Let's start a book club.

[Stupot]

I was nearly going to start another 'What are you reading now?' thread, but wouldn't it be much tidier if we were all reading the same thing.

I was thinking we could have it monthly (I'm a slow reader) and maybe set weekly targets to make sure everyone is kind of reading at roughly the same pace to keep up with the discussions.  And the last week can be mainly set aside for discussing the book after reading it.

So for example, Say the book is 30 chapters long the timescale for the month could be something along these lines:
Aug 1 - Everybody starts reading.
Aug 8 - Everybody tries to be on chapter 10
Aug 15 - Everybody tries to be on chapter 20
Aug 22 - Everbody tries to be on Chapter 30
Aug 23-31 - Discussion of book as a whole

This doesn't have to be an exact science, and of course if a discussion gets heated it can always spill over into the next month while the next book club is beginning.

So this thread is really just for discussing how it could work and also, ideas of books you want to read.  I want to read a diverse range of stuff from all genres, it doesn't have to be something particularly 'literary' every month.  And if we get a list going, we could be thinking 3 or 4 months in advance and that gives people plenty of chance to get hold of the books cheaply or freely.

[Armageddon]

I nominate Blood Meridian to be the first book we read, and what a swell idea this is Stupot.

[waheela]

Yeah, I love this idea too! I'm totally interested (depending on the book). Unfortunately, I don't have any ideas for a specific book, but my personal genre favorites are fantasy and sci-fi. I've been meaning to read some Octavia Butler... maybe one of her books?

[Gribbler]

I've just started reading Good Omens by Gaiman & Prattchet. You can all jump in too I heard it's a good one.

[Snarky]

Hmmm... my to-read pile has volumes 3-4 in Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, as well as his Fifth Head of Cerberus, Jack Handey's The Stench of Honolulu, Home by Marilynne Robinson and the graphic novel Habibi by Craig Thompson. Maybe The Fifth Head of Cerberus or Habibi might be suitable?

Anyway, I'm not sure I can keep up with a book club (I'm a binge reader, and I'd probably either read the whole thing within the first week or not at all), so maybe I'd better suggest something I've read already. Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy) is definitely good, though it might be tough going.

For something fun, really readable and adventure-y I would nominate Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart: A drunken old scholar and a naive youngster stumble from adventure to adventure in an ancient China informed by legend, seeking a cure for a disease that has struck the boy's village. Great if you like Pratchett or Lloyd Alexander's non-Prydain books.

I really enjoy mysteries, and the best two I've read in recent years are In the Woods by Tana French and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Either would be good if not too many people have read them already. Otherwise, an old, obscure favorite of mine is Puzzle for Pilgrims by Patrick Quentin (where a small group of American and British ex-pats staying in Mexico are forced together to cover up a murder of someone they all had reason to kill, forming a compact of the damned that gradually unravels). It's out of print but not too hard to get hold of second-hand.

And if anyone has not read Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse, that needs to be rectified ASAP. (If you don't know Wodehouse, you can think of the Jeeves & Wooster books as a parody of Downton Abbey... though actually it's the other way around; the series is an attempt to play Wodehouse's spoof of that world straight.) I expect the discussion would just consist of people quoting their favorite bits, but that's OK by me!

[Andail]

I think this is a terrific idea, however I'm personally too swamped with work (both day job and game) to take on more deadlines.

Just wanted to say that Blood Meridian is one of my favourite novels all time - simply outstanding.

[Eric]

(If you don't know Wodehouse, you can think of the Jeeves & Wooster books as a parody of Downton Abbey... though actually it's the other way around; the series is an attempt to play Wodehouse's spoof of that world straight.)

I've been trying to sell Downton fans on Wodehouse (my all-time favorite 'comfort' read) using this exact argument. The recent Blandings television series provides a good transition.

Also, I would have been certain that starting with Blood Meridian was a surefire way to kill a book club dead as soon as it started, but I'm glad to see so many here have excellent taste in books!

[Sane Co.]

    I might join. It sounds like everyone's read Blood Meridian, so it wouldn't be the best book to read as a group. We should pick a book most of us haven't read. Will try to read Blood Meridian on my own time though, it sounds interesting.

[Retro Wolf]

Could be fun! I'm currently working my way through the Hannibal Lecter books.

