Introducing the Monthly Random Fiction Book Club
October 21, 2015 3:08 PM - Subscribe
Hello! I have started a book club called Kattullus' Monthly Random Fiction Book Club. I want to explain a little how I'm thinking of running it. Each month will feature one work of fiction, chosen by me (suggestions welcome). The rules I've set myself is that at least half the months will feature works by women, and that at least a quarter of the works will be translated. I'm hoping to tailor the types of posts to each work, because books are varied beasts.
I've decided on the first four, to give an idea of the variety of works and types of discussions. Here's an outline of the schedule:
Book: Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov
[Each post would be centered around one section in the books, spaced out so that each book would get about equal time]
Day 1 Post: Introduction and "The Psychohistorians"
Day 2 Post: "The Encyclopedists"
Day 3 Post: "The Mayors"
[and so on]
Day 19 post: "Search by the Mule"
Day 24 post: "Search by the Foundation"
Day 29 post: How do you feel about the whole thing?
Book: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
[A book like this one would have fewer posts, with more room for thematic discussion]
Day 1 post: Introduction to Margaret Atwood and The Blind Assassin
Day 8 post: Communists on Alien Planets: Politics and Pulp Fiction
Day 15 post: Canadians in Canada: Places, People and History
Day 22 post: Woman in the 20th Century: Feminism in The Blind Assassin
Day 29 post: How do you feel about the whole thing?
Book: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
[A book which is available on Gutenberg and, I think, lends itself well to chapter by chapter read-through]
Day 1 post: Introduction to Anne Brontë and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Day 2 post: Chapters 1 and 2
Day 3 post: Chapters 3 and 4
[and so on]
Day 27 post Chapter 51 and 52
Day 28 post Chapter 53: The conclusion.
Day 29 post: How do you feel about the whole thing?
Book: The Third Reich by Roberto Bolaño
[Another book with fewer posts, but allows straying further afield than a book like Atwood's]
Day 1 post: Introduction to Roberto Bolaño and The Third Reich
Day 8 post: Wargaming as Storytelling
Day 15 post: Playing the Nazis in a Game
Day 22 post: The Image of World War II Today
Day 29 post: How do you feel about the whole thing?
I don't know whether this kind of all-over-the-place book club will appeal to everyone, but I hope some MeFites will enjoy reading together. I'm going to try to pick books which are widely available, both in the US and bookstores and libraries elsewhere, and ideally as e-books too.
I've decided on the first four, to give an idea of the variety of works and types of discussions. Here's an outline of the schedule:
Book: Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov
[Each post would be centered around one section in the books, spaced out so that each book would get about equal time]
Day 1 Post: Introduction and "The Psychohistorians"
Day 2 Post: "The Encyclopedists"
Day 3 Post: "The Mayors"
[and so on]
Day 19 post: "Search by the Mule"
Day 24 post: "Search by the Foundation"
Day 29 post: How do you feel about the whole thing?
Book: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
[A book like this one would have fewer posts, with more room for thematic discussion]
Day 1 post: Introduction to Margaret Atwood and The Blind Assassin
Day 8 post: Communists on Alien Planets: Politics and Pulp Fiction
Day 15 post: Canadians in Canada: Places, People and History
Day 22 post: Woman in the 20th Century: Feminism in The Blind Assassin
Day 29 post: How do you feel about the whole thing?
Book: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
[A book which is available on Gutenberg and, I think, lends itself well to chapter by chapter read-through]
Day 1 post: Introduction to Anne Brontë and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Day 2 post: Chapters 1 and 2
Day 3 post: Chapters 3 and 4
[and so on]
Day 27 post Chapter 51 and 52
Day 28 post Chapter 53: The conclusion.
Day 29 post: How do you feel about the whole thing?
Book: The Third Reich by Roberto Bolaño
[Another book with fewer posts, but allows straying further afield than a book like Atwood's]
Day 1 post: Introduction to Roberto Bolaño and The Third Reich
Day 8 post: Wargaming as Storytelling
Day 15 post: Playing the Nazis in a Game
Day 22 post: The Image of World War II Today
Day 29 post: How do you feel about the whole thing?
I don't know whether this kind of all-over-the-place book club will appeal to everyone, but I hope some MeFites will enjoy reading together. I'm going to try to pick books which are widely available, both in the US and bookstores and libraries elsewhere, and ideally as e-books too.
I just sat down to write a post about "The Encyclopedists". My thinking was that it would make it easier to have asynchronous conversations about different sections if there were different posts. The Foundation trilogy is a series of shorter works, amalgamated into a whole. It makes sense to me to have different posts about each section.
posted by Kattullus at 2:37 PM on October 22, 2015
posted by Kattullus at 2:37 PM on October 22, 2015
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posted by infinitewindow at 1:20 PM on October 22, 2015