EN World Book Club

Welcome to the EN World Book Club. This new thread is a continuation of the original Book Club Thread, which has grown large was scaring newcomers away from getting involved. Plus, we are revising the format a little.

The original thread is here:
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=59667&page=1&pp=20

The idea is that periodically someone will select a book for everyone to read. After a reading period of about a month, the person who selected the book (the Selector) will start a discussion thread. The new (proposed) format will then have the Selector nominate his/her successor. This way, we keep people involved in the process.

The Club is open to anyone who wishes to participate. If you have previously read the book to be discussed, please feel free to jump in on the discussion. If you have interest in being the next Selector, post in this thread to let other know.

The guidelines for selection (and by extension, suggestion) are:

• Book must be in print (check to see if Amazon has it available).
• Should be something that you would expect a majority of participants would enjoy reading.
• Should be something that will engender thoughtful discussion.
• Shouldn't be anything that would make Eric's (or Morrus') Grandma's eyes pop out.

Others have suggested that the book be available in paperback, to limit costs. This is not a requirement, but keep in mind that the better job you do following these guidelines the more likely you are to have a decent sized group disussing to book you picked.

If anyone has any suggestions to tweak this revised format please post them here. The idea is that the Book Club belongs to the community, and is by no means exclusive. Participate when the topic interests you, and help guide the Club towards books you believe will interest others.

Happy Reading.

The current Selector is Duncan Haldane, and his selection is:

Idlewild
by Nick Sagan

Here is what Duncan had to say about the book:

Duncan Haldane said:

Anyway, I looked in a bookstore at lunch time, and made a choice.

It wasn't easy, because of trying to find somethign that wasn't part of a series, and I mostly read series. I also mostly read Fantasy, and it seems they are nearly all series these days.

But, finally something caught my eye. And that was a comment by Neil Gaiman. He's one of my favourite authors, so I thought that if he liked it was worth checking out.

The book I have chosen is...

Idlewild
by Nick Sagan

Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0399150978/qid=1086920711/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-4329598-1499159?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I was able to pick this up in Paperback. Apparently it was available here earlier than in the US. But, currently Amazon has the hardback in 60% off, and the paperback is due out in early July.

I checked in the store that it was available in the US, but didn't realise it wasn't out in paperback yet, sorry. But the good news is that Amazon's price for the hardback version is *cheaper* than the paperback.

Check out http://www.nicksagan.com/ for more details.

I hope it fills our requirements

Duncan

Click to expand...

We are using a slightly modified format this round, for two reasons. First, the book will not be out in paperback until July 7 (although it is available in hardcover on Amazon for less than the cost of most paperbacks). Second, the Club needs a jumpstart and we thought an extended reading time might allow more folks to get involved. So:

Reading Time: July 1 - August 15
Discussion Begins: August 15

Duncan, please start a new thread on or about August 15 for the discussion. Also, pick your successor at that time. The schedule should then move to a more normal format, ideally with the next selection made by September 1, reading time September 15 to October 15.

Again, I'm taking the initiative here, but if anyone has any objections of suggestions please offer them.

Perhaps a solution to the long thread problem with lots of confusing posts, that was run into before, would be to have one annoucement thread stuck to the top of the forum?

Count me in for the book club.

Always looking for good new books to read.

Bump!

Will selections always be fiction?

Mark said:

Will selections always be fiction?

Click to expand...

No reason why it has to be.

Under the current experimental format, we are reading Idlewild by Nick Sagan, which was selected by Duncan Haldane. The discussion for this selection starts August 15. On that date, Duncan will choose the next selector, who will in turn make the next selection by September 1.

So start campaigning for Duncan to choose you as the next selector, and then you can choose a non-fiction book if you like.

JoeBlank said:

So start campaigning for Duncan to choose you as the next selector, and then you can choose a non-fiction book if you like.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. Nothing wrong with fiction, of course, but my time is limited. I'd been skipping the club threads because it seemed that it was only for fiction. Now that I know otherwise, I'll just keep an eye on the selections and hop in if a non-fiction selection comes up that looks interesting to me.

Just a little bump to remind everyone that the discussion for Idlewild begins in two weeks, on August 15.

Also, if you want Duncan Haldane to pick you as the selector of the next book, start campaigning here.

I've had a quick look at the original thread.

Is there a list of books that have been selected? The list in the first post of that thread only has five books read. Are there others?