UK Book Club discussion

I'm sure a few of you will agree with me that the group book reads didn't go all that well last year (and I'll take the blame for that!) So, this year I'm gonna do better!
To start with, I think I may choose a few random books from people's 'to-read' list, and have less in the poll as there aren't that many members yet. If anyone does have any book they really want to read, then post it here. I also think I might limit the books to about 250 pages, which, although it means we can't read a lot of books, will make it easier for everyone to find the time to read the book.
I'll leave it a few days before making the poll so anyone can write any special requests or ideas here :)

what about Alice in Wonderland

That's not a bad idea! I'll make sure to add it to the poll :)

Hi Zoe,
This is probably inappropriate, certainly cheeky, why not my current one, 'the day the ravens died', I'll even supply a few copies foc. If you think it's not up to the mark then you can at least tell me why, face to face at Winchester and get me to say sorry for writing it, and a promise to do better next time. I suppose what I'm really saying is why not try a print on demand book, it doesn't have to be mine, there really are some cracking good authors out there. All the best, Paul Rix [oldgeezer:]

That's not a bad idea - depends what other people think. The only reason I was saying well known books is that they are easier to get hold of in libraries and things!

Hi Zoe,
If they want to try, let me know and I'll see what I can do, they are a lot easier to get than people think! The difficult bit is getting potential readers to even be aware of a particular book. If mine doesn't appeal as it is a terrorist thingy and politicaly incorrect then try nominating a genre and I'll see what I can do as I have access via my publisher to about eight hundred titles on every subject going! and they are all available as E-books as well as paperback, there are even some hard covers,though these do tend to be a bit pricey.!
All the best,
Paul Rix [old geezer:]

Hey guys!

I'm up for it, I like reading new writers...

I like this idea too, how about having two options for the book club one easy to get hold title and one print on demand book, that way people can choose which depending on what they can get hold of.

Hi,
good to see a bit of support and enthusiasm, it might be a bit surprising to some people not all print on demand authors are new ones! I don't know how many of you know the name Ida Pollock, over the years she has had well over 100 titles published under several names. She is the lady who married Enid Blytons ex. Guess what, she has just published her auto biog. with Authors on Line and she is 101!! making her the second centenarian on their books, the other is Neil Arden [ask your grandmother:] he was the Terry Wogan and Michael Parkinson of his day rolled into one! He is the guy who started housewifes choice one the bbc light program!! and he still plays golf!!!!There has to be hope for me yet!
All the best Paul Rix
maybe not so [oldgeezer:]

I try anything too!

Sam wrote: "I like this idea too, how about having two options for the book club one easy to get hold title and one print on demand book, that way people can choose which depending on what they can get hold of."

That's not a bad idea! I'll create two polls and then people can choose whether to do one, both or neither - doing both will help with everyone's 50 books in a year challenge :)

ps. I've almost finished Education, Edukation, Edukashun so will send it in a few days!

Glad to have helped solve the problem :-)

And thanks very much again :-D

I just got back from shopping in Asda and couldn't resist buying some books on special offer, so I now have a copy of Alice in Wonderland. Oops! :)

Zoe wrote: "I just got back from shopping in Asda and couldn't resist buying some books on special offer, so I now have a copy of Alice in Wonderland. Oops! :)"

I was at the cinema last night (seeing Avatar in 3D) and the trailer for Tim Burton's Alice was on. Looks absolutely stunning, especially in 3D. Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, what more could you want.

Peter

Oooh! I may have to go and see that, I used to love Alice in Wonderland!! And I'll never complain to see Johnny Depp in a film either! :)

Johnny is THE BEST!!!!... I've actually never read Alice in Wonderland but I absolutely want to go and see the film, that's why I want to read the book now, before I go, and that's why I was suggesting it!! ;o)

The movie is out on the 5th March (not that I've been counting it down since last year or anything...) and it does look amazing, the Burton-Depp combo is always one to watch :-)

Haha, the movie doesn't come out in my nearest cinema until 10th March apparently :( How about we definitely read Alice in Wonderland as a group read and I also make a poll for less well-known books for everyone to choose from? :)

Oh gutting, that doesn't seem fair :-( I'm up for that (better start digging out my copy...if I still have it lol)

Sounds good. I will put it on the pile. :)

Re: the film. Will you be able to see it in 3D? I saw my first film in 3D a couple of days ago and I'm hooked. Some like Alice will be spectacular in 3D and I imagine Tim Burton will make full use of it.

Yep - it's 3D!! :D
What film did you see in 3D? My first 3D film was Avatar. I thought it was cool! Not like the 3D TV week which I couldn't tell any difference with.

