The Velvet discussion

This is the thread for September/October 2010's The Velvet group discussion, Serpent Box: A Novel.

Oh, cool. Will be looking forward to reading that.

Serpent Box was one hell of a read, and I loved being able to talk with the author about what it meant to me. Should we tell Vincent that we'll be discussing his work?

Yeah, I think that would be great. I was planing on sending him a message once we got into the discussion, but if you've had contact with him previously, then maybe you could reach out to him.

I won this book, offered generously by Vincent for a Velvet contest (caption the photo); already a while ago. I was excited and, recalling various Velvet raves, planned on reading it upon arrival. Vincent included a hand written page from his original draft, which I think is the coolest thing an author can gift -- and a great reminder of the creative value of pen and paper.

Already more than a year later -- I have such an awkward relationship with time.

Talked to Vincent, he's even down for coming in and contributing to the discussion. What a damn cool cat.

He's the type of author I strive to be. Good man.

I've got it on my shelf. To read, still, sadly. Meant to get to it a long time ago.

Hmm, not sure if I should be in this one. I read it, but it wasn't my thing.

Yeah, I talked to VLC a few days ago. He was pretty flattered about this. Supposed to be dropping by for various questions, man-behind-the-curtain stuff. Like Chris, I loved the hell out of this book.

sweet - crap, need to start reading

I thought this didn't go until September? What's up?

oh, are we reading STARTING in september or now FOR september?

I don't think it really matters. There is a two month slot for Serpent Box, so as we have seen, it's hard to get people on board at the same time.

Have to defer to Caleb on this, but I see he's already cracked it, so...

Colin wrote: "Hmm, not sure if I should be in this one. I read it, but it wasn't my thing."
You should be a part of it. Discussions are about offering opinions, good and bad, of a book. I have a feeling that most of us are going to love the book, so we will need a voice of dissent.

Ah, but if VLC is in here, I don't want to be rude with that opinion. I stand by my view of the book, but that doesn't mean I want to rail on the guy (which I don't see being an issue, but it can come off that way). Have enjoyed some articles on his blog though, especially the one with him sharing a moment with a guy on the street.

Hello all, thanks so much for picking Serpent Box. I am honored. Please let me know if you have any questions. And no need to be polite, speak your opinions, you won't hurt my feelings. No one is harder on myself than I and I know this is not my best effort.

Thanks for stopping by, Vincent. Word of this book has spread slowly around The Velvet parts for a while. Many, I know, have already read it. But this is the first official communion.

I started reading last week, and damn, if this isn't your best effort, I can't wait for what is.

Thank you so much Caleb. So much was going on in my life at that time that I can hardly believe I finished the book. Every single page is infused with what was going through me at the time and what was going on in the world - 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombings, the War in Iraq. Them was dark times. It all feels like a dream and that's what Serpent Box is - a dream.

about 40 pages into this, enjoying it

As I read this book, I may decide to put up some threads. Don't feel obligated to start the discussion yet. I simply want to get ideas going as they come to me. And, these might get people thinking about discussion as they read the book.

Feel free to get threads started too, if you want.

sure, good idea