The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

If you'd like a folder (doesn't have to be a prize, but can be) that we don't have, suggest it here. If it fits, or if your argument for it is convincing, we will definitely create it.

Sure thing!

Not a read-along. Not a contest. Not a rating. Not a list of favorites. Any interest in a discussion of books that we return to when we seek diversion, comfort, or solace? Not a guilty pleasures folder, because at least for me there’s no longer any guilt involved in any reading. As examples, and at the risk of embarrassing myself, mine include Ann Beattie short stories (when her stories were first published in the New Yorker in the mid-1970s, I felt that Beattie was writing about me and my friends), any novel by Thomas Perry, and, perhaps strangely for a non-believer, Psalms.

I can certainly second Anya and Dan's ideas. I'd love to see coverage of the French prizes. And I'd also like to see a folder for the kind of books Dan refers to - these are the books not necessarily critically lauded but which will continue to be important to each of us and re-read and which just hang around, often for mysterious and unfathomable reasons (in my case).

The French thread is up and running and Anya has done a great job giving us coverage.

I like Dan's idea, so let's think of a good way to start the thread.

Ah! I for some reason thought Anya had only just posted that suggestion...anyway, great.

As for the other...not sure. Curious indispensables? I always have Bukowski's 'Pleasures of the Damned' nearby and it always gives me the same, essential thing: and yet it's a weird anomaly in that I'm wary of recommending it. Why?

For me that's very personal, books I would talk about in detail mostly with individual good friends, (or perhaps when the mood takes me in certain reviews) although others may still see them favourites shelves and the like.

But if there is demand for a thread / folder for those who wish to mention theirs for wider discussion, absolutely do have one.

I think the group could do with a folder or at least a set of threads to discuss older books and/or classics. When these are mentioned in discussion, people clearly have plenty to say. The group is even named after a line in a classic.

For example, I have been searching for groups about Russian classics, but really I would prefer to talk about them with this group (or read discussions about them by this group) instead of looking through other groups which, given my previous experiences of reading through many other GR group threads, probably would not have a similar level of discussion. (I found that only groups concentrating on challenging experimental stuff tended to have this standard of discussion.)

Antonomasia wrote: "I think the group could do with a folder or at least a set of threads to discuss older books and/or classics. When these are mentioned in discussion, people clearly have plenty to say. The group is..."
Sounds like a good idea to me

'Classics and other older books', or something along those lines so as not to have endless debate over what is and is not a classic and correct to include? We do have 'book chat' but as most of the discussion in the group is about new fiction, I think it would help if there were a prompt in title form to encourage people to discuss older books (that weren't previously listed for a prize).

I would love to see a section for classics on M&G. Since a considerable number of books I read every year are classics from all over the world, it'd be good to be able to discuss them in here with people who share the interest and get recommendations as well. But I do think classics, especially lesser-known books from outside of Anglosphere, are unlikely to generate the kind of lively discussions we see in here because the group is primarily focused on, and attract members who want to discuss, new fiction and prize lists.

I would love to hear about members favorite books of all time (any genre, irregardless of prizes). I second any of the ideas of spreading out the reading beyond prizes just so I can see opinions on all kinds of books.

good idea!

I am very much in favour of replicating the fervour that surrounds Booker longlist announcement, and the collective reading by so many Mookse members at the same, or similar times.
However, the issue it seems to me is that the Mookse group is so diverse, and with so much interest in various prizes, that with the exception of Booker, the focus is distilled.
The Booker re-reads of previous decades were excellent, but noticeably sparse in the actual numbers taking an active part.
The 21st century literature group does a good job focusing on a specific book for a limited period of time.

I don't have the answer, but is seems to me that a specified group of, say, six books could be set up to be assessed as a group, and voted upon if necessary. This might constitute one work of translation; one RoC nomination; a favourite book of all time (for which there would have to be some sort of eliminator); "best " book of 2018; best book out of Australia/New Zealand etc etc.
The argument against such an eclectic list is that you "can't compare oranges and apples", but then the mixture of several Prize lists is pretty mixed, anyway.
Booker runs approximately eight weeks going from thirteen longlist to the six shortlist.

This may sound so convoluted and administratively contrived as to be a total no-no- I will take no offense if the practicalities clearly demonstrate this is a non starter!

I agree with the people pointing out that it might be difficult to get very many people to all read the same classic book at the same time. The prizes and newness of these books give a focus to a lot of people's reading so that they would be all reading these books even if (heaven forbid!) Goodreads did not exist.

But over at the M&G main website, Trevor and Betsy have done a long series of posts where they have been reading through all of Alice Munro's short stories together. They each write up their thoughts, those get posted, and then sometimes others join in. Or they reply to each other making for an interesting public conversation for others to at least read, if not join in. This leads me to my suggestion which is this: If just THREE people all agreed to read the same classic book at the same time and to post detailed discussions of that book, including replying to each other's comments about the book, that would be enough to get something going. Others will come along and might want to join in and start reading the book as well. Others who read the book a long time ago could also be pulled into an active discussion. And yet others will enjoy just reading a small group of smart people saying smart things about a great book. I really think three people is all you would need to get something interesting going.

A way to structure it so that it would be maximally inviting for others to join in even after the discussion has started would be to break the discussion down to something like, say, ten parts over ten weeks. Even for a book of 500 pages that's only 50 pages per week. It means that the discussion can be fairly detailed and focused on a portion of the book to really get into it. It also means that someone who first discovers the reading group in week three could join, start reading the book then, and be ready to participate in the discussion by week four.

I'm not sure really how participation in the 21st century book of the month discussions works, but it seems fairly unstructured. The combination of a more rigid structure, but a slow enough pace so that it never becomes onerous as just additional reading to what you are already doing might be the right mix to get a good discussion going. That's something I'd be very interested in.

... and if you're looking for a good suggestion for a book to start with, I have been looking for an excuse to getting around to rereading Wuthering Heights for the nth time.

I certainly wasn't suggesting group reads. I am really not a fan of the things myself. But members of this group have already read a lot of classics (which informs their commentary on the newer books) so they will have things to say about older books too. Structured discussion or any kind of project or work was definitely not my intention. Just to create a folder to indicate clearly that the group can be used to discuss older non-prize affiliated literature too.

Well, Antonomasia, that is an entirely different thing! My guess, though, is that with rare exception someone would write a post about a classic boo they like and then maybe it would eventually get one or two replies. But it's not the sort of thing that would really generate any discussion. I can't see it as a folder I would see much reason to keep tabs on, but that might be just me.

I reckon posts with slightly broader themes such as 'Russian Literature' (the thing I was wanting to post/ask about), 'Korean Literature' or 'British post-war fiction' and so on would get more traction as it allows people to talk about what they know, make comparisons and ask questions.

I guess, but if I am reading Animal Farm and you are reading The Golden Notebook I'm not sure what we might have to talk about.

I think these general discussions have potential. I can remember a little about a lot of books I read years ago and don't see why they need to be tied to current reading. Like all our discussions people can participate as they see fit...

I am also not a fan of group reads, but having a space to chat about a book or thought even for just a few posts would be nice. For instance our brief discussion about re-reading. We don’t really need a whole Discussion for rereading, but a general Book Chat where anything book related could be shared would probably suffice. This is a very focused group, which is why it is so successful as a group, I think,

A general chat thread doesn't need a new folder, so shall we just start one? It can always be re-named something more interesting later. (Reading the Twentieth Century have named theirs The Midnight Bell after the Patrick Hamilton book which is also the name of the pub where most of the novel is set.)

I now can't remember the things over the last week or so which I thought I'd put in one if the group had such a thread.

Perhaps if you set up the thread the ideas will come back to you, Antonomasia.

Voila: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...