Book Club September 2026 - The Theme: Books :)

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  • Bluebell21
    Bluebell21 Community Member Posts: 6,260 Championing

    Yes @SmellyBin The Feminine Mystique by Betty Frielan is a big part of The Book Club Of Troublesome Women. They even had the nickname "The Bettys" after reading The Feminine Mystique. It is making them question the meaning of their perfect lives of family and home and ask "Is this all"

    I will finish The Book Club of Troublesome Women this week it is certainly thought- provoking.

  • MissMarple
    MissMarple Community Member Posts: 476 Empowering
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1148665#Comment_1148665

    Thank you @SmellyBin I don't feel excluded ๐Ÿ˜Š

    Your book sounds interesting @Bluebell21 It's easy to forget the progress that's taken place regarding women's rights in just a couple of generations. And we are already seeing the pushback.

  • Bluebell21
    Bluebell21 Community Member Posts: 6,260 Championing
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1148888#Comment_1148888

    It was a brilliant book, I have now finished it.

    We just take for granted things that to be fought for not so long ago.

    Women still do not have full equality so the fight needs to continue.

  • SmellyBin
    SmellyBin Community Member Posts: 700 Empowering

    How is everyone doing with the book reading?

    @Emilee Have you started The Last Library? I am wondering what you make of June, her being shy and reclusive. Are you cheering her on or do you feel sorry for her? Or both or something else entirely?

    @Mary_Scope How is your bookshop book? I might have found a 2nd hand copy, so perhaps I'll be able to join you later this month.

  • Mary_Scope
    Mary_Scope Posts: 6,019 Scope Online Community Children and Family Specialists

    That's exciting @SmellyBin! It's going well thank you, it's not what I expected but I'm enjoying it!
    How is your reading going?

  • SmellyBin
    SmellyBin Community Member Posts: 700 Empowering

    Yo @Mary_Scope my book arrived, so I can start when you do. No hurry, though. Whatever works best for you and I'll catch up with a few days probs.

    I've also finished the book by Freya Sampson, but won't say anything before Emilee is here when she finished it.

    And what I've been wondering with this being the last week of September, how are we gonna organize the theme for next month? We could add some more ideas to those already mentioned (flowers, animals, something else but can't think of right now - yikes) and then what? Someone gets to pick? And the next month someone else can choose?

    On Oct 4 starts the international week of banned books, I just want to mention. I might try and read a book that corresponds with this list.

  • Mary_Scope
    Mary_Scope Posts: 6,019 Scope Online Community Children and Family Specialists

    Exciting @SmellyBin! I'm about 50ish pages in๐Ÿ˜ŠIt's been a pleasant read so far. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it!

    There are some excellent books on that list, it sounds like it could be a great theme for next month! I'm thinking maybe we do a poll so everybody gets a vote so if anybody has any further ideas for Octobers theme please let us know and we can put them to the list๐Ÿ˜Š๐ŸŽƒ

  • SmellyBin
    SmellyBin Community Member Posts: 700 Empowering

    Or a Halloween theme ๐ŸŽƒ

  • Bluebell21
    Bluebell21 Community Member Posts: 6,260 Championing

    I had no idea I had read quite so many banned books @SmellyBin I loved Charlottes Web.

  • SmellyBin
    SmellyBin Community Member Posts: 700 Empowering

    Yeah, feels unreal, doesn't it @Bluebell21 BTW, have you any suggestions for a theme for the book club?

  • Bluebell21
    Bluebell21 Community Member Posts: 6,260 Championing

    I am quite happy with the themes Banned Books, Halloween, Flowers.

