Book club?

[notBastet]

fwiw, here is how they did it on dc:

someone had to take charge initially, obviously, as the moderator or what have you.  they had about one week or so open for nominations of books to read, then a poll was made and open for x number of days.  then people had x amount of time to get the book.  then they broke it down over the course of a month or so.  Read and discuss pages xx-xx week 1, yy-yy week 2 etc.  they had someone sort of 'moderate' the discussion - ask questions, etc, but they were trying to get someone different to do each book.  you could go back and discuss earlier parts of the book, but no spoilers or jumping ahead in the discussion.

I thought it worked fine, but it's the first and only book club I ever participated in, so I don't have anything to compare it to.

[MaineWriter]

A lot of books have websites that have resources and information for bookclubs, too. I was just looking at the website for a book I read recently and they have questions for discussion, but also pictures, interviews, and a podcast of an interview with the author that you can download. There is also the opportunity to have a phone chat with the author.

I think you could use some of these resources to make a very interesting "virtual" bookclub.

L

[mvansand76]

Hi guys-

I only just saw all your responses. I would love to take the initiative for setting up a book club, but right now is not the right time due to family circumstances.

BTW- I heard a book recommendation on TV this morning, it was called Call Me By Your Name. Anybody already read this?

Mel

[Fran]

I would in interested in participating in a book club.

Mel, Call Me By Your Name looks interesting.  A customer who reviewed it at Amazon.com had this to say about it:

Like all great literature, this novel will remind you of other fine fiction: for example, James Joyce's long short story about tragic lost young love, "The Dead," as well as Annie Proulx's more recent and much praised "Brokeback Mountain."

[Kd5000]

Well what sort of books to ppl like to read? I don't read alot of classics.  Not for me. And I'm usually not a fan of "Oprah book. Hope I'm not sounding too harsh.  I find James Ellroy's prose a big hard to follow as well, though I've like some crime drama books.  No Harry Potter either.


I do enjoy historic fiction.  I've just finished watching the HBO series titled ROME.  I really enjoyed it.  Now I've been reading some nonfiction books on Ancient Rome.  Any good novels that are stet in this time period?

[notBastet]

I'm pretty much willing to give anything a shot...

I try not to read things I have "preconceived notions" about... try to wait long enough for my "preconceived notions" too pass, lol...

[Kelda]

I read a great book on holiday I had picked it up a few months before on recommendation as it was about my holiday destination - Crete.

Or more specifically the old leper colony of Crete - Spinalonga. Which I went on a day trip to during my holiday - the guide was great and between that and reading the book i found the trip very emotional.

Its called The Island - by Victoria Hislop

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Island-Victoria-Hislop/dp/0755309510
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinalonga

whether for a book group or just for an individual read I'd recommend this book.

[MaineWriter]

Sounds interesting, Kelda. Thanks!

When we were in Norway, we visited the Lepramuseet (Leprosy Museum) in Bergen. It was very interesting. A Norwegian physician--Armauer Hansen--did a great deal to further our understanding of this disease and now it is more properly called Hansen's Disease, in recognition of his work.

Just a little bit of medical trivia. Back to our regularly scheduled discussion!

L

[Kelda]

Yes - they told us that on the tour about him. Another interesting fact is that they used Thalidomide in the leprosy treatment.

In the UK, this word has a lot of horrible images as it was given to pregnant women in the 50s and 60s to help with morning sickness and caused sever birth defects. But in this case it gave mildly positive results.

The guide also said she wanted to state that actually Thalidomide is a wonderful drug if used correctly - she said her husband used it when he had terminal cancer and it allowed for weight gain or at least keeping weight on. Used for cancer & aids patients apparently.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide

[mvansand76]

I'm reading Atonement by Ian McEwan right now! Hope to watch the movie with my colleague next week!

Anybody read the book?