FOG Book Club

[Gadreille]

Welcome to the FOG Book Club. Like any book club, the idea is to have a group of people reading the same book at the same time, discussing the novel every few chapters. Those interested in joining would have to meet basic requirements.

You need to have:

• a fairly advanced reading level
  
• interest in reading more than one genre
  
• access to a library or funds to purchase books of choice (I highly recommend the library for something like this)
  
• enough time in your schedule to read a book in a predetermined amount of time
  

Everyone in the book club will take turns choosing a book, in the order listed below in the members list. Keep in mind, if twenty people join, it may be over a year before the last person gets their say. Whomever is supposed to choose the book has the right to decline, and it would pass to the next member. People will always be welcome to join in the Book Club after it has begun, but they must wait until the next novel has started. Members may skip a book if they do not have time or for some reason cannot attain the book chosen. But keep in mind that I want members who are excited to expand their tastes, so please do not skip a book because you are not interested.

Book choices shall be considered carefully. Please choose something tasteful, within FOG's R rating if possible. Please also choose a book that is somewhat challenging, either by prose or content. What I mean to say is, a book does not have to be hard to read, but at least have content which makes you think. Also, please choose a book that is accessible. Do a little research to make sure that the book you have is widely available. We will designate so many chapters per week depending on the length of the book and/or chapters. These chapters shall be read Monday - Friday of the week, and then discussed on Saturday and Sunday. The chooser of the book is expected to lead discussion!

Please state your interest here if you would like to join! It is never too late!

Members List
(italicized members are inactive until they state otherwise)
Ryona Noel
Silvone Elestahr
Lara
Kalon Ordona II
The Ghost Writer
Kathryn Lacey
Mojave Wanderer
Raspeyer

Book List
The Road, Cormac McCarthy (Ryona Noel's Choice)
The King of Elfland's Daughter, Lord Dunsany (Kalon Ordona II's Choice)
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (Ghost Writer's Choice)
The Princess Bride, William Goldman (Kathryn Lacey's Choice)
A Princess of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs (Gadreille's Choice)
The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson(Ysopet's Choice)

[Guest]

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[Lara]

Count me in! (At least, I'd like to be in while I have access to books.) If it turns out I can't get to a book every once in a while, can I still participate? =)

[Gadreille]

Of course. Its always fine due to lack of time or inaccessibility to books, but I just want to discourage club members from skipping a bit because they don't think they will like it or something.

[Kalon Ordona II]

I'm totally in if I have time. Problem with me is, I read books quite slowly. It's not that I read at a slow pace, I just never sit down and read them. xD
So we'll see. I'm interested, but I don't know if I'll be able to join in. I guess it'd depend on the book. ^^

[Gadreille]

Again, members will be choosing books one at a time, so there should be some variety in the books we will be reading. I encourage people not to opt out because they have little interest in the current book of choice (whatever it may be). The whole point is to expand upon our reading capacity, not remain within it

[The Ghost Writer]

This is a great opportunity to utilize my nook's note taking and annotation functions as well synchronizing with the nook app on my Xoom tablet! .... What?

Count me in!

[Gadreille]

Right-O! That's four, perhaps five members. I think I will leave this up for a while longer before I actually start it. That said, if any of you have any suggestions on how you think it should be run (i.e. the questions listed in the second bullet list on my first post) please share them.

[Lara]

Hmm... For reading time, would a week for every 100 pages work? Or is that just the fast reader in me thinking it would work? (Well, actually, that'd be slow. But still.)

Discussion-wise, we could either leave the full week (or a week of read-time before beginning discussion) or discuss every few days on the newest development. I feel that every few chapters would be better than at the end of each book, so we feel more "connected" reading the books.

I think the only limitation for books might be if it's, say, entirely inappropriate. I mean, there should be no reason to delve into those categories with so many others to choose from. (It might be interesting to choose a genre by dice-roll or something every once in a while, to shake things up!)

[The Ghost Writer]

I agree with the every few chapters option, Lara. That would make the discussion a bit more interesting, being able to hear each other's opinions on what will happen next in the plot and the individual interpretations of foreshadowing elements.

