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vYORIv
02-03-2015, 04:27 AM
Are any other members interested in starting a book club?

Astral_Mage
02-03-2015, 06:39 AM
What kind of book club? I might consider joining :)

vYORIv
02-03-2015, 07:15 AM
Say we do a book a month. At the beginning of each month all the members suggest a book with a pre designated theme. From that list we choose say 3 at random then have the group vote on one of the three they'd like to read most. For discussion/questions we can have a thread dedicated to certain chapters or we simply make a deadline every 7 days and discuss the chapters we've agreed to read to.

As to how we gauge the level of difficulty for books. It seems to me that most members who would be interested in this can read at a high school level and that's where we should set the minimum standard for book suggestion.

Is there anything that I didn't answer that you were curious about?

Astral_Mage
02-04-2015, 12:37 AM
I'll be the first then, count me in :D

Shotcookie13512
02-04-2015, 12:46 AM
I can join.

vYORIv
02-04-2015, 04:24 AM
All right then I guess the first thing we need to do is recruit more people. If you know anyone else on the site that would join hit em up.

Astral_Mage
02-09-2015, 11:29 PM
It seems this will go slower than expected, basically because most of us don't find much time in their hands, but I'm still up for this :D

Nesh
03-07-2015, 11:04 AM
I would like to join. I love reading books and I've been looking for a site where I can share opinions and discuss books from various genres. I could probably persuade some of my friends to join to.

sunnyside
03-07-2015, 08:43 PM
I'd be interested. I guess we'll see what books end up getting picked. Maybe I'd come in and out.

RyuTama
03-11-2015, 05:23 AM
I would be up for this. I need moar books in my life.

Astral_Mage
03-12-2015, 08:25 AM
Well, how many members would we need before we could start the club?

Kurisu16
03-12-2015, 02:44 PM
I like to join too. Sounds interesting, there is no such thing as enough books :D

Nesh
03-25-2015, 05:17 PM
I think we should start with the curently interested number of members and maybe after we start others will like to join and they should be free to do so.
So it's better to start now before some of those who wanted to join drop out.

sunnyside
03-26-2015, 11:32 AM
Yeah, I think we should have enough people to start. We might be able to get more if it's actually a thing.

So it's a question of what actually picking a book and getting people to read it.

One I've been thinking of that might fit is Vladimir Nabokov's novel, Lolita. I occasionally run accross lists like "Novels everyone should read" or "greatest novels" and it's often the highest up that I haven't read. You even have Reading Lolita in Tehran which is a major bestseller in its own right and another author with Jasmine and Stars: Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran. It's a frequently referenced book.

The reason why I thought of it here is that, well, the issue it deals with is one you'll find in anime fandom. We've got at least one member here that has come out of that particular closet. Actually it seems to be a thing with the writers and is actually hard to avoid if you watch a fair bit of anime. Asuka Langley Sohryu is something like 13 when she shows up in Neon Genisis Evangelion.

So it might be particularly relevant and interesting to discuss here.

Thoughts?

Astral_Mage vYORIv Nesh RyuTama Kurisu16 nobue Ito

Nesh
03-26-2015, 12:12 PM
Yeah, I think we should have enough people to start. We might be able to get more if it's actually a thing.

So it's a question of what actually picking a book and getting people to read it.

One I've been thinking of that might fit is Vladimir Nabokov's novel, Lolita. I occasionally run accross lists like "Novels everyone should read" or "greatest novels" and it's often the highest up that I haven't read. You even have Reading Lolita in Tehran which is a major bestseller in its own right and another author with Jasmine and Stars: Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran. It's a frequently referenced book.

The reason why I thought of it here is that, well, the issue it deals with is one you'll find in anime fandom. We've got at least one member here that has come out of that particular closet. Actually it seems to be a thing with the writers and is actually hard to avoid if you watch a fair bit of anime. Asuka Langley Sohryu is something like 13 when she shows up in Neon Genisis Evangelion.