Avatar was amazing in 3D, but my first 3D film was The Final Destination (the fourth one of said franchise) and I was not impressed, although the effects were good they'd obviously made as much as possible fly out of the screen at you which resulted in them losing a lot of the creativity they'd had in the previous 3 films, which really spoilt it for me as it got very predictable.

Avatar 3D is still the only 3D film I've seen, and I think that they didn't ignore the film just for the 3D effects, and Tim Burton is usually good, so I'm hoping that he just uses 3D-ness to enhance the film, not make the 3D the main aspect.
Pandora in Avatar looked amazing and I wanna live there!! It also meant I ordered the PC game, just so I can be in Pandora haha. Waiting for it to turn up still though.

It was Avatar that I saw. I agree that the 3D in the film wasn't a gimmick it was just part of the film. I also thought that the Na'vi (? blue aliens) were impressive. You could see the features of the actors underneath (if that makes sense).

And, being a James Cameron film, there were fricking great big robots (well, power suits)! He seems to like them. Though they were strangely absent from Titantic! :)

Haha, I think it'd be a little odd to see robots in Titanic, but I do think they should do a remix of it with big robots in!

I think the 3D got much better once in Pandora. When the film first started I was a little unsure as to whether it made much difference. You can play the Avatar games in 3D if you have the right equipment.

I watched Avatar last night (I love the way this has become a movie thread!! lol!) and the 3D was amazing, but I thought the story was a bit dull... quite like Pocahontas... ;o)

Haha yeah, first book for 2010 turned into a movie! :P I thought the story was quite good but nothing special!

Do people want to start deciding on a next group read or have a little longer to read Alice?

I'm ready for the next one when you guys are!

Ok, well if we start deciding?
In another post I gave a link to the Times 50 best writers since '45 and some people suggested having it as a challenge alongside the 50 books in a year, so how about we read a book by an author off this list?
I suggest A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. What do you all want to read? :)

I think the main reason why I want to read it is that everytime I think of the title I think of a Terry's chocolate orange with little feet and a wind-up thing :) Pretty sure that's not what the book's about though haha.

Zoe, where is that list?? I'd love to have a look!

✿ Deni wrote: "Zoe, where is that list?? I'd love to have a look!"

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...

I would like read Clockwork Orange too Zoe, been sat on my shelves for ages

Cool! Well I've added Clockwork Orange to our upcoming reads (mainly bc it's a feature I've not used before), so I'll leave it there and anyone who wants to read it can join in :)

Zoe - Love the idea of wind up Terry's Chocolate Oranges! I have found two in my cupboard that I bought for Christmas and forgot about! Maybe they come to life in the dead of night!

I've put it up starting on 1st March, that'll give people who don't have it a chance to get hold of it :) I'll have to get to the library!

I have a Terry's Choc Orange on my desk :D But if it ever came alive at night it doesn't anymore because I've eaten half of it :D

I'll be up for 'A Chocolate Orange', oh, I mean 'A Clockwork Orange'!!!!

Okay, all this talk of chocolate oranges is making me hungry!!! And want to read a Clockwork Orange!!!

Haha, I have a chocolate orange (well, half of one) on my desk waiting to be eaten :D
Damn, forgot to go to the library today!! Was gonna look for Clockwork Orange - keep getting confused as to whether it's Chocolate or Clockwork now!!

Ooooh, Zoe, lucky thing!!!! I haven't had a Terry's Chocolate Orange for the longest time (I particularly like the dark one). You can't get them out here in Singapore. My other half is back in the UK this week, I may see if he can pick one up for me. Luckily, they do import Green & Black's, so all is not lost....

Jo wrote: "I love the dark one too. I haven't had one in years! I am starting CLOCKWORK Orange today."

How're you getting on with it? (The book not the chocolate). Have you got your head around the style? It's got a language all of it's own hasn't it? Some editions come with a glossary of terms - sadly not mine though.

Em wrote: "Have you got your head around the style? It's got a language all of it's own hasn't it? Some editions come with a glossary of terms - sadly not mine though. "

I'd quite like to read this book at some point too. Will be interesting what people make of it. Em, have you acquired a glossary from anywhere else? Someone linked to this one in one of the reviews on here. They found it very useful

No, I didn't find a glossary - just struggled on without! This is fab, thank you James - big help!

Hmmm, yes you're right. Sometimes seeing a film version first does change how you experience the book. I think it's a worth while effort to read but I wouldn't class it as an easy read. Not just the language because a few chapters in you do get used to that but because it has such a menacing feel to it. I am a bit over senstive I know but couldn't actually read it at bedtime!

I bought this from ebay yesterday, so I will hopefully be reading it soon. No Spoilers please.