Look out for the Quickpoll for voting on the books.
These are the choices for each one, as these are the books that got more than one vote:
SF/F:
- The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway
- Julian Comstock by Robert Charles Wilson
- Magician by Raymond E Feist
- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
OL:
- A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
- Master and MargaritaM by Mikhail Bulgakov
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino
- Possession: A Romance by AS Byatt
Hi all
So, our first Book Club was pretty decent. Thanks for your participation!
It's now time to choose our book for the next event, which will be in mid-January (probably opening on Monday 18 January 2010, just fyi).
Last time we had submissions it was suggested that we might do an "Other Fiction" book. There'll be a Quick Poll (hopefully tomorrow) to vote on this, but for now please make your submissions with that in mind. We can change that when the results are in, if necessary.
Other Fiction refers to books in all fiction genres apart from Sci-Fi or Fantasy (obvious but true). So it could be Crime, Thriller, Romance, Historical, Classical, a literary Classic, or that somewhat-undefined group of books which includes Ishiguro, McEwan, Niffenegger etc.
The list above is not exhaustive, just intended to give you an idea of where to start.
A reminder of what the Book Club is all about, and what kind of books you should suggest.
1. The whole point is for everyone to read the same book and then discuss it.
2. The community chooses a book based on submissions here. We do this via the Quick Poll.
3. The books you suggest should be easy to get and not too difficult to read (so Proust is probably not an option...).
4. Once the book is chosen we then give you 3 or 4 weeks to source it and read it.
5. Finally, on the date above, Jacob or I will make a post with a few starter questions and perhaps some thoughts and then we have a lovely discussion about anything at all to do with the book.
6. Anyone can ask questions, anyone can join in (provided, of course, that you've read the book or want to), and the more who join, the merrier it will be.
If you have any more questions then post them here, or NB Jacob or myself.
Otherwise, post your submissions here.
And thank you!
EDIT: The New and Cunning Plan
So, my darlings.
The site has voted rather overwhelmingly in favour of a Sci-Fi/Fantasy book for the January Book Club, so that's what we'll do.
However: my feeling is that there are enough people interested so we'll also do an Other Fiction book.
That's right: there'll be two Book Clubs in January. We'll start the SF/F one on 18 January, and the OF (or OL, which do you prefer?) one will start a week later, ie 25 January.
Please make your submissions for both SF/F and OF/L books in this post, and we'll vote on them in a week's time (via Quickpoll), leaving a good month for reading.
Obviously, this is going to take dedication from all of you to make it work, so please join in. It's actually quite a lot of fun, and it should encourage diversity of reading. If it works well we'll also do it for the March Book Club.
Thanks, everyone.
These are the choices for each one, as these are the books that got more than one vote:
SF/F:
- The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway
- Julian Comstock by Robert Charles Wilson
- Magician by Raymond E Feist
- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
OL:
- A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
- Master and MargaritaM by Mikhail Bulgakov
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino
- Possession: A Romance by AS Byatt
Hi all
So, our first Book Club was pretty decent. Thanks for your participation!
It's now time to choose our book for the next event, which will be in mid-January (probably opening on Monday 18 January 2010, just fyi).
Last time we had submissions it was suggested that we might do an "Other Fiction" book. There'll be a Quick Poll (hopefully tomorrow) to vote on this, but for now please make your submissions with that in mind. We can change that when the results are in, if necessary.
Other Fiction refers to books in all fiction genres apart from Sci-Fi or Fantasy (obvious but true). So it could be Crime, Thriller, Romance, Historical, Classical, a literary Classic, or that somewhat-undefined group of books which includes Ishiguro, McEwan, Niffenegger etc.
The list above is not exhaustive, just intended to give you an idea of where to start.
A reminder of what the Book Club is all about, and what kind of books you should suggest.
1. The whole point is for everyone to read the same book and then discuss it.
2. The community chooses a book based on submissions here. We do this via the Quick Poll.
3. The books you suggest should be easy to get and not too difficult to read (so Proust is probably not an option...).
4. Once the book is chosen we then give you 3 or 4 weeks to source it and read it.
5. Finally, on the date above, Jacob or I will make a post with a few starter questions and perhaps some thoughts and then we have a lovely discussion about anything at all to do with the book.
