Novelicious has been at the centre of the women’s fiction community for years, reviewing countless books along the way. That said, as much as we love curling up and reading by ourselves, we kind of want to read books with you, too!
For us, there’s nothing better than having a group of pals reading the same book at the same time. You can lament over sudden plot twists and subsequent 4am reading sessions on a work night, swoon and whoop together when the hero finally kisses the heroine and have lively, thoughtful discussions once you’ve turned the last page.
Sound good? Yes?
Welcome to The Novelicious Book Club!
A fun, friendly and very positive place to geek out over brilliant reads, The Novelicious Book Club is a monthly, digital get together, where we hope you’ll discover awesome new books and authors and make lots of bookish friends along the way.
Here’s how it works:
Every month, we’ll choose a brilliant book to read over a four-week period. Throughout that time, members will be encouraged to share their thoughts (no spoilers!) on the book here in the comments, on social media or on your own blog with the #NoveliciousBookClub hashtag. Whether it’s by discussing the cover in a video, instagramming pictures of yourselves reading the book in a onesie, tweeting character analyses or creating pretty images featuring favourite quotes, the idea is to get creative and have fun!
But what is the first book, you ask? Aha, we’re pretty excited about that. Our very first Novelicious Book Club pick is The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes!
Published today, The One Plus One is said to be a beautiful, poignant and utterly compelling new novel. We’ll be cracking the spines of our copies this evening (mmm, new book smell) and really hope you’ll join us.
Once club members have finished the book, you will be able to send a brief 100 word review to kerry@writingtipsoasis.com for potential inclusion in a preliminary book discussion – to be published here on Novelicious on Wednesday 26 March. We’ll also be sharing some of the most creative participation from the month (your tweets, images and videos) and a series of discussion questions ahead of an hour-long #NoveliciousBookClub chat on Twitter and Facebook at 8pm that evening. Put the kids to bed, pour yourself a glass of wine and join us for some lively discussion and fun and games. There will be virtual nibbles, of course, and one participating chat member will win a signed, personalised copy of the book from Jojo Moyes herself.
We’re really excited about this new read and we're especially excited about getting to know you better. While the introduction of a Secret Seven type password for the club was contemplated, we figured a good, old-fashioned game of icebreakers would be just as fun.
Say hello to your fellow book club members and don’t forget to answer some questions and leave your Twitter handle or blog address in the comments so we can buddy up!
Name: Susan
About: Susan lives near Glasgow with her husband and two children.
Favourite book: The Island by Victoria Hislop
Favourite reading snack: Salt and vinegar crisps
Favourite place to read: In bed
Connect: Susan will be participating on Facebook
Name: Jenni
About: Jennifer is 29 and lives in Manchester. Her main hobby is dodging housework, but she's also a massive fan of reading. Her favourite authors are Marian Keyes, Dorothy Koomson and Lisa Jewell.
Favourite book: Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
Favourite reading snack: A bowl of mixed sweets
Favourite place to read: A hot bubble bath with loads of bubbles and tea
Connect: @Writer_Jenn
Name: Cressida
About: Cressy lives in Norwich with her husband and spends her spare time writing novels and reading fiction, from chick-lit to crime to ghost stories to classics. She likes good coffee, the Norfolk coastline and thunderstorms. Her favourite authors include Susan Hill, Karin Slaughter, Harriet Evans, Kate Atkinson and Rosamund Lupton.
Favourite book: Nightingale Wood by Stella Gibbons
Favourite reading snack: Mini eggs or chocolate cookies with a mug of coffee
Favourite place to read: Curled up by the fire
Connect: @CressMcLaughlin
Name: Kelly
About: Kelly is 31 years old and currently lives in South Wales with her husband, Warren and two children, George and Molly. She recently made a life changing decision to try her hardest to become a writer, after many years of thinking it wouldn’t be possible. She is well known for her absolute adoration of David Bowie, a love of all things green (her wedding dress was even green!), a new found love for knitting, but her first love will always be writing, writing, writing… and a bit more writing!
Favourite book: A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
Favourite reading snack: Tea and cake
Favourite place to read: In bed
Connect: @KellyAllen2008
Name: Victoria
About: Victoria lives in Liverpool with her husband, two darling daughters and crazy cat. She is a domestic goddess (ahem) and eternal daydreamer. She likes New York, new notebooks, old typewriters and Amazon 1-Click. Her guilty pleasure is curling up in the afternoon with one of her favourite mugs full of tea and a packet of chocolate digestives in front of Neighbours or Revenge.
Favourite book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Favourite reading snack: Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate
Favourite place to read: In bed with a cup of tea
Connect: @mrsdarlingx
Name: Cesca
About: Cesca lives in a lovely little village in Berkshire in a cottage piled high with books. She has a pretty eclectic taste… Jilly Cooper is happily nestled alongside Victoria Hislop, Tracy Chevalier and Philippa Gregory. Other than reading Cesca can be found teaching History, writing books, painting decidedly mundane pictures or weeping over sad films.
Favourite book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Favourite reading snack: Melted white chocolate and raspberries
Favourite place to read: In the bath with tea and bubbles
Connect: @CescaWrites
Name: Helen
About: Helen has recently moved to a country village in Cambridgeshire and is throwing herself into The Good Life. She has a passion for writing, baking and reading. When not writing or baking, Helen can be found outside talking to her eight chickens, three ducks or cat.
Favourite book: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Favourite reading snack: Cake, of course!
Favourite place to read: Anywhere except the car
Connect: @helenredders
Name: Sarah
About: Sarah has been a freelance writer for thirteen years, juggling working for magazines and blogs with parenting and professional-level procrastination. Sarah lives in a village near Edinburgh with her husband, two children and two cats.
Favourite book: A recent favourite is Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Favourite reading snack: Hot, buttered toast
Favourite place to read: In bed
Connect: @SarahRPainter
Name: Kirsty Nicole
Kirsty is a full-time chick-lit enthusiast, budding writer and once walked into a lamp post whilst reading and walking at the same time, unfortunately this is very much a true story.
Her favourite authors include Jo Carnegie, Sasha Wagstaff and Jill Mansell. Kirsty has been known to spend far too much time absorbed in American televisions shows.
Connect: @bookprincess87
Name: Kay
About: Kay is dedicated to English literature whether it be reading, writing or teaching. She is the author of novels, short stories and reviews for Novelicious.com. Hints of her interest in the gothic, the supernatural and romance can be seen in her writing. As well as being an author and a teacher, she is also mother to two amazing boys and a very happy wife. Other interests include animals, theology and cheesy 80’s films!
Favourite book: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Favourite reading snack: My fingernails, unfortunately
Favourite place to read: In bed
Connect: @kaybeeboo
How about you? What's your favourite book, reading snack and place to devour a good story? Leave your answers and Twitter handle in the comments so we can get to know you!
And don't forget to put our first #NoveliciousBookClub meet – Wednesday 26 March at 8pm on Twitter and Facebook – in your diary.
Happy reading!