It's like, in the middle of all this, I'm paranoid that you'll think I don't like poetry.

Buffy ,'Empty Places'


The Buffista Book Club: the Harry Potter iteration  

This thread is a focused discussion group. Please see the first post below for the current topic and upcoming book discussions. While natter will inevitably happen, we encourage you to treat this like a virtual book club and try to keep your posts in that spirit.

By consensus, this thread is reopened specifically to discuss Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It will be closed again once that discussion has run its course.

***SPOILER ALERT***

  • **Spoilers for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows lie here. Read at your own risk***


JZ - Jul 13, 2004 4:57:49 pm PDT #101 of 3301
See? I gave everybody here an opportunity to tell me what a bad person I am and nobody did, because I fuckin' rule.

I am possibly too wimpy to be posting at this stage of the game, as any method of book selection of any of the books suggested so far sounds absolutely fine to me (though billytea's suggested book sounds extra-intriguing).

Would it be possible at some point -- though maybe not right at the start -- to wander a bit afield with our selections as long as they're still books? (I'm thinking, vaguely of some of the TPB's of Gaiman's Sandman, which is rich and mythic and has plenty to chew on, or children's books like The Enchanted Castle or some of the Oz books -- Patchwork Girl, mmmmmm.)


Alicia K - Jul 13, 2004 5:01:53 pm PDT #102 of 3301
Uncertainty could be our guiding light.

Count me in as a willing participant, but shy in selecting books. I don't usually have much to say in the way of discussion, but like to read and see what everyone else has to say.


Kate P. - Jul 13, 2004 5:11:11 pm PDT #103 of 3301
That's the pain / That cuts a straight line down through the heart / We call it love

t pokes head into thread

Yay book club thread! I hope I'll have the time to keep up with this. Lots of good suggestions so far, including several (like the Tim Winton and the Lorrie Moore) that I've been meaning to pick up for some time. I'll toss out a few of my own suggestions while I'm here: Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link, and Mating by Norman Rush.

Stranger Things Happen is a collection of indescribable short stories. Some are like fractured fairy tales, some are nearly gothic horror, some borrow more from science fiction or mystery. They're funny and brilliant and beautifully-written, and I think Kelly Link's sense of humor and appreciation of the fun of playing around with genre would appeal to most Buffy fans. I don't know how easy it would be for people to get a copy, though; it's published by a little independent press, although it got a fair amount of attention when it was released, so I'd think most library systems would have a copy somewhere.

The story of Mating is, at its heart, the story of the relationship between two very smart, passionate people. It mostly takes place in a matriarchal utopian society in the middle of the Kalahari desert. Every time I try to describe this book it sounds dry and boring, but it's totally fascinating! The two main characters are so real, so finely-detailed, and so interesting. It's far more than just a love story. It's the best book about love I've ever read, plus the secondary plot (about the maintenance of the utopian society--it's a social experiment run by one of the two main characters) is really absorbing too.

ETA: Any method of choosing books will be fine by me--whatever turns out to be easiest. Like Cindy said, if we choose a system we don't like, hey presto! we can change it.


JenP - Jul 13, 2004 5:13:16 pm PDT #104 of 3301

Sounds good to me, JZ. I've actually not read any Gaiman, but so many people here have talked about his work that I've been meaning to start.

Another note -- we could always vary the way we pick books from time to time. For those who want to suggest a title or two but might not want to be a designated chooser.


libkitty - Jul 13, 2004 5:14:35 pm PDT #105 of 3301
Embrace the idea that we are the leaders we've been looking for. Grace Lee Boggs

The first post of a thread is any easy place to find stuff, and people new to the thread will hit on it first.

I love this idea.


Tam - Jul 13, 2004 5:36:36 pm PDT #106 of 3301
"...Singing their heads off, protected by the holy ghosts, flying in from the ocean, driving with their eyes closed." - Patty Griffin "Florida"

Though is has been said already: Hooray! Bookclub! I'm so in.

No book sugestions for now, but I've got a maybe for "quotey thing" I'd like toss out: "We're supposed to get some books" from this bit here.


Tam - Jul 13, 2004 5:41:36 pm PDT #107 of 3301
"...Singing their heads off, protected by the holy ghosts, flying in from the ocean, driving with their eyes closed." - Patty Griffin "Florida"

Or maybe this: "But you don't seem bookwormy" from here.


Polter-Cow - Jul 13, 2004 5:47:57 pm PDT #108 of 3301
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

but I've got a maybe for "quotey thing" I'd like toss out: "We're supposed to get some books" from this bit here.

"Does this look like a Barnes and Noble?"


Lilty Cash - Jul 13, 2004 5:48:26 pm PDT #109 of 3301
"You see? THAT's what they want. Love, and a bit with a dog."

Hey, y'all- I love to see so much activity- someone mentioned posting all the recs in my big slutty first post, and that sounds good to me! I've got a lot on the plate tonight, but I can try to do it tommorrow, when I'm not using dial-up!


Wolfram - Jul 13, 2004 5:59:11 pm PDT #110 of 3301
Visilurking

Not the recs, lilty, but the "rules" when we hammer out some kind of structure here. Nothing you can do right now, even if you had the time.