So it might be particularly relevant and interesting to discuss here.

Thoughts?

Astral_Mage vYORIv Nesh RyuTama Kurisu16 nobue Ito

I'm up for it. I haven't read this book yet, but I've seen it on a lot of recommendations. Some of my friends,who had read the book, said that the main character was so well written that despite his shortcomings, as a reader one feels compassionate towards him. So it would be a good idea to give this book a try and discuss about it.

RyuTama
03-26-2015, 10:25 PM
I've heard plenty on the subject of Lolita too. I'd be interested in it, though I think it would be best for diversity's sake if we came up with a couple other titles to vote on. I think a few other novels relevant to our anime community would be good for starters. So say Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and The Borrowers by Mary Norton? They've inspired some popular Ghibli films, though the books themselves are hugely different from what I've heard.

Shotcookie13512
03-27-2015, 12:35 AM
I'm up for it as well!

sunnyside
03-27-2015, 12:16 PM
I've heard plenty on the subject of Lolita too. I'd be interested in it, though I think it would be best for diversity's sake if we came up with a couple other titles to vote on. I think a few other novels relevant to our anime community would be good for starters. So say Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and The Borrowers by Mary Norton? They've inspired some popular Ghibli films, though the books themselves are hugely different from what I've heard.

I'm not one to say there can't be some light and fun reading in the mix.

However looking those up, I note that The Borrowers won an award...for being an "outstanding children's book"

Howl's moving castle also won an award...from the Children's Literature Association

So I'd note them as things I might want to get my duaghter since she's getting tired of Rainbow Fairies books, but I dunno for a book club.

Any other books strike your fancy?

RyuTama
03-28-2015, 08:17 PM
I'm not one to say there can't be some light and fun reading in the mix.

However looking those up, I note that The Borrowers won an award...for being an "outstanding children's book"

Howl's moving castle also won an award...from the Children's Literature Association

So I'd note them as things I might want to get my duaghter since she's getting tired of Rainbow Fairies books, but I dunno for a book club.

Any other books strike your fancy?

I'm really not surprised they've won children's awards, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can't appeal to adults as well. I mean, look at the Inheritance Cycle. A "children's" series, yet you've got curses and war and political corruption and upheavals and such. Granted, I doubt the titles I mentioned before have such themes, but it's my understanding that Miyazaki takes a lot of creative license with his films, meaning the books they're adapted from tend to be quite a bit darker.

Anyway, another novel I can think of is Welcome to the N.H.K. by Tatsuhiko Takimoto. It apparently inspired its own manga and anime series, and addresses the depression and social problems seemingly common among teenage 'hikikomori' as they try to accept and be accepted. A few synopsis I've read seem like it might be a bit too much though, since the main character aspires to make some sort of hentai game at one point. I'm not sure how prevalent it is throughout the whole book, but we'd have to discuss if everyone would be comfortable with it at all. Seems like it could be interesting overall though.

We should really make a list of the books we'd be interested in. Anyone else have some ideas or opinions?

sunnyside
03-28-2015, 09:13 PM
I'm really not surprised they've won children's awards, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can't appeal to adults as well. I mean, look at the Inheritance Cycle. A "children's" series,

Looking it up quick, at least the Inheritance Cycle seems to be categorized as a Young Adult book, vs a straight up children's book.



Anyway, another novel I can think of is Welcome to the N.H.K. by Tatsuhiko Takimoto. It apparently inspired its own manga and anime series, and addresses the depression and social problems seemingly common among teenage 'hikikomori' as they try to accept and be accepted. A few synopsis I've read seem like it might be a bit too much though, since the main character aspires to make some sort of hentai game at one point. I'm not sure how prevalent it is throughout the whole book, but we'd have to discuss if everyone would be comfortable with it at all. Seems like it could be interesting overall though.

That actually seems like an interesting book touching on a relevant cultural phenomina. I guess there's a question of if we'd want to focus on stuff you can get in a library like some book clubs do. Though I'm about to have less access to that, and that might be overly restrictive.


