We kicked it a little old school this month with some picks from the master himself: Shakespeare! And quite a few ladies shared their favorite plays, which Melanie and I are so grateful to each and every one of you for. Without you, there is no Calendar Girls! So, thank you so much for participating this month and for spreading the word. We love the returned interest each month and had so much fun seeing your picks for ‘Best Shakespeare Play.’ For those of you seeing or hearing about Calendar Girls for the first time, you can find out more about this monthly blog event here and here! But less rambles, and on to the nominees!

– Best Shakespeare Play –

Melanie – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Flavia – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Darque Dreamer – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shanah – The Merchant of Venice
Mandy – Much Ado About Nothing
Thai – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Sophie – Romeo & Juliet
Lauren – Twelfth Night
Deanna – Hamlet

Melanie and I were quite sure there would be duplicates this month. However, we presumed they would be Romeo & Juliet or perhaps Macbeth (which wasn’t even chosen, by the way!) Still, there was a range from comedy to tragedy and a wide spectrum of versatility among the choices! So, if you haven’t read much Shakespeare, this list might be a good place to start. By the way, if you haven’t had the chance to comment and discuss with other Calendar Girls about their pick, you can go and do so now. Just click a book cover or link above and it will take you right to that blogger’s post where you can leave a comment!

– Most Popular Pick –

Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll this month! We didn’t have nearly as many choices as last month because there were a couple of repeats. But that must just mean that those books are amazing! Still, there was a unanimous winner for ‘Best Shakespeare Play!’

And the winner by popular vote is… *drum roll*

It’s little surprise that A Midsummer Night’s Dream was chosen as the most popular pick because it was the most popular choice in the reveal posts! It would seem that Shakespeare really outdid himself with this comedy. But who doesn’t love fairies, mischief, lovers, and an inevitable dose of laughter? Because that’s surely provided by this play. Even with it’s excessively old language, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy through and through. If you haven’t checked it out already, many of us Calendar Girls recommend you do so right away!

– #CGBChat –

I was back for our June Calendar Girls chat on Twitter and I was so happy to be able to participate, because it was a blast! On Monday, June 19th, some lovely ladies joined us on the hashtag to discuss Shakespeare’s plays… and a bunch of other things.  It actually got quite a bit tangenty, but hey! That’s what makes it fun, right? But don’t take my word for it, check out the chat through storify here.

Miss this month’s #CGBChat? No worries! There’s another one coming up on Sunday, July 16th at 8PM EST where we’ll be discussing fairytales, their transition into modern society, and a few of their retellings! We really hope to see you there.

P.s. We have a Calendar Girls Twitter Group Chat and would love for you to join us! If you are not part of it already, tweet @NoellBernard or @FlavBibliophile to be added! We hope to see you there!

– Updates –

Speaking of #CGBChat, it seems many of you have been unable to join us, and it’s such a shame! We want everyone to be able to chat, and some suggestions about possible changes were offered up this time.  After some consideration, Melanie and I threw it back to you with a couple of polls. Thank you for all the votes and here are the changes we’ll be making to future #CGBChats!

From now on #CGBChats will be held on the 3rd Sunday of the month, as it seems Mondays are just horrible days for most people to chat.  Secondly, we have changed the chat time from 7PM to 8PM as was voted by all of you! So, July’s #CGBChat will take place on Sunday, July 16th @ 8PM EST! (5PM PST/1AM GMT)

– Read-A-Long –

Say what?! That’s right! It was suggested during one of the monthly polls that we do a little more to engage with each other. This is a great idea! Melanie and I are ecstatic because interaction between readers and bloggers is what Calendar Girls is all about!

And the amazing news is that we’ll be hosting our first read-a-long in July! Melanie will be hosting while those of you participating will read Roseblood by A. G. Howard! And how will this work, you ask? Please keep reading for further instructions, or if you’re not interested, please skip to the next section!

Melanie and the read-a-long participants will be reading the selected book you all voted for (Roseblood by A. G. Howard) over the course of 1 week. Every 2 days, Melanie will host a discussion on her blog regarding the chapters you were scheduled to read (around 100 pages), and we invite everyone to share their thoughts and chat with the other read-a-longers! Each discussion post will be pubbed on Melanie’s blog no later than 10AM EST. However, you are welcome to comment and chat whenever is best for you! Below is a list of the discussion dates. Oh! And while you’re reading, feel free to share your progress and/or non-spoilered thoughts (because Roseblood just pubbed in January) on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CGBReadalong so other readers can see what you think and chime in.

Schedule
July 10th: Discuss chapters 1-7
July 12th: Discuss chapters 8-13
July 14th: Discuss chapters 14-19
July 16th: Discuss chapters 20-24 (The End!)

– July’s Theme –

Please remember that July’s theme is:

Best Fairytale Retelling

And we look forward to seeing the books you will all
be choosing in your reveal posts on July 3rd (next Monday)!

– Thank You –

That’s all for June! Thank you so much for participating again this month. Calendar Girls wouldn’t be here without you and we hope you’ll join us again for July! We also hope you had so much fun that you can’t help but wrangle up a few more friends to join because we think we can all agree that bookish discussions are way more fun with more people, right?  To help spread the word, please use the hashtag #CalendarGirlsBooks on Twitter & Instagram, and feel free to use the Calendar Girls logo. Click here for the url.

P.s. Just because it’s called Calendar ‘Girls’ doesn’t mean only girls can join! Invite everyone you know, whatever gender they may be!

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN CALENDAR GIRLS, AS WELL AS THOSE OF YOU WHO TOOK THE TIME TO CHAT WITH US AND OFFER THE VALUABLE FEEDBACK WE WERE ABLE TO USE IN ORDER TO IMPROVE CALENDAR GIRLS! THIS EVENT WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT ALL OF YOU! SO THANK YOU, AND WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL STAY WITH US AS 2017 CONTINUES! FOR THOSE OF YOU THINKING OF JOINING, OR WHO HAVE JUST HEARD OF CALENDAR GIRLS, WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL JOIN IN THE FUN AND ALSO PROVIDE ANY FEEDBACK WHICH MAY COME TO MIND! FEEL FREE TO CONTACT EITHER MELANIE OR MYSELF, OR LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!