The Next Best Book Club discussion

Here goes nothing!

Parachute (1995)

“Fall in Two” – Read a book with a number in the title Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West &The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives
“Mona Lisa” – Read a book about art or that features art
“Love for Me” – Read a love story
“Window” – Read a book with an inanimate object in the title
“Eden” – Read a book about temptation Year of No Sugar
“Scars & Stitches” – Read a used book, the more banged up the better
“The Prize” – Read a book about someone who’s lost themselves A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy
“Dissolve” – Read a book and take credit here if it didn’t leave a lasting impression Year of No Sugar
“Cocoon” – Read a book while you’re wrapped up in a blanket, or under the sheets in bed How to Hygge: The Secrets of Nordic Living
“Happy Frappy” – Read a book that takes place near or on a river
“Parachute” – Take the plunge and read a book in a genre you don’t normally read


Goldfly (1997)

“Great Escape” – Read a book while you’re on a road trip, or in which a portion of the book takes place in a car
“Demons” – Read a book that features an evil entity or someone with evil intent Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West & The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives
“Perfect” – Read a book about drugs and drug use
“Airport Song” – Read a book that you picked up at an airport, or that features an airplane/airport
“Medicine” – Take a sick day and read a book How to Hygge: The Secrets of Nordic Living & A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy & Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
“X-Ray Eyes” – Read a book about a superhero or someone with strange powers
“Grin” – Read a book that makes you feel good
“Getting Even” – Read a book about revenge
“Bury Me” – Read a book in which a character dies *From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
“Rocketship” – Read a book that takes place in outer space Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void


Lost and Gone Forever (1999)

“What You Wish For” – Read a book that was on your wishlist Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
“Barrel of a Gun” – Read a book written by or featuring a movie star
“Either Way” – Read a book you’ve been on the fence about
“Fa Fa” – Read a book that features a made-up language or dialect
“I Spy” – Read a book from your TBR pile that is on one of your friend’s bookshelves
“Center of Attention” – Read a book written in first person Year of No Sugar
“All the Way Up to Heaven” – Read a book in your coziest, most favorite reading spot
“Happier” – Read whatever the fuck you want and take credit for it here
“So Long” – Read a book with more than 400 pages
“Two Points for Honesty” – Read a book that someone recommends to you and then tell them what you honestly thought of it
“Rainy Day” – Read a book on a rainy day A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy & How to Hygge: The Nordic Secrets to a Happy Life & Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory

Keep It Together (2003)

“Diane” – Read a book with a female protag A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy
“Careful” – Read a book that you borrowed from someone (and had to return in pristine condition)
“Amsterdam” – Read a book set in a different country Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West
“Backyard” – Read a book written by an author from your hometown/city/state
“Homecoming King” – Read a book about high school or a book that features teenagers
“Ramona” – Read a book written by someone who identifies as female
“Jesus on the Radio” – Listen to a bookish podcast or an audiobook
“Keep it Together” – Read a book that keeps freaking you right the fuck out
“Come Downstairs and Say Hello” – Read a book while at, or hiding from, a family gathering
“Red Oyster Cult” – Read a book that features a mother or focuses on the character’s relationship with their mother A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy
“Long Way Down” – Read a book written in third person
“I Hope Tomorrow is Like Today” – Read a book that takes place in the future
“Untitled Hidden Track” – Read a book that you uncovered accidentally
“Two at a Time” – Read a book written by two authors
“Say That to My Face” – Read a book someone would classify as a “guilty pleasure”
“Starless Heaven” – Read a book at the beach
“Days” – Read a book that takes place over the span of just a few days


Ganging Up on the Sun (2006)

“Lightning Rod” – Read a Cli-Fi book (a book that features climate change or strange weather)
“Satellite” – Read a book that takes place primarily at night
“Manifest Destiny” – Read a book that someone randomly selects for you off your bookshelf
“One Man Wrecking Machine” – Read a Sci-Fi book (extra points if it features time travel)
“The Captain” – Read a book that takes place on the ocean or on a ship/boat
“The New Underground” – Read a book that takes place in a dystopian setting/time, or features a cult
“Ruby Falls” – Read a book with a color in the title
“C’mon” – Read a book that didn’t sit well with you How to Hygge: The Nordic Secrets to a Happy Life
“Empire State” – Read a book that takes place in NYC or is written by an author who calls NYC home
“Dear Valentine” – Read a book that takes place on or around a holiday
“The Beginning of the End” – Read a book about the end of the world
“Hang On” – Read a book that’s about another book, or is written as a book in a book

Satellite EP (2007)

“G Major” – Read a book about music or that features a band or musician
“Rise & Shine” – Spend the morning reading a book and take credit here From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
“Timothy Leary” – Read a book with a man’s name in the title
“I’m Through” – If you’re reading a book that you’re just not into, DNF it and take credit here


Easy Wonderful (2010)

“Architects & Engineers” – Read a book that takes place in a city
“Do You Love Me” – Read a book by your favorite author
“On the Ocean” – Read a book that is dark and foreshadowing
“This Could All Be Yours” – Read a self-help or motivational book
“Stay with Me Jesus” – Read a book that features religion or is about a religious conspiracy
“Bad Bad World” – Read a book in which the title contains the same word twice
“This is How it Feels to Have a Broken Heart” – Read a book that takes place during a war or features a character who has served in a war
“What You Call Love” – Read a book in your favorite genre
“That’s No Way to Get into Heaven” – Read a book in which the main character(s) does something wicked
“Jesus and Mary” – Read a book that features angels or a rapture/biblical end times
“Hercules” – Read a book about a mythological character
“Do What You Want” – Read whatever floats your boat and take credit for it here
“Well” – Read a book that takes you down a weird, trippy rabbit hole
“Jonah” – Read a book that features a giant fish or whale
“Lost at Sea” – Read a book and if it made it absolutely no sense to you, take credit here


On the Ocean EP (2011)

“Big White Bed” – Read a book in bed, and only in bed
“Every Moment” – Read a book that you just can’t put down/stop thinking about The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives


Evermotion (2015)

“Long Night” – Read a book that kept you up all night
“Endlessly” – Read a book and take credit for it here if it felt like it was never going to end
“Doin’ it By Myself” – Read a book in which the protag is a hermit/antisocial/lonely
“Lazy Love” – Read a book instead of doing anything else and take credit for your procrastination here
“Simple Machine” – Read a digital book
“Expectation” – Read a book and if it didn’t meet your expectations, take credit here
“Gangway” – Read a book with just one word in the title
“Kid Dreams” – Read a book that features a child protagonist
“Never Coming Down” – Read a book that’s set in the 70’s
“It is Just What it is” – Read a book that’s pretty straightforward
“Farewell” – Read the last book written by an author


Look Alive (2019)

“Look Alive” – Read a book about zombies or dead people From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
“Don’t Go” – Read a book and if it made you wish it had never ended, take credit for it here
“Hard Times” – Read a book you borrowed from the library -it's where 90% of my books come from :)
“Hello Mr Sun” – Go outside, sit in the sun, and read a book, then take credit for it here
“Overexcited” – Read a book you could not wait to get your hands on Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
“Summertime” – Read a book that takes place in the summer
“Terrified” – Read a horror book
“Mind Kontrol” – Give into the hype and read a book that everyone else is talking about
“Not for Nothing” – Read a book that you know is going to piss you off
“When You Go Quiet” – Read a book that you get totally, 100% absorbed in and take credit for it here

Alright, one book read time to cross off some songs! Also, side note, I have never listened to this band before so I was pretty thrilled to be challenged to read and find a new band at the same time!

I have been binge watching "Ask A Mortician" on YouTube by Caitlin Doughty and was pleased I finally got my hands on one of her books: From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death.

As expected I thoroughly enjoyed her death positive storytelling with a twist of morbid humor. It challenged my thoughts on death and how much Western culture has distanced death from our lives.

