TypoC book club?

[Aquarelle]

I mean, I'm interested.. in the abstract, and I'll probably observe, but I'm unlikely to contribute anything.
/intp

Well, feel free to lurk, and contribute if you feel so inclined.

 

[Tiltyred]

Infinite Jest is infinitely out of the question. It's not a book, it's a tome, it's about 4 inches thick, and David Foster Wallace was my favorite writer and I couldn't even finish that book. Plus there's waaay too much in there to discuss. Seriously, you gotta be kidding with Infinite Jest.

 

[InvisibleJim]

I'll play; I'll generally read anything as well. Will it be announced what book we have to read and by when?

 

[AgentF]

Infinite Jest is infinitely out of the question. It's not a book, it's a tome, it's about 4 inches thick, and David Foster Wallace was my favorite writer and I couldn't even finish that book. Plus there's waaay too much in there to discuss. Seriously, you gotta be kidding with Infinite Jest.

he is my favorite contemporary writer, as well. pure mental candy. and it is precisely because there is so much to discuss, that DFW is perfectly suited to a book club. three of us feel up to the challenge. join us, let us dive in and see what happens!

we don't necessarily have to finish...just go on an amazing intellectual journey together.

*pardon the shameless DFW plug*

 

[gromit]

I would at least try to read any of them. My votes:

Puzo, Mario: The Sicilian
Berger, Thomas: Little Big Man
Charriere, Henri: Papillon
Muir, Jon: My First Summer in the Sierra
Stephenson, Neal: Anathem

 

[Aquarelle]

I'll play; I'll generally read anything as well. Will it be announced what book we have to read and by when?

Great, I'll add you to the list. If there's a certain book you want to vote for, go ahead and post, but yes, once voting is closed tomorrow, the book will be announced. I'd say we can shoot for having the first few chapters read by 2/1, but the whole book will be too much to do by then.... especially if it's one of the longer ones.

To all - when voting, can you please underline and bold your vote(s), so I know for sure that you're voting, and not just making a comment? Thanks!

Also, I just created a group for the book club. I invited everyone who's posted in this thread, and anyone else is welcome to join as well. I'm thinking it would be a good place to post the book we're currently reading, and maybe conduct the next nomination and voting cycle... this one is too chaotic for my Jness.

 

[gromit]

Also, I just created a group for the book club. I invited everyone who's posted in this thread, and anyone else is welcome to join as well. I'm thinking it would be a good place to post the book we're currently reading, and maybe conduct the next nomination and voting cycle... this one is too chaotic for my Jness.

I appreciate your Jness!

 

[Tiltyred]

he is my favorite contemporary writer, as well. pure mental candy. and it is precisely because there is so much to discuss, that DFW is perfectly suited to a book club. three of us feel up to the challenge. join us, let us dive in and see what happens!

we don't necessarily have to finish...just go on an amazing intellectual journey together.

*pardon the shameless DFW plug*

Okaaaay ... over a thousand pages of the most dense reading you may ever do, with a word to look up on every other page even if you think you have an extensive vocabulary, plus footnotes ... I grant you, it's all riveting, but IMO it might be more suitable to choose a couple of vignettes than expect people to get through the whole book.

It's really great to meet a DFW fan, though! (((Hugs)))

 

[AgentF]

Okaaaay ... over a thousand pages of the most dense reading you may ever do, with a word to look up on every other page even if you think you have an extensive vocabulary, plus footnotes ... I grant you, it's all riveting, but IMO it might be more suitable to choose a couple of vignettes than expect people to get through the whole book.

It's really great to meet a DFW fan, though! (((Hugs)))

likewise! totally unrelated, but would love to know which was your favorite essay in ASFTINDA. mine was the david lynch one, although i LOLd my way through the cruise ship essay.

 

[Salomé]

Well, feel free to lurk, and contribute if you feel so inclined.

Thank you!

i need to start an INTP pursuit thread.

*starts the INTP resistance club*

 

[AgentF]

ok, back to the final voting cycle. it appears that our final list from which to vote is:

1. The Sicilian, Mario Puzo
2. Little Big Man, Thomas Berger
3. Papillon, Henri Charriere
4. My First Summer in the Sierra, Jon Muir
5. Anathem, Neal Stephenson
6. World War Z, Max Brooks
7. Freedom, Jonathan Franzen
8. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, Sam Kean
9. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
10. Mating, Norman Rush
11. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
12. Siddhartha, Herman Hesse
13. Fifth Business, Robertson Davies

please correct me if i left anything off...for those just reading the thread, when's the voting deadline?

