Schooools IN for summer! Schoooools in FOREVER!

Okay, I know that when it comes to summer, we think of kicking back, letting the brain go a bit mushy in the middle. What if you could read about something you really were passionate about? Something that maybe you have always wanted to know more about but really don't have the time to devote to it?

Well June is all about you, my dear learned Geeks, and you are going to be one happy little scholar.

Your assignment for June is to pick a book about something that you have always wanted to know more about. Like psychology? Batman? Than think about this one:

Batman ans Psychology by: Travis Langley

If you, like me, are a total gardening freak, then something like this might just fertilize your thoughts with Geeky garden joy:

Gardening For Geeks by: Christy Wilhelmi

Anything and everything is fair game. History, sharks, how to crochet, Doctor Who, cooking, it's ALL good. The only requirement is that at the end of June you report back here on the blog, on twitter at #ggbc on Facebook or on the Goodreads page. Let us know what you read, and what you really loved about what you learned. Who knows? You might inspire someone else to start a garden, to learn the ukulele or adore geology. 

Happy summer of knowledge dear Geeks!

Did you get that guy's plate number?

@Joe_Hill wants you to meet someone... 

May is almost upon us, and it's time to take a road trip. Just us, my dear GGBC and our new friend Charlie. 

We have certainly read Mr. Hill's work before with "Horns" and "Heart Shaped Box", but this new story, which will be released April 30, 2013, is going to be one hell of a ride.

Be sure to go to Joe Hill's website and check out the video intro, and most certainly get on your library waiting list NOW if you have any hope of getting it in the next 6 months. Joe Hill Fiction site As always, we will discuss the book starting the last Saturday of the month.

We are doing two very new releases this year, and this one promises to be just the chill in the air we need as the weather gets warmer, and as the days get longer. 

Are you going with us on this trip to Christmasland? The transportation is second to none.

See you there.

Get a clue.

Spring is very nearly afoot, and it is time to announce the April 2013 read for GGBC. We have some new happenings this year, and I thought it would be fun to go old school for April. We need some adventure, some mystery. We need Sherlock Holmes. 

The wonderful news is you can get 

THE COMPLETE SHERLOCK HOLMES and THE COMPLETE TALES OF TERROR AND MYSTERY

for free. Just click the title, and it will take you there. Also, there are free versions on many ereaders, on PDF's and the title is readily available at your local library. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is waiting, and we mustn't keep him.

Read all of the tales, read old favorites or read only a few, but I promise that you will walk away with a new appreciation of all the modern incarnations of the character by looking at his origins. They are spectacular reads, and the short story format keeps them manageable and leaves you wanting more, like any good read should.

I mentioned new happenings earlier, and I wanted you to know that this year we are adding 2 new releases to the GGBC lineup. I am letting you know these early, so you are able to get a copy from your library by getting on the list EARLY. Also, we are going to try something new, the GGBC library exchange. If you can't get a copy of a book (any book) you can go onto the facebook group, on the Goodreads group, or tweet with #ggbc and let us know what you're looking for. If someone is willing to share, they'll send you their copy, and you have 30 days to read and send it back. I am also hoping that we will have "donated copies" of books that can just be passed on and on, our very own lending library of good booky mojo. The only rules are 30 days, treat the books well, and keep the love going, return to the sender or pass it on. If you have a book to donate or are willing to share, let us know, and post for all to see. 

What are these new titles for 2013 you may ask? Well, it's no shock that we here at GGBC are huge Joe Hill and Neil Gaiman fans, so our new release titles will be Joe Hills' 'NOS4A2' in May, and Neil Gaiman's 'The Ocean At The End of The Lane' for our July read. So start your geeky engines, it's gonna be a hell of a good ride.

March into Nerdfighters!

MARCH? Already? Yep, as we creep ever closer to the 2nd birthday of GGBC, I was thinking about March. March is when people begin to think of spring, of change, of new things, of a lighter state of mind perhaps. One thing we have not really read in GGBC is young adult fiction, which gets a bad rap, but we all know can be pretty darn wonderful. I thought we'd get to open our spring with a read from the Nerdfighting, poofy haired wonderful half of Nerdfighters, John Green. Geek Girls, I give you Paper Towns:

More info at Paper Towns

Follow John Green @RealJohnGreen

If you have no idea what I'm talking about when I say "Nerdfighters" please go immediately to Vlogbrothers and see what all the doobly-doo is about. These are amazing brothers, who have made a whole lot of good and amazing things happen in this world. French the llama* they are fantastic.

