New Book Club- Anyone interested?

[jezzie]

Five weeks sounds good.

I think a new thread. A separate one for each book ... since I'm an incurable optimist.

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[skoolmarm729]

I LOVE that idea!-- I especially like that your thinking about our next book

[jezzie]

I put a list of the books mentioned in this thread in My Documents.
I'll add to it whenever I get an inspiration.
That way I won't have to start at the beginning again in five weeks.


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[mjais]

I'm going to pick up a copy of the book tomorrow at the bookstore. I'll check back to find out when our first discussion will be.

I'm looking forward to it.

[jezzie]

Originally Posted by mjais

I'm going to pick up a copy of the book tomorrow at the bookstore. I'll check back to find out
when our first discussion will be.

I'm looking forward to it.

Me too.

I'll be starting it Tuesday.

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[mjais]

Question:

Will we have a certain day that we will discuss the book or will we make comments throughout the week covering the specified pages that we are reading for that particular week?

[jezzie]

I'll let our fearless leader field this one.
(My impression was that we would discuss it at intervals.)

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[skoolmarm729]

Originally Posted by mjais

Question:

Will we have a certain day that we will discuss the book or will we make comments throughout the week covering the specified pages that we are reading for that particular week?

I like the idea of having a week long window to post our responses to each other over each section. How do you all feel about that? Would a Wednesday to Tuesday window work for everybody? That means we would start posting our initial thoughts, reactions, etc over the first 50-60 pages this Wednesday (or any time before next Thursday, really). If this week is too soon, we could begin next week- I kind of did not want to wait that long though.

I was planning on leaving it opened ended for the most part, but beginning each window with a question or two. We can choose to respond, ask another question, or just make general comments. Keepin' it nice n easy. How does this sound?

LOL @ "fearless leader"- I prefer "cautious facilitator"

This is OUR reading group- so please feel free to offer ideas and/or suggestions

[jezzie]

Sounds good.

Since I'll probably only get about twenty pages read today I'll join in on Thursday.
(I still have thirty pages to read today to finish my current book).


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[skoolmarm729]

The nice thing about a window is we can pretty much post anytime between Wednesday and Tuesday. Hopefully we can post by Sunday-- to give response time.

[amiga74]

just saw this thread and the book's description. if i can find it at the library i will get it and if so, i'd love to join the group!

[jezzie]

Welcome aboard.


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[skoolmarm729]

welcome amiga! hopefully you can find the book. The window to our first section will be open tomorrow-- but you have until next Tuesday to post.

[Sharon]

I'm basically a non-fiction book reader but have joined a book club in town just to get our of my reading mode. So, I'll join to read something different.

I want to recommend the Sony eBook reader. I have one and love it. Now, I can carry 4 books on the plane (I fly every other week to Southern California to babysit my grandson for a week) in 5"x7"x1/2". I got the 505 version which is the newest one. Sony gave me a choice of 100 free classics from their library - list was about 500 titles long. I also got $50 in book credits from Borders. So the price of $299 was almost erased by product. I know that Amazon has the Kindle but after comparing the two, I decided on the Sony as it is smaller. The Kindle has a keyboard so you can order books anywhere not just from your computer like the Sony. But using my computer has been no problem as I have time to search titles. The books are stored in my computer and copied to the eBook. When I'm finished with a book, I just deleted it from the eBook. The only thing that I can't do is share the book with a friend by giving them the book when I'm finished with it. That is offset in my mind by the difference in price that I'm paying. I'm reading a hardcovered book that I have on my shelf now "Lincoln" by Gore Vidal that I didn't want to carry around. It cost $26.95 but in eBook format it's $8.06.

[mjais]

Welcome Sharon and Amiga 74!

Right now we are reading 'The Inheritance of Loss'. This book selection will last 5 weeks - we are currently on week 2. It's skoolmarm729's thread, so I'm sure she will post and fill you in on more of the details.

Sharon: Thanks for the info/review on the Kindle. I've been thinking about purchasing it and wondering if it was easy to use, worth the price, etc.

[skoolmarm729]

Amiga74 & Sharon to OUR book club!

