September 24, 2013 - Written by: Emma Farley

Emma’s Book Club: Welcome!

I’m something of a bookworm. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a big reader. I know, I’m a film buff, too, so I can’t have much of a social life, right? Well, no, but that’s not the point of this post! I guess I always loved losing myself in fantasy worlds. My parents bought me a lot of Enid Blyton books, so I was raised on the likes of The Famous Five, Secret Seven and The Magic Faraway Tree. Then, when I was old enough to start taking my own books out of the library, I would borrow the absolute limit each time, gorging myself on The Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley High and Goosebumps, before progressing to The Café Club, Point Horror and Point Romance. Then I hit the GCSE phase of Shakespeare and Wuthering Heights, and came across Sylvia Plath for the first time. In all my teenage angst, I found something to relate to, and The Bell Jar became my first grown up favourite book. And it remained that way for a good five years or so. These days I don’t have a ‘favourite book’ (although I’m always looking for a newly recommended title), and regularly sample different genres, from chick lit (Sophie Kinsella) to thriller (Dennis Lehane), classic (Jane Austen) to bio (Simon Pegg) and everything in between (Jodi Picoult, Cecelia Ahern). So, with that in mind, I give you the favourite titles of the aliljoy writers.

Yazmin: My favourite book HAS to be The Odyssey by Homer. I first read it at school and I keep coming back to it. It’s just the ultimate adventure story! (I recommend the prose version of the text though. Sorry Homer.)

Daisy: Impro by Keith Johnstone as it gets me through life 

Poppy: I think that The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is my favourite. The first time I read it I hated it and thought it was really boring. But after studying at school I fell in love with it and realised how sad it is! There are so many themes in there that are still relevant today.

Erin: So hard choosing a favorite! I like The Color Purple by Alice Walker a lot (the movie too). The main character, Celie, has a lot stacked against her at first, but in the end she triumphs. It’s often regarded as a feminist novel.

Ria: I absolutely adore Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife. It’s the most beautifully written book I have ever read and has such a unique style. It is one of those rare stories that will leave a hand print on your heart and stay with you long after you turn the final page 

Becky: My favourite is Anne Frank’s Diary – however bad your day’s been that book makes you realise just what you’ve got!

A few weeks ago I posted on the aliljoy Facebook page, asking you readers what you’d like to read for the first official book club posted. I tried to pick five different titles from different areas of literature in order to gauge your interests (Sense and Sensibility, The Pact, Gone Baby Gone, Franny and Zooey and One Hundred Names) and the most popular titles was Sense and Sensibility. I’m pleased with your selection, as it’s a Jane Austen book I’ve not gotten round to reading yet (although I’ve seen the Emma Thompson film – before reading the book! For shame!), so it gives me a good excuse to add to my Clothbound Penguin Classics collection.

Bearing in mind that I’m still looking for a new favourite book (I think Jane Austen’s Emma is actually pretty close. And Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I’m going through a classics phase), and hoping that you’re all keeping an open mind, I’m putting it out to you to vote from the aliljoy faves list for next month. Vote for your next book club title from the following:

In the meantime, check out Sense and Sensibility over the next month and tweet me (@EmsLF) your 140 character reviews for inclusion in the next blog post! When the post goes up in a month’s time, please share some more in depth thoughts with the rest of us! I’ll see you then!

Em x

p.s. Great tip from one of our readers… Do you have a Kindle? If yes, Amazon have an offer on Classics at the moment – TOTALLY FREE! (Thanks Emily!)