The Nation 2.0 discussion

I think it's safe to say that I'm not the only one that would like to see "The Sparrow" added back to our reading list. It really seemed like an interesting book, and it's the only one from the original list that I haven't read.

I was ahead of our posted list, so I read it anyway. Interesting read. There were some parts I wound up skimming. The story is great though. Good insight into us as a race.

Also Honolulu by Alan Brennert and something by Jules Verne. I have a lot of classics that yet to be read.

1984, World War Z, Never Let Me Go, the Sparrow, the Kite Runner, The Yacoubian Building, The Four Agreements, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, I Shall Not Hate

Since Haunted was the last book scheduled in the other club, perhaps we should start with that as the first book here.

I've had a recent desire to read classics, so how about Heart of Darkness, Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, those sorts of things

The classics sound good, so does World War Z.

World War Z is something that Phil has mentioned several times in his videos, and it seems really interesting. Hopefully we can get it on the list soon. I also like the idea of mixing classics and non-fiction in with everything else. Once we have a couple more moderators in the mix to help with picking books and such, we'll be ready to read!

I'd like to see Guns, Germs, and Steel added to this list. I've already read it, but I think it fits into the rest of the reading list we've done so far.

I really enjoy the Empire series by Anthony Riches. As you read through the series you will notice the historian get better and better at writing.

The only down side about that series is, no ebooks. Which I admit is a pain in the ass, I own a Kindle Paperwhite.

I think we should keep Haunted for this week, and move on from there. I'm not opposed to keeping the Sparrow, but I think that might lose a lot of people, as Phil couldn't get through it either. Also, World War Z is an amazing novel, and I think everyone needs to read it.

Why would we lose people if we were reading Sparrow? Are people offended by that novel?

I don't mean the group would lose members, I just mean people won't read it. I haven't read it myself, but I've heard a lot of readers have a hard time getting through it. It's pretty heavy subject matter, and the book is a little long side. I just don't know if enough people will get through it to spark a conversation.

400 pages with alot of mixed reviews, but it does seem interesting. Maybe we could push it down the list?

Natural History of Dragons

Books that are long, like Sparrow, should be the book of the month. Shorter ones can be the weekly books

I concur with Alex.

The Fault in our Stars, yes, I read that months ago because of the vlogbrothers. It's basically an essential read nowdays, it gained popularity at an astonishing speed.

The Sparrow was a good read.
It does meander a bit, but it was the author's first novel.

It's been a while since I've been on the lookout for books. I agree with Amy about keeping the variety as far as genre. I get kind of nervous about all of the books that are now movies. I know that if they make a movie out of it, the book should be safe, but sometimes they stick to action/adventure. From the first 10 books, I came across several books I would have not picked for myself that I ended up really enjoying.

I know it's abit late in the month, but does anybody object to me adding "The Sparrow" as book of the month?

no objection here

Does the book of the month replace the three books of the month, or is it to be read along the other books? It comes down to whether we want to stick to the 50 book challenge, and I would rather stick to that.
On the other hand, you can arrange to have a short book read after a long one (and maybe also before), like Heart of Darkness (around a hundred pages).
For example, the list can be Heart of Darkness (118 pages), the Sparrow (450 pages), Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (92 pages).

Nevermind, if I add The Sparrow to this months list, we would be reading 5 books for the month, can't do that. So next month we have 3 weekly books and 1 that spans for the whole month? I also realised I'm in the wrong topic. This is "book suggestions"

1984
Breakfast at Tiffany's
True Grit
Anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Earnest Hemingway, or Stephen King
Catch-22

Mutasem wrote: "Does the book of the month replace the three books of the month, or is it to be read along the other books? It comes down to whether we want to stick to the 50 book challenge, and I would rather s..."

The idea is that for those of us that can't read a book every week, there's a longer book that they can stretch over the whole month. For those of us who are able to read a book a week, this just gets added to the list.

A definite must read is The Way of Kings. Simply impossible to award this book any higher possible praise.

So it looks like we've got two complementary goals.
A 12 in 12 goal and the original 50 in 52.
Sounds like a plan.

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

I just got done reading this, and was impressed.

Either "The Stand" by Stephen King, or "The girl with the Dragon Tatoo" trilogy. Finished both and they are some of the best books I read in a long time.

I read Into the Wild when I was in high school, and I really enjoyed it. I would be interested in rereading it as part of the book club. I think it would be really interesting to see how I feel about the book 10 years later.

I'm not sure who is picking the books, but way to go on keeping the variety. I'm excited about the next three books.

Thanks Kristen. I've been trying to keep it pretty mixed up.

So...are we done?

Yeaaah, I was on holiday. Y'all still wanna do this?

keep it going!

definitely, I was just intrigued in your guy's book suggestions, but I'll get more involved now and start discussing.

I got a little behind, but I'm hoping to catch up over the holiday weekend. I'm game to keep going if everyone else is.

*update* Can't catch up. exams. Man, Fuck life! Wanted to read Joyland, couldn't find it.

Exams...... I may be here or there on this. Do we have enough people to keep this going? Busy busy world.

I just finished Brave New World, and halfway through 20000 Leagues, I'm still waiting on Joyland, but someone else has it checked out right now. Is anyone else reading?

Just started Joyland!

For those of us in a state of catch-up, does anyone want to open discussion on some of the books we missed?

I think the catch-up weeks are a great idea. I think everyone in this group has taken on a huge task to read so many books in so little time, especially considering the length and subject matter mixed with varying genres.
I found this list today, and noticed a few of the books and authors were some that we have read for this group. Some of them look promising. Anyone have any opinions?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinlarosa/bo...

Hey all! So in light of Thursday's PDS which discussed Syria and Earth Overshoot Day, I wanted to recommend a book I just finished: Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed by Jared Diamond. Excellent book. :)