ITL Book Club: Members and Rules

[Kinokokao]

ITL Book Club Members:

Kinokokao
Jubelon
Trifkin
Rider Green
Maxine Magicfox
NessySchu
Negzee
Sampson
Noodles (?)
Scy (?)

ITL Book Club Rules:

* Book selection will be determined on a rotating basis by each member. Everyone will get a turn to pick the book.

* Please be respectful of other members' choices and opinions! We're here to discuss books and have fun.

* You must read the book to participate! Even if you've already read the selected book, please give it another read through to refresh your memory. You might get something new out of it.

* You must read the book before the meeting deadline. If you are unable to keep up with the reading load, consider only participating in every-other book, rather than all of them. We schedule meeting dates 3-4 weeks apart.

* No discussion of the book on ITL, in this topic or elsewhere on the forum, until everyone in the club has read the book.

Book Selection Rules:

* Books should be in the 150-300 page range, and not exceed 400 pages. This is to make sure everyone has time to read the book.

* Books should not be the first in a planned series or trilogy/duology. Books should stand alone and be sufficient for discussion.

* Books must be readily available to all members. This means they must at least in the library or available from a bookstore (ie, the book is still in print). If you need help determining a book's ability or need help finding the book, please let me know.

* We do encourage the selection of niche or lesser-known titles that will be new and exciting for the group to discuss. If the majority of the club has already read the book, you may be asked to pick something else.

Most importantly: Have Fun! :3

[Starfe]

I like this idea a lot! Especially the book length limit, as I dont read all that quickly. I have plenty of books I could suggest (especially outside of the fantasy genre, which I know everyone here is heavy on) and I would love to have people to talk with about them. But for now I have to pass, this quarter is pretty reading heavy for school, so maybe come the end of December? But seriously, good idea!

[Kinokokao]

Anytime you want to jump in, Starfe, just let us know! We'd love to have you.

I'm going to laugh when you assign us your school reading, and then mine the book club discussion for a take-home final.

[Starfe]

[Kinokokao]

Which raises an interesting point --

what does the club think about narrative and creative non-fiction?

[Skele Von Mann]

I'm interested in non-fiction.

[Maxine MagicFox]

Never read but would be happy to give it a try.

o_O I have no idea what sorts of books I'm going to recommend. ^_^; Y-you sure no one will get mad if I do recommend a YA title?

Uggg, I just hope I can find something that meets the no-series requirements. Hrrrm...

Though I still want to further clarify this point. Let's take for example Sherlock Holmes. It is a series, yes, but the books are not dependent on one another. So I could therefore recommend any of them, correct? (I just chose this series since everyone should be familiar enough with it to understand my meaning.) Brian Jacques could even fit under this rule if that's the case, too, right?

[Starfe]

[scy]

I'm not against being a part of this but I'm not much of a prolific reader so I have minimal, if any, suggestions to offer up. And depends on how often I really feel like buying books (since I'd rather own it than not).

[Kinokokao]

Maxine, seriously,no one's going to care, and the fact they're shorter, easier reads fits perfectly with the mission/goal of the club for its members to read more books. A couple titles I've thought about are YA reads from my childhood that I'd like to re-visit.

I would consider the four Sherlock Holmes novel/las (Study in Scarlet, Sign of Four, Hound of the Baskervilles, The Valley of Fear) to count as stand alone works, but I'd be hesitant to have one as a club read just because many of us, I assume, have already read them, and they aren't exactly niche or lesser known titles. Most classics are going to fall into this lump, though. Brian Jacques I'm less hesitant to state that 1everything categorically stands alone, but we can be logical on what does and doesn't stand alone -- certain titles re-use characters and plot threads, others make perfect sense taken solo. I'd argue that it violates the spirit of the "no series" rule but doesn't technically violate it, and wouldn't object to a strong, stand-alone book from that series being selected.

And Maxine, I'll say it again: you don't have to pick something you've read! Why not experience something new with us?

Then again, I perfectly understand the desire to get everyone to read and discuss a beloved book with you! I've been considering what I would choose as my selection, and all I can think of are books I've already ready :p But I'll most likely at least choose something I haven't read in years, or something completely new.

@Scy

well, as it stands now you'd only be the 6th confirmed member (7 if Starfe joins us in a few months), so that means that you'd just need to think up a book selection like three times a year at most. I'm not sure what sort of timeline you guys want for meetings, but the standard is once a month, but we could always check-in whenever we finish and if everyone finishes early we can have the discussion early. You'd be asked to buy (or get from the library! or borrow from a friend! I'm not wanting people to break the bank!) about 1 book a month, maybe 1 every 3 weeks, it just really depends on what kind of schedule people want.

[NessySchu]

This sounds like a great idea! I already have some ideas for my first pick. Can't wait!

[Maxine MagicFox]

*has no ideas for a first pick* I've even tried searching through books I've not read. T-T

[Kinokokao]

Great to have you, Nessy! I'm so excited people are joining.

I just finished the book I was reading, so I'm eager to start. I'd like to post the selection order soon; anyone object to me just chucking the names into a hat and having Mr Kino draw them out? I'll give people a bit more time to sign up, there's still some regular posters who haven't commented one way or another.

And if you get picked first, Maxine, I can throw your name back if you want :3

[Maxine MagicFox]

Yeah. I'll probably be taking a few passes. Next Tuesday, though, when I'm at B&N, I'll take a good look at trying to find some stand alone titles. :3 I'm sure they've GOT to exist.

Oh no wait! I just rmember one I started but never finished! It's perfect. Just in case I'm picked first. But I think Kino should go first since this is her idea.

[beekee]

What sort of timeframe should we shoot for? I suggest longer rather than shorter periods between new book picks; my library can take longer than a week to get a book order in, and also we'll have plenty of time for even the less frequent readers to finish.

So is it just going to be random name drawing, or some kind of round-the-circle?

Maybe we could have a sign-up sheet, and decide the order based on that somehow?

Also, I second the narrative/creative non-fiction idea. They should definitely be eligible.

I'm guessing a lot of small press books will be out of the question, since they're not available to all libraries? Oh, wait, you mentioned that it's okay as long as it's in bookstores . . .