Hello [**bibliophiles**](https://i.imgur.com/dUt19k8.jpeg) of /r/bangtan!

May is ramping up to be an exciting month with our dear Rrrrrrrappppmonsterrrrrrrr dropping his long-awaited and much anticipated 2nd solo album ‘Right Place, Wrong Person’. While we wait to bask in his lyrical genius, why don’t we indulge in one of his favorite activities – [**reading**](https://media.giphy.com/media/mBdeOu9RTrm9CjXDSe/giphy.gif).

April had us reading **Almond** by Sohn Won-Pyung and we had a great time [**discussing**](https://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/1c7har4/240419_rbangtan_books_with_luv_april_book_club/) the book. If you haven’t had the time to drop your thoughts, feel free to leave us a line or two. We love hearing from you.

It’s going to get a bit *hectic* but we do hope you’ll find the time to join us. I’ll cut to the chase with five BTS-adjacent books to choose from. These books were either seen on a member’s bookshelf/in their luggage, recommended by them, were seen being read by them, or are books about BTS and their music.

The *ult-list* is much longer but we used a randomizer to choose these 5 for the poll and we’ll have fresh choices for you each month. Take a look at May’s picks and vote on what we should read next!

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*Some key dates to remember*

(All dates/time are in KST)

| Date | Event |
|:-|:-|
| May 1 | Poll opens now – ends May 5 11:59pm |
| May 6 | Voters’ choice book announced |
| May 20 | Books with Luv discussion meeting |

***

# anything and *everythinggoes* so here are your choices!

| Title – BTS Connection | Description |
|:-|:-|
| [**Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray (1992)**](https://www.amazon.com/Men-Mars-Women-Venus-Understanding/dp/0060574216) – This book was spotted on Namjoon’s book shelf from his April 2020 weverse post | A #1 New York Times Bestseller, this book has helped highlight how different men and women can be in their communication styles, emotional needs and modes of behaviour, and offers the secrets of communicating without conflicts… |
| [**The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (2020)**](https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Library-Novel-Matt-Haig/dp/1443455873) – Recommended by Namjoon during In The Soop Season 2 | When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. |
| [**Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (1987)**](https://www.amazon.com/Norwegian-Wood-Haruki-Murakami/dp/0375704027) – Namjoon shared that this was a favorite book of one his closest friends in a Sept 2015 interview for ASTA TV | A magnificent coming of age story steeped in nostalgia, a masterly novel blending the music, the mood and the ethos that were the sixties with a young man’s hopeless and heroic first love. |
| [**In Praise of Love by Alain Badiou (2012)**](https://www.amazon.com/Praise-Love-Alain-Badiou/dp/1595588779) – Namjoon shared a screen capture of a page from the book on his Instagram stories | In a world rife with consumerism, where online dating promises risk-free romance and love is all too often seen as a mere variant of desire and hedonism, Alain Badiou believes that love is under threat. Taking to heart Rimbaud’s famous line “love needs reinventing,” In Praise of Love is the celebrated French intellectual’s passionate treatise in defense of love. |
| [**Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (2013)**](https://www.amazon.com/Me-Before-You-Trilogy/dp/0143124544) – Namjoon recommended the book in an interview for Japanese magazine Haru Hana | A Love Story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart? |

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# [**Strong Power, Thank You**](https://youtu.be/xAgxfLUffHg?si=oyHtIlXvf_ELtnyL&t=134)

*Below is a discussion guide. We will also be preparing some questions for you!*

– Book specific questions: TBA
– *Fan Chant*: Hype/overall reviews
– *Ments*: favorite quotes
– *ARMY Time*: playlist/recommendations of songs you associate with the book/chapters/characters
– *Do The Wave*: sentiments, feels, realizations based on the book
– *Encore/Post Club-read Depression Prevention*: something the book club can do afterwards (on one’s own leisure time) to help recover from the book hangover.

***

# Before we say *badbye*…

As always, if you have questions or suggestions on how we can make discussions even better please let us know. You can post it here or feel free to reach out to any of our lovely volunteers and mods!

With luv,

Our book club volunteers:

– /u/EveryCliche
– /u/munisme
– /u/mucho_thankyou5802
– /u/Next_Grapefruit_3206

And the r/bangtan Mod Team

# [**See y’all soon and thank you!**](https://media.giphy.com/media/Yoo2C3MY5ZhPr6xe3q/giphy.gif)

*Vote for the book you would like to discuss in the next book club!*

[View Poll](https://www.reddit.com/poll/1chd7ow)

by munisme