Topic: The QC forum book group - nominations thread (Read 19076 times)

Inlander · « **on:** 24 Mar 2010, 20:05 »

A little while Ali-fatty approached me asking if I'd like to start up a book group, which apparently several members of the QC forum wanted.

I said that sounded like a great idea and that I'd happily do it.

Then I procrastinated for . . . Oh, about a month.

Then I made this thread!

So anyway I've been puzzling over how to work this. I tried a similar thing over on Aurostion where I unilaterally suggested five or so books in a poll and people voted for them, but I think this forum is a little too large to get away with that. So here's what I propose: people should use this thread to nominate a book they'd like to read and discuss with other people on the forum. It can be fiction or non-fiction, any topic, provided only that (A) it's reasonably easy to get a hold of (people need to be able to find it to read it), and (B) it's not too long (people have busy lives).

If you like someone's book suggestion, post your agreement ("Seconded", "Agreed", "Hell yeah!", whatever as long as it's clear). The first SIX books that receive THREE endorsements (including the original nomination) will be the Finalists, and I will then proceed to creat a poll (in this thread or another) so that we can vote on what book we want to read and discuss for our inaugural QC Forum Book Club Discussion-o-rama.

I hope that's not too complicated.

And go!

Lines · « **Reply #1 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 20:26 »

This sounds like a great idea! I need a new book to read, so I'm in. I don't have any suggestions though because I'm hoping for books I haven't read yet.

20 jazz funk greats · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 20:27 »

nominating cat's cradle which i haven't actually finished yet, but hey.

the_pied_piper · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 20:29 »

Nominating Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy because it will finally give me a reason to get around to reading it.

JD · « **Reply #4 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 20:32 »

I nominate The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

scarred · « **Reply #5 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 20:35 »

I picked the worst time to start reading Dune again.

Lines · « **Reply #6 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 20:35 »

I second both Vonnegut books, as I have read neither.

20 jazz funk greats · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 20:35 »

seconding that toni morrison suggestion, don't really have anything to say about the others.

a pack of wolves · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 20:50 »

Thirding Toni Morrison, since she's great and I haven't read that one so I'd like to anyway.

Since I think we've had all fiction so far I'll suggest Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes. I think it's pretty easy to get hold of and it looks interesting, it's about photography as well as his reflections on his mother as she'd died just before he wrote it.

a pack of wolves · « **Reply #9 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 21:07 »

Do they hoarsely cry "death of the author!" by any chance? We had that one beaten into us in first year. Good read (and helpfully short), that essay's in Image/Music/Text if I remember right and pretty essential business for literature study. It's the only Barthes I've read myself so my reasoning is much like yours. This one's a bit more lyrical and playful, seemed a very pleasant read and not dry at all when I had a look at the first few pages.

Joseph · « **Reply #10 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 21:42 »

"Mythologies" is fairly interesting. I would be up for reading it again.

If we are going down that path, I would also nominate Alain Robbe-Grillet's The Erasers. Robbe-Grillet is thought of as the creator of the French "Nouveau Roman", and frequently pops up in Barthe's essays. The books of his I have read have been excellent, though difficult - there is a preoccupation with descriptions of scenery and objects, and essentially no time is given to 'psychology'. The Erasers was his first novel, and supposedly his most conventional, though I have not read it to confirm this.

Or, for something more easy to approach, Nicholson Baker's new novel, The Anthologist. I started a thread about Baker once before (I would change a bunch if I were writing it now, I obviously did not edit it very well at all), and he is easily one of my favourite living writers (Hilary Mantel, Marilynne Robinson and Alice Munro would be the other contenders). The issue here is that the book is still in hardcover, and would be expensive.

Inlander · « **Reply #11 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 21:51 »

Okay!

Quote from: Jeans on 24 Mar 2010, 20:28

Sula, by Toni Morrison

Is our first finalist.

For the record, I'm going to second The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo because I'm curious to see what all the fuss is about, but not so curious that I don't need a lame excuse like "it's for book club" to go out and actually get a copy of the thing.

I'm also going to nominate an interesting novel I read recently, Netherland by Joseph O'Neill.

RallyMonkey · « **Reply #12 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 22:13 »

I just looked up Netherland, and think I might go try to pick that up from the library tomorrow. So, I guess I am seconding it.

20 jazz funk greats · « **Reply #13 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 22:33 »

thirding the girl with the dragon tattoo, just for the hell of putting more books on my to-read list.
thirding mythologies.

seconding the erasers, i guess.

Inlander · « **Reply #14 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 23:04 »

Actually that's only a second vote for Mythologies, the first Barthes suggestion was Camera Lucida.

Still, two slots down!

Quote from: Jeans on 24 Mar 2010, 20:28

Sula, by Toni Morrison

Quote from: Zombiedude on 24 Mar 2010, 20:32

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Four to go.

Joseph · « **Reply #15 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 23:20 »

Quote from: Inlander on 24 Mar 2010, 23:04

Actually that's only a second vote for Mythologies, the first Barthes suggestion was Camera Lucida.

