HAJET Book Club: Introduction
Introducing the brand new Hyogo AJET Book Club!
For all you new comers finding your feet in your freshly-woven tatami homes, this club will be a great way to casually slip into the JET community. Not to mention, it will give you something to do at school in the long summer before the students arrive. And the same goes to all you re-contracting JETs.
The Book Club will be a casual affair, so don’t worry if you’re not a big reader. It took me 10 months to read Dorian Gray, and I’m running this show!
So, to business!
Whether you’ve just arrived into the sweltering sauna that is Japan’s summer, set off on your jollies or been courageously ploughing through the daily “atsui†ritual, we are all bound to this country for at least another year and in need of a summer read.
Each new book title will be released here and on the Hyogo AJET Facebook group. The discussion date will be around 2 months after at some trendy café in the capital of our ken, Kobe. Please feel free to suggest books on the Facebook event so we can put it to a poll to decide the next book.
Now all you need to do is join the Book Club event on the Hyogo AJET Facebook group.
Without further ado the first book for the HAJET Book Club will be…
Before I Go to Sleep （ by S.J. Watson）
The debut novel, written by British NHS worker Watson, is a mystery thriller following a woman named Chrissie who develops amnesia from what she believes was a car crash. Left with just a 24 hour memory, she writes a daily journal to teach herself about her past.
Published in 2011, this Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller is so sought after it has already been poached by Ridley Scott’s production company and made into a film starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth. Due for release in 2014, it could be the Book Club’s first film outing!
What did the critics say?
“The summer’s single most suspenseful plot belongs to Before I Go to Sleep… Mr. Watson had written this as pure page-turner.†New York Times
“Memories—real, false, and a bit of both—are at the heart of Watson’s haunting, twisted debut…. Watson handles what could have turned into a cheap narrative gimmick brilliantly, building to a chillingly unexpected climax.†Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“An intriguingly fresh look at the amnesia-focused psychological thriller. . . . A captivating and highly suspenseful read, populated with believable characters who lead the reader through a taut, well-constructed plot.†Library Journal
Download or order the paperback – there are various ways of getting a copy of the books but the easiest way I find is Amazon.
The first Book Club meeting will be Sunday October 6th. The exact location is yet to be decided, check the Facebook event closer to the time.
Enjoy the read!
Cherie Pham
