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356 days and counting, pick up a book!

By Melissa Castano


During this year of quarantine, many of us have found ourselves with too much time on our hands. With the 7+ hours of sitting behind a screen for school and club meetings, it’s unbelievable that we turn to our phones for entertainment afterward. I am guilty of this. Fortunately, the Book Club at MAST@FIU allows students to explore the world of literature. Over the course of the year, club members have read quite a few books, all of them truly engrossing and absolutely fascinating. One fun way club members have been discussing the books is by creating an interactive book journal, writing down a summary of the book, describing the characters a bit, and including a fanart of the characters. Members can also write quotes, rate the book, write about specific characters, and some songs reminding them of the book or somehow relate to it.


Throughout the year, club members have read Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, Skyhunter by Mary Lu, and are currently reading Caraval by Stephanie Garber. Book Club’s secretary, Miriam Rios, wholeheartedly enjoyed Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, rating it 5 out of 5 stars.


One of Miriam Rios’s favorite quotes was the following; “I would come for you. And if I couldn’t walk, I’d crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we’d fight our way out together- knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that’s what we do. We never stop fighting.” - Kaz, page 185. The amount of loyalty and devotion just pouring out of him is inspiring. Victoria Lippert, vice president of Book Club, also had much to say on one of the works of Leigh Bardugo. “Six of Crows is a very well-written novel taking place around a fantasy world with many challenges that a skilled crew of young people has to overcome to accomplish one monumental task. The novel gives an in-depth view of each character’s lives, their backstories, the ways they cope, their talents, and their relationships with one another. This skilled crew goes on several impossible quests, and all use their own abilities to their advantage to complete their tasks remarkably efficiently.”


Daniella Velasquez, who is an active member of this club, said that one of her personal favorite books is Heartless by Marissa Meyer; she mentioned it’s the story about how the Red Queen went insane. “It’s all thanks to a joker with lemon-covered eyes.” She went on to explain that “He died, so she went bonkers, married the king, and started chopping off people’s heads.” It provides an interesting perspective on why the Red Queen behaves as she does and her attitude towards Alice. As a matter of fact, I might just go read it right now!


The following is a sample of the Book Journal that Miriam Rios made for Book Club. You can use her example and be inspired to make your own!



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