As far as restrictions go, I'm not real big on book bans. However I would look to FOG's etiquette for role plays in regards to books with sexual intimacy and gore. Anything that would be classified on FOG's forums as "cybering" or "rated R" are disallowed, and I propose the rules should be the same for the book club seeing as it appears to be associated with FOG thus far; be it officially or unofficially.

Additionally (forgot to add, so this is an edit):

In regards to the time that should be allotted for reading, I propose (if we are to go with a discussion after a set amount of chapters) that we allow one week per three chapters if the book is a novel that stretches over 45,000 words (like a Steven King or Dan Brown novel). If the book is a novel that stretches from 30,000 to 45,000 words; 4 chapters per week. And if the book is a novella (less than 30,000 words, usually around 15,000 words) then 5-6 chapters per week. I'm grading this based on how large (and many) the chapters are in the different sizes of books I've read and giving it an average.

[Gadreille]

Weekly discussions sound good; whoever chooses the book can determine how many chapters per week should be read based upon the length of the book.

Do you think it should be read monday-friday and discuss saturday and sunday, so as to avoid spoiler alerts? Or just let it be free game?

Also, while this will try to stay within the rating of FOG, if none of us has ever read the book then we may not know if it violates the terms or not.

[Lara]

I'm torn on the date bit. On one hand, it'd be common sense to not click on the topic while you're still reading, but on the other hand, curiosity often overwhelms.... And there are still pluses for both options. If you just post as you finish, then we can respond gradually, rather than a huge mass of posts on the same day. Plus, it would still be fresh in your head. But if we all were to post at the end of the week, then we'd all have a set day to respond, which would mean everyone getting on around the same time (ish) and potentially get an active discussion going.

What are peoples' ideas about also doing this on Skype every once in a while? Out of curiosity.

[Kathryn Lacey]

I really want to join this. I was in a book club in high school, and it was a lot of fun. I read books that I never would have touched if not for that club, and I ended up liking all of them. I really love to read various genres of books, and I would really love to be a part of this.

I like the idea of reading "so many" chapters a week and discussing it after that. I also think the best idea is what you mentioned, Ryona, about dedicating the work week to the reading and the weekend can go toward the discussion. I, for one, am far too tempted to read something when I see there's been a response to the thread. My thinking tends to be, "What if someone has something important to say that doesn't relate directly to the material within the book?"

I can also do this because I have access to a library, the internet, Barnes and Noble, and Nook. I also love to read, and I believe this will aid me in my personal reading challenge. =3

[Gadreille]

I've always enjoyed have discussions on books, but without a book club I run into two problems: 1. no one else has read the book or 2. it's been so long since I read the book that I cannot remember the details. A book club is a perfect way to side step those issues.

There is always the option of using spoiler boxes, but I would prefer to not have to do that so often. For one, it is harder on my eyes to read in a spoiler box. For another, it discludes certain people who have not finished the reading. The conversation may go so far that others can't catch up. Anyway, I stand by the read Mon-Fri and discuss saturday and sunday plan. We don't have to get on at the same exact time to hold discussion, just at some point in that weekend.

[The Ghost Writer]

Okay soooo.... when do we start this shin-dig? I'm excited! xD

[Gadreille]

I'm going through some stuff today, so I'm thinking to just start fresh on monday. Tomorrow I will get to work on listing the members, and figuring out who chooses first. I was going to do it chronologically, but I'm not sure that I want to have first choice. We shall see.

[The Ghost Writer]

I'd be happy to volunteer to pick first, but if someone else wants to I don't mind. I've got a whole (digital) bookshelf to choose from. You guys prefer Young Adult, or Adult? Of course we could always start with the basics and open up a dictionary. Webster's or Oxford? xD

[Gadreille]

I'd like to stick with adult unless there is a unique book listed in young adult (for example, His Dark Materials is considered young adult but written for the adult audience as well). I'd also rather make it a personal choice if possible, because I would like the chooser to share why they chose that book, if they have read it before, etc.

