LD4all Book Club: [Ishmael by Daniel Quinn]

I think one week is too little, I do read alot but I don’t have much time to do so nowadays, anyways let’s see what others think about this.

Well, like Bruno said, the spoiler tags are essential. I think it’s a good idea to let people post their thoughts on a book that they’re only part of the way through, so long as they clearly indicate how far along they are so others can avoid the spoilers in the box. The reason I think this is a good idea is because often the way I think about any one book changes significantly as I get further along.

I’m in favor of general open discussion. If anyone has an interesting question, they can post it to spark a discussion and we can see how we go from there. Although I certainly don’t mind if the host of a given book has any additional ideas.

Once we have a clearer picture of how things go for the first book, we might come up with ways to make it more interesting in the future. I think the key factor is to make sure that it’s fun for all those involved and to not force anyone to do things they might not like.

As for time frame, I’m really not sure. Everyone reads at a different pace, and every book is different.

Whoo, I’ll have something to read for once. I’ve already read most of the good books I can find.

Svenshinhan - I agree, seems like the best way to me.

I think that it’d be fine to have the discussion in this thread. To avoid anyone reading any spoilers that they don’t want to, I would recommend the following format. Say you’ve read up to the end of the third chapter when you write your post. I would do:

Up to end of third chapter Interesting and profound comments about the book so far

I’m not sure about having a reading time, as I think it’d be good to discuss the book while reading it.

:smile:

Go Dracula, go go go!

:peek:

The poll closes at the end of Monday or Tuesday, I’m not sure. So take the opportunity to vote now, if you haven’t.

Let’s just see what happens with our fisrt book. I guess “discussing on the go” can work, you are right, guys :smile:

I think it’s time for the poll to close, and it looks like our first book is … Dracula!

It can be downloaded legally for free at Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/345) as it’s out of copyright. But if you prefer reading an actual book I’m sure it’d be available in most libraries.

Happy reading!

When do we reconvine? o.o

I think that for this book we’re going to try talking about it while we’re reading it, so we wont have any specific reading time before we start discussing. So as soon as someone wants to make a comment they should clearly put where they are in the book and then put the comment in spoiler tags. e.g.

Up to end of chapter 2 [spoiler]I think Dracula is actually a rabbit! [/spoiler]

We can see how this goes and if it doesn’t work out we can always have a specific reading time for the next book.

So I think it’s decided. Dracula will be it, right? Hope so, because I’m already reading it.

When and where are we having the discussion? :uh:

Yep, dracula it is!

We’ll be having the discussion here, and as soon as anyone wants to start it!

Just a question, how much time will there be available for the ‘‘book closing’’ or switching to another book?

I think I can start with some pre-reading thoughts. There are no spoilers, just some random comments based on the cover and the index (I really enjoy books thoroughly, you see :lol: )

Let me introduce you guys to the edition of the book I got.

It’s a cool Wordsworth paperback edition I got for US$4, considering my buddies at the book store always give me discounts :razz:

My thoughts when looking at the cover:

  • I don’t like the fact that the cover somehow manipulates my mental representation of Count Dracula.
  • That picture gives me the creeps at night
  • It’s going to be an amazing literary adventure
  • I like the solemn and deep look of the forest in the back. My mental scenario for the story starts to builds itself just by looking at the very cover.

I’ve been reading the index in the third page and I see this story will unfold by means of characters’ diary fragments. I think it’s going to be very interesting to be led by different characters and different perspectives of the same event. Having first-person narrators will probably add to the dramatic effect of the story being told. It will also let us compare how a same event can be perceived differently by different persons.

Those are my two pre-reading cents :wink:

BTW: I already had three ND involving the Count after two days of reading, so take this into account to gain lucidity! :razz: (I almost got it last night! Literature-induced Lucid Dream?? LitILD?)

As I’m currently dirt poor I’ll be making use of Project Gutenberg to read Dracula. :razz:

Interesting that you’ve already had several dreams about it, Lucho. Heh.

I’ll likely start reading and throwing in my findings sometime next week as I’ll be very busy in the next few days with university work.

We’ll have to see how it goes with the first one. See at what pace people read and such. Keep in mind, the holiday season is close at hand, so people are a little more pressed for time than they usually are. We’ll eventually settle into a rhythm in the future in all likelihood.

Lucho - I’ve got the UK Wordsworth Classics version. The cover is similar, but slightly different:

I like the dark castle with the full moon and mountains behind it; really sets the scene. I don’t like the picture of Dracula though, he looks different and much more alien-like to how I imagine him.

Lol :cool:

What were the dreams like, scary at all?

I stickied the topic and changed the title.

Let’s get it started! :happy:

Thanks for the link. Norwegian libraries are pretty bad when it comes to english books.
Any way I can get the book on my Iphone? Import it to Ibooks or something…

Thanks Bruno, that’s great! :smile:

Spasm - According to this link https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dracula/id395541616?mt=11 you can get it for free on Ibooks. If there are any problems with that, or if you want to read it on both your Iphone and pc and sync the pages, you could download Amazon’s kindle app https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_iphone_mkt_lnd?docId=1000301301 and get it for free from amazon’s kindle store.

So, on to book comments!

Up to end of chapter 1

SPOILER - Click to view

I really like how the book starts. I think that having the first chapter in the form of Jonathan Harker’s journal works very well, and it allows for lots of little nice touches such as his notes to get the recipes for the meals he’s had for Mina.

I love the descriptions of the countryside in this part of Europe, and how remote and far away it makes it sound. Tension and a feeling that something is wrong is gradually and skillfully built up by the warnings of the local people and the carriage ride in the night.

My one criticism is that the local people seem a bit stereotypical. The different nationalities are all wearing very different clothing, that is both traditional and pretty much identical for each person, and they seem consumed with their superstitions. However, I’m looking at this from a modern perspective, and maybe this would have been what remote places in Europe were like in the late 1800s.

About to start on chapter 5. I like the book so far. Harkers’ diary is very exciting. I like how the book is written, although it’s a bit hard to read.

Apparently, my school’s library isn’t one of those. I’m going to have to read it from a computer then. I would’ve preferred something in my hands though. :neutral: