a little more promising. John noted that down. It was probably something to do with baked goods, not the manifestations of a mathematical constant or anything related to said constant, but it couldn’t hurt to have a glimmer of optimism.He was slightly surprised when the next person to stand up was Aislinn Nicolls – Pennsylvania, he remembered thinking of her in his second year. He’d liked talking to her in classes then, but then he’d moved on to third year and had sort of lost track of her. He was sure she hadn’t been to Book Club before, though – he recognized all the people who came here, they were his people. He was momentarily distracted from being surprised by her, though, when he was more surprised by Gia Donovan leaning toward him and giving him a bag.
“Ah – uh – thanks,” said John, stumbling a bit in surprise at the gift. He had almost blurted out that he should hardly be thanked for doing something he had been made to do against his will, but he bit his tongue in time at the thought of the Looks that Julian, or Joe, or Joanie, or his mom or dad or Paul or…well, it was a list…would give him if any of them heard him be so ungracious. He had gotten better, he liked to think, at predicting what things would get him cues to shut up immediately even when his small army of self-appointed minders weren’t on hand to give them to him. The appropriate course right now was to thank her and turn his attention back to Pennsylvania, who seemed to be nervous or something about speaking to the group. John offered what he hoped was an encouraging look, though goodness knew that such looks were not his specialty. His low-set eyebrows, relatively deep-set eyes, beaky nose, and sharp chin all, he had been often assured, made him look slightly odd even when he didn’t try for deliberate expressions.
The title of Aislinn’s book did nothing for him, but it was good to have new people in the club and he knew she could be interesting if she wanted, so he once again behaved with discretion and just nodded. It was easier, he had noticed, to keep his mouth shut when he was acting in an official capacity as something, be that Quidditch Assistant or prefect or club leader.
“Thank you,” he said. “And welcome to the club, Aislinn,” he added, hopefully pleasantly.
Laila went next. John tried not to wince at the title of her series, which sounded like the kind of tripe which filled the YA section of the library. He thought he was more successful at that than at suppressing a smile when Layla looked at him while framing it as social analysis, but amusement fled quickly enough when the social analysis seemed to prove secondary to a romance and then the main characters were referred to as yummy.
“Ah – thank you, Layla,” he said, and it was a real effort not to add that he thought he wouldn’t take her up on her offer. He was head of the club. That meant no sarcastic remarks at the moment, or anything that could sound like them. He looked to the next person in the circle, hoping against hope that the titles would start improving.
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Aargh.
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Kellen Mormont
November 16, 2016 5:20 AM
Man overboard by Kellen Mormont
Kellen’s interest revolved heavily around reading. Books, comics, basically anything he could get his hands on. It made it better that he was able to share that with Farrah too, they did meet in the library after all. He was a little surprised to find that there was only one other boy in the group, but less surprised that the books the girls in the group said they’d read seemed to be mostly mushy romance novels.He considered his own summer reading list as the girls announced theirs. To be honest, he doubted it would be any more interesting to the group. Aquaphobia: Overcoming the Fear of Water, Swimming for Dummies, and Taking the Plunge: Swimming for Beginners. “Yeah, that’s a list worth sharing for sure.” He thought to himself as John thanked Laila, making it his turn. Kellen’s pulse quickened slightly as the attention of the group was turned on him.
“Uh...hi. I’m Kellen Mormont.” He had to search his mind for a book that was less embarassing than what he’d actually read. “I’ve read The Ice Dragon, and The Young Elites. The former is about this girl who finds an ice dragon, and she decides she wants to go live with him, but then a war threatens her home and she needs to decide to stay and fight, or leave with the dragon and seek out her dreams. And the other, is about a girl who lives in a devastated kingdom, and finds out she has the ability to create this awful illusions. She is sought out by the young elites to help overthrow the king and queen.”
He had read them, that wasn’t a lie, but it hadn’t been over the summer. He wasn’t sure that mattered, but he hoped his face wouldn’t betray him. When he finished, he looked to John, almost seeking some kind of approval, before turning his attention to the next person.
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Kellen Mormont
Man overboard
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Farrah Welsh
November 16, 2016 6:54 PM
Damsel in Distress by Farrah Welsh
Farrah really liked Book Club because she felt like these were people that got her. It was the same feeling she always felt whenever she was in the library working alongside her fellow Assistants and Monitors and in Science Club. She was by all definitions a ‘nerd’. Back home, she would have been made fun of relentlessly for her hobbies. She would have been bullied for being what she was and constantly pushed around for it. But at Sonora, there were so many others like her. An entire house like her even! At Sonora, the nerds were popular. She actually didn’t know anyone who wasn’t liked in some way. Sure there were some mean people (Arianna Valenti) but there were so many more nice people. She really loved Sonora. This place just got her.She smiled widely when she saw that Kellen had joined this club too! It made her so happy knowing that one of her friends thought of books the same way that she did and she was excited to hear what books he had read over the summer that she could potentially borrow from him. Before she could really say anything to him, John began the meeting and Farrah turned her attention to him. She liked John. He seemed a little off, but he had been nice to her during that cold Astronomy session for the Science club last year and she worked with him occasionally in the library. But his biggest bonus was the fact that he ran this club.
Gia was another one that she was beginning to really like along with Laila. Both girls ran the Spirit club and Farrah was finding herself another spot to belong in. Farrah knew of both books although she never read them. They were movies that Farrah had heard of but never seen. Maybe she’d ask about seeing them over the break. She did not know Aislinn or her book, but wrote it down anyway just to see what it was about. As Laila spoke about her book, Farrah seemed intrigued about the series although she had never heard of it. It might have been too steamy for her to read now though. Kellen’s choices seemed way more up her ally though, so she wrote them down in her notebook.
Her turn now. “Hi, I’m Farrah Welsh.” She started. “I read The Unwanteds, which is a story about a world where there are the Wanted and the Unwanteds. The Unwanteds are basically the people with artistic gifts and at age twelve those who are deemed Unwanted are sent off to basically be killed but what the Quill leaders – Quill is where the people live – don’t know is that where these kids are shipped off too, there is a man there that has created this magical land called Artimè. “ Farrah explained eagerly. “I won’t give away the rest, but it’s very exciting and it’s a long series. I have only read the first book because my parents say I read too fast and I’ll hurt my eyes from straining, so they’ll send me a new book in the series every six weeks.”
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Damsel in Distress
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Clark Dill
November 18, 2016 10:27 AM
I have a life boat! by Clark Dill
As a seventh year born in November (at least according to his falsified birth certificate which also said his birth dad was Zack Dill), Clark was one of the oldest people in the school this year. And if he wasn't the tallest (including the teachers), at six foot nine (rounded down) now, he wasn't far behind.In classes, he didn't notice it much. Everyone there was at least sixteen, and he'd always been taller than most of his peers. He didn't really notice it much in Science Club, because he was basically a teacher there and it made logical sense to have the advantage of age and, by related correlation, size on 'his students.' A similar sense of rightness in being older got him through captaining the first years on the Aladren team. Likewise, being Head Monitor in the library gave him authority where being older and bigger felt normal.
It was Book Club, really, where he felt the imbalance most.
In book club, he was just a normal member, on equal footing to all the other normal members, many of whom had not yet reached their teen years while Clark would soon be eligible to vote, recently obtained an apperation license, and had already had a driver's license and a car for two summers.
It really hit home while listening to the books the other people had been reading. He had very little interest in any of them, not just the ones where the characters were described as 'yummy', though he was sure the ones Kellen and Farrah had mentioned would have appealed to him a few years ago.
"Um, I'm guessing most people here aren't too interested in 'Advanced Calculus' or 'How to Write a Winning College Application', so I'll just introduce myself as Clark Dill, and tell you all that the Harry Dresden books by Jim Butcher are a fun series to read. He's a wizard detective in muggle Chicago. It is written by a muggle, so the wizarding world in it is a bit different than ours, but its got some interesting parallels."
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I have a life boat!
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Kit Reid
November 18, 2016 7:23 PM
I have no reply to that. by Kit Reid
Arriving when she did, Kit found herself close to Clark Dill, which would have been a rather odd experience (it still was to some degree) to be sitting near to someone so much older and bigger than she was. However, she felt comfortable enough around him as having classified him on the same range as being like a big brother. He was a fellow Aladren, which was like family. Plus, he was the Quidditch Captain and leader of the Science Club, both to which she belonged.The first person that went was John Umland, also Quidditch, also someone she would consider like older family. He went over all of the rules and such and offered snacks. She could never say no to a good cookie. After she took one, she settled fully in to listen to everyone else. Then, it was a girl. Gia Donovan. Kit tried to remember everyone and if she had seen them elsewhere. The girl had read Life of Pi and The Notebook. Kit hadn’t read those books and made a note to look into them. Next was another girl who introduced herself as Aislinn Nicolls. She had seen the girl working herself to death in the Common room. The book she mentioned didn’t sound like something she would like, but she wrote it down anyhow.
The next book, however, was introduced by Laila Kennedy and sounded intense. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the book. The entirety of romantic drama was definitely appealing, but she wasn’t sure how she would feel about someone that was a vampire or a werewolf. They were dangerous creatures, but then, wasn’t that the appeal? She supposed it wouldn’t hurt to read the first couple chapters…
The next two books didn’t sound very interesting, but maybe Kellen Mormont was just bad at describing the plots? But then she wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to describe the books with any real accuracy to how wonderful they were. The next book peeked her curiosity though. Why would someone want to get rid of people with artistic gifts? Wouldn’t they be the people that would be most valuable to the society? She made sure to get the title right for that one.
Clark went next. Advanced Calculus? College Essays? Kit blinked having no idea what he was talking about. She liked math, but she wasn’t that far involved in it and the other subject was something she didn’t even know if she would or would not be doing. The only reason for a female to go to college was to look for a husband, but if they were lucky, they would already be set for such things. Though, the other ones he mentioned were right up her alley since they were along the lines of what she was going to mention. She loved detective stories. She loved good mysteries.
Since he went, it meant that it was her turn. “My name is Kit Reid,” she stated, leaving off the entirety of belonging to the Connecticut Reids since clubs seemed to be more informal. Her mother would probably flip if she knew such things. “Over the summer, I read, and actually, I’m still reading is a series called The Time-Turner Tales, which focuses on a teenage witch with a time-turner. Her name is Katie and she uses the time-turner to travel back in time in order to solve mysteries. Sometimes, her one friend, Nate, makes things worse when they go back. Like the one I’m currently reading is The Case of the Missing Diamond and they go back to the 1950s when the diamond actually went missing. So, Nate makes a mess of everything by falling for the one girl there, which ruins her relationship with her boyfriend. And that changes the entire sequence of events that they were trying to follow to figure out what happened to the diamond.”
“Anyhow, I’m not doing the book justice,” Kit waved her hands since she had a tendency to talk with them. “It really is a good series.” Hopefully, someone would take an interest and try them out.
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I have no reply to that.
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