Today I am putting my childhood pet to sleep (she's been with me almost 19 years now) so that is why things won't be rolling today.

[The Ghost Writer]

I'm very sorry to hear that Ryona. My childhood friend past away while I was in BMT. Thankfully my family kept the news from me until after graduation, it would have made getting through those eight weeks much more difficult. Good ol' Gracie was my protector since I was just six years old.

Hmmm.... I'm thinking Marley and Me would be a great book to start with suddenly. >_>

[Gadreille]

Thanks. Marley and Me was a very good book. I promise I will work getting this started very soon, within the next couple of days.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Ryona, I think it would be fairest if you went chronologically. In the first post ((or was it one of the posts after that?)), you wrote that people can choose to pass if they don't want to choose the book for the FoG Book Club to read. Well, if you don't want to choose, you can always pass, right? =3

Another way you could do it would be to go alphabetically?

I'm sorry to hear about your childhood pet. I hope you'll be okay. It's never easy losing a valued friend like that.

[Gadreille]

Duh, you are right I will do it chronologically (so the list will be updated as members post interest) and I will pass my turn (unless I think of a good book I want to read/reread).

Thanks. It's done. I'm feeling a bit sad, but really it was time for her to go, so its just a bit of healthy grief.

Edit: I updated the first post with the rules we agreed upon and the members we have thus far. I do believe I will choose a book, it might be a book I have already read though. I will let you know ASAP when I choose one, no later than Friday morning so that we all have the weekend to attain it. After we start, I will compile a list of who chooses what and how many chapters per week are to be read so that we never forget.

[The Ghost Writer]

Well I'm content with everything so far. Take you're time, Ryona; no rush. *goes to charge up his nook*

[Gadreille]

I've decided the first book shall be The Road, by Cormac McCarthy.

Reasons for choosing:

1. The gloomy weather my town has faced this week, as well as the gloomy state of mind I am in.
   
2. I loved the movie but never took time for the book.
   
3. I don't know if I would have the strength to read this without others around me sharing the story.
   

This book does not have chapters, so we will be reading it approximately 70 pages per week. We will finish it in four weeks.

Starting Date: May 23rd, 2011

Reading Pace:
Week One: Pages 3 - 72
Week Two: Pages 73 - 143 (end of 1st paragraph)
Week Three: Pages 143 - 214 (end of 2nd paragraph)
Week Four: Pages 214 - 287


(Edit: You will notice that this post is linked to the first post. Every time a member chooses a book, I would like it done in this format. There should be the name and author of the book, reasons for choosing it, starting date, and pace of reading listed. These introduction posts will always be linked to the first post for ease of location.)

[Kathryn Lacey]

I've only ever seen previews of the movie-version, but it looks really cool! It'll be neat to read the book!

That's weird that there aren't any chapters. It must be the writing style of the dude to make it all more realistic. I'm so excited about this. I'll talk to my love tonight to see about either going to the library to get it or downloading it onto the Nook or buying it from Barnes and Noble.

[Gadreille]

I almost picked something else because there were no chapters, but I decided to stick to it. It is one of many books that Silvone and I own but have not read yet. We have one copy, we will have to get another, unless we take turns reading. I'm glad you are excited about it! I'm looking forward to starting.

Ooh, speaking of, I am going to alter my post to include the starting date

[The Ghost Writer]

Uhm... problem, Ryona. Without chapters that's going to be difficult determining stopping locations. The Road comes in two primary varients of paper back, and about three in trade back. You also have the digital copies for nook, Kindle, and the B&N app for mobile devices, PC, and Mac.

.... My point is that those page numbers will all contain different parts of the story across each medium.

[Gadreille]

I figured that, but I'll worry about it when everyone has attained their copies. To avoid confusion, I'll post up the ending sentence of each week so everyone knows where to stop. The words don't change, nor the true pace of the story, even if the page numbers do.

[The Ghost Writer]

Sounds good!

Can I cheat and start now?

[Gadreille]

Haha, it sort of defeats the purpose but I suppose it's up to you ^_^

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