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!

2nd annual Geek Craft-A-Palooza!

My sweet Geeks, the holiday season is upon us. No matter what or if you celebrate anything coming up... the world is busier and more stressful, so in the tradition of GGBC, we are not reading in December. WE ARE CRAFTY FOR ALL DECEMBER. Don't panic non crafters! I have suggestions for you and they include a favorite from last year and a new addition to the crafty family:

World of GeekCraft by: Susan Beal @westcoastcrafty

The Star Wars Craft Book by: Bonnie Burton @BonnieGrrl

These are two great examples of fun you can have from using paper, to painting to glitter and glue and fibery arts. There is something for every Geek in these amazing pages. You can also get ideas from some pretty spiffy websites like Geek Crafts, and you can join other geeks and see what their up to at our sister club Geeks United In Crafts. This is a fun excuse to just have fun, play and get creative. You can also make some amazing gifts and thrill your friends and family, while saving some major cash this season!

There is no contest, no rules... all I ask is that you post photos of your Geeky creations. Post on Twitter with #GGBC, post on FB on the GGBC page, or post on Goodreads. 

There is one more thing I'm hoping we do this season to spread some happy in the world... share you favorite children's book. You can buy a copy and donate it to you library or charity, give a copy to a child you love, or just check one out from the library, and read it to someone who would love your time and your story. Please share what book YOU shared... and make this world lighter and brighter this season. Here is my children's book I'm sharing:

Blueberry Girl by: Neil Gaiman @NeilHimself

I hope that your holiday is filled with all the things that make you happy, and that you can share that happiness with those you love and those you are just meeting. I can't wait to see all the Geeky goodness you will be making and sharing... and I even have my own Geeky craft to start us off:

My knitted MST3K pillow 

Have fun, get crafty, and remember that there are a whole lot of people crafting right along with you, reading children's books and remembering that all of us deserve a little silly now and then. 

I'll Have a Blue November...

The winner of our contest to choose November's book is long time member Bronwyn Kelly. I want to thank her and all our participants in making a donation or volunteering to help the hungry this season.  Every bit matters, and every bit changes the world for the better. 

Here is a introduction about this month's book from Bronwyn, and we will discuss, as always, starting the last Saturday of the month. Happy November sweet Geeks!

"So, this month i get to choose the book we read as a group! this is both nerve-wracking and exciting. :)exciting because i get to share a book i've loved for probably 25 years with a wonderful group that I'm really happy to have been able to join. Nerve-wracking for much the same reason! :D

The book i'm choosing for this month is The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley.

I've chosen this book because for years it has been my staple, the book I return to when I need comfort or fun or a visit with old friends. I have - quite literally - read a copy of this book into tatters!

I really hope you all enjoy it as much as I have! i'm looking forward to sharing it with you!"
~Bronwyn

Thankful We Can Read And Help...And Pick November's Book!

Image and more information at: http://www.jeffbridges.com/hungerfacts.html

Added 10/28/12: We have a winner to choose the GGBC November book! Bronwyn Kelly, contact me asap to talk about what to read! Congratulations!!!

It seems like October is flying by, and I hope you are loving our scary short stories!

I can't believe that it is time to think of November's read already, but I found something that is even more scary... hunger around our communities, all around the world. We have so much to be grateful for. We have books to read, a place to live and even if it is simple food, we have food on our table to feed ourselves, our loved ones, our friends. In the U.S., November marks a time of being thankful for what we have, no matter how much or how little. I was thinking that we could be thankful all around the Geek Girls Book Club world, have some fun... and share some love.

The November read will be chosen by a member of GGBC. All I ask to be in the drawing to pick the book is to donate to your local food bank, or to whatever organization you choose to help feed hungry people anywhere in the world. No cash? Then make a commitment to volunteer at one of those organizations, and help them where you can. I don't care if you donate food, money or your time... it all helps, and it is all important. 

Next, post to the GGBC facebook, twitter, goodreads or here in the comments that you donated to end hunger and BAM! You're entered. The winner will be drawn on October 28th. The winner must have their book selected by the first so we can post it as soon as we can! 

I hope that we can move others to help as well, and that one act of kindness will lead to many, many more.  Thank you in advance for your generosity my dear Geeks... I am grateful for you beyond measure.

Some places to donate:

Feeding America

Feed The Children

Feed My Starving Children

October is the month for scaring yourself out of your shorts...

The Autumn winds are howling and October will soon be here with longer nights, colder days, costumes and confections. What better way to celebrate the most wonderfully frightening time of the year than with the suspense and terror that only short stories can deliver?

I am a big fan of All Hallow's Read, Neil Gaiman's idea that you should share a scary book with someone for Halloween. Well, this year I want to do that in a big way by sharing two books of short stories with you... one from an author we know and love, and one from an author who is new and waiting to be discovered by us all.

Book #1:

Photo courtesy of www.mousecircus.com

Neil Gaiman's "M is for Magic"

This is a well known collection of some of the most beloved scary stories of our generation. It has something for everyone. I know that my love for Mr. Gaiman knows no literary bounds, but this is an excellent collection, and you will have a wonderful time seeing little snippets of Gaiman's magic and trepidation found in its pages. It is available in most libraries, Amazon, and many small book sellers.

Book #2:

Tansy Undercrypt's "Small Towns, Dark Places"

Ms. Undercrypt is a new author, but her micro fiction has been published for quite some time at TansyUndercrypt.com. You can go back and read these tiny gems at your leisure. Her book was just recently published, and is available through many ebook formats (Nook, Kindle, etc.) Tansy is not only a new, independent author of dark fiction, but she is also a member and supporter of GGBC. Please feel free to spread the word about her and her book if you'd like... I love that GGBC is helping new authors find readers and slew of people who adore their words. Tansy will be no exception, you will be captivated and breathless by the places you will go in this dark and frightening town. Here is a link to the Amazon ebook: Small Towns, Dark Places and a hard cover copy will be available the end of September.

In the comments, please share with us what books you are going to share for All Hallow's Read... we can all use a gigantic list of scary stories, and this is the perfect time of year to read as many as we can get our clawed hands on.

As always, our read will start on the first of the month and will be discussed on the last Saturday of the month... so get ready to dig in to some dark places, but bring a lantern... because it will be black as pitch sometimes, and you need to come out eventually.