JZ, can you share the City of Literature discussion we had last night?

As for books that SHOULD BE HATED, I will bring up the one I always bring up, Ethan Frome.

Hey, at least it's short.

From way back:

Wolfram, I was hoping we could discuss it a bit here before going the proposal route, but I've been unwilling to interrupt the discussion that's been going on to do so. I'm short on time right now, but I'll be back later this morning to throw some of my thoughts out there.

I wonder if it wouldn't be better to get community approval for the thread before debating the minutiae on how the thread would work. I can see how this may seem backwards, but despite being someone who has never been part of a book club, my understanding is that book clubs do in fact exist and operate successfully, like Calli's club for instance. So why not see if the thread flies among the general population, and then work out the details after the fact?

I read books I don't enjoy for my bookclub (well except last month where I stopped midway, and also 2 years ago when I refuse to read The Brothers Karamahmahmah). I find it is sometimes worthwhile, other times nsm.

I am not sure I could do the being on a medal panel thing. too many that I would want to walk away from.

Anti-intellectual does not equal stupid by any means.

I've never seen it used in any other context. It's a buzzword that certain intelligentsia use to mean "those sorts."

For the record, she did not wear 80s fashions while knitting.

There could have been some legwarmers under those skirts. Legwarmers she knitted. LEGWARMERS OF DEATH!

also 2 years ago when I refuse to read The Brothers Karamahmahmah

How come? I've been meaning to read it for years, having loved C & P so much.

Actually, my stance is life is too short for books you don't enjoy and there are too many books in the world to read a book you don't like.

Yup. Though when I said this yesterday, I was told that I wasn't challenging myself. Which is hard to quantify unless you know what I *am* reading, not what I'm *not* reading.

I read books I don't enjoy for my bookclub (well except last month where I stopped midway, and also 2 years ago when I refuse to read The Brothers Karamahmahmah). I find it is sometimes worthwhile, other times nsm.

Yes, me too. But, in that instance, the reason I'm reading is part of the social act of reading and not reading for personal pleasure.

Ditto with the medal reading. It's part of what I signed up for.

But reading for myself? It's got to be pleasurable or else I won't motivate to do it.

Ethan Fromme was fantastic at creating the sense of depression and dread that matched the winter of the year I read it. Oppressive. Which I had figured was part of its intent.

It really is a "study of provincial life," as the subtitle says; very rich, with multiple strands of plot illuminating each other.

Oh, Middlemarch is wonderful. Reading it was such a wonderful surprise, because it does start out slowly enough to make you think "Am I really going to read 1000+ pages of this?" but the worldbuilding is so well-done that it just pulls you in.

The class I read it for was in, of all things, the economics department (I think was some kind of interdepartmental thing with the history people -- it was a while ago), and we were given a week to read it. I think the prof was figuring that, not being English majors, everyone was just going to get the Cliff Notes version anyway, so why not give us just enough time to read that? It made for very sparse discussion.