Reddit discussion

Y'all want to pick a book and discuss it?

I'm up for anything that's not vampires; I'd even re-read something I've already read just to get the ball rolling.

Any thoughts?

PS - I'm enjoying the influx of friend requests from this subreddit

I see you are reading (re-reading?) Snow Crash. Awesome book. I just finished it again last month.

Great idea. How do you propose we choose a book? Possibly make a post in the book subreddit, and which ever book gets the highest upvotes by a certain time wins?

We could always get a poll put up, maybe have one of the mods here do it and send out a notice. But would it take away from r/bookclub?

I didn't realize there was an ability to poll here. I think a poll on goodreads may be a better idea.

I third the idea of a Goodreads poll. I'm curious to see what other redditors want to read. :D

I think the poll is a good idea.

With respect to /r/bookclub... I didn't know about it, but I certainly don't think we'll interfere with their cause.

So: how about we open nominations for books until... Tuesday, and vote by Friday? Suggestions on the time line are welcome!

Should we narrow down the Genre first, or just go with whatever books are nominated?

Good point Ala. I'll read any and every genre, but is anyone else adverse to anything?

If not, I say anything goes, unless there are objections, of course :-)

I'm in favor of anything going as well, at least for this first book.

I'm fine with Anything goes too. Might give us a feel for what the group as a whole would want to read.

Anyone talk to the mods yet?

Just chiming in to say that I'd like to participate. I've got no genre preferences or anything. Whatever is chosen is fine.

While I love scifi and fantasy, the last half dozen or so books I've read have been of that oeuvre, so I'm ready to switch things up.

Sooooo...I nominate A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole ( http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Conf... )

(close runners up being Blindness by Jose Saramago and Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, to give an idea of my wider tastes)

Please put forth suggestions! I'm hoping for something to jump out at me that I haven't yet considered.

Cheers!

Okay, I think I'll nominate a work by last year's Nobelist, Mario Vargas Llosa:
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aunt_Jul...).

I second the Confederacy of Dunces. Just got this book and have heard good things about it. If not, I'm up for pretty much anything. Nearly done with the book I'm reading now, so it would be great timing!

so i did a super-brief search on a confederacy of dunces and was terrified by the description of it as a "grand comic fugue." anything like catch-22? i wasn't a huge fan and i want to be able to commit to whatever we're reading!

ryan, love both those books, so you've got great taste. was the movie for blindness any good? would love to read a book i haven't read before, though.

i've got a couple books i'm reading right now (wench, the devil in the white city, final salute) but can absolutely pick up anything else.

love this idea!

Just a reminder: PLEASE put forth a book that you would like to read (if you want!) - everybody gets one "nomination."

Then on Wednesday we'll compile all the nominations and put up a poll and have a vote.

IN THE MEAN TIME

Heather wrote: "so i did a super-brief search on a confederacy of dunces and was terrified by the description of it as a "grand comic fugue." anything like catch-22? i wasn't a huge fan and i want to be able to co..."

Understandable! How are you liking Devil in the White City? I hear good things but have never got to it ...

also, I've not seen Blindness; I actually didn't realize it was a movie (silly me). I was about to immediately order it on Netflix, but then I realized that I'm in the rare position of being able to decide if I want to read the book before I see the movie (instead of seeing the movie, learning it was based on the book, and then immediately going to find the book). Any advice, one way or the other?

so far i'm really enjoying devil. i picked it up based on a reddit recommendation, and didn't know exactly what i was getting into, but that's my preference for books. it's fast-paced and manages to make a subject i never would have thought to be interesting all that and more.

the only reason i knew blindness was a movie was because the trailer was the reason i picked up the book. i finished the book but never did end up seeing the movie. i've instituted a pretty strong personal policy of no seeing movies for books i enjoy, simply because i become irrationally irate over what filmmakers end up doing. so, in the words of obi-wan: you must do what you feel is right, of course.

I'll throw in a vote for The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut is almost always a win. :D

I'll second the The Sirens of Titan nomination.

William, do you have any suggestions of your own or is that your nomination?

It doesn't hurt to add variety!

Although, to be honest, I would gladly third Sirens (it may or may not be my favorite novel, period, and the thought of discussing with you illustrious lot is thrilling)

Are we having the poll today?

I won't add a new book because I already decided of rearing both Sirens and Confederacy this month

A Fire upon the Deep? Just one i've been meaning to read for a while :P

Ala wrote: "A Fire upon the Deep? Just one i've been meaning to read for a while :P"

That's a *really* good book. Simply stunning. Even if we don't wind up reading it for the discussion, you should definitely read it. :D

On the upper right is a link to polls. Out doesn't look like you need to be a mod to create one

Good eye, Wally.

/me facepalm

I can't believe I missed that ... well, I'll take that previous request post down and put up the poll.

What do we want to be our deadline for reading the book? The first of February sounds like a good idea to me, but I'm not too picky.

Deadline for finishing the book? Should we do as other groups and just have it be for a whole month?

I like the idea of allowing a full month for the book reading. That opens things up for not-so-fast readers and those whose time to read is sadly limited (like myself. :) )

We have a winner!

See the new thread for what's up next:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4738...