Princess Book Club

[spirit rev]

I have enjoyed reading several of the posted books that are part of the Princess Book Club, even when I'm not going to be onboard for the discussions.

I'll be on a January sailing and wonder when the Book Club books for January and February are going to be posted to the Princess website. Does anyone have any ideas about this? (The November - December books have been up since September or before.) Besides, I'd like to get a head start on my reading.

[cpcanuck]

I have enjoyed reading several of the posted books that are part of the Princess Book Club, even when I'm not going to be onboard for the discussions.

I'll be on a January sailing and wonder when the Book Club books for January and February are going to be posted to the Princess website. Does anyone have any ideas about this? (The November - December books have been up since September or before.) Besides, I'd like to get a head start on my reading.

 

Book Club? I hadn't noticed that before. I shall have to go to the Princess website to see what this about. I too would be curious about what the upcoming books might be.

 

Is there an opportunity to discuss the books on the ship? That might be interesting.

[spirit rev]

Book Club? I hadn't noticed that before. I shall have to go to the Princess website to see what this about. I too would be curious about what the upcoming books might be.

Is there an opportunity to discuss the books on the ship? That might be interesting.

Yes, there are opportunities to discuss the book onboard.

To find this - it is on the side bar menu under "onboard activities."

[tealeafdestiny]

Heya!

 

I too have been keeping a keen eye out for the books for the January & February sailings. We have never cruised before, but I noticed the book club on the on board activities list back in July. The books for November & December were released some time ago - so I am surprised that the ones for January & February have not been.

 

I just tried calling Princess, but I got put through to America where it is Sunday so the team that could potentially give me some insight were not in :(

[MarElz]

Not responsive to your question, but I'm planning to check out the book club on the Emerald in a couple of weeks and am looking forward to it!

[Pam in CA]

The Princess Book Club has been around for years. However, I've found it generally poorly managed. Among my experiences have been: the library didn't have copies of the books; the book changed for some reason; the moderator hadn't read the book and didn't have a clue how to moderate a book discussion; the discussion was scheduled for day 2 of the cruise; the discussion was scheduled at a weird time of the day, like at 9am; etc.

 

I've given up on the Princess book club. That said, I've been to a couple of book discussions organized by the roll call that met for tea one afternoon. These have wound up being great discussions and I got to know my fellow roll callers better.

[Jodieg]

I just got off the Grand Princess Hawaii cruise. According to the Princess website our book for November was supposed to be "The fault in our stars" I purchased the book on my iPad and stared it before we left Australia. The book club was mentioned in the patter on day two. About 10 of us turned up only to discover the book was changed and only 5 copies available. It was eventually decided that we would read "whistling past the graveyard". Five books for ten people. Most agreed they would finish it by day 7 or 8 of our 15 day cruise, they would then return the books for the others. I told them I would attempt to find it on amazon and download it. We agreed to meet on last sea day for afternoon tea in the dining room to discuss. To my great disappointment this ended up clashing with my ukulele masters performance in the Princess theatre so I never got to attend.

Did anyone else manage to get there? I'd love to know how it went.

[Seafoam Green]

I never went to Book Club on my second or third Princess cruises (didn't know it existed for my 1st!:)) As others have stated, Book Club was either on Day 2 or about books not listed.

 

One positive: the suggested reading at least gives you some potential titles when you need a recommendation.

 

I hope there are suggested titles for January/February. I'd like to give it another try.

 

:D

[shepp]

I'm with Pam on this one. In my one and only experience, a total waste of time. How can you have a discussion when some folks have finished the book, others are on Chapter 2, and the moderator hasn't a clue what the book is about?

