Yay!  I am so excited to finally begin our book club!  There are a few more things I'm going to need from everyone participating, and you don't have to participate every month, join in as is convenient for you, but I'll still need the following info from you:  Your name, address, and email address.  I'm in the process of having bookmarks designed and will mail one to everyone participating.  Please e-mail this information to me at Sylvia{at}OrthodoxMom{dot}com. 

We are going to begin with the book The Hermitess Photini by Archimandrite Joachim Spetsieris.  Normally, I will give at least one month's notice on the title of the book but since it took me longer than I expected to get everything squared away, it's going to be a little rushed this month.  I am planning on beginning this one on March 12, which means we'll meet for discussion on Monday, March 26.  It will give us two weeks to read the first half of the book.  I chose this book first because it is a very inexpensive book and I'm hoping that will help everyone be able to afford it on such short notice.

I am going to post the required reading on the start date and then we will meet back here to discuss the book.  I debated on hosting this on several social networks, but with the different time zones, work schedules, etc., I think that will be difficult.  So, on the morning of the discussion dates, I will post a list of questions and then we can discuss them throughout the day, or following days, right in the comment section.  Again, please be patient with me, I've never hosted an online book club before and am learning as I go.  Suggestions are always helpful!  If I see it's becoming too confusing that way, we can figure something else out.  Sound good?

I'm also very pleased to announce that the Orthodox Christian Children website, has offered book club members a 20% discount on book club selections.  Which means instead of paying $9.00 for this book, you'll only pay $7.20 + shipping.  Their shipping rates are also very , so I thought this was a great collaboration!

Just BE SURE to write a note when you submit your payment, stating you are part of the Orthodox Mom Book Club.  The way it will work is, the difference will be credited back to your account *almost* immediately. 

So for planning purposes, the first three book titles are:

Feel free to order all three books at once to save even more on shipping costs.

Also, since some of the books are short, we're going to also have an optional reading assignment from the book Counsels from the Holy Mountain.  The reading will tie in to the theme of that month's book.  Even though I was baptized and involved in the Church all my life, I understood little of what we believed.  This book helped me tremendously with my journey into Orthodoxy.  I've read it front to back numerous times and each time I continue to learn something new.  It is also the book Troy Polamalu mentioned in this interview.

 It can also be purchased with the 20% discount from orthodoxchristianchildren.com

Looking forward to this!