Book Club with a Tea Tie-In

322 Replies
yssah said

is it too late to join in? i would like samples of both teas too but cant message either of you yet. added both Josie Jade and Serenity already tho ^^

Welcome! Grab the book & start reading! I also have some tea to share, Czar Nicholas II ‘St Valentine’s’. Let me know if you’d like a sample.

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Serenity said

I have finished reading Anna Karenina. I will always be grateful that Josie suggested this tea book club, because I don’t know if I ever would have gotten around to reading it. It was on my to-read list, but for some reason, I thought it would be less enjoyable than I found it to be. I loved it. There is plenty of time to read it, so don’t rush, and newcomers feel free to join in!

yssah said

hi! how do i message you for the sample?

Serenity said

Hi there, I just sent you a message and you can message me back if you’d like. I have the caffeine free sample of a tisane that I thought would pair nicely with this book, and Josie Jade has the official The Republic of Tea’s Anna Karenina blend of roses and smoky black tea. TRoT blend I chose is rooibos based and has flavors of chocolate and strawberry.

I think you have to ‘follow’ people in order to send them messages.

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Just finished reading AK. To be such a loooonnnnggg book, it was an easy read:)

Serenity said

I thought so, too.

TeaLady441 said

I’m 60% through but slowing down a bit. There’s just a lot that I get bogged down with, (I.e. Levin and his philosophies) that I feel like I’ll have to start skimming some of it if I ever hope to finish.

Josie Jade said

I’m in the same boat as you, Cavocorax! I love Levin, but all of these farming philosophy conversations are tad bit boring.

TeaLady441 said

Hehe. Glad to hear I’m not the only one!

Serenity said

I love how in literature of that era the author can just go OFF and spout all this opinion stuff, weather it is about religion, philosophy, etc—! That so would not fly in contemporary fiction! And I know, at a few points, I was like, Levin, Levin, enough already, c’mon Tolstoy, move it ALONG, sir!!

Levin is my favorite character in the book! I actually love all his philosophising, farming projects, etc.
I still have quite a ways to go in the book. I haven’t really been reading much lately.

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TeaRunner said

I just joined Steepster today and instead of checking out info on tea, was immediately drawn to the reading club. I remember loving Anna Karenina when I first read it …( er? thirty years ago?) And I just got a Kindle for Christmas! Can I still join the club? Please? I promise to read really fast!

Serenity said

Of course!! Welcome to Steepster and this here book club thing!

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TeaLady441 said

I was hoping to make it through the whole book without charging my kindle. :P It just died yesterday when I was 60% through. Oh well! :P

I better pick up the pace if I plan to finish on time, but I did sample the Anna Karenina tea and really enjoyed it. I notice there’s only one review for it. Are we waiting until the 25th to post tea reviews too?

TeaRunner said

Anna Karenina tea reviews on Amazon repeatedly mention the intense smokiness. I once tasted a tea in a tea house that was described as such and hated it – it made me think of how long-used car tires must taste! So I was hesitant before ordering a whole tin of that tea – I wonder if you guys would still have an extra tea bag? I ordered rose buds, though, to be used in future custom mixings and another kind of rose-flavored tea and I will be happy to share some of them when they arrive.

Back to the book now, not much time left!
This is so much fun!

Josie Jade said

Hi TeaRunner, you can pm me your address and I’ll send you some of the Anna K. tea.

Serenity said

TeaRunner, that’s so cool you’ve ordered rose buds!

TeaRunner said

I seem to be obsessed with rose buds and petals ever since I joined this Club! I unearthed a white tea with rose petals that I brought back from Poland (my native country, where hot black tea seems to be our national drink) last year and somehow never opened – now I can’t stop drinking the darn thing! But among the ingredients some flavors are mentioned, and rose buds alone might not be enough to get that taste, especially with black tea that I intend to use first.
Have you guys ever added your own flavorings to tea? Any success? I once bought some fragrant oils at Marshalls with no clear purpose for them, I wonder if they might come in handy now.
No need to mention that all this is seriously detracting me from the book!!!

Em said

TeaRunner, I have never tried mixing my own flavors to tea, but I would suggest using a bit of rose water to make your tea taste more like the rose you are enjoying. I use rose water in desserts, but I’ve never tried it in tea. It’s just a thought.

TeaRunner said

Thanks Em, will do. Sounds like just the right enhancement.
Amazon dot com – here I come again! Never quite went back to normal after Black Friday…

Serenity said

TeaRunner you’ll have to let us know how your alchemy turns out!

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yssah said

oh, i was going to wait until Shabbat to enjoy it since i didnt have much loose tea but i got a few on hand now so yea, will sip it tomorrow :)

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I’m finally at the 50% mark on this book!

