Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Presenting: The Good Book Club

Hey there all of you literary lovers!
We here at Good Books Inc. are flat our tired of reading amazing books and then not having wonderful, thought provoking discussions after we finish. Hopefully, there are those out there who share our sadness, so as a solution to the problem we now happily present you with Good Books Club!

This will be an online book club, which shall meet once every 3 weeks, and will be dedicated to reading contemporary lit, and having intelligent and meaningful discussions about the chosen works. The link for the live-chat is located on the left tool bar, and on the night of your discussion you will simply log in and join the fun.

As this is a new idea, we will be working out the kinks for the fir
st few months, but we are really looking forward to providing any one who is interested, with a wonderful fun experience that centers around all our similar love: books!! Good Book Club

Month 1:
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Summary: Howard Campbell is a man of many faces. By reputation, Howard Campbell is a Nazi ... but not just that, he is the voice of hope and moral justification to a Holocaust Germany. To a very select number of Americans, Campbell is an undercover spy, and one of the greatest American heroes of the war. To Howard Campbell, he is a simply an artist who cares nothing of politics and war, outside of the boundaries of the love he has for his wife and his writing. In this novel you will see the history of Howard's time as a Nazi figure head, as well as what led him to his arrest.

Why we chose this work: Kurt Vonnegut's 3rd novel is full of satire, humor, and such thought provoking prose that it will lead all us readers begging the days to pass a little bit faster so that we will finally be able to discuss our thoughts on the work. Mother Night is a crucial bit of writing that looks at WW2 from a perspective that you have probably never seen before.

Number of Pages: 288 (Paperback)

So now what:
So now that you all have the information about the book, it is time to go out and find yourself a copy! We recommended checking around used book stores (we found used copies at half-price books in Ohio for just a dollar). Once you have your copy it is time to start reading! We encourage you to mark, write, take notes, or any thing that will help you keep track of ideas or opinions you have while reading. We ask that every one participating find at least 3 of their favorite quotes and have them for the discussion date, so that we can all share our favorite parts! It would also be helpful if any one participating left comments here and there letting us know your progress, so we can adjust in the future. If a work is too hard or long it is crucial adjust lists of future books. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please leave a comment on this post or e-mail us.

Things to Remember: This book discussion is open to any one and every one of all ages, places, races, and species. (If you can get your dog to join in then you get a prize!) That being said, please remember during discussions to be cautious about remarks that might be offensive to any one. We are dealing with a book that has to do with a very serious subject matter (the Holocaust) and while Vonnegut is allowed to make light of some things, that doesn't mean you are allowed. Just be respectful and think before you type. No flaming or spammers, because then we will have to shut the whole thing down and no one wants that!

GBI Group Recipe: Since we all know part of the fun of having a book club is the wonderful food that every one gets to share, we though our online club should be no more the worse for not meting in person. Therefore, we will be posting a recipe each month that you can choose to make or not, but make sure to eat it on the night of discussion! That way it will kind of be like we are all sharing in the fun. If any one has any recipe ideas or submissions please e-mail us and we will have the information up for you 1 week before discussion groups.

When to meet:
All discussions will be held the 3rd Sunday every month @ 7pm EST. (So for the first month this means Oct. 18th). The limit is 15 people per book. So hurry and sign up while you can!
Just use the MisterLinky and fill out your information to be signed up for this months book! We will give you more specific details about how to log into the chat room when we get closer to the discussion date.We are so excited for this event and hope that every one of you will contribute as much as your literary love as you can, so that we can all get a wonderful unique experience with each book! Happy reading!!

Sign up for Sunday the 18th @7

How to sign up: You MUST do this so that we know you are going to be participating. Just click the Mister Linky banner below and add your name (and if you have a blog the link back to it). If for some reason it isn't working, just leave a comment with your name so that we can add it for you!





31 comments:

  1. What a GREAT idea! While I cannot participate in this first online discussion, I hope that I can be a part of many of these enlightening book coversations in the future.

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  2. Not a problem! We look forward to having you participate in the future! Hopefully it turns out to be a wonderful event!

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  3. Sunday's the 18th. I'll do my best to wrangle a Vonnegut for the fun.

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  4. Thanks allison. I am going to go ahead and add your name to the list on Mr. Linky since I am guessing you don't know how that works. And your right it is the 18th ill change that now!

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  5. Yay! I'm so excited! This book has been on my TBR list for waaayyy too long :)

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  6. I signed up earlier this morning! I am still working my way through Breakfast of Champions, but am headed off to the Chicago Public library today for Mother Night. Excellent.

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  7. Ahh wonderful to hear from both of you!!! Stillthinking - how are you finding Breakfast of Champions/Vonnegut's style in general? That is one I haven't read so I am curious if it makes a good segway into his other work.

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  8. I'm going to read the Vonnegut (I hope!), but I have a book tour review scheduled for that Monday.

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  9. Cara- No problem. This is pretty informal and the book is not to long. Goes by quickly so hopefully you will get a chance to participate!

