Go Fug Yourself Book Club discussion

This is something I would not ordinarily read, so I am looking forward to getting outside my comfort zone. Discussion shall commence November 1st!

We will be delaying our discussion of The Blind Assassin until December 1st. My sincere apologies for this! Both of your moderators are swamped at work. I, personally, have not even started this REALLY long (but pretty universally loved) book. Please mark your calendars to talk about The Blind Assassin on December 1st.

Your dilatory moderator,
Bonnie

Good-o! I am reading something that is dragging me and delaying my re-read.

Alicia wrote: "Good-o! I am reading something that is dragging me and delaying my re-read."

Thanks for making me feel better about falling down on the job :). I am really looking forward to the book, but with work crushing me I keep looking at this 500+ page tome and defaulting to things like short stories.

Phew! I haven't started the book yet, so I'm glad to have another month!

This works for me because I *just* started the audiobook, and that will likely take a couple weeks due to its length.

I am so glad I am not the only one who needs the time! I am knee deep in a book I am really liking - Bitter Greens - and it is pretty long. Glad I don't have to jump ship. Blind Assassin is up next though!

Alicia wrote: "Good-o! I am reading something that is dragging me and delaying my re-read."

I'm intrigued — what are you reading that's dragging? I sometimes force myself to go ahead and finish when a book is dragging (most recently The Paying Guests, which I started liking then aforementioned drag set in) and other times, I just simply stop, because why waste good reading time?) :) Either way, always interested to see what makes or breaks a book for other people.

Larisa wrote: "Alicia wrote: "Good-o! I am reading something that is dragging me and delaying my re-read."

I'm intrigued — what are you reading that's dragging? I sometimes force myself to go ahead and finish wh..."
I know the question was for Alicia, but I will still put in my 2 cents because I am pushy like that. I almost never stop reading a book mid-stream, though sometimes I take a break. A lot of books I end up really liking drag now and again, and some of the best books are a real slog when I am in them, but they stay with me in special ways. I have to really dislike something to stop cold. I am thinking about doing that with The Flamethrowers, which I put on hold months ago at around the halfway point. I can't seem to find the energy to pick it up again. I also quit Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them which was well written, but just bored the pants off me.

Larisa wrote: "Alicia wrote: "Good-o! I am reading something that is dragging me and delaying my re-read."

I'm intrigued — what are you reading that's dragging? I sometimes force myself to go ahead and finish wh..."

Dog Days, Raven Nights - it was a birthday present. The aunt who gave it to me chose it because of the linocut illustrations (we both do linocut printing, she more seriously than I) and I persevered for her sake.

Finished it today. Such a relief.

I am quite happy to chuck books that I am not enjoying, usually. I was reviewing books for a magazine for a while and the best advice I got was "life's too short to read bad books".

As we consider what books make for good book club discussion, I thought I would post the following from the San Francisco Public Library:

"Choosing what books to read is one of the most enjoyable, often frustrating, and certainly one of the most important activities the group will undertake. One of the best parts of belonging to a book discussion group is that you will be introduced to authors and books you're unfamiliar with, and books that fall outside your regular areas of interest. This is good! Remind people that there can be a big difference between "a good read" and "a good book for a discussion." (See next section.) It's always a good idea to select your group's books well in advance (at least three months works well). You don't want to have to spend time at each meeting deciding what to read next.

What makes a particular book a good one for a discussion? Probably the most important criteria are that the book be well written and that it explores basic human truths. Good books for discussion have three-dimensional characters dealing with life issues readers can identify with - characters who are forced to make difficult choices, under difficult situations, whose behavior sometimes makes sense and sometimes doesn't.

Good book discussion books present the author's view of an important truth and sometimes send a message to the reader. During a book discussion, what you're really talking about is everything that the author hasn't said. For this reason, books that are heavily plot driven (most mysteries, westerns, romances, and science fiction/fantasy) don't lend themselves to book discussions. In genre novels and some mainstream fiction (and often in nonfiction), the author spells out everything for the reader, so that there is little to say except, "I loved the book" or "I hated it" or "Isn't that interesting." (Incidentally, this "everything that the author hasn't said" idea is why poetry makes such a rich topic for discussion.)

Other good choices for discussions are books that have ambiguous endings, where the outcome of the novel is not clear. For example, there is no consensus about what actually happened in Tim O'Brien's In the Lake of the Woods, Sara Maitland's Ancestral Truths, or James Buchan's The Persian Bride.

It's important to remind the group that not every member is going to like every book the group chooses. Everyone may read the same book, but in fact, every member is reading a different book. Everyone brings her own unique history, memories, background, and influences. Everyone is in a different place in his life when he reads the book. All of these differences influence the reader's experience of a book and why she may like or dislike it.

There are also pairs of books that make good discussions. These can be discussed at one meeting or read and discussed in successive months. Some examples include Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett and Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy, and A Dangerous Friend by Ward Just and The Quiet American by Graham Greene.

Finally, there are some books that raise so many questions and issues that you just can't stop talking about them. These may not be enjoyed by everyone in the group, but they're bound to lead to spirited discussions: Ernest Gaines's A Lesson Before Dying, Russell Banks's I, Andre Dubus III's House of Sand and Fog, Frederick Busch's Girls. For specific recommendations, see Recommended Books for Discussion."

Bonnie, that was a great article, and I sent it along to my book club!

Kris wrote: "Bonnie, that was a great article, and I sent it along to my book club!"

I got it from my book club :)