I still have a ton of the Czar Nicholas II “St Valentine’s Tea”, which I ordered to enjoy with the book as well. The package was 8.8 oz, which is a ridiculous amount of tea! It’s very heady with roses, fruit, & black tea. If anyone wants some, please let me know, I’d gladly share it.

The truth is, I haven’t drank any of the teas while reading the book, as I usually save my reading for in bed. At that point of the day, I don’t want any caffeine, or any fluids, for that matter.

TeaLady441 said

I’d like to try a sample, if you don’t mind shipping it to Canada.
8.8 oz is A LOT. (Well, more than I’ve bought of any one tea). I hope you like it.

I know what you mean about it being hard to match the tea with the book. It seems I get most of my reading done at 2AM. :P

TeaRunner said

I’d love to try some. Could you add me to the people you follow so I can PM you my info?
Thanks Terri!

Great! send me your mailing addresses (if you haven’t already), @ I’ll get those out tomorrow.

yssah said

Pls send me some too Terri, I like rose teas! Following you :)

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TeaLover58 said

Okay, maybe I’m too late to join in on this…but are there plans for another book/tea series?

Serenity said

Hi TeaLover58, I’d love to have another book/tea club after this one. Please feel free to join in this time; it isn’t closed or anything formal like that! : D

TeaLover58 said

I want to, but I just have so much going on the rest of this month, I hate having to rush through things and would really want to participate in the discussion on the 25th, but by the time I got the book anyway I’m not sure I’d be done with it by then. I’ll be looking forward to the next one for sure!

Serenity said

Totes understand, it is not only of those, “oh I can get through this in a weekend” types of books! Next one for sure. Start thinking about books you’d love to discuss!

TeaLover58 said

Will do!

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ashmanra said

I want to do this, too! How have I missed it? :)

Serenity said

More the merrier…!

Just start reading! You’ve still got some time!

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TeaRunner said

How is everybody doing with the book?
At 30 % a week before the deadline I executed a reality check and experienced a moment of profound insight when a (harsh!) voice said to me, “Who are you kidding?” and I therefore immediately switched to emergency mode – I am basically reading the book on Kindle, but I also borrowed the book on CDs from the library so I listen as I drive to/from work and keep the Literature Project version open on the computer at work (fingers on Alt+Tab) for those slower moments. It takes a little time finding my place when I switch between different media, but is totally worth it! Am I in the realm of obsessive-compulsive?

Serenity said

TeaRunner! You are amazing! Cue the Rocky soundtrack, amiright, Josie Jade?

Josie Jade said

Haha, I sat down and did the math last night of how many pages I will need to read per day to finish in time. Good thing we will hopefully have a snow day tomorrow!

You can do it TeaRunner! We can set up a little banner for you to run through as a finish line :)

TeaRunner said

Ha ha ha! I must be in My Morning Mate-induced manic state! :)
I was thinking, though, that we might consider discussing the tea first? Just a (desperate) thought…

Serenity said

TeaRunner & all: regarding discussing the tea first, I don’t see why not…yea or nay, Gentle Readers?

I am sipping the Republic of Tea AK blend right now. I did not think I would like it as much as I do, it is very mild…I only brewed for 2 min. I was worried about the level of smoke in the tea. The rose petals seem to add a creaminess to the tea, is that possible? My next tasting, I will add milk and sugar and perhaps brew for 3 minutes to compare.

I’m at 63%, with very little time to read, mostly in the evening on the weekends. Any idea how we are going to go about this discussion? A section at a time? By character? Just curious :)

Serenity said

If you’d like, Josie Jade & I have a Penguin reading group guide, with some background information and some questions to spark discussion. We can post that and take it question by question, or however everyone would like to go about it.

It doesn’t matter to me, I was just curious to know. Personally, I think it’s pretty cool that we all read the same book! Thanks to you & Josie!

TeaLady441 said

I think the reading guide questions seem like a good ways to start!

I agree. I am so ready to talk about this book with you guys:)

Serenity said

Cool, me too, looking forward to the 25th. Meantime, wasn’t it so cool when Levin—NO spoiler alert! Ok, let me just say, remember when Kitty was at the sp- NOOoooOOO, I will wait until the 25th.

TeaRunner said

Ready or not – bring it on!
Serenity – ha ha ha!

Josie Jade said

Ahhhh, just finished the book after getting hooked on it and reading non-stop for the past 2 days. The last 300 pages of the book sucked me right in, finally! So ready to discuss this book (and tea!) so soon! Enjoy, fellow readers who are still reading. :)

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