PixieDuster’s Comments (group member since Dec 30, 2014)

PixieDuster’s comments from the Imgureaders group.

Hey guys, I think I'll close the club for now.
Thank you to everyone who has taken part, its been fun :D

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be enough activity for us to continue on. Hopefully we can revisit this in the future.

Its been a pleasure meeting all of you and I hope your next book makes you smile!

-PD

Okay, thanks for the support guys! :D

We need a source for books, preferably a 'Top whatever' list used with a randomiser to select about 5/6 books then vote on those books.

Maybe this list? https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7

Obviously when choosing the usual rules apply, english, non-series book unless its the first book, less than 600 pages, not read by the club before.

Thoughts?

-P

Sorry about being quite absent BTW, new job+family drama+illness = one very sick Pixie :)

How about if we choose books to read over a two month period, and have a topic that is a complete spoiler zone. Because I think waiting even a week after you've read a book to review it can lead to forgetting certain bits of the story or people not bothering.
As for what books we choose, it's hard to find something for everyone, and using the top '100' lists didn't offer much interest when I tried it.
Finding a source of book choices that suit everyones tastes/interests whilst offering something they may not have thought to read before is quite difficult.

Hi Kari,
I'm going to give it a week for people to respond with their interest, if at least 5 people wish to continue I definitely will but otherwise I don't think we'd have enough readers to create proper discussions.

Really hope we do though! :-)

Hi everyone!

Just curious as to whether enough people want to carry on with our book club?
I've noticed that there hasn't been any activity for over a month.

Thoughts?

-P

Hmm, I think don't I want to finish this. I'm of the opinion that if you're not enjoying a book you shouldn't continue reading it (academic ones excluded of course). I'm just over a third in and steadily losing confidence in it, still no plot line in sight, annoying writing, unexplainable actions and one dimensional characters. Sigh.

EDIT: Just realised all this time that I left out 'don't' in my opening sentence!

I'm finding the style of writing quite distracting, it's fractured to me. Also I've come across many phrases that are just baffling, being a Northern Brit we have a lot of strange sayings but these just do not make a lick of sense.

@Joanna
Ditto, I've owned it on kindle for a while and its been staring at me every time I skip it for another book. I think I actually had a paperback of it at one point, but it went to the charity shop before I read it.

Hi everyone!
I've added our book club books to the group bookshelf and the current book 3 (Stardust by Neil Gaiman) is set as an event.
I will be continuing to add the book club books to the shelf and as events so they're easier to follow.

-PD

The winner of our poll is Stardust by Neil Gaiman with 7 votes out of 13. Come back on the 20th April for spoiler free talk.
Happy reading!

These rules are in use as general guidelines, more may be added or some may be changed.
I do not wish to dictate over anyone, but as a moderator I feel I have a responsibility to organise the chaos. Anyone who is unhappy with the way I run things is more than welcome to speak to me about it, I am very open to suggestions and just want everyone to be happy. We can use this topic board for suggestions to the way things are run, frequent events that could be arranged etc.

- All book genres will be taken into consideration, providing there is enough readers interested.

- No posting spoilers on relevant topic board until two weeks after the start read date.

- All book suggestions must be readily available i.e. kindle edition, mass market paperback.

- All book suggestions must be fiction unless otherwise specified.

- Timetable will be 3 months on, 1 month off - with roughly 3 books during the active period.

- Topics will be closed after one month of inactivity, (exceptions will be made), non-moderator topics with low posts and inactivity will be deleted after two months - this is to try and keep things tidier.

- Overall you MUST respect other peoples opinions, excessive use of vulgarity and swearing will result in you being unwelcome to our group.

- Bullying will NOT be tolerated, and I will do everything in my power to make sure you do not have a future with our book club.


PD

I agree it's more realistic that they're camped out in 'public places'. I think it could also be that most would be panicked and try to escape during the initial outbreaks, then they end up stuck there. I do think that given the choice they'd rather stay in a mansion but their survival depends on the skills of those around them, also the supplies they have to hand. But again this would make them targets to others who are willing to steal and even kill for it. I guess we can't really say for sure where people would stay in reality but my perception of it is that those who try to escape in panic are more likely to be in randomised stranded groups and those who have had a little time to prepare would be more exclusive to family and friends in one or two houses.
Of course there are more variants of these I've mentioned but I think eventually they'd all have to leave the confines of their living space for supplies.
Maybe this would be how the Travelling Symphony was born; out of necessity, then they adopted the ideal of "Survival is insufficient" and evolved into what they became.

I hope that all made sense - my brain is still very tired today :-)

I actually find some aspects of this book quite frightening, not in a horror sense but in terms of the loneliness people would endure, the insanity that taints the edges of their minds each day.
One line I've just read 'I thought I was the only one.' From a distraught man who had been living in an abandoned hotel full of bodies - I read that over and over again, a simple sentence that somehow became laden with so much desperation for human interaction.
With all the horrors of our world and the countless wars and epidemics that it's suffered its a wonder humanity hasn't been reduced to scenes similar to those in the book, I guess that's what makes it frightening - the idea that it is still a possibility.

On a writing note I find it quite brutally engaging but still softened at the edges.
I did find the referencing to other members of the Travelling Symphony by their instrument and rank annoying, it was the only time (so far - 78%) I became exasperated with it. It just felt confusing.

My favourite perspective seems to be Clarks, which is quite late in the book but I found it worth staying awake at 2am to read.

Another thought I had was that if this was made into a movie - it just couldn't capture it, all the angles/lighting/scores/dramatic closeups couldn't recreate what magic this book can play on your mind.

This thread will be closed to further comments on 27th March if no more discussion takes place between now and then.

-P

@Joanna Its my pleasure! I just hope everyone is happy in the long run :D

I'm only at 8% but I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. Not what I'd usually choose to read at all. The writing has a nice fluidity that changes tempo at the right times, matching both the calm and the frenzy thoughts in turn.

Our Book 2 winner is.... Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Get reading bookworms!
22nd March will be the start of spoiler territory.

Apologies for the delay, I have been quite ill the last couple of days.

Our Book 2 winner is.... Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Get reading bookworms!
22nd March will be the start of spoiler territory.