Stitch on 30/6/2006 at 17:26
We like to read, we like to squabble, and ignatios and I have decided that it's high time we coordinate the two into one glorious monthly literature-based throwdown. You know you want in.
We're looking to start a TTLG monthly book club that will continue indefinitely. The concept is pretty standard book club stuff: participants would pick a book and then discuss it a month later, at which point they'd begin to read the next book. Kind of like Oprah except this one will be driven by the community and not one individual's personal tastes. And also except Oprah isn't involved.
Despite the fact that ignatios and I are spearheading this, we want this ultimately to be guided and shaped entirely by the TTLG community. We're establishing the basic structure here, but it can be modified at any time at the request of a majority of the participants. Likewise, while ignatios and I have picked a book to kick things off, all future selections should be voted on by the community. We're simply trying to set up a framework that will run itself from month to month.
And what is the basic framework you ask?
At the beginning of each month we'll discuss the book that we spent the previous month reading. The next month's book should already be selected at this point, so readers have a month to dig into that. At the same time, suggestions will be solicited for the following month's book. A week or so later all suggestions will be turned into a poll in a new thread, and everyone will be able to vote on what book they want to read. After a week of voting, the poll will be informally closed and the winner will be announced. The thread will then go dormant until it is resurrected when the time arises for the book to be discussed. This basically means that each month will have one thread dedicated to that month's book, which results in two TTLG book club threads topped off max as one book is discussed and the next is selected. Hopefully David and GBM won't find this too spammy, but each thread will be clearly marked so non-participants will know what to avoid.
If all that seems kind of confusing, see the fine print at the end of this post.
There are some details igs and I came up with, but everything is ultimately flexible as this should be a community-driven project:
* Books that do not gather enough votes will not be carried over as candidates from month to month, although they can be resubmitted as suggestions. This is to avoid the poll bloating up with an ever-increasing list of literature.
* Hardcover books and graphic novels are generally discouraged as they tend to be more expensive and thereby raise the cost of entry. Still, this is ultimately up to the community and if a comic book wins the poll, it wins the poll.
* Participants should announce early on whether or not they're in for the upcoming month's book. We want to make sure more than one person ends up reading the selection. This isn't a rule, of course, as some will drop out and some will trickle in late, all of which is fine as long as we have enough people each month who have read the book and are ready to talk.
* Suggestions should only be made and voted on by those who actually plan on participating that month. We would rather people not submit their favorite book and then drop out if it isn't voted through. The point here is in part to explore books somewhat outside our normal reading habits. Of course, this isn't enforceable, but generally speaking if you make a suggestion you should participate in the outcome.
* Each month presents a new book and a new beginning. Nobody from the previous month is expected to participate, and likewise anyone is welcome to join in even if they've never participated before. We'll most likely have a combination of old and new faces each month.
* I'd personally like to shy away from genre fiction like fantasy and sci-fi because it doesn't lend itself as well to rich discussion. This is simply a suggestion, however, as I will only be one of many making suggestions and voting.
So now you know the structure of our proposed book club, now let's move on to the books:
ignatios and I have selected <U>Life of Pi</U> by Yann Martel ((
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156027321/qid=1151688004/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-3853963-9048961?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) Amazon link) as the August book. Neither of us really know much about it but it's supposed to be quite good, and it seems like a simple enough book upon which to launch this endeavor. Participants have a month to procure and read a copy of the book, and spoiler-rich discussion will begin in this thread on August 1st.
If you plan on participating with <U>Life of Pi</U>, please announce your involvement by posting in this thread. This isn't a signed contract, just a general "yeah, cool, I'm in."
And also: if you want to participate in September's book of the month, start making suggestions now so we can assemble a poll together soon.
We hope many of you decide to get involved in what will (with luck) become a monthly staple at TTLG. Suggestions and comments are welcome as this book club belongs to each and every one of you. Now get reading.
FINE PRINT AT THE END OF THIS POST LOL
I realize the framework listed above is possibly a little confusing, so here's a schedule as to how things would work under the current plan:
July 1st: People start reading <U>Life of Pi</U>, suggestions are made for September's book.
July 7th: September book thread is created with poll of possible candidates. Voting opens!
July 14th: Voting closes, September book announced. Everyone participating has plenty of time to scrape up funds to buy it.
August 1st: This thread is resurrected, discussion of <U>Life of Pi</U> begins, people start reading September book, suggestions are made for October's book.
August 7th: October book thread is created with poll of possible candidates. Voting opens!
August 14th: Voting closes, October book announced. Everyone participating has plenty of time to scrape up funds to buy it.
September 1st: September book thread is resurrected, discussion of September book begins, people start reading October book, suggestions are made for November's book.
etc
etc
etc
Edit: Changed title to "August's selection" as we will be discussing the book in August.
Edit 2: Changed title to reflect the fact that discussion is now open
