Okay, I'm going to give this whole "Book of the Month" thing a try. We'll start off with a suggestion thread (which I'm sure you didn't notice from the title). Suggest a book that you think would be good to discuss. As of right now, there is no limit as to genre or length. When suggesting a book, please post a brief description. Also, try to stick with books that everyone and their mother hasn't read (in other words, if you suggest Harry Potter or Twilight, you'll be run out of this thread on a rail). I'll give this thread a couple days, and then post a poll to vote on the first book. (I'd like to have it going by October 1st. I know it's short notice, but I don't want to wait until November, and I don't want to start in the middle of the month.) Also, use this thread to give me suggestions on how to run this thing. Ready? Go! Side note: Some of you have probably already discovered Project Gutenberg. But for those of you who haven't, it's a web site that hosts thousands of e-books, mostly classics, which can be read online or downloaded onto your computer. So, if you're looking for ideas, that is a good place to start.
I do have a question. Should we only suggest books we can find readily available online? I'm very ready to shell out cash for novels if I have to. I'll make suggestions according to your answer
You can suggest any book you'd like. I'm also willing to buy any books we end up doing, and judging from the bookworms here, I'm sure that a lot of other members will be as well. I just wanted to mention Project Gutenberg because it is such a convenient resource, especially for something like this.
I'd like to suggest Rose Macaulay's The Towers of Trebizond. Just a product description from Amazon, as I am finger lazy this morning: Quick edit: I think it would be nice if people could place some sort of description of their suggestions. I think the poll and the members participating will benefit by being able to make a more informed choice.
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow. This would be a great book to discuss due to the fact that it's a true story and is filled with great inspiration. Here's a summary from Amazon.com: Amazon.com Review "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." --Randy Pausch A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy? When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living. In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.
Ditto that. I want to add something to the Ender's Game suggestion. I liked Ender's Shadow much more, but that could be because I read ES before EG.
I own American Gods but haven't read it yet, so that would be a good one. Perhaps a good one to start with since this is a writing forum would be On Writing by Stephen King. Learn from the master himself.
I would object to pushing On Writing as a Book of the Month choice. If we wanted to read about an inflated ego, we could always suggest Up Till Now by William Shatner. Enders Game by Orson Scott Card is a good choice. Card is a solid writer with a good mind for SF realism. I haven't actually read The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike, but if the movie was any indication, I would expect some great character design. Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me by Richard Farhinha was a great counterculture novel, but I'm not sure how readily available it is. Isaac Asimov's The Caves of Steel is the first of his SciFi mystery novels featuring detective Elijah Bailey and his robot partner R. Daneel Olivaw, and is a very enjoyable read.
The Phantom Tollbooth is short, sweet and friggin' epic. Without doubt, it is the greatest children's book ever written. Rats saw God, by Rob Thomas, is probably the young adult counterpart to The phantom Tollbooth.
Haha! Well, maybe that's all the more reason for us to read On Writing if there's already a bit of controversy or disagreement about it at the start. I found so much of his information very interesting and useful, and the autobiographical part at the start of it where he talks about his writing during his childhood, his development as a writer, and his struggles to get Carrie published were all fascinating. We could have a good time (even fruitful time) discussing his ideas on the craft of writing and seeing where we agree and disagree. Or not.
This book of the month thing seemed to fizzle, since there are only six posts in the discussion thread.
Well, for my part, I haven't had time to hunt down this month's book. And here it is, nearly 2/3 of the way through the month.
I'm a bit behind myself. I've been meaning to get together some questions to discuss. Life's been hectic lately. I'll catch up with my reading this weekend, though, and try to get things moving. What happened to all the people who said this book was totally awesome?
Seven Ancient Wonders, Matthew Reilly. Awesome plot, awesome characters, awesome author, awesome book!
Perhaps we can start the voting for November now, so everyone can get their copy. I'd suggest The Other Boleyn Girl, because I'm reading it right now.
Or we could extend thge October offering, and begin voting on the December offering... One month to acquire and get a start on the book, a month to discuss it while acquiring the next book. How does that sound?