We should really make a list of the books we'd be interested in. Anyone else have some ideas or opinions?

Maybe something from one of the ladies, unless they'd rather just go with something already suggested?
Nesh nobue Ito Kurisu16

Nesh
03-29-2015, 10:56 AM
I'll suggest The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. The book is considered a literary classic today, and the anime Gankutsuou is an adaptation of it. It's historical novel with adventure story that involves themes such as hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness.

Kurisu16
03-29-2015, 11:04 AM
I've read Lolita and really liked it, the author makes you feel related to the characters and attached to them because of his style of writing that's just so great, and although in the beginning you would judge the characters, as the author keeps writing about their thoughts you will change your opinion and empathize with them. Nabokov is brilliant, only he can make you compassionate with people for which you had a bad opinion and feel sorry for them.
Also, i agree for Howl's Moving Castle.. because i haven't read the others which were mentioned.
And if you like, we also can talk about any book from Virginia Woolf, for example To the Lighthouse or Waves, cause i really appreciate her as an author :)

sunnyside
03-31-2015, 11:42 AM
My wife is in a book club so I asked her about how they manage it. I rather like their structure. The proposed structure in this thread has people continually voting on what the books are. The downside of that is you have one "winner", a possible minority that voted for that book, and a bunch of "losers" and the debate might get ugly. All in all a good way to sour people to the situation, and I don't need to have to take the time to make image macros slamming other's choices :P

Another particular challenge is that if a book is relevant and good and there are a fair number of members in the club, there's a pretty good chance someone will have read it. So a hard rule on that either makes selection very hard or you end up going to not so good choices.

So instead I'd propose something more like her group's method, where people get to put in a suggestion, and there might be some discussion to just not consider a certain book or begging someone to pick something else or to advance one of a number of texts they're interested in, but more or less you try and eventually get to one of everybody's pick that wants to make one.

So far we'd perhaps have:

Sunnyside- Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Ryutama- Welcome to the N.H.K. by Tatsuhiko Takimoto
Kurisu16 - To the lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Nesh - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

We could just do some randomized order if people are up for that.

Nesh
04-02-2015, 04:01 PM
So now, are we going to make a poll and vote on the suggested books to see which of the ones mentioned we will discuss first?
I like the suggested books. I say we choose from them as a start since we didn't limit ourselves on a single book genre but went with something which we thought will be appropriate and is connected or has some similar points and themes with anime.

sunnyside
04-02-2015, 11:04 PM
So now, are we going to make a poll and vote on the suggested books to see which of the ones mentioned we will discuss first?
I like the suggested books. I say we choose from them as a start since we didn't limit ourselves on a single book genre but went with something which we thought will be appropriate and is connected or has some similar points and themes with anime.

Well, do we still have people interested? Do we need a certain number to make it worth bothering with.


...actually if we don't get a good turnout we probably shouldn't do mine. I mean you seem interesting and all buuuuuuut I probably shouldn't be discussing Lolita one on one with some teen on the internet. :nono:

Nesh
04-04-2015, 12:52 PM
Well, do we still have people interested? Do we need a certain number to make it worth bothering with.


...actually if we don't get a good turnout we probably shouldn't do mine. I mean you seem interesting and all buuuuuuut I probably shouldn't be discussing Lolita one on one with some teen on the internet. :nono:

I get what you mean. Well then suggest another book just in case.

sunnyside
04-22-2015, 04:16 PM
Well, sadly this seems to have dried up.

Tell you what, I just finished "The Prince" by Machiaveli, if anybody is up for discussing that I'd be down. It's pretty short, really it's more of a long letter than a book, and I'm sure nearly every library has a copy if you'd like to get in on that. I happen to own that one, so I can look up stuff if you get to it later.

I've picked up Lolita, which again nearly every library has, and would be up for discussing that with whoever as well.

Astral_Mage vYORIv Nesh RyuTama Kurisu16 Shotcookie13512