Iain M Banks is my favourite author at the moment though, I'm a bit of a sucker for science fiction.

I'm told that I'm a fast reader, so the deadlines wouldn't be a problem.

[Myinah]

If this takes off, count me in I love a good read.

[Gribbler]

I'd recommend "Raw Shark Texts" by Steven Hall. Incredible book.

I didn't read or even heard of "Blood Meridian". It was released in my country just few years ago, in 2010. It's now officially on my "to read" list.

[Snarky]

So... do we want to decide on a book, get more suggestions, or what?

Someone is going to have to take charge, either making an executive decision or arranging for a vote.

[Myinah]

Maybe we could have a look at the best selling sci-fi/fantasy lists or something and pick something most haven't read? Take a vote from there? Sci-fi/fantasy seems to be the genre people are gravitating too, although I'd be happy with a crime thriller/mystery too.

[Andail]

I don't read much sci-fi or fantasy, but the latest one I did read was really great: The blade itself by Joe Abercrombie. It's very different to the stereotypical fantasy, which is always about a young boy who grows up and becomes awesome and saves the world(s). Take that from one who, as I said, don't read much fantasy, so I guess the genre has probably evolved lately. Still, I think The blade itself is more mature and multifaceted than most of its genre.

[Dropped Monocle Games]

I would love to take part in this too! I'm a pretty slow reader but I would like to give it a try, I mostly read fantasy but I'm more than happy to read something out of my comfort zone, I may find something I really enjoy.

I would like to put forward some books I have enjoyed in the past, and I'm always happy to reread
The Innocent Mage & The Awakened Mage by Karen Miller (its a two parter)
and any book by Sir Terry Pratchett.

[Stupot]

I've just spent much of the last few hours wandering around the 2nd hand bookshops and charity shops in my town. I was looking for Blood Meridian but couldn't find it. Infact the only one suggested here that I could find cheaply was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  It does sound rather good so i'd be happy to go with that one if others are too.

As Snarky has already read it maybe he could 'host' the discussions?

[kconan]

  White Tiger is pretty amazing, and my favorite of the Man Booker prize winners.  I'll add Blood Meridian to my list. 

  Armor is also a great read, especially for sci-fi fans.  And for comedy with shock value, I highly recommend John Niven's Kill Your Friends.

[Snarky]

the only one suggested here that I could find cheaply was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  It does sound rather good so i'd be happy to go with that one if others are too.

As Snarky has already read it maybe he could 'host' the discussions?

Well, I could at least keep watch over the thread and try to keep it free of spoilers (the book has a number of twists).

The most interesting aspect of it to me was the study of gender roles, expectations and stereotypes; but maybe people will be sick of talking about those subjects after the ongoing discussion threads die down?

[Myinah]

I'm up for reading Gone Girl. Seconded.

[Snarky]

White Tiger is pretty amazing, and my favorite of the Man Booker prize winners.

I've been meaning to read that one. When you say favorite, are you saying you've read them all?

If we're going to go ahead with Gone Girl, I would suggest we give it until the start of September (or maybe even another week in) to give everyone a chance to get hold of the book:

Gone Girl


Amazon

                    Who are you?
What have we done to each other?

Nick and Amy are a seemingly perfect couple, until the day Amy disappears, and Nick becomes the number-one suspect in whatever has happened to her. Told in alternating points of view and possibly unreliable flashbacks (with excerpts from Amy's diary telling her side), this thriller explores a marriage where the cracks were growing long before it shattered so dramatically.

I would recommend being very careful about spoilers! Avoid reading reviews and articles about the book until you've read it yourself, and don't peek ahead. A lot of the tension in the book comes from not knowing the answers to certain questions until the right time.

The book is divided into three parts that would make for natural discussion breaks, but they're rather uneven in length (~250 pp, ~150 pp, ~50 pp). Nevertheless, I suggest we take a week to talk about each part, maybe in three separate threads (depending on the amount of activity), with open-ended discussion afterwards. Mainly because the "known facts" and the interesting questions are so distinct in each part, and because I'm guessing each part raises a comparable amount of discussion topics. I think discussion should open as soon as people start reading, but with anything that relates to later developments within the section behind a spoiler tag.