Oh, hey, for whatever reason I swore I had read Mythologies in the original post. I'll second Camera Lucida, and remove my Mythologies vote, as I'd rather read some Barthes I haven't looked at before.

JD · « **Reply #16 on:** 24 Mar 2010, 23:27 »

One more nomination: The Professor and The Madman.

It's been out for 12 years yet I can't fin anyone who has read it. :[

october1983 · « **Reply #17 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 03:52 »

I'll throw my vote behind any Vonnegut on account of the fact that there is basically no excuse for me having read nothing of his ever.

Zingoleb · « **Reply #18 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 04:20 »

Quote from: Linds on 24 Mar 2010, 20:35

I second both Vonnegut books, as I have read neither.

Was going to just quote this until I saw this:

Quote from: october1983 on 25 Mar 2010, 03:52

I'll throw my vote behind any Vonnegut on account of the fact that there is basically no excuse for me having read nothing of his ever.

So, yeah, Vonnegut. Whoo!

Inlander · « **Reply #19 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 04:28 »

I'm going to take those as being nominations for the two Vonnegut books suggested so far, Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse 5; however I'm going to use my executive powers to rule out Slaughterhouse 5 because (A) that's the book we did when we tried this over on Aurostion, and (B) I've already read it twice and even though it's an amazing book I wouldn't mind reading something new. So, with all that in mind the three brackets filled so far are:

Sula, by Toni Morrison

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson

Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

Three to go, then it's voting time!

a pack of wolves · « **Reply #20 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 06:01 »

We've got three for Camera Lucida as well, I think.

Inlander · « **Reply #21 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 06:21 »

Right you are.

Sula, by Toni Morrison

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson

Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

Camera Lucida, by Roland Barthes

Two slots left!

KickThatBathProf · « **Reply #22 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 06:28 »

Second Blood Meridian

David_Dovey · « **Reply #23 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 06:34 »

Third Blood Meridian, it's on my Audible Wishlist so I was gonna get it anyway, ditto Cat's Cradle.

20 jazz funk greats · « **Reply #24 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 06:46 »

don't wanna read blood meridian bawww. do want to read camera lucida.
whooo.

Inlander · « **Reply #25 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 06:55 »

Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy

One to go guys!

And don't worry if you don't like the book that ends up being voted for, if this goes well we'll make it an ongoing thing. Maybe every month or every six weeks or something.

Inlander · « **Reply #26 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 08:13 »

Well, I'm off to bed. Guess I'll see if that final slot's been decided when I get up in seven or eight hours time.

Must admit, I never thought the first five would go this quickly. Good job, everyone!

negative creep · « **Reply #27 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 08:16 »

Quote from: RallyMonkey on 24 Mar 2010, 22:13

I just looked up Netherland, and think I might go try to pick that up from the library tomorrow. So, I guess I am seconding it.

Thirded.

StaedlerMars · « **Reply #28 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 09:32 »

I could do with re-reading Kurt Vonnegut's books. Definitely need some books to read. Yay!

pilsner · « **Reply #29 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 10:02 »

Dang, that's an eclectic selection. Should be fun to see what's picked. Thanks for picking this up again Harry, it's been a while since the last attempted book club.

mberan42 · « **Reply #30 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 12:36 »

House of Leaves

De_El · « **Reply #31 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 12:51 »

Whoa. I don't know if I'm impressed or just baffled that Camera Lucida made it onto this list. Roland Barthes is so obtuse and academic. Not a bad thing necessarily, but I've only ever read Barthes in the context of a college course, so I'm just a little surprised.

Netherland sounds like it could be really good, though.

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #32 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 14:14 »

I want to nominate Gravity's Rainbow just because I've always wanted to challenge and infuriate myself by trying to read it, but can never actually bring myself to buy it or check it out from the library.

Inlander · « **Reply #33 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 15:23 »

Okay then! As I suspected the final slot went down pretty quickly after I went to bed. That means that NOMINATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.

As you'll see, I've added a poll up the top so you can vote on which of the finalists you want to read. The poll closes in two days, which ought to be enough time for everyone who's interested to vote (given how quickly the nomination process went) and then go out and get a copy of the "winning" book befor the 1st of April. (I figure we may as well try doing this monthly, I think that gives everyone enough time to read a book and then discuss it for a while - let me know if you disagree.)

a pack of wolves · « **Reply #34 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 16:37 »

Quote from: De_El on 25 Mar 2010, 12:51

Whoa. I don't know if I'm impressed or just baffled that Camera Lucida made it onto this list. Roland Barthes is so obtuse and academic. Not a bad thing necessarily, but I've only ever read Barthes in the context of a college course, so I'm just a little surprised.

Well it is philosophy so it's not necessarily the easiest of things, but this is Barthes mourning his mother at the end of his life and getting animated about photography from an amateur's perspective so it feels quite friendly from what I've read so far. According to the blurb on the back it's his most accessible in terms of language and subject matter, and that seems like it might be right from my limited knowledge.

Liz · « **Reply #35 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 17:05 »

Hopefully my library has the winner.

