How about a book club?

[Actaeon]

I have yet to ascertain how far this community will stray from the element that brings it together (Jeff's games), but I'm going to give this a shot anyway. The book thread has proven so popular that I wanted to pose the idea of a book club of sorts. We could select a novel (either short or episodic), set a time period (say, a month), and discuss it. Generally I'm not a fan of book clubs, but I actually tend to appreciate most of what you lot have to say. Anyone interested?

[Tyranicus]

I'll give it a try.

[Lauren CW]

Yes!

I have a stupid large amount of books/stories on my list of things to read, but I would be willing to join a spiderweb book club in order to discuss with you lot, as I also tend to appreciate what most of you have to say.

[Dantius]

I'm pretty sure I could manage it, as long as the books are fairly short.

[Goldengirl]

Over these summer months, when I just have work to worry about, I can do it. Once university picks up in the autumn, though, I may have to drop out of the book club.

 

So, let's get started! What book do we want to read first?

[Actaeon]

I was thinking perhaps something by Bradbury, but I'm game for everything that's heady enough to discuss and light enough to enjoy.

[Tyranicus]

Bradbury is fine, as long as it isn't Dandelion Wine.

[SamSniped]

I might, depending on the book.

[Dantius]

Bradbury? God no, I really dislike his style. How about something more modern instead?

[Aoslare]

Good luck finding something every single person will want to read.

[Dantius]

Hm, I've been meaning to get around to reading Mission to Paris. It's a spy thriller set in France in the interwar years- it's supposed to be quite good.

[The Specialist]

Is this topic Active?

Well im going to stick on a question from a noob, hope you dont mind...

Q: Is there a thread where you can pose ideas for future spiderweb games?

or is that just a bad idea?

[Actaeon]

Specialist: Well, I started it today, so I think it counts as active. Jeff doesn't really read the forums, so even if your idea isn't one of the ones that pop up with frequency (Blades of Geneforge, MMORG, true scifi...), it's unlikely that much would come of it. It's not against the CoC to make a rec, though.

 

Dantius: How long is it, and is it discussible, from your understanding? I myself was about to read either "Cloud Atlas" or "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close", but I don't know if those will appeal. I'm willing to compromise somewhat just to undermine Slarty's rather reasonable pessimism.

[Dantius]

Originally Posted By: Actaeon

Dantius: How long is it, and is it discussible, from your understanding? I myself was about to read either "Cloud Atlas" or "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close", but I don't know if those will appeal. I'm willing to compromise somewhat just to undermine Slarty's rather reasonable pessimism.

A quick Google has it being at 255 pages, and from what I've heard from the person who recommended it to me it's a thriller like something le Carré would write, so it should be fairly discussible.

[keira]

I would put forward Fallout: Equestria as a suggestion.

 

But sadly I cannot partake in any book clubbing, I have too much stuff on my plate already.

[Tyranicus]

To Fallout: Equestria, I say neigh.

 

Mission to Paris could be good, as could both of the books Actaeon brought up. Cloud Atlas looks especially intriguing.

[Actaeon]

If we want to stick to the sci-fi / fantasy theme of Spiderweb, perhaps "Stranger in a Strange Land" is an order.

[Dantius]

How about instead of just tossing out nominations, everyone participating in the club nominates one book, and then we create a poll (one of the multiple selection ones), and the book with the most votes gets read? I mean, I would imagine that's how most RL book clubs work...

[keira]

I think we have plenty of polls already don't you.

[Actaeon]

I think in this case it would be helpful to know the book early on, since "everyone participating in the club" is likely dependent on what's being read. I do agree, though, that a poll is the way to do it. The question is whether (and how) to close it to nonparticipants, or simply let the book the community as a whole favors win.

[Goldengirl]

Originally Posted By: Actaeon

I think in this case it would be helpful to know the book early on, since "everyone participating in the club" is likely dependent on what's being read. I do agree, though, that a poll is the way to do it. The question is whether (and how) to close it to nonparticipants, or simply let the book the community as a whole favors win.

Since the entire community is potentially going to be a member of the book club if we select a favorable book, I see no reason to limit people from voting.

I suggest we give everyone until a certain date to nominate and make a case for one book, and then create a poll with a deadline to see what book we'll read. A runoff poll is possible, if needed, I suppose.

[Lilith]

Originally Posted By: Dantius

I'm pretty sure I could manage it, as long as the books are fairly short.

shouldn't it be a large book if you're going to club people with it

[Actaeon]

How about this: you can suggest any number of books, but they don't make it into the poll unless they're seconded by another member (you can also second an unlimited number of times). Submissions through July 2, voting through July 5 unless there's a clear consensus right off the bat. Then, we either read a part a week (if it's episodic) or the whole thing in a month.

