In terms of how to gather info:

Should we start by having someone collect suggestions via e-mail? I volunteer to collect titles, authors, and a short blurb from everyone who is suggesting (or, if someone else wanted to do that, that works, too). I think that'd be easier than trying to herd everything together here. Or, actually, people could do both, just compiling the list would be easier from e-mails than from slogging through posts, I'd think.

I'd suggest limiting it to two or three titles per person to start. Could post the titles every so often as they come in so that people know they're not repeating, or so that they could send in new titles if there are dupes. Do this for, say four days or so. Then post a final list from which to pick (however we decide to do that).

Thoughts?

Cindy's slug suggestion (with one part taken out), which people seem to like is:

One book in all the world. A Chosen One. Once a month. Come. Read. Discuss.

Randoming works for me- I've got one that I'd love to have people talk about with me, but it by no means needs to be a first, second, or even third book. Just an idea.

What comes to my mind is introducing people to one of my favorite books, The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro. And now that I think about it, Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore is a good candidate as well. Both are relatively short, which is a plus. Like Lilty, I'm just throwing these out, and if people show interest, then rock.

Into the Forest by Jean Heglund.

Hegland, as I discovered trying to find it on Amazon. Looks interesting.

Mine is If Not Now, When? one of my very favorite ever books.

I think probably just throwing one title out there is enough for as many people as we will probably have suggesting.

The thread - it's so beautiful. (sniff)

Anyway, what's randomizing? I thought we were going to have suggestions from folks who feel like getting their pimp on for the book of their choice?

How about we consense on 3 books for the first 3 months and set discussion to start on the first book on August 15?

If we're voting, I like the "One Book" slug, too, and the computers replacing books quote.

And JenP is very gracious to offer to start collecting recs, and I think her idea email idea sounds fine.

And that is, pretty much, all I've got.

We could try to consense around 3, but I'm not sure it'd happen. We haven't been open for an hour and we've got 3 people and 4 books suggested. We wouldn't finish pimping until the 15th, and consensus, bullshit or not probably wouldn't happen until the 20th since the 16th begins a weekend.

Any objections to just throwing some in the hopper?

I have no book to recommend, so if there is anything administrative needed (collecting recs, counting votes, whatever) I can do that.

Do you think we can consense on 3 books by Thursday? 'Cause I'm gonna want to the whole month to acquire and read the first one.

If we can, yay! So far we've got 4 recs. Wolfram, do you have one you'd like to add?

I second P-C's suggestion for Remains of the Day (beautiful book!), and also throw The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant into the fray.

(Maybe we could let Wolfram have the honor of picking the very first book from our suggestions (or one of his own) so that people can get it right away, and then figure out a system to pick books 2 and 3? He had a hard proposal, and got it passed, in the face of much resistance.)