In re Rebecca, am I the only one who really hated Max de Winter?
No.
I hesitate to bring it up, but I wish our book club here had been something like megan's.
Yes.
Can't drink, smoke, diddle my willy. Doesn't leave much to do other than watch you blokes stumble around playing Agatha Christie.
Spike ,'The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
brenda m - Jul 08, 2010 4:57:55 am PDT #11720 of 28343
If you're going through hell/keep on going/don't slow down/keep your fear from showing/you might be gone/'fore the devil even knows you're there
Toddson - Jul 08, 2010 4:58:13 am PDT #11721 of 28343
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"
If there were a book club like that around, I might just join it.
Sophia Brooks - Jul 08, 2010 5:01:33 am PDT #11722 of 28343
Cats to become a rabbit should gather immediately now here
Me, too.
megan walker - Jul 08, 2010 5:08:32 am PDT #11723 of 28343
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
Well here's how I first proposed it, if someone wants to propose reopening the book club thread.
As many of you know, I’ve challenged myself to read 12 “should read” books this year—books I feel embarrassed to say I haven’t read or just books that always appear on those Top “Fill-in-your-number-of-choice-here” lists. I’ve had no problem fitting in the smaller works (Macbeth, The Awakening, Lord of the Flies), but think I need a bit more motivation to get through the longer ones (War and Peace, The Count of Monte Cristo, Don Quixote).
I’m not a big fan of book clubs, since the idea of reading and dissecting one specific book not of my choosing has never really appealed to me. However, I’ve been mulling over the idea of a book salon, where we could read any book that falls within a given topic (a specific author, nationality, or theme). People could choose something long or short, or read multiple books. For example, if we’re reading Dickens and you didn’t want to tackle Bleak House, you could read his Christmas stories, or, if we’re reading Russian authors, you could choose a play by Chekhov or short stories by Gogol, rather than feeling like you have to read Crime and Punishment.
Discussion would revolve around the theme or a particular issue with the author(s), or just giving book reviews and getting recommendations for future readings. The salon would be rooted in the classics, but, depending on the theme, there will be room for contemporary works.
DavidS - Jul 08, 2010 5:35:19 am PDT #11724 of 28343
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
I hesitate to bring it up, but I wish our book club here had been something like megan's.
I think Megan's club would've worked a lot better for us.
Strix - Jul 08, 2010 7:13:43 am PDT #11725 of 28343
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Well, why the hell don't we do it? Can you use Skype for conference calls?
Volans - Jul 08, 2010 7:55:22 am PDT #11726 of 28343
move out and draw fire
You can now. That feature's in beta, but I think it's only up to 10 people.
Twitter has a conference call client also, TinyChat.
DavidS - Jul 08, 2010 9:02:24 am PDT #11727 of 28343
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Unlike most online media zones, at the Guardian UK you really should read the comments. For example, the list of Top 10 Gothic Books of the 20th Century is pretty good, but the comments offer better options.
Ginger - Jul 08, 2010 9:51:37 am PDT #11728 of 28343
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
I am having difficulty fathoming the Gormenghast love. Also, in my mind, horror does not necessarily equal gothic.
DavidS - Jul 08, 2010 11:23:58 am PDT #11729 of 28343
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Also, in my mind, horror does not necessarily equal gothic.
Not just in your mind. Rebecca isn't really a horror novel, but it is a gothic.
Gormenghast is very gothic, though.
I've seen one feminist reading of the gothic genre which suggests that it addresses a young woman's anxiety about being married into a new house, and a new family that has secrets, mysteries, etc. In gothic, these elements are writ large.
Also, in gothic (since Poe anyway) there's a fusion between the psychological and the physical decay of the building. So it becomes a vast metaphor for a psyche that's split or corrupted. Roderick Usher and the House of Usher being the prime example.