 

Edit: I submit "Cloud Atlas" and "Stranger in a Strange Land".

[Aoslare]

I'll submit Something Wicked This Way Comes, because Bradbury was a good idea, and reading him now is timelier than for most other authors.

[Dantius]

I submit Mission to Paris (above) and Nightfall by Asimov, because it seems SF might be the way this is headed.

 

I second SIASL.

[Goldengirl]

I'll second Cloud Atlas, Nightfall, and Stranger in a Strange Land. I submit Into the Beautiful North; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; and Breakfast of Champions.

[keira]

Second Cloud Atlas, Submit The Eternity Artifact.

[Dantius]

I'll second Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

 

Although this is a book club, I feel compelled to point out that the movie for that was freaking fantastic.

[Actaeon]

The only thing that kept me from suggesting "Nightfall" myself is that many of us have already read it. I'll second "Something Wicked this Way Comes" and "Into the Beautiful North". I'll also back Vonnegut, though I think "Cat's Cradle" would be a better fit.

 

(Also, I may just close submissions tomorrow, 'cause at this rate we'll have far too many choices to come to consensus.)

[Goldengirl]

Originally Posted By: Actaeon

Any chance of "Cat's Cradle" instead of "Breakfast of Champions", Goldenking?

I'll second that, I suppose.

Also, I'd doubt that we'll maintain any constant rate, so don't count your eggs before they hatch.

[Aoslare]

If you end up with too many submissions, you can just do some tossing out before you go to the poll.

[Acky]

Not being really familiar with a lot of literature, I'd like to participate even though I have nothing to suggest. Is that alright?

[SamSniped]

I'll suggest Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn (although I already read it, it's worth a second read).

 

Post #XIV of the challenge

[Alorael at Large]

I'm pleased enough with the current suggestions and don't want to add clutter, so now more submissions or seconds. I will point out a couple of things. It's probably useful also to poll how many people have already read things, just to get an idea, and maybe it's worth breaking it down by genre. Sci-fi, contemporary thrillers, and modern magical realism aren't all the same thing, and people might have preferences. Would several book groups be bad?

 

—Alorael, who lied. He's going to toss Murakami's 1Q84 onto the pile.

[Actaeon]

I'll second 1Q84, and probably close voting after four more (for a total of twelve). Several book groups would not be bad, but it's probably a good idea to start out with just one in order to work out the kinks. Then, like Diplomacy, we can run a few at a time. If sci-fi wins this time, perhaps a thriller group will start up in a week or so. I don't really feel like a thriller, but again, I'm willing to compromise for the opener. In any case, I'm loathe to exercise too much control over the selections (like the trimming Slarty mentioned).

 

As to whether people have already read things... I'll leave it to the individual whether they want to re-read. Hopefully, the overall vote will reflect those preferences. I might also create an option to select one novel that would deter participation, then subtract the results of that poll from the main one.

 

The current list as I understand it, for reference:

 

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Nightfall

Stranger in a Strange Land

Into the Beautiful North

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Cloud Atlas

Cat's Cradle

1Q84

[Dantius]

Originally Posted By: Actaeon

I'll second 1Q84, and probably close voting after four more (for a total of twelve). Several book groups would not be bad, but it's probably a good idea to start out with just one in order to work out the kinks. Then, like Diplomacy, we can run a few at a time. If sci-fi wins this time, perhaps a thriller group will start up in a week or so. I don't really feel like a thriller, but again, I'm willing to compromise for the opener. In any case, I'm loathe to exercise too much control over the selections (like the trimming Slarty mentioned).

I'd recommend to err on the side of too many books. Right now we only have something like a half-dozen participants, and the thread's only been open for a day or two. We could let things simmer until Monday or so before we finally close submissions and create the poll.

[VCH]

I'm in.

 

But one thing to consider is that we don't all have the same quality of library, or perhaps much of a library at all.

 

I guess I could download the chosen book, or interlibrary loan it, but that could take a few weeks.

[Actaeon]

My library is pretty darn small. I intend to search the second hand stores if I don't have a copy of what we end up reading, and go to interlibrary loan or Amazon if that fails. That, or just cheat download the audiobook. In any case, I think a month is a decent amount of time to procure and read most novels.

 

As for erring on the side of too many... I disagree. I think we already have several excellent options to chose from, and that delay will only bring conflict.