De_El · « **Reply #36 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 18:42 »

That's cool, apw. All I've read is "Death of the Author" and some parts of Mythologies, but I'm sure with a focus like his mother's death and an amateur's love of photography his prose won't float off into pure abstraction so much. He's definitely a compelling writer, in his own way.

yellowfoliage · « **Reply #37 on:** 25 Mar 2010, 19:49 »

Hope it's Blood Meridian. The only one I have read is Cat's Cradle, and that book is pretty darn good.

Joseph · « **Reply #38 on:** 26 Mar 2010, 13:41 »

I'm voting for Barthes. To be honest, I don't really enjoy Vonnegut, and have little interest in reading Morrison, O'Neill, or Larsson. I haven't enjoyed the little bits of McCarthy I've read, but I have been meaning to try Blood Meridian, so I wouldn't be too choked up if that was the selection.

20 jazz funk greats · « **Reply #39 on:** 26 Mar 2010, 14:06 »

throwing votes in the direction of lit crit, because i haven't done that in over 4 years officially.

but yeah, i haven't read barthes at all, it wasn't part of my course requirements ever. and alice munro is lovely.

Emaline · « **Reply #40 on:** 26 Mar 2010, 15:20 »

Quote from: Scandanavian War Machine on 25 Mar 2010, 14:14

I want to nominate Gravity's Rainbow just because I've always wanted to challenge and infuriate myself by trying to read it, but can never actually bring myself to buy it or check it out from the library.

I'm down with this next time voting comes around. I actually came to this thread to recommend some Pynchon.

yellowfoliage · « **Reply #41 on:** 26 Mar 2010, 16:59 »

Please don't give me a reason to try Pynchon again. Against the Day made my brain hurt.

20 jazz funk greats · « **Reply #42 on:** 26 Mar 2010, 19:41 »

i have no idea who this joseph fella is but i may wanna borrow a book or two from him.

people who quote cat's cradle at each other are just way too cute sometimes. ha.

20 jazz funk greats · « **Reply #43 on:** 26 Mar 2010, 19:45 »

also i am too cute for my own good and shorten people's names so they end in y more often than not.

hi joey, didn't we talk when i was still in high school. maybe? you were you and being all adorably geeky. i was being a typical overachiever type lady with a thing for older and smarter boys.

Sox · « **Reply #44 on:** 27 Mar 2010, 11:30 »

Quote from: Inlander on 25 Mar 2010, 15:23

Okay then! As I suspected the final slot went down pretty quickly after I went to bed. That means that NOMINATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.

As you'll see, I've added a poll up the top so you can vote on which of the finalists you want to read. The poll closes in two days, which ought to be enough time for everyone who's interested to vote (given how quickly the nomination process went) and then go out and get a copy of the "winning" book befor the 1st of April. (I figure we may as well try doing this monthly, I think that gives everyone enough time to read a book and then discuss it for a while - let me know if you disagree.)

A month is a LONG time. Especially in the age of the internet when a lot of books are available for download. For free, even, if you want to go that route. It's also long enough for people to lose interest. Acquiring books is easy for anybody who's interested, everybody involved is guaranteed to already have the internet, otherwise they wouldn't be here. It shouldn't really take anybody more than a week to actually read a book, surely?
Am I wrong? Am I unrealistic? Two hours a day, everyday for a week, that's more than enough time to surely finish any book?
Of course, I know that IS an unrealistic expectation, given that a lot of people would struggle to find a few hours every single day. People who'd much rather hang out with friends or go for a drink and have jobs and relationships and real lives. Losers.
With a month, you have a situation where a lot of people who've already read the book are waiting for everybody else to finish. They're itching to read the next book and discuss that, but it's still three weeks away. Because those other people have lives, or are slow readers or something. Not an ideal situation.

My suggestion, is every two weeks. Even though I think that's still too generous.

october1983 · « **Reply #45 on:** 27 Mar 2010, 11:41 »

But Darryl lots of people are too busy to be able to read that quickly (I guess it depends on the length of the book, too) - and what's stopping people discussing it before absolutely everyone has finished? Those still going should just avoid the thread for fear of spoilers. Given that we have to read a book, have a decent amount of time for discussion and then pick a new text, it seems like even 2 weeks would be cutting it fine as a turnaround. A month sounds like a good length of time to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on already busy people who might want to take part.

Sox · « **Reply #46 on:** 27 Mar 2010, 12:30 »

You're right.
I say, screw those people! They're not dedicated enough! Want to sleep? DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, READ A BOOK!
Want to eat? FORGET IT! READ A BOOK!
Would you like to spend time with your significant other, or spend time raising your children? FUCK YOU, READ A BOOK!

20 jazz funk greats · « **Reply #47 on:** 27 Mar 2010, 12:33 »

^^ pretty much this.

20 jazz funk greats · « **Reply #48 on:** 27 Mar 2010, 12:33 »

oh hey, an accidental page break.

JD · « **Reply #49 on:** 27 Mar 2010, 14:17 »

Poll ends in 3 minutes and it's a tie.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Poll

Which book would you like to read & then discuss?

Author Topic: The QC forum book group - nominations thread (Read 19076 times)

Zingoleb