 

[ExAstrisSpes]

And how many votes do we get?

 

[Aquarelle]

ok, back to the final voting cycle. it appears that our final list from which to vote is:

1. The Sicilian, Mario Puzo
2. Little Big Man, Thomas Berger
3. Papillon, Henri Charriere
4. My First Summer in the Sierra, Jon Muir
5. Anathem, Neal Stephenson
6. World War Z, Max Brooks
7. Freedom, Jonathan Franzen
8. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, Sam Kean
9. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
10. Mating, Norman Rush
11. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
12. Siddhartha, Herman Hesse
13. Fifth Business, Robertson Davies

please correct me if i left anything off...for those just reading the thread, when's the voting deadline?

Correct, that is the final nominations list. Voting closes at noon Central Standard Time (GMT-6). 23 hours from now.

 

[Aquarelle]

And how many votes do we get?

As many as you want, just not more than one for the same book, obviously.

 

[Randomnity]

Great, I'll add you to the list. If there's a certain book you want to vote for, go ahead and post, but yes, once voting is closed tomorrow, the book will be announced. I'd say we can shoot for having the first few chapters read by 2/1, but the whole book will be too much to do by then.... especially if it's one of the longer ones.

To all - when voting, can you please underline and bold your vote(s), so I know for sure that you're voting, and not just making a comment? Thanks!

Also, I just created a group for the book club. I invited everyone who's posted in this thread, and anyone else is welcome to join as well. I'm thinking it would be a good place to post the book we're currently reading, and maybe conduct the next nomination and voting cycle... this one is too chaotic for my Jness.

Feb 1 is less than 1 week after we decide on the book, can we please wait longer than that? I doubt I'll even have the book from the library by then (I've put a hold on Anthem preemptively since I think I'll read it regardless of whether it wins, but even that one will likely take 1-2 weeks or so). Surely I'm not the only one relying on the library for this. Maybe I am? I'm a very fast reader, though.

I'd prefer 1 month or as a bare minimum, 2 weeks, unless everyone's in a big rush....?

 

[ExAstrisSpes]

1. The Sicilian, Mario Puzo
2. Little Big Man, Thomas Berger
3. Papillon, Henri Charriere
4. My First Summer in the Sierra, John Muir
5. Anathem, Neal Stephenson
6. World War Z, Max Brooks
7. Freedom, Jonathan Franzen
8. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, Sam Kean
9. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
10. Mating, Norman Rush
11. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
12. Siddhartha, Herman Hesse
13. Fifth Business, Robertson Davies

I bolded my votes. I was a bit turned off of the DFW because of the general tomeness/difficulty; perhaps in the future we can read some of his essays? Anathem is a bit tome-ish but if it's anything like Cryptonomicon once you pick it up you can't put it down.

 

[InvisibleJim]

I won't vote; as I've read none of the above books and have very little data on them they all have the potential to be equally interesting!

 

[ExAstrisSpes]

Feb 1 is less than 1 week after we decide on the book, can we please wait longer than that? I doubt I'll even have the book from the library by then (I've put a hold on Anthem preemptively since I think I'll read it regardless of whether it wins, but even that one will likely take 1-2 weeks or so). Surely I'm not the only one relying on the library for this. Maybe I am? I'm a very fast reader, though.

I'd prefer 1 month or as a bare minimum, 2 weeks, unless everyone's in a big rush....?

I agree - I won't be able to read through any book in a week right now. I have a copy of Anathem, but I'll need to go to the library for the others. I'm also a fast reader.

I think two weeks would be long enough for people to get the book and get started on it; I don't see anything wrong with having on-going discussion.

 

[AgentF]

going with the bold, too. my votes:

1. The Sicilian, Mario Puzo
2. Little Big Man, Thomas Berger
3. Papillon, Henri Charriere
4. My First Summer in the Sierra, John Muir
5. Anathem, Neal Stephenson
6. World War Z, Max Brooks
7. Freedom, Jonathan Franzen
8. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, Sam Kean
9. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
10. Mating, Norman Rush
11. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
12. Siddhartha, Herman Hesse
13. Fifth Business, Robertson Davies

 

[Aquarelle]

I agree - I won't be able to read through any book in a week right now. I have a copy of Anathem, but I'll need to go to the library for the others. I'm also a fast reader.

I think two weeks would be long enough for people to get the book and get started on it; I don't see anything wrong with having on-going discussion.

That's fine with me. I don't think we need to have the whole book read in order to begin discussion, so I think 2 weeks is enough. How about we open discussion on Feb 15?