Lammycat Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 If I join, there's a good chance you'll eventually want to kick me out. As long as your membership dues are paid in full by that crossroads, no sweat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I just finished that, and it was great. Definitely not light, though, and pretty damn depressing. Hmm, the beginning seemed pretty lighthearted... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VenusStopsTrain2 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I'm in. At some point it would be good to read Jodi Picoult books...just cause I think we could have some really great discussions about the plots. I think Kidsmoke may agree with me? I find non-fictions harder to read..but if they are about plagues and stuff I'm definitely game. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
foolnrain97 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I can read too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Three dollars and 63 cents Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I love all of you who want to read Underworld. I read parts of it for a class I took in the first semester of my doctoral program, and the professor told me two years later when I was doing a qualifying exam for her that she still hadn't managed to read all of it. It took me a good two months of reading every day, but it was definitely worth the commitment. It's by far my favorite DeLillo novel. I wouldn't mind going back to reread it, as I'm sure I had to have missed a lot. A possible compromise could be to read the opening separately. It stands on its own. DeLillo actually published it separately as a novella called Pafko At the Wall. I'm not sure if it's still in print, but I bought a copy for a friend who loves baseball but hates to read, and he loved it. I'd also really like to read The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I've had it on my to-read list for quite awhile, but I've been waiting for it to come out in paperback, which I think it does this month. My schedule gets kind of crazy again next week since I start teaching again, but if you all pick a book that sounds interesting to me, I might try to join in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Yeah, it might take me a few weeks to get through whatever book we decide because I'm working 2 jobs + doing a full time class schedule, but I'm definitely in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyjimmy Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I'm the next-best thing to Oprah, I promise. This statement is leaving me feeling slightly conflicted.I'll get past it tho. Seems like a few of us (myself included) have already read Devil in the White City....Yeah, me too. But I liked it lots and it's been a few years. I'd be down for this, I'll suggest the Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, as I bought and haven't read it yet.This might be a good pick considering all the hype and praise it's received recently. I haven't read it yet but am certainly planning on getting to it at some point in the near future. That said, I'm in and I'm down for whatever the gang picks or HRM Oprah2.0's proclamation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Hmm, the beginning seemed pretty lighthearted... Yeah, it darkens considerably shortly thereafter...with that said, it was one of my favorites from last year. Joshua Ferris's Then We Came to the End would be another great one. The environment it takes place in, an office, would, I suspect, resonate with anyone who has worked behind a desk. A brief Amazon review: It's 2001. The dot-com bubble has burst and rolling layoffs have hit an unnamed Chicago advertising firm sending employees into an escalating siege mentality as their numbers dwindle. As a parade of employees depart, bankers boxes filled with their personal effects, those left behind raid their fallen comrades' offices, sifting through the detritus for the errant desk lamp or Aeron chair. Written with confidence in the tricky-to-pull-off first-person plural, the collective fishbowl perspective of the "we" voice nails the dynamics of cubicle culture--the deadlines, the gossip, the elaborate pranks to break the boredom, the joy of discovering free food in the breakroom. Arch, achingly funny, and surprisingly heartfelt, it's a view of how your work becomes a symbiotic part of your life. A dysfunctional family of misfits forced together and fondly remembered as it falls apart. Praised as "the Catch-22 of the business world" and "The Office meets Kafka," I'm happy to report that Joshua Ferris's brilliant debut lives up to every ounce of pre-publication hype and instantly became one of my favorite books of the year. --Brad Thomas Parsons Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenbobblehead Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I'd be down for this, I'll suggest the Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, as I bought and haven't read it yet. My suggestions will mostly be in the lighter side, because I tend to prefer books with a sense of humor about them.yes, i have this as well and haven't read it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 If you guys end up going with Underworld, then I'm in, because I'm halfway through it after four months and probably would finish last. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Show off. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 You know, in the Denver Museum of Science & Nature there are tons of animal/wildlife displays with very nice painted backgrounds. There is a little leprechaun hidden in many of them (painted in by the artist). A monkey head with a leprechaun hat would have been pretty neat, though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 This statement is leaving me feeling slightly conflicted. Yeah, me too. Joshua Ferris's Then We Came to the End would be another great one. The environment it takes place in, an office, would, I suspect, resonate with anyone who has worked behind a desk.I read that one recently, really enjoyed it. If you guys end up going with Underworld, then I'm in, because I'm halfway through it after four months and probably would finish last.That's one of the ones that I was thinking we could do in sections. A hundred pages at a time (or, whatever the closest chapter break is), something like that. It might help if we were all slogging through it together. OK, I'm probably going to make this into a poll tomorrow morning. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Central Scrutinizer Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Has anyone heard of this book? Not as part of the suggested book club, but posted here because it seemed as good a place as any. The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature by Daniel J. Levitin, author of This is Your Brain on Music (2006). In "Brain," he explained the evolutionary necessity of songs in shaping human identity. The new book takes six categories of song -- friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love -- and describes how each has used its unique properties transformed the human brain. The guy is a research scientist and musician -- including writing incidental music for Repo Man. Here's the amazon link: href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525950737?ie=UTF8&tag=veryshortlist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0525950737] Quote Link to post Share on other sites
la* Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Maudie, if you need a co-coordinator, let me know!! I'd love to participate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viatroy Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Tried it recently, but couldn't get into Underworld. I'm game for Oscar Wao. How about some lighthearted nonfiction likeNaomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine"? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 May I suggest the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines, 12th Edition? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 Maudie, if you need a co-coordinator, let me know!! I'd love to participate.Yay! I'm hoping that once we pick a book, the rest of it will just kind of... happen , but I'm sure I'm going to need help applying some sort of structure to this thing. Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Edie Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I'm in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 WWOD? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katie3 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I'd be in!A book I recommend to everyone is Middlesex, by Jeffery Eugenides (I may have spelled his name wrong.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
austrya Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Middlesex was a good read. I'm up for anything except "chick lit". A couple classics here and there would be nice too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 I would love more suggestions for classics (I'm all about Jane Austen, the "chick lit" of classics!). Christy, anything in particular? I'll toss whatever you suggest into the poll tomorrow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
austrya Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Classic "chick lit" is ok. I love Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. Maybe some Steinbeck, Shakespeare, Hawthorne, etc. I'm reading the Scarlet Letter again for the 3rd time right now... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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