Monday, March 30, 2009
The Past, Present, and Future
Okay, we are officially finished our first book. I was fairly pleased with the result and I hope that you were as well. I would like to spend a little time reflecting on the successes and short-comings of our BNW experience. Then, we will start scheming on our next literary exploit.
In your comments, I would like you to respond to the following:
(1) What did you like about the format of the book club so far? (Responses to this can address things like length of reading assignments, frequency of discussion questions, structure of discussion questions, etc.)
(2) Are there any structural or procedural suggestions that you have?
(3) List two books that you are interested in reading next.
After everyone has posted, I will create a poll on the website so that everyone can vote on the next book.
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(1) Length of reading assignments seemed short so were perfect for me because I could read other books at the same time. The shortness also made it easier to catch up if I missed a week's reading.
ReplyDelete(2) Is there any way to flip it so that newer posts are on top? Or so that threads stack like gmail emails do? My Virgoan mind likes that kind of structure but can live without it if no one else cares.
(3) Alas, Babylon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alas,_Babylon
Birds Without Wings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_Without_Wings_(novel)
1) I really liked the length of assignments as well... My only problem was that I thought they became a bit repetitive but I acknowledge that this may have been the book's causing. I didn't feel that pressured to do anything though, and this made me want to participate. I enjoyed looking at the webpage.....
ReplyDelete2) I suggest we just constantly try new things...maybe we all take turns making questions....? Just constantly try new things...keep it fresh...
3) Ayn Rand- Atlas Shrugged
Goethe - Faust
Faust-Goethe
or anything Hemingway, Homer, Kafka, Dostoyevsky, etc.
ReplyDelete(1) I liked the length of the reading assignments. We should try to keep each week's reading to about 40-50 pages. I also liked the different perspectives that were brought by each book club member. Your commments definitely helped me better understand the novel.
ReplyDelete(2) I would like to see a more consistent effort to really dig into each week's reading. There were a few weeks where I was really impressed with the discussion, but there were also a few weeks that were lackluster. In my opinion, BNW provided plenty of fodder for discussion. I think it just comes down each member finding the motivation/time to really explore each week's reading.
I would also like to experiment with discussion questions. Maybe this time we should take turns posting each week's discussion prompt?
(3) Sorry I couldn't help myself...I'm suggesting 3:
CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller
BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy
CLOUD ATLAS by David Mitchell
Unfortunately, I don't think that I can adjust the comment settings. By default, the most recent comments are listed first.
ReplyDeleteDo we wait until everyone has spoken to start voting?
ReplyDeleteLet's give everyone a couple more days to respond. Sunday will be the deadline. I will then post a poll on the website so that everyone can cast their votes.
ReplyDeleteIf we are listing three
ReplyDeleteUlysses- Joyce
Good call
ReplyDeleteAtlas Shrugged- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged
ReplyDeleteFaust- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goethe's_Faust
Ulysses- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_(novel)
Hemingway- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun_Also_Rises
After looking at the books everyone has put up so far...they all look interesting. I'm excited to see what's next.
I put up links to the books I suggested...check them out!!! Give Goethe a chance!
The Sound and The Fury- Faulkner
ReplyDeleteThe Master and Margarita- Bulgakov
1) Since I did not participate but rather observed, I will skip numero uno about logistics.
ReplyDelete2)I think the questions should be a bit edgier...I concur that the idea of having a different person post weekly sounds interesting, and may help keep things flowing. Keep the 40-50 page a week requirement- it works well.
3) "Last of the Mohicans"- James Fenimore Cooper
"For Whom the Bell Tolls"- Hemingway
or "Electric Acid Kool-Aid Test"- Tom Wolfe
Looking forward...
Here are a couple of things I'd like to read:
ReplyDelete1) Death with Interruptions (Jose Saramago)
2) If I may comment on the above options, a teacher friend of mine tells me "don't bother reading Ulysses unless you've read some other James Joyce first, he's self-referential." Perhaps the rest of you have already read Joyce; since I haven't, I pose the alternative of:
"The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" (James Joyce)
Don Quixote- Cervantes
ReplyDelete?
1) again, i thought the shorter reading assignments made the discussions more repetitive. but if we can become more creative about broaching topics, the repetitiveness of saying the same thing over and over again won't happen again and again. however, i do dread the over analysis of art. in short, i don't know what the hell i am saying.
ReplyDelete2)i think rotating discussion leader is a good idea, but only if we pass the token in a counter clockwise direction after we speak.
3)narcissus and goldmund - by herman hesse
grapes of wrath - john steinbeck
dostoevsky or hemmingway