[cruznliz]

I keep trying. I've attended on 2 or 3 cruises and yes, it is always disappointing. :( The books are good but there is no leadership for the discussion. I understand that the cruise staff may not have time to read the books, but on my last cruise the staff person admitted he hates to read and hadn't read a book since high school! :rolleyes: Also, titles change and there are never enough books to go around. On my last cruise, 28 days, there were 4 books listed. Before sailing I downloaded 3 to my Kindle and read them all. The 4th didn't appeal to me and other passengers said it was a terrible book. Glad I saved the money. The 3 I read were "Fault in our Stars", "Whistling Past the Graveyard" and "Heroes Are My Weakness". Princess must not have received the copies of Fault in our Stars, because that was never mentioned. They did receive other titles by the author of Heroes are my Weakness. That was confusing for people who were reading a random book. In any event, about 4 passengers had about a 10 minute discussion on Whistling Past the Graveyard. This was on the Crown with 3200 passengers. :p

[rayandshirl]

:(On the Star in July, I brought my own copy of the book on board to read for the book club. I did not go to the library to pick a book and was surprised when I went to the location for the meeting that was listed in the Patter. There was no moderator. A Princess crew person ran in and asked if we were there for the book club. There was 3 of us present, the crew member said great and have a good meeting and left!

[gottagocit]

I have enjoyed reading several of the posted books that are part of the Princess Book Club, even when I'm not going to be onboard for the discussions.

I'll be on a January sailing and wonder when the Book Club books for January and February are going to be posted to the Princess website. Does anyone have any ideas about this? (The November - December books have been up since September or before.) Besides, I'd like to get a head start on my reading.

 

On a slightly different note I wonder how one might have their book placed listed of Book Club books for Princess voyages? After years of working on my first novel and trying to get published, I now have a publisher who wants to publish it. It's not a done deal but we're negotiating the contract and they want to have it on shelves by spring so lots to do with little time to do it. Looking ahead I suppose but your thread made me wonder.

 

Thanks,

Chris

[Pam in CA]

On a slightly different note I wonder how one might have their book placed listed of Book Club books for Princess voyages?

Books chosen are general interest books from best sellers lists, either NY Times or Publisher's Weekly. Theoretically, Princess purchases enough books for the library on every ship. They avoid books that are controversial (political or religious) as they've had major issues in the past.

[ginabab]

Earlier this year, I forced myself to read the book, since it wasn't what I'd pick to read

I was looking forward to the discussion. The library didn't have enough copies so I was given another by the same author and told to check back for a returned copy So I read 2 by the same author Our meeting also had no moderator

I do hope Princess keeps up the book clubs and assigns moderators who read the book

[tealeafdestiny]

They have been posted!!

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/activities/book_club/bookclub.html

 

JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2015

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

New York Times Bestseller * #1 Amazon Best Book of 2014 * New York Times Editors' Choice

 

Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet . . . So begins the story of this exquisite debut novel, about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee; their middle daughter, a girl who inherited her mother's bright blue eyes and her father's jet-black hair. Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue—in Marilyn's case that her daughter become a doctor rather than a homemaker, in James's case that Lydia be popular at school, a girl with a busy social life and the center of every party.

 

When Lydia's body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together tumbles into chaos, forcing them to confront the long-kept secrets that have been slowly pulling them apart. James, consumed by guilt, sets out on a reckless path that may destroy his marriage. Marilyn, devastated and vengeful, is determined to find a responsible party, no matter what the cost. Lydia's older brother, Nathan, is certain that the neighborhood bad boy Jack is somehow involved. But it's the youngest of the family—Hannah—who observes far more than anyone realizes and who may be the only one who knows the truth about what happened.

 

A profoundly moving story of family, history, and the meaning of home, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, exploring the divisions between cultures and the rifts within a family, and uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.

 

Featured on all vessels

[Seafoam Green]

They have been posted!!

 

 

JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2015

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

New York Times Bestseller * #1 Amazon Best Book of 2014 * New York Times Editors' Choice

 

Featured on all vessels

 

Thanks for posting this!

 

:D

[PurpleHays]

I'll check it out. I have a list of books to get before we go, just might add this one.

[paradiselivin1]

Wow. Did not know there was a book club. I guess you really have to search that out ~ never remember seeing in the Patter but so much in there I guess it would be easy to miss. May have to check it out but keep my expectations low so as not to be disappointed.

[spirit rev]

Thanks for sharing that they have posted the January book. Now to get to the bookstore to get it (I like to support our local independent bookstore.) Based on my experience on a previous cruise I don't have high expectations once onboard. I do find their books are very good reading.