[Aoslare]

FWIW, the voting method I have found most successful for this kind of thing is as follows:

 

Each possible book gets a question. You can answer either "Would definitely read," "Would definitely not participate," or "Not sure" (or something along those lines).

 

That way, instead of trying to guess what books people actually like based on a stupid government election model, you can actually see, directly, how well each book would work for the club.

 

Also:

Originally Posted By: Actaeon

I'll... probably close voting after four more... I'm loathe to exercise too much control over the selections (like the trimming Slarty mentioned).

You do realize that by closing voting arbitrarily, rather than waiting for the suggestions to come to an end on their own, you are exercising control over them...

 

I agree with Dantius. All you're doing by cutting things off is decreasing the likelihood that more people will see something they like, get drawn in to the voting and then consider reading whatever is selected.

[Actaeon]

Good system, Slarty. That's precisely what we'll do. And deciding when suggestions have come to an end is arbitrary, too. We haven't had a new one since noon. Eight hours is probably too short a period to wait, but what about twelve? Twenty four?

[Aoslare]

Wait until sometime next week. The weekend is pretty much always the slowest time on these boards, and Monday and Tuesday are the busiest. Or is there any reason you're in such a rush? I mean, this topic has existed for less than a day and a half.

[Dantius]

Originally Posted By: Actaeon

Good system, Slarty. That's precisely what we'll do. And deciding when suggestions have come to an end is arbitrary, too. We haven't had a new one since noon. Eight hours is probably too short a period to wait, but what about twelve? Twenty four?

How about Monday evening? Suggestions should have petered off by then. I know most people don't check the forum as obsessively as I do, so we might want to ensure that everyone's had adequate time to check the thread...

[Actaeon]

I wanted to make sure we caught the voting during the busy part of the week. Monday night sounds perfect to me.

[Duck in a Top Hat]

Depending on the book, I might join in. I'm slowly working through A Song of Ice and Fire along with several other books, plus my Steam library has grown to somewhere around 57 games, so it's going to be a busy summer.

 

Edit: Come to think of it, A Game of Thrones could be a fantastic book to discuss, unless everyone here has already read it or it's too adult for some members.

[Lauren CW]

I would also suggest Fallout: Equestria.

Pony-related stigma aside, it is one of the more well written things I have read, and would easily earn a place in my library among LoTR, the Millennium trilogy, and the Dune universe books.

Unfortunately, it's 2000+ pages, and I doubt people are open-minded enough to give it a try.

So I'll trust in the taste of my fellow spiderwebbers and read whatever is decided upon.

[Marlenny]

Count me in.

[SamSniped]

Originally Posted By: Actaeon

I'll second 1Q84, and probably close voting after four more (for a total of twelve). Several book groups would not be bad, but it's probably a good idea to start out with just one in order to work out the kinks. Then, like Diplomacy, we can run a few at a time. If sci-fi wins this time, perhaps a thriller group will start up in a week or so. I don't really feel like a thriller, but again, I'm willing to compromise for the opener. In any case, I'm loathe to exercise too much control over the selections (like the trimming Slarty mentioned).

As to whether people have already read things... I'll leave it to the individual whether they want to re-read. Hopefully, the overall vote will reflect those preferences. I might also create an option to select one novel that would deter participation, then subtract the results of that poll from the main one.

The current list as I understand it, for reference:

Something Wicked This Way Comes
Nightfall
Stranger in a Strange Land
Into the Beautiful North
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Cloud Atlas
Cat's Cradle
1Q84
Transfer of Power

Fixed
Post #XV of the challenge

[Aoslare]

A few years ago, I recall Kelandon reading one of the huge compilations of the middle X-Men run, and I always meant to look into that. Would anyone be interested in one of those? Say, something around the Phoenix Saga?

[Dintiradan]

Oh, hey Marl!

 

I'm still trudging through the Wheel of Time (almost done Book 10, and if I have time tonight I'll post my comments on Book Eight), and after I finish that I was planning on reading about half a dozen fiction and non-fiction books that were on my backlog. So, not going to participate in this thing right away, but I'm totally interested in doing so later on.

 

@Slarty: I've got basically no exposure to the Marvel universe in general, or the X-Men in particular (well, aside from the movie trilogy). I mean, I know who most of the common characters are, but that's it. I'd be fine doing comics if we could do some self-contained trade paperback, otherwise no.

[In Half Now]

I think I'll take part, though I'll probably be looking for the books in Finnish. Mostly because that just makes finding them a much greater possibility. I need more books to read in any case.