Re: FOG Book Club

[The Ghost Writer]

No one panic! I'm still here.

I've been following along with the discussions so far, but have nothing to add since I'm unable to acquire the last two suggested books. I'd feel completely out of place saying "Oh, I agree!" when I have absolutely no clue.

Well I've already got a book in mind for my turn, but I'll wait and see if Lara wants to continue.

[Gadreille]

I'm interested in joining this but not sure about how soon. It seems as though you all are still deciding on your next book so I should have time to get in the mood. I've never done one of these before but it sounds pretty fun. I have some great books in mind for future reads.

Just keep an eye on the thread, hopefully Lara gets back to us soon. If she doesn't, we will be moving on to Ghost Writer This is something that even if you join, you don't have to participate in all of the time. I sincerely hope we get going soon though, as I am almost finished with my book!

[Kathryn Lacey]

Tue 23 Aug - 10:58
Raspeyer, we go at a pretty slow pace ((about a book a month)), so there's plenty of time for catch up if you lag a bit. I know I've lagged a bit in the past. >.>;;

We'd be happy to have you, though! I'll go ahead and add you to the first post, and if you ultimately decide not to go through with it, that's okay.


Anyway! I took the initiative and sent Lara a PM asking if she wanted to choose a new book or pass her turn to Ghost. I'm hoping she responds soon. ^^_^^



EDIT
I talked to Lara via PM's. This was what was said:

Anyway, I know you said, "If it turns out that no one can get a hold of it, then the next person should suggest a book and we can go from there." However, I just want to verify that you still stand by this and haven't decided on another book you want to read.

Ryona made it clear that the book club relies on an anarchic system ((it doesn't have someone who moderates the thread, so we have to essentially rule ourselves)), so I just decided to take a little initiative and see what's up on your end. ^^_^^

If you want to choose a different book, that's awesome. If you want to pass your turn onto Ghost, that's good, too. I just want to know where you stand so we can move forward and read more potentially awesome books.

I am going to say to go ahead and pass the turn back on to Ghost. I don't even know how much time I'll have to participate in the Book Club anymore now that school's started up, and I'd hate to have people stuck waiting on me. ):

Soooo, it looks like you're up, Ghost! Which book are we reading next?

[Lara]

^ What she quoted.

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you all, guys. I've been at band camp for the past week, so I hardly had time to get on the internet, and thus didn't even notice people were posting in here again...

I'm hoping I'll be able to continue participating in the Book Club, but school is going to be keeping me incredibly busy...I shall do my best, but if I don't say that I have the book, assume that I don't. Sorry ):

[The Ghost Writer]

Okay, back from my latest mission! Now to get started on a new book. Let's go with one of my all-time favorite reads: The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Here's some information to help you find the book (it should be a fairly easy find for everyone since it's a majorly popular choice for school reads):

iTunes: You have three digital copies on iTunes you can download if you have an iPad/iPhone/etc, as well as three audio versions of the book.

Barnes & Noble: Tons of versions you can choose from. I first read this version and recommend attempting to find that one first. You can find recommended copies of the novel in B&N's "Required Reading" sections in-store, or in their main "Fiction/Literature" section.

Borders: The recommended copy can also be found through Borders, here.

For independent searches, the ISBN13 for this copy is: 9780743273565 (this is what B&N uses to track books)
Regular ISBN is: 0743273567 (this is what most regular libraries use)

I noticed that the average price for this book ranges anywhere from $2.00 to $13.00. It's all the same, but some versions come with commentary and other useful notes and resources in the back of the book to help you with Fitzgerald's symbolism throughout the novel. If all else fails: go here.

The chapters in this novel vary in length, but let's say we split it up as so:

Start: Monday, September 5th
1st Week: Chapters 1 thru 3
2nd Week: Chapters 4 thru 6
3rd Week: Chapters 7 thru 9

Did I miss anything?

[Gadreille]

Just the starting date. I would suggest starting next monday, so it gives everyone who wants to join a week to acquire the book. But it's up to you

[The Ghost Writer]

Sounds good to me! I think a week will be perfect, actually. That'll give me enough time to catch up on a few other obligations before starting the book.

[Gadreille]

Alright, next Monday is Sept 5th, so if you'd put that in your previous post (as that's the one linked to the first post) then you are all set.

I'm a bit bummed that I don't already have that book. I think at one time it did, but it must have got left behind/donated. I'm going to rummage a couple of used book stores this week. I have a feeling I can find this one.

[Kathryn Lacey]

I just placed holds on all three copies of this books. I anticipate having it within a week, but if I don't, then I'll play catch-up. If I get it early, then I'll just keep a log of my thoughts and feelings as I read it. Library books can only be checked out for like... twenty-two days or something stupid like that. I miss my old library where we could have books for twenty-eight.

[The Ghost Writer]

Edited! Can't wait!