As mjais already stated- we are reading "The Inheritance of Loss" by Kiran Desai. We are in our 2nd week- so you can easily catch up, if you'd like. We took a vote for our current selection and will do the same for the next. Feel free to take a peek in that thread, let us know what you think, or ask questions if you have them. Hopefully, you'll be able to join us soon!

Happy Reading

[skoolmarm729]

I really like the way our current discussion is going. It is nice to finish up a section and be able to post my thoughts and read what others are thinking. I find the weeklong windows and 60ish pages to read for the week were quite manageable.

I am hoping that everybody would be interested in continuing with a new book and discussion.

Let me know what you think--
Alex

[mjais]

I am enjoying the book discussion and feel optimistic about the next one. For me, it really depends on whether or not there's some aspect of the selected book that interests me.

I do have 3 books to suggest for our next discussion. One of them is a fiction(historical fiction) novel, 'The Other Boleyn Girl'. The book was recently made into a film starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johanssen.

boleyn1.jpg

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Two sisters competing for the greatest prize: the love of a king When
Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches
the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with
both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen.
However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family's
ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced
to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then
Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her
fate into her own hands. A rich and compelling tale of love, sex,
ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of
extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the
most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following
her own heart."

[skoolmarm729]

yeah mjais!! I'm open to ANYthing you suggest- The Other Bolen Girl sounds fine with me. You mentioned you had 3 to suggest, what were your other 2?

[mjais]

My 2nd book suggestion is 'The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield.

Thirteenth_Tale.jpg

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is a rich story about secrets, ghosts, winter, books and family. The Thirteenth Tale is a book lover's book, with much of the action taking place in libraries and book stores, and the line between fact and fiction constantly blurred. It is hard to believe this is Setterfield's debut novel, for she makes the words come to life with such skill that some passages even gave me chills. With a mug of cocoa and The Thirteenth Tale, contentment isn't far away.

Description
* Margaret Lea works in her father's book store and is haunted by a loss in her past.
* One night Margaret is summoned to the home of the most famous author in England's house to record her autobiography.
* Vida Winter, the author, tells a layered tale, with stories within stories, keeping Margaret (and readers) curious.

******

[skoolmarm729]

YAY!! I just picked up a hardcover copy of that book from a rummage sale for $2!! Once again, I'm open to any book-- I'm such a geeky bookworm

[mjais]

Suggestion #3 is 'The Hoax' by Clifford Irving

hoax1.jpg

A no-holds-barred account of the most notorious literary hoax of the twentieth century, written by the perpetrator himself, Clifford Irving. In 1971, he burst onto the literary scene, claiming to have been granted the right to pen the authorized biography of the famously reclusive icon Howard Hughes. Forged documents seemed to bear out his claims, and McGraw-Hill awarded him a contract for the then-enormous sum of $750,000. When Hughes himself emerged from seclusion to denounce Irving as a charlatan, McGraw-Hill stood by their author. It wasn't until Hughes filed suit, and Swiss bank officials got involved, that Irving finally confessed.
****

[skoolmarm729]

I all three of your ideas-- if I HAD to pick, I would pick The Other Boleyn Girl.

[mjais]

'The Other Boleyn Girl' is my first choice too. I think it would make a nice change of pace from our current selection.

[skoolmarm729]

The Other Boleyn Girl it is then-- I will get my copy sometime next week. I have no problems beginning our next book immediately after we finish our current one. How do you feel about that? I also think everything went pretty smoothly with this one and wouldn't mind keeping the same reading windows and number of pages-- is that okay with you? Would you be interested in leading our next discussion? I don't mind to do it, but I want to give you a chance if you'd like.

[skoolmarm729]

I just picked up The Other Boleyn Girl from ebay for $5 (including shipping!)

I should have asked first, but-- I'm hoping you haven't already read this book, have you? Please be patient with me as we work through this next book- I have NO knowledge of of this historic era. I am looking forward to this read, I just have very limited knowledge of the background. Please be kind

[mjais]

No, I haven't read the book. It's on my summer reading list, as were the others. Thanks so much for telling me about ebay. I'm going to check and see if I can find a copy as well - can't beat that price!

The way the weekly discussions were set up worked out great for me and I think we should continue the same format and schedule.

I don't mind leading the next discussion. We can alternate leading it. I only hope I can do as good a job as you have done.

So, do we agree that the new book thread will start next Wednesday - on May 21st?