Steepster Book Club?
I like this idea. I read a lot. I stop, however, at Romance and Sci Fi—I’ve never managed to get engaged. I am on Library Thing (as Doulton). I’m not on Good Reads to the best of my knowledge, but I’ve signed up for so many things and then promptly forgotten them.
I like the 19th century and much of the 20th century and some current authors. I read more fiction than non-fiction in general. I like mysteries of the cozy, tea-drinking, knitting variety, although I’m not certain if there’s enough in this kind of mystery to sustain a discussion.
But I don’t do anything ever that is called “inspirational”. I deeply mistrust “inspirational” books, movies, television shows. It’s not that I am uninspireable, I just need inspiration that has no designs on inspiring me.
I’ve got Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand on reserve from my libary but do not know when it will arrive. I’ve heard excellent things about it.
Wow that’s a great idea! I would love to participate if the chosen book fits my reading habit. I’ve started reading Great Gatsby only recently, so you know my reading level is rather low (seems everybody else read it in high school!)
I love “The Great Gatsby”. I’ve probably read it 6 or 8 times in my life and it’s solid gold each and every time.
It’s ok, I was an English major, but never had to read it in high school or college. I finally read it on my own last year and enjoyed it thoroughly – probably more than I would have if forced to read it (and been told what to think about it) in school!
Great idea – would love to participate. I’ve never been in a book club -virtual or otherwise! Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand sounds good! The Great Gatsby is good, too, though, Daisy (is that her name? I haven’t read it in 20+ years) makes me so mad!
Cait’s idea is good.
However, if we DO decide to have a book club via Steepster, a recommended plan of action:
- Someone volunteer as leader
- Interested book club participants submit book ideas to book club leader
- Book leader announces proposed book list
- Book club participants vote on proposed book list and send votes to leader.
- Book w/highest votes is the book for the month…
suggestion:
to help spread the effort, i think perhaps each month one person could be the specific book leader…perhaps if you recommend the book you would lead the discussions about it? so the overall “book club” leader need not be always having to run riot on everyone and won’t get too bored
So BC Leader runs the votes and selections, picks the order of books etc. and then the book leader could run the discussions etc for one book?
You’ve got a bunch of great ideas, Lori and AmazonV.
In my real life book club we have two monthly leaders—a primary leader and a back up who often will find new and different ways of looking at things. And one of them will always be there if emergency strikes. Then there is a third person who does the hosting and the food and drinks. Perhaps two leaders for each book would be good. They would relieve pressure on each other to be “on” too frequently.
But this idea might be one that simply works best in “real life” where a certain place and time are de rigeur and you can’t chime in at 4 AM.
One of my initial suggestions was that the main criteria for book selection simply be this: any title being considered must be able to have a tea-related pun worked into it. The books, themselves, CAN be tea-related (of course)…but there’s no need for them to be. Neither is there a specific call for them to only be of one genre, or a handful of genres. I was hoping to make this as friendly as possible to everyone’s reading habits. Obviously, we’re not going to please everyone all the time…but I also figured this way, we wouldn’t necessarily end up favouring one genre or another overmuch.
Unless, of course, those are the books Steepsterites vote in. :)
My first suggestion had been Teas of the d’Urbervilles, as an example. Which I still think would be a great thing to read. :)
Also, AmazonV and other sci-fi fans who are lurking: not everyone here is ambivalent towards and/or anti-sci-fi. :)
yea sci fi! just like tea everyone is different, it will be nice to maybe try other books, and perhaps get some converts :)
I’m in for sure on the sci fi months:)AND, I wouldn’t mind giving other books a try. Live long and prosper.
This sounds like a fantastic idea. I can read anything but prefer books like Ken Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth”.
Sounds like loads of fun! I’m in for just about anything, though I’d prefer that it be well written and character driven (unless it is REALLY good genre fiction).
I already belong to way too many book clubs, but that wouldn’t stop me from joining this one! I read a lot of 19th Cent British lit (there’s some tea in there) but I’m interested in pretty much anything. I’d like to read more nonfiction about tea history. Tea is so important to so many cultures that there must be an endless array, both fiction and non. I like the idea of starting with either an overview like Harney’s book, or a text like The Way of Tea (which is available free online, another plus!)
I’m excited to see what direction this takes. I think Lori and AmazonV’s suggestions about the structure are very sound, as they are the way the successful “in-person” book clubs I belong to work. I think for an online club a lot of the decisions on how to actually hold a discussion would depend on the format – is the discussion going to be at a set time and place (i.e. chat room) or a thread that would be open for a longer time where people can join the conversation on their own schedule, like we’re already doing here on the board.
Dear Janefan,
It seems that you and I are friends on Library Thing. I’m sure that we go way back, because I don’t think I’ve added any new friends in the past year. It’s a site I’d like to spend more time on. I am also Doulton there.
Oh wow! I don’t really use it for much other than literally (and obsessively) cataloging the books I own, but I’m sure I explored a lot when I first joined. I guess I “friended” a few people w/ similar tastes or interesting libraries.
goes to look
sheepish You commented on my blog a while back, and I still haven’t responded/acknowledged. Eek! I’m the laziest blogger in the world. Obviously I’m on here more than there. ;-)
I think that there was a huge round of “friending” in the Jane Austen community a few years back and of course we all soon forgot. There are certain people I’ve encountered on various on-line sites and after 5 or 6 years we suddenly “get it” that we’ve been in the same groups. I keep on appearing and disappearing with Austenites.
Sites do come and go. I had an Austen-themed blog but it got to be too much. Everything seems to be coming full circle on Steepster lately though! Some author/bloggers that I follow elsewhere online (blogs/twitter) recently joined:
http://steepster.com/margaretcsullivan (Mags of AustenBlog, author of The Jane Austen Handbook)
http://steepster.com/colleengleason (author of the Gardella vampire series set in Regency UK)
I bet there are more authors lurking around on Steepster besides those two, and Doulton … anyone know of any others?
Too lazy to read all these posts…
If you guys get the ball rolling on this, hitta brotha up!
I’ve been part of a few failed attempts at online book clubs, but I still have a heart for it.
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