We will start our journey to Paper Towns on March 1st, and start talking about it the last Saturday of the month. I hope that you enjoy it, and share it with a young reader that would enjoy it too. The more we can bring us all together with the power of words, shared experiences and positive nerdery, the better the world will be for it.

Oh and DFTBA* Geek Girls (and Boys).

*Nerdfighters, you get it.

I got your Valentine right here.

February! The month of romance, the month of Valentines and flowers and candy...

Here at Geek Girls Book Club, here we are so into Valentine's Day it's scary.

For February, here is your Heart Shaped Box, thanks to Joe Hill.

(follow Joe at @joe_hill on Twitter)

We have visited the work of Mr. Hill before in the wonderful novel "Horns", and we are back for more  with a story that will change how you feel about those innocuous heart shaped boxes forever. 

If you are new to GGBC, you can find out more about Joe Hill at his website: Joe Hill fiction.

I hope that your Valentine's Day is full of love, especially love of reading, and candy enough to fill your homes... and I hope that you enjoy a story that will make you love being frightened in fiction all over again.

We'll discuss this confection starting the last Saturday of February. 

New Year, New Chapters.

The start of a new year is always so full of promise, with just a twinge of regret for what was missed, for what wasn't said or done.  

I feel like reading has been such a huge part of my life, of who I am, that I really do think of life itself in chapters.

We all have stories, we all have epic romances, tales from the crypt, comedies, tragedies. We all feel like we are living out a script someone else wrote sometimes. It reminds me of what the wonderful Nora Ephron said, "Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." 
How are you going to swoop in and save yourself in 2013? How will you be the hero of your story?

Think of a story you read that really made you feel like "this is why I'm a reader, THIS is why I read". What was it about the characters that made you want to be better yourself? To dare to dream a little bigger, to make your life a little better?

My story would be Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Shadow makes me want to be more. Not emotionless or unafraid, but able to feel fear, let it wash over you and walk through it. To see the humor in impossible situations, to love deeply, fully, and with total conviction. To know that whatever happens you are meant to be in that place, and to take it all in.

What is your story? What makes you damn proud to be a reader? 

Maybe if we all remembered that other people are all just walking through their own chapters, they are like us, trying to get to the place where we are truly "in" our lives. Not living in the future or the past, being present, for that is the real story. What is right now. Maybe if we all knew each other's stories, we would be kinder to each other.

In 2013, may you remember that you are just what you need to be right now. You are enough as you are. You were chosen to be the lead character of your life for a reason. There is no one else like you. You are the only one who can tell your tale. So this year, live your life you fabulous creature, live as a hero, live as only you can. We all need each other's stories, and each chapter of life just makes them better.

Thank you all for being in Geek Girls Book Club, you have made me feel blessed to be a part of your journey.

Happy New Year my dear Geeks.

New year... New Man.

We are about to hit another New Year in the GGBC, and I was inspired by those of you who love to try a new series. If you're like me and fall in love with a character who leaves you wanting more, than have I got the guy for you:

Harry Dresden.

He's a Private Investigator and a wizard... and he's for hire.  So to kick off a new year, we will be reading the first of Harry's stories:

Storm Front by: Jim Butcher

If you read about Harry and his world and want more, here is a link to all the books in the series:

Dresden Files novels

There was also an amazing TV series that sadly only lasted one season, but you can find it on Amazon, and Netflix. It is certainly worth a watch if you missed it, or if you were a fan and want to see it again. There are also graphic novels and an RPG! The author's web page has a store with all the details. Jim Butcher store

You can follow the author on twitter at @longshotauthor. 

I thought that Harry would be the perfect way to start 2013, and get us going on a year of geeky book delights to come. Harry is my kind of wizard, I hope he's yours as well.

As always, we will begin the book on the first of the month and starting talking about it the last Saturday of the month at #GGBC on Twitter, and on the GGBC Facebook group and Goodreads and Google +. Join us, and feel free to pass GGBC on to anyone you know who would enjoy a good read among most excellent Geeks.

Happy 2013!