Some songs to cross off:
-"Bury Me"- read a book in which a character dies. This whole book was about burying dead people.

-"Rise & Shine"- spend the morning reading a book. So I started this book a few days ago, didn't really make it far so this morning I sat down and spent an hour and half straight up reading this thought-provoking book.

-"Look Alive"- read a book about zombies or dead people. This book discussed dead people on every page as Doughty explored different cultures death perspectives and rituals.

Yay so glad we're turning you on to new music as we challenge your reading!

Work has been crazy but I finally found time to finish another book and cross off more songs :)!

As a health nut, I love non-fiction and memoir books about healthy eating. I was excited about this book I found at the library, Year of No Sugar. And then I struggled to finish it.

-"Eden"- read a book about temptation. This entire book was about a year of refusing to give in to the temptation of sugar (which if you asked me the family failed).

-"Dissolve"- read a book and take credit here if it didn't leave a lasting impression. I was pumped to read this and then walk away feeling inspired. Whelp that didn't happen instead I was left with a lack of significant proof of what a year of no sugar can do to change you.

-"Center of Attention"- read a book written in first person. Well, this was a memoir and was written in first person the entire book.

Taking a sick rainy day today and I finished three books- yay! For all three I'm crossing off "Medicine"- take a sick day and read a book, and "Rainy Day"- read a book on a rainy day (I read three do I get bonus points?? lol).

First book: How to Hygge: The Nordic Secrets to a Happy Life

After watching the video "5 Days of Hygge" by the YouTube series 5 Days of Lucie Fink , I learned about the concept of hygge. Intrigued I went to the library to find the book with the cute pictures that she recommended, The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well . Instead I found How to Hygge, okay I'll give it a shot.

-"Cocoon"- read a book wrapped up in a blanket. I did in true hygge fashion I curled up to the sounds of rain with my dog and a quilt.

-"C'mon"- read a book that didn't sit well with you. A book with tiny print, condescending offhand remarks, subtle racist comments, and a pretentious tone...whelp seemed the opposite of hygge to me.

Second book: A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy

-"The Prize"- read a book about someone who's lost themselves. Ms. Klebold definitely lost her identity and way of life as she knew it after the tragedy. The entire book was exploring the unraveling of her life and eventually journey of putting together a post-tragedy life.

-"Diane"- read a book with a female protag. Like any good female protag she had a cause, spreading awareness of mental health among teenagers.

-"Red Oyster Cult"- Read a book that features a mother or focuses on the character's relationship with their mother. This book did both, Ms. Klebold was examining her relationship with her son to find 'where things went wrong.'

Third book: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory. Last week I had the pleasure to read her second book and this one didn't disappoint.

-"What You Wish For"- read a book that was from your wishlist & "Overexcited"-read a book you could not wait to get your hands on. After falling in love with her YouTube series, "Ask a Mortician," I couldn't wait to read more of her.

Finished two books over the weekend and finally scractching some songs off.

-"Fall in Two- read a book with a number in the title. Funny both books did and I didn't plan it that way, The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives & Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West.

-"Demons"- read a book that features an evil entity or someone with evil intentions. Well Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West features North Korea which could arguably be an evil entity, and it was set in political prison camps with guards who had evil intentions. Even more, thought-provoking The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives, did Richard the offender light Sasha's skirt on fire because of homophobic evil intentions or as a stupid harmless teenage prank?

-"Amsterdam"- read a book set in a different country. Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West. Not many non-fiction books are set in North Korea, super intriguing read.

-"Every Moment"- read a book that you just can't put down/stop thinking about. The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives. A must read, the author who happens to be a journalist writes it in a journalist style and is excellent at staying objective. In fact, her point of view makes it feel almost distant and in the end, I sympathized with both sides.

-"Rocketship"- read a book that takes place in space. If you want to learn interesting trivia about training and life as an astronaut, Mary Roach offers it in, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. Beware of learning far more than you wanted to about poop in space.