    Perhaps also Mysteries and Transport has been mentioned @SmellyBin

  • SmellyBin
    SmellyBin Community Member Posts: 700 Empowering

    Same here, I am not sure what to vote for as I can hopefully find books from all categories to suit me @Bluebell21 Or the book should be a mystery about transportation that has something to do with a flower, Halloween, including an animal, and be on the list of banned books ๐Ÿ˜†

  • Bluebell21
    Bluebell21 Community Member Posts: 6,260 Championing

    You did make me laugh @SmellyBin ๐Ÿ˜‚

  • SmellyBin
    SmellyBin Community Member Posts: 700 Empowering
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1150227#Comment_1150227

    Cool, because that's what we need ๐Ÿ’™

  • SmellyBin
    SmellyBin Community Member Posts: 700 Empowering

    Wowsers, I keep coming back to the banned books. Just now during dinner I wondered about Disney movies being violent or cruel. If those were books, would they have been banned? As a teenager I was babysitting for the same family for years and we watched Bambi and The Lion Kingโ€ฆ boy, there were really sad scenes in those kids' movies. Apparently I wasn't the only one baffled, Stephen King called Bambi 'the first horror movie he ever saw.'

    And just now I came across this article about Bambi actually being seen as Jewish propaganda a hundred years ago.

  • Mary_Scope
    Mary_Scope Posts: 6,019 Scope Online Community Children and Family Specialists

    Here is the Poll for Octobers Book Club! Please cast your vote๐Ÿ˜„

  • SmellyBin
    SmellyBin Community Member Posts: 700 Empowering

    You sound like a proper Eurovision Song Festival presenter, @Mary_Scope Thanks for doing the poll and the lists with suggestions.

    I am wondering about the Halloween theme, of course it can it be about witches. Like Roald Dahl for instanceโ€ฆ That sounds plausible, right? But what about all things magical? Or something to do with pumpkin or pumpkin spice? Autumn leaves? Does that make it eligible for the Halloween theme? I am just unsure what would be a nice fit.

  • V_s
    V_s Community Member Posts: 9 Listener

    Ive written a couple of books which I'd love you all to read and review.

    Ones about my complete mental breakdown which is a bit deep. But I was so grateful Chipmunkapublishing.com

    A mental health publisher gave me the voice to be heard and try to get others to understand what I was going though. It's free on their website..

    I read masses as I'm researching stuff all the time to distract my brain from ****.

    Happy suggest books I've read. It really depends on which genre we are interested in.

    We could suggest one book each make a list then work our way through it together. Say one a month. Say what we liked and what we didn't like. Alert the group if there are any triggers. Just a thought. Vx

  • SmellyBin
    SmellyBin Community Member Posts: 700 Empowering

    Hey @Mary_Scope How are you getting on with the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop? So far I really enjoy it for it being slow in a good way, short chapters, interesting characters all of them being restless or ruminating or rethinking their values or prior assumptions.

    '(..) we can't just sit and wait for society to get better. If more people start to read, they'll be able to empathise with the pain of others and the world will become a better place sooner.' (p. 41)

    What do you think about this quote?

    I'm at the stage in the book where Jungsuh explains the anger she experiences and I can very much relate to that, even if it is for a different, yet similar reason. Right now I've got steam coming out of my ears , that is f I am not crying, but hey perimenopause doesn't aim to please, right? Us women should use that as an example, but that's perhaps another discussion :)

  • Ellie50
    Ellie50 Community Member Posts: 12 Listener

    I love books about book clubs and libraries and have read quite a few.

    Of course the classic is the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie book club, but just look up the word Library and hundreds of suggestions appear:

    Secret / Lost/ Hidden / Lending / Wartime / Invisible Library.

    I have read at least one if each of the above types...!

    And then there are the Bookshops. One I can recommend is

    The Bookshop Below.

    In book clubs try the Vampire Book Club; and the Golden Oldies.

    Some others related to books I liked are:

    The Book Hunter; The Book of Secrets; A Book of to Die For; Vigilante Magical Librarians; and Confessions of a Curious Bookseller.

    I'm currently deep into LitRPG books, which is a totally new genre for me. Easy reading as I'm recovering from my 3rd bout of Covid despite having had every injection!

    It might be worth mentioning that I read fast and around a book every couple of days... hence I have a 'Read' Kindle Library of around 3000 books. And another few hundred waiting...

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