[Kathryn Lacey]

HOLY CRAP! So... ^^_^^;;

I placed my hold today, and on a whim, I checked my account on the library site. Even though I wasn't the first hold in line, they got the book ((the same ISBN copy as Ghost listed)) today for me. Anyway, it looks like I'll be starting early and just recording my thoughts and feelings in Word ahead of time to be posted when the thing actually starts. heheheh

[Raspeyer]

Oh fun. This book is fairly easy to find at this time of year, they put them all out for back to school and such. I've read this book before back in high school but I think I wouldn't mind giving it another read.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Ahh, should be easy to find at my library! ^_^
I probably won't even need to put it on hold; I think it's on the Classics shelf.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Well it wasn't on the Classics shelf when I looked, but I put it on hold and have had it and read the first reading in time!

First Impressions:
A relaxed, mildly interesting beginning. I followed our hero Nick despite there being not a whole lot of apparent reason to at this point. The situations we see have enough in the human interaction and description department to hold my interest until, presumably, the characters will be established and we can find out what happens to them.

I do enjoy the prose. I find his descriptions tend to draw me in and carry a certain insight that makes you get what he's talking about.

Gatsby, certainly, seems to be a worthy object of the book's focus. An apparently good-natured man of mystery, and yet in the beginning of the book Nick declares that Gatsby "represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn."
So at this point in the book we have The Question. What's so bad about this Gatsby guy?
We can only guess, and guessing draws us in, and I suppose it has. ^_^

We're almost exactly 1/3 of the way through the book, going by page numbers as well as chapters.
What in the world is going to happen? xD
I wonder if he'll skip the hydroplaning outing Gatsby and Nick were going to do.
And I wonder what he was telling Ms. Baker.

The author does a good job with Nick. He really feels like the sort of person everybody can relate to and feel comfortable when viewing the world through his perspective. That he considers himself above average in honesty is just one more attribute that makes him a good window into the story, someone we can absently care about and root for while we're really paying attention to Gatsby.

So yeah!

One other awesomeness: The book is dedicated to a person called Zelda. ZELDA! xD
This was long, long before The Legend Of, obviously, but still, seeing it made me an instant fan of the book!

[The Ghost Writer]

Before I go into my own analysis (I've read this book before, but I chose it again because it's so awesome), I'll offer some trivia: Zelda was Fitzgerald's wife.

Trivia time over. Back to pondering. Ciao!

[Kalon Ordona II]

Awesome wife he had! xD

[Gadreille]

I find myself a little bit lost in this social world, but I suppose that this is probably how Nick is feeling as he gets tugged along by these coteries that he doesn't quite belong to. I find myself trudging along only to find out what the point of the book actually is...because I really haven't quite figured it out yet.

Perhaps the only thing holding my attention is the unanswered questions: what is Nick doing? What happens to make him feel the way he does about Gatsby? What is it about Gatsby that has everyone wondering, yet eager to be at his doorstep when he calls for a dinner party? And what in the world is Nick doing, stringing a girl along back home?

I just got the book yesterday and wanted to get the section read in good time, so I don't really have an in depth response...I must say that I laughed out loud when everyone thought the drunk fellow in the library had been driving the car that had crashed in the ditch. It was funny how long it took him to explain that he was not driving

Overall it is a comfortable read...I just feel like I'm grasping for straws here when I try to think about where this book is going, or what it means overall. I will look forward to discussing this at the completion of the book.

---

Edit: Kathryn, it will be your choice next. I advise that you post up your choice ASAP, so we can avoid having such a delay as we have had during the last two transitions.

[Kathryn Lacey]

I'm going to be posting my book's information ((like the break-up of the sections per week)) after we get close to finishing Ghost's book. However, I have updated the first post with the book and author! It just doesn't have a link yet. It's The Princess Bride by William Goldman. ^^_^^


Anyway, I'm with you Ryona. I feel like I'm just trudging along through this book because there's no discernible plot line to it. I kind of severely dislike the vast majority of the characters in it, too. All of the women are displayed as fickle imbeciles, and most of the men are displayed in a similar light. The gossipy nature of these people is obnoxious, too, and I'm having trouble feeling any connection to the characters. However, it's not necessarily a bad book, and it's quasi-amusing ((I agree with Ryona again that the car crash scene was funny)).

Anyway, drunken partiers haven't been a part of my personal scene for a long time, so I really don't see any appeal "watching" it through the eyes of the narrator, especially not while I'm totally sober. Plus, it's kind of lame how he was like, "Okay. I'm friends with Daisy, but I'm going to hang out with her husband while he screws this other chick."

Anyway, I'll keep reading this in the hopes that it goes somewhere other than people with little to no redeemable qualities hanging out.

[Gadreille]

Well, I read the next section, but hardly anyone has discussed the first part, so I don't know if I should hold my observations or what.

I agree though, Kathryn, the characters are so...almost unreal in their snobbishness. But, these were different times, and I wonder if that is not how it just was in the upper class circles...Perhaps even how it is now. I mean, I don't swing with the rich so I wouldn't know!

