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I'd go for it.

We could toss out a theme for the month and vote for a book to read, or read a classic one month and read something more contemporary the next. For classics, it might help certain kinds of people (me, ha ha, 'cause the language in classics takes a while for me to untangle) to have someone clarifying certain phrases or the use of the language and with contemporary we could discuss... I dunno, what we think is done right/wrong?

I've never been in anything like this but it'd probably going too far to make it a bit of an academic kind of books club, wouldn't it? So maybe we should alternate between 'thinking' books and just 'entertaining' ones?

Er. I think I've hijacked your idea. Sorry. redface But if it happened, I'd really enjoy it, personally.

A book club sounds like a fun idea. And I love many classics (except for most of the stuff they make us read in school. But I digress). My only problem would be finding the time to read the extra book, as I have a busy schedule. Still, I'll try to be active!

I'd like to get this thing going because its sounds like a good idea.

I second the choice for Animal Farm. Its a classic and its short. That way it won't be a struggle to read for anyone and it will get the club going.

So then... my next question is, Do we have any GROUP (Gaia's Readers Online Unite Passionately) members? And if so, will any of ya be put off at all if a book wins nomination for a month and it's already been featured in GROUP? Just curious, because I can see the overlap already starting with some of the suggestions.

And speaking of suggestions, keep 'em coming, guys! In addition, I think it might also be helpful to people to include a brief synopsis of why you think we should decide on your choice(s). I feel that will help a lot of the people who haven't heard of a particular book, or are having a hard time deciding.




Finally, on a personal note, I nominate Brave New World. I concur with a lot of the already-suggested books as being good choices; however, if you're going for short classics that still pack a really good punch and lead to really good discussions, Brave New World has to be one of the most qualified I've heard of. It starts out slow, but its version of Utopia is both disturbing and logical. In addition to that, I think that its appeal is probably among the widest of any piece of classic lit I've ever seen. We've started reading it in my lit class, and this is one of the few books that has ever provoked all of us, straight-A students and slackers alike, into out-of-class discussion. It makes you think, and it's hard to put down.

Any news on this idea? How's it coming along?

I'd love the idea of a book club. It's a good way to get a community together reading the same thing, even though I have a good hundred or so books on my TBR shelf here. xd

As far as a book... I'm up for almost anything. smile

Aura doesn't mind if her suggestions are not voted, but synopsis is still coming this way:

1. Tristan and Iseult Tristan is King Marc's knight and heir (no, he's not his son). The King sends Tristan to bring the Maiden with Golden Hair (Iseult) to him, but Tristan and Iseult falls in love with each other because of a love potion. Love and Loyalty, who will prevail?
Rant:And seriously, there is such a chemistry between Tristan and Marc that it's not even funny. It's very much like the Arthur/Lancelot/Guenievre triangle where everyone loves everyone, but the knight can't have the queen and can't have the king, so he has to cheat with both... The theatral version was even worse, how Marc stopped Tristan and begged him to stay when Iseult is leaving them. He's your nefew for G- H- someone's sake! What's with all the cross-generation love? I mean, like how Guenievre is almost twice Lancelot's age, Marc is almost twice Tristan and Iseult's age. You are not *****, are you?

2. The Perfum: Story of a Murderer Grenouille can smell anything, but he doesn't have a smell of his own. His reason to be is discovered at his first murder.

3. Animal Farm A group of animals chased their owner out and ruled the farm themselves. Watch out: everything right goes wrong.

4. Paradise Lost Epic poem on Heaven, Earth and Hell.

5. Sunwing (by Kenneth Oppel) Sequel to Silverwing and prequel to Firewing. The plot is rather complicated. The first two novels spotlight Shade, a Silverwing. Bats are forbidden to see the sun. Shade wants the sun back. The third volume is more about Shade's son, who lives in his father's shadow.

7. His Dark Materials Trilogy In Lyra's world, everyone has his or her own daemon, a spiritual companion that changes forms until one becomes an adult. Lyra's father is obsessed with Dust, a mysterious substance that's everywhere. Will he find the the source of Dust? What will he do once he finds it? Can Lyra stop him? What are the horrible experiences for, far in the North? What is lie and what is truth?

8. Good Omens The end of the world is coming. Can the demon Crowley and his Enemy/friend angel Aziraphale, the witch Anathema and the witchfinder Newt, the Them, and other random and not-so-random characters stop the Apocalypse? Have a nice doomsday. Oh, don't drink water while reading, I'm not respossible for whatever the jet of liquid coming from your mouth may destroy.

9. Mort (by Terry Pratchett) Remember how bad it it went when Death got a godson in Grimm's Tales? It gets better here. And weirder. In fact, not only Death adopts a daughter, he gets an apprentice.

10. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass Follow Alice to the worlds in her dreams. Mess up with your logic.

11. Undine (by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué) Undine wants a soul. She receives it after her marriage with a knight. Does a soul truely mean happiness?

12. Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth (by Hermann Hesse) The title says it all. It's the story of Emil Sinclair's youth. It's a bildungsroman, meaning "novel of personal development". Demian, Emil's friend, acts like his daimon of sort. A story rich in symbols. Demian is so symbolically sexy.

That's the end of my low-quality synopsis. I suggest a wikipedia search.