6. Anyone can ask questions, anyone can join in (provided, of course, that you've read the book or want to), and the more who join, the merrier it will be.
If you have any more questions then post them here, or NB Jacob or myself.
Otherwise, post your submissions here.
And thank you!
EDIT: The New and Cunning Plan
So, my darlings.
The site has voted rather overwhelmingly in favour of a Sci-Fi/Fantasy book for the January Book Club, so that's what we'll do.
However: my feeling is that there are enough people interested so we'll also do an Other Fiction book.
That's right: there'll be two Book Clubs in January. We'll start the SF/F one on 18 January, and the OF (or OL, which do you prefer?) one will start a week later, ie 25 January.
Please make your submissions for both SF/F and OF/L books in this post, and we'll vote on them in a week's time (via Quickpoll), leaving a good month for reading.
Obviously, this is going to take dedication from all of you to make it work, so please join in. It's actually quite a lot of fun, and it should encourage diversity of reading. If it works well we'll also do it for the March Book Club.
Thanks, everyone.
*MySmiley*
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
This message last edited by Rebekah on 17/12/2009 at 12:50:54 PM
January Book Club: Quickpoll Voting Options
- 30/11/2009 06:24:49 PM
1610 Views
Harkaway!
- 30/11/2009 06:51:57 PM
775 Views
How about "The Count of Monte Cristo"? *NM*
- 30/11/2009 07:23:09 PM
478 Views
It's on my bookshelf but I have never read it. I'd be up for this one, too... *NM*
- 30/11/2009 10:11:52 PM
424 Views
You've removed the other thread already? It was only up a couple weeks.
- 30/11/2009 07:49:46 PM
895 Views
Possession! (Yes, what a shock. 
) *NM*
- 30/11/2009 09:05:00 PM
394 Views
) *NM*
- 30/11/2009 09:05:00 PM
394 Views
Are you referring to "Possession/Shock" the movie combo?
- 30/11/2009 10:17:54 PM
1086 Views
One of the books from aSoIaF, or even the whole series *NM*
- 01/12/2009 12:13:35 AM
514 Views
Nice idea, but we'd really like the book club to be used to encourage people to read books ...
- 03/12/2009 11:21:28 AM
1009 Views
How about Feist's Magician?
- 01/12/2009 08:32:16 AM
960 Views
So you too want to ignore the "Other Fiction" idea? *NM*
- 01/12/2009 05:41:19 PM
408 Views
The quickpoll seems to favor that. *NM*
- 01/12/2009 05:46:33 PM
422 Views
Indeed.
- 01/12/2009 06:43:29 PM
855 Views
I wouldn't mind doing an Other Fiction book, but this is a science fiction fantasy MB.
- 01/12/2009 07:12:28 PM
978 Views
Uh, all I was doing was responding to the original post's request for ideas.
- 01/12/2009 06:54:40 PM
971 Views
Silverthorn was better but okay *NM*
- 03/12/2009 11:28:07 AM
396 Views
I love Silverthorn. Arutha really is one of the best characters in Fantasy.
- 03/12/2009 11:29:34 AM
812 Views
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Calvino
- 02/12/2009 11:29:55 AM
880 Views
"Musashi" by Eiji Yoshikawa ..."The Japanese Gone With the Wind"
- 02/12/2009 04:10:21 PM
831 Views
SF- The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor. OL- The Count of Monte Cristo. *NM*
- 02/12/2009 06:42:12 PM
460 Views
SF: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency; OL: Master and Margarita *NM*
- 02/12/2009 08:58:38 PM
490 Views
Lev Grossman's The Magicians might make for an interesting discussion 
- 03/12/2009 05:40:55 AM
1207 Views
- 03/12/2009 05:40:55 AM
1207 Views
*NM*
OL: David Benioff's City of Thieves. SFF: I'm still up for Feist's Magician. *NM*
- 03/12/2009 11:41:46 PM
566 Views
And I just realized this existed sooo....
- 08/12/2009 01:02:34 AM
1108 Views