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Original poster

Launch of Mumsnet Book Club

36 replies

Freddiecat · 02/03/2004 12:01

Hello all

I've volunteered to co-ordinate the Mumsnet Book Club and have had a chat with Carrie about how we go about it.

We definitely want this to be a democratic selection process. I don't think anyone wants a book forced upon us. However a complete free-for-all will be a little unwieldy so I shall start by nominating 4 books for selection. (I am starting a separate thread for this shortly).

So the general process for the next couple of sessions will be as follows:

  1. I shall nominate a shortlist of books on a new thread. All will be linked somehow rather than a random selection.
  2. Anyone interested can post their preferred choice onto that thread by a closing date (eventually about a week but probably 3 or 4 days to start with).
  3. The book with the highest number of votes will be announced on a Friday morning - giving people enough time to get the book from the library, bookshop or online.
  4. Discussion to start probably from about Monday onwards on a new thread started by me. You can of course start reading sooner (it's not a race) but we won't start discussing until people have had a reasonable chance to get hold of the book.
  5. About 1 month to be spent on each book to allow time to actually read - and to reflect afterwards - before reading the next book.

If people are interested we can organise a weekly "online meeting" where interested people can actually chat real-time about the book. We can specify an approximate place in the book we'll be discussing up to (to prevent discussion ruining the anticipation of the slow readers). Other than that I suggest a free-for-all discussion any time is best. However one of the most important - and indeed only - rule is: NO PLOT SPOILERS!

The plan is that the selection process for subsequent books begins whilst we are still reading the previous book so we can choose and buy/borrow at leisure.

Hopefully in the future we'd like to organise some sort of sponsorship. This may result in a few free copies and/or a more coherent selection list. Newly published books will probably not feature particularly highly as they come out in hardback and for financial reasons we'll try to stick to books available in paperback.

If anyone has any ideas for future books, topics (e.g. books set in Asia, detective novels, works of a particular author) or any sponsorship ideas (including personal connections!) then please post here - or contact me direct using Contact Another Talker.

Happy Reading!

OP posts:
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Bron · 06/04/2004 15:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Ouisie · 05/04/2004 20:20

Freddiecat, this looks amazing - count me in. Possession is a fantastic book so I'll definitely have a look at the thread.
I've just joined mumsnet and am having a ball!!!

Original poster
Freddiecat · 05/04/2004 15:25

Welcome new people! If you're interested there is a current discussion thread reading "Possession" by A.S. Byatt but I think most people are coming to the end of that.

There is also a light reading discussion thread due to start discussing "Green Grass" by Rafaella Barker imminently - see here .

There is also a new discussion thread starting very soon - we are currently at the stage of deciding which book to read so have a look and join in!

OP posts:
wilbur · 05/04/2004 15:19

"that THEY have reported news from". Tsk tsk my English is getting worse and worse.

wilbur · 05/04/2004 15:17

I'd be up for this too. Like suedonim, I'd like a biog/autobiog theme every now and then too, plus maybe other non-fiction books like the John Simpson/George Aligayah (sp?) books about the places that have reported news from.

Welcome tex111 - hope you like mumsnet.

Tex111 · 05/04/2004 14:51

Hello. I've just joined the website today and I would love to join the book club. I used to read just about everything but have been pretty limited since having my little boy. Would love to expand my horizons again!

luvshoes · 05/04/2004 12:28

Would love to join in!

Original poster
Freddiecat · 02/04/2004 15:33

To whet your appetites future book shortlists will be based on the following themes (among others).

Novels which have been made into films
The criteria being that the novel should have been well reviewed before the film came out - and that the film should be well known and available on DVD (so we can watch it too).

Autobiography
A selection of books based upon a particular time in a persons' life (rather than a life story).

Short stories
Each book written by a single author

There will be more to come...

OP posts:
Original poster
Freddiecat · 12/03/2004 13:55

Marina

OK then - but I think you might have to help me with the list (i.e. do it!). Possibly am a philistine but have no idea what southern gothic is.

OP posts:
Marina · 05/03/2004 11:37

Freddiecat, just thought of a couple of other possibilities for themed shortlists sometime in the future:

Southern Gothic
"Problematic" second novels
"So bad they're good" (inspired by Hoxtonchick reading Valley of the Dolls and my own enjoyment of Peyton Place last year...)

milkbar · 04/03/2004 13:52

I'd like to join too ..

bbensley · 04/03/2004 08:20

Love to do this, will read anything

Emski · 03/03/2004 13:54

I think this is a lovely idea, and would love to join in about three months when I've finished my degree (in literature, so hopefully I'll have some suggestions!). Well done for getting it off the ground, I will be eagerly following the threads till I can join in!

Original poster
Freddiecat · 03/03/2004 13:36

jimmychoos - check out the March shortlist!

As far as up and coming prizes go then we may well do something on this in the future (although many of the literary prizes are a little way off yet). However since the books tend to come out in hardback we might not have many takers unless we get some sort of deal.

By the way - you don't have to formally "join" - just join in the discussion as you would any other chat. In future if we get sponsorship we might need to get a few names down but that's a way off and you'll all have plenty of notice!

OP posts:
jimmychoos · 03/03/2004 11:44

Count me in - interested in contemp fiction and classics.
What about something around the various lit prizes too - 'prizewinners' or something?

sassy · 03/03/2004 11:37

Great idea, can I join?
No preferences, just an avid reader of everything from lit fiction to travelogues to crappy sagas!!

aku · 03/03/2004 09:57

I would love to join!

Blackduck · 03/03/2004 09:34

Love to be part of this...

geogteach · 03/03/2004 09:15

Me too please

katierocket · 03/03/2004 09:09

I'm in too please.

StripyMouse · 03/03/2004 08:47

sounds good. Count me in too, please.

Original poster
Freddiecat · 02/03/2004 23:02

Also - CP especially, I don't anticipate you needing to log on every night. Once we've chosen the book we'll give everyone a few days to get hold of it then we'll start a new thread for the main discussion. I also suggest that we have a couple of "live chat" sessions scheduled weekly or so where people who have read up to a certain point can chat in real time. These live chats will have a new thread started every time.

For this month I suggest Thursday evenings 9pm to 10pm?

All of this is of course on a trial basis and if we come up with a better suggestion between us all then we'll do something different!

OP posts:
Original poster
Freddiecat · 02/03/2004 22:57

Marina - already had a look at Persephone and wondered if they might be a possibility. The plan is to get the club going for a couple of months or so then to approach potential sponsors. That way we can tell them we have a thriving online book community with x number of members etc.

OK I think the beach reading is something we'll definitely do. I was thinking of doing this one in the summer holidays - but as a discussion group with a difference. I.e. - you go on holiday, read the book and then come back and discuss it rather than discuss-as-you-read like all the rest.

Will also do biog/autobiog as well. Possibly soon but staggered a few weeks with the other one.

OP posts:
JanHR · 02/03/2004 22:13

My vote would go to crime/det4ective books or beach readng as those are the subjects I enjoy most.
Author wise I enjoy Patricia Cornwell, Ian Rankin and Penny Vincenzi

dinosaur · 02/03/2004 22:09

Freddiecat this sounds brilliant - thanks for taking the time and trouble over it - will look on other thread now! (Oooh, I'm excited about this!)