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Want to join a virtual book club? January 22, 2004
I've been reading a lot in the last 6 months. Certainly more than I did during the years I spent obsessed with video and computer games. I track what I read on the Now Reading page for your convenience and sanitation, and as you can see in the pic below I've got a big backlog on the "to be read" bookrack next to my bed:
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I don't often have a chance to talk about what I read with people who have also read the same books. One fascinating solution to this problem via the magic of the Internet is to create a virtual book club. BookBlog.net is one good example of this approach. Each month, one of its members picks a book and everyone spends the first three weeks reading. The fourth week of the month is dedicated to guided discussion on the site's message boards. The person who picked the book asks one question per day in order to get/keep things moving.
I'd just join BookBlog.net, but their selection of books has been a little ...odd recently. There have been books about hermaphrodites, Japanese coming-of-age stories, and Chinese fairy tales. These are all perfectly fine topics; they just happen to not overlap with my interests.
So I thought I'd toss this idea out to anyone reading this blog: Would you be interested in joining a virtual book club modeled after BookBlog.net? It wouldn't be all Stephen King --look at the Now Reading page and the pic above to see what I'm into. Besides, other people would pick books, too. Starting with a group of friends, family, and anyone else who enjoys the witless banter on this site would increase the odds of ending up with a reading list of interest to all of us.
Any interest? Leave a comment on this thread, send me an e-mail, or shoot me an instant message.
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Posted by David Morris on January 22, 2004 10:53 AM:
Jamie,
This sounds like fun. I would like to join the book club. I need more fiction in my life these days.
Let me know when you start.
David
Posted by Shawn on January 22, 2004 11:05 AM:
This sounds interesting as I have almost quit reading fiction over the past 3 years. I could probably fit in some more reading in between 1st Amendment and White Collar Crime cases. I'm not sure if my tastes would fit though since I am not much into Stephen King or Si Fi.
Shawn
Posted by Geralyn on January 22, 2004 12:57 PM:
Oprah's Book Club is reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. From what I hear it's pretty 'heavy' reading and the description on Amazon sounds intriguing, as well as the reviews, "...the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race" from William Kennedy, New York Times Book Review. I'm thinking of reading this next after I finish my library books. I am of course, deluded enough to think I'm going to be able to squeeze in reading soon after baby's born. :)
Posted by Shawn on January 23, 2004 7:57 AM:
I saw that episode too and I must admit the way she talked about the book had me a bit intimidated. I have read East of Eden which was a part of her club this summer and I have read others but the way she talked about this one had me a bit scared for some reason. Sad to think I might be intimidated by a book Oprah recommends. I console myself by telling myself that she has to speak to the lowest common denominator of reader.:)
Posted by Hellchick on January 25, 2004 8:44 PM:
I'd join that.