    Alex-Excellent glad to have you.

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  10. You girls are always coming up with such good ideas. I don't think I'll make this one but I'll try for future ones! : )

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  11. You guys come up with the BEST ideas!!!! I'm telling you, you two ROCK!

    I would love to participate but I'm so slow reading these days so I don't want to link and take a spot and not show up. I will try to read it and at least leave a comment here or if I can still get in Link up on October 18 :D

    Fantastic idea...so much more meaningful to really discuss the book! I love it!

    Hugs :D

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  12. I've always wanted to read a Vonnegut. I just finished a book about WWII so this should be great!

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  13. @ Jenners - No problem we hope we see you for future books!! Hopefully by then the club will be more refined and organized.

    @Chic- Thanks so much you are always so positive and it goes such a long way!! We are glad you love the idea and would love for you to participate in any way possible. The only reason we have a limit is because we fear that with more than 15 it might be hard to keep the discussion organized with out people going off on their own conversations, or not being heard. However we will do our best to include every one and feel free to leave comments about the book at any time!!

    @E.L Hey glad to hear you are on board! Please sign up with the Mister Linky Banner so you can save your place in the discussion!

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  14. I could swear I commented on this yesterday, bah! Oh well, I love, love this idea. And I signed up. I'll try to get my hands on Mother Night tomorrow. Though it shouldn't really be a problem, I'm a quick reader.

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  15. Excellent Nirnia! So glad to have you on board. Just remember not to read to fast guys. Discussion is a month away and you don't want to forget every thing haha!!

    Also don't forget to mark your favorite passages (If you are afraid of highlighters I suggest getting the adorable post it tabby things. I have about 1,000 in various colors)

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  16. Great idea! This next month is a bit busy for me, but I'll see what I can do. Hopefully, I can join in for sure next month.

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  17. @ Robin - Thanks for the interest! We would love any kind of participation you could offer! We hope to see you in upcoming months as well.

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  18. I absolutely swear..
    As long as you guarantee some heated discussions and maybe some cursing, then count me in. Been trying to get to this one for awhile.

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  19. Just kidding with the cursing thing, not with this book anyway.

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  20. Hahah excellent! So glad to have you on board. I do hope for a bit of heat with the discussion (esp when cooking the recipe haha)and I def think that there will be some great opinions thrown out there. Whether you like this book or hate it, you can't deny that it is worth discussing. It take a very interesting stance on WW2. We can't wait to get started!!

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  21. First twenty pages read on the commute home, very interesting so far! My first thought was that it reminded me a bit of Lolita, the somewhat confessional-style and the eloquent narrator, who does not really regret anything in particular. Very glad I signed up to do this!

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  22. So glad to see that you are liking it so far!! That is a really interesting parallel to draw, and I think you will see that idea continues through the novel. Not to give to much away, but there really never is a point where Howard admits to seeing anything wrong with what he did, which makes him (and Humbert) such interesting characters. And yes I think the writing is so elegant which really is a big hit for me. Keep us updated!!

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  23. I swear I am up to no good. Vonnegut roolz!

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  24. Heyy great to have you guys on. Its going to be excellent. Be sure to keep us updated on your progress.

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  25. Hey Padfoot and Prongs. Thanks for the invite. What a great idea! I've been interested in a classics book group, as you know. I'm not going to link up for this one because I've got way too much going on right now, but I will keep an eye on the book list for the future!

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  26. Great idea! Sending Love to your project.
    (I imagine golden light (love) shining out of my chest at your project.) Hope I didn't scare you )))

    I will be sleeping at 7 pm so some other time will join you guys.

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  27. I added my name to the list, making me #17. I didn't want you to think I couldn't read the instructions or adhere to the 15-limit rule, so I thought I'd explain why I still added my name. I wasn't sure if the 15-limit rule included you (meaning there could really be 16 signed up, since you're the first entry); one person appears to be signed up twice for the 15th and 16th slot. I thought it might be a mistake, so I added my name just in case. If, however, you meant 15 including you, then please feel no ill will toward me and simply tell me to try again next time (which I will).

    Thanks!

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  28. Hey Jessie. It is no problem at all that you added your name. I have heard from 2 people that are unsure if they will be able to make it to the discussion so we have plenty of room for you! You logic was spot on and we are glad to have you sign up! Hopefully you don't have a problem finding the book. I am encouraging people to check used book stores and sites like ABE.com since I know at B&N as well as borders the book runs about 15$ which is just crazy. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress!!

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  29. Hey guys, I won't be able to participate on Sunday after all. Though I'd have decent wi-fi, but as it turns out, I won't. Which makes this impossible. It's such a pitty, I'm sure it'll be a blast.

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  30. Hey no problem we understand, wi-fi can be so shaky. Just remember for the future you can always abuse things like Panera for free wi-fi any time you want haha. Hope to see you for the next one!

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You solemnly swear you are up to no good...