[Kalon Ordona II]

So we found out tons more about Gatsby. Very interesting.
Now that he's with Daisy and we basically know his story, I wonder how it'll end.
There's still the question of why in the beginning of the book the narrator sees Gatsby with unaffected scorn. With only 1/3 of the book to go, what could happen?

I'm betting we'll all have a lot more thoughts once we finally see the whole picture at the end.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Ryona, if people choose to not talk about the last section, I don't think we should hold back our observations about the next section just for them. It's now our fault if they don't read it on time, and they can always play catch-up like I did with Elfland.


Anyway, I read the next section, and Gatsby feels more real to me now, but he's still kind of a douche. I mean, I understand he loves a woman whose husband is a cheating bastard, so I don't feel overly terrible about Daisy's potentially cheating on Tom to be with Gatsby, but I still just think that Daisy should divorce him and hook up with a dude who's been faithful to her for five years even if she wasn't his. I mean, it's simple logic. I know, I know! Divorce was all bad and whatnot back then, but it still wasn't completely unheard of, so yeah...

I'd really like to punch Tom. It would make me feel awesome about my life.

[Gadreille]

Well, I have to say that I am still not exactly sure how Gatsby came by his money. He explained it all upfront in that one chapter...but it seemed so anticlimatic. The thing with Daisy is far more interesting...but it seems odd that they hadn't seen each other in five years when living not that far to one another. Did she not hear about Gatsby's parties? Did she not think it was the same Gatsby she had known? Was she just afraid to see him again? It certainly didn't seem that way.

Looking forward to finishing the book. I like some of it, but other parts are hard to get through.

---

Kathryn, I am having trouble finding the princess bride at the library. I may have to buck up and buy it!

Edit: NVM I found it at the big library. I just have to go get it

[Gadreille]

A couple of things added to the first post:

Also, please choose a book that is accessible. Do a little research to make sure that the book you have is widely available.

The chooser of the book is expected to lead discussion!

[The Ghost Writer]

I apologize for not participating much in this last discussion, even when I chose the book. I was trying to actually hold back some of my thoughts because I have read the book before and wanted to see how others deduced its meanings and symbolism. Many of my notes don't focus so much on Nick's or Gatsby's stories as it does the author's. In order to preserve any last spoilers that the reader may not know yet, I will contain all of my thoughts in the spoiler below.

Mah Thoughts:

[Kalon Ordona II]

Does this mean I shouldn't click the spoiler until next week?

[Gadreille]

technically, we're supposed to be reading the end of the book and discussing it this saturday and sunday. But we rarely actually do this.

I was meaning to ask you Kathryn....do you want your book to start this coming monday (sept 26th) or the next monday (Oct 3rd)?

[Kalon Ordona II]

I'll be busy for the end of September.

But, I've read the book before, so either one is fine for me.

[The Ghost Writer]

Does this mean I shouldn't click the spoiler until next week?

Don't open 'til xmas!

[Kathryn Lacey]

Ryona, I think those are good things to add. I have been thinking for a long time about books that may be good ((namely ones I haven't read yet)) that may be accessible. Because The Princess Bride is a movie ((and sort of a cult classic)), I figured it would be widely accessible. There are several copies of it at my library, too, so if there are many copies here, I figured there'd be at least one copy elsewhere, you know? I do hope that people can get access to my book choice. I'm actually going to be buying it for myself because I'd rather own it than borrow it.

Let's wait until October 3rd. Technically, each book is supposed to last a month, and I want everyone to have a little more time to get their copies from the library or the store or online or wherever since I have more faith that it'll be more widely available. If they're reserving holds for the library, it could take more time, though, you know?

Ghost, you totally spoiled the ending for me!

Just kidding. I actually read the spoiler parts on the bus today, so things weren't spoiled, but if I hadn't, I would have been sad. ^;_;^

[Kathryn Lacey]

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman

This is Kathryn Lacey's Book Club Choice for October 3rd, 2011 to October 30th, 2011.

Before we begin, I must inform you that, like Ryona's choice, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, The Princess Bride by William Goldman doesn't have proper chapters to separate the weekly sections we'll read. That's not to say that it doesn't have chapters at all, but they're simply too irregular in length to have roughly even sections to read each week. I've provided the last sentence of the first section in a spoiler tag so that you can each find where you're meant to stop if you have a different copy from myself. For Weeks 2 and 3, the spoiler tag reveals the name of the chapter that we'll start the following week because they were close enough to where I wanted the section to end that I just made it easier on everyone by doing that. If there's any confusion, please, let me know!

Kathryn's Copy:
Paperback
ISBN = 978-0-15-603521-7
Number of Pages = 450

Week 1(Monday, October 3rd, 2011): Pages 1 through 120

Spoiler:

Week 2 (Monday, October 10th, 2011): Pages 121 through 218

Spoiler:

Week 3 (Monday, October 17th, 2011): Pages 219 through 334

Spoiler:

Week 4 (Money, October 24th, 2011): Pages 335 through 450/the End

Spoiler:

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