How about some suggestions for the next book. One suggestion is The Red King the next book in the Titan series. Anyone have a good suggestions for a Star Wars book??
Is there still interest in the Book Club?
I'm interested - of course.
Still interested, just got really budy really fast and had to sit this one out. What about the Republic Commando series for Star Wars? They are clone wars era and don't really require any EU knowledge at all.
I'd like to suggest Mangel's and Martin's Star Trek Excelsior book "Forged in Fire". It was just released last month. Or Keith R.A. DeCandido's Klingon Empire book called "A Burning House". A lot of fans don't care for Klingons though and although I have always found KRAD's books well written and enjoyable other may not. I have heard a lot of folks say that the IKS Gorkon series changed their minds about Klingons just because KRAD is such a good storyteller. Also, if nobody has ever read the DS9 relaunch series, which starts with Avatar parts 1 & 2, I think you would find those extremely enjoyable. The books pick up like there was a season 8 and builds on what went before but now Kira is in charge of the station and Ro Laren is head of security. Very fun reads and I wouldn't mind reading them again.
As for interest I am interested in the club but I would like to some more meaningful discussions instead of ... "oh that chapter was awesome" and the like. In the Titan thread I put forward several ideas for inquiry and discussion that never were picked up. I like discussions that get into the character's heads and also the moral lessons within the book. We had a few really good comments but there could have been a lot more.
Kevin
I'm in, but I strongly suggest a Star Trek book. I think a lot of us enjoy lots of other science fiction novels, but seeing that we are all Star Trek fans, I think its safe to say that a Star Trek book would get the most participation. I'd be up to re-reading The Red King-- it was an enjoyable book. I'd also like to check out the new Excelsior book, and I've already picked up A Burning House.
Just my :2cents. (Yes! I've been wanting to use that emoticon for a while now!)
I'm down for Red King or the Excelsior book.
Quote from: Ktrek on February 20, 2008, 12:23:19 PM
As for interest I am interested in the club but I would like to some more meaningful discussions instead of ... "oh that chapter was awesome" and the like. In the Titan thread I put forward several ideas for inquiry and discussion that never were picked up. I like discussions that get into the character's heads and also the moral lessons within the book. We had a few really good comments but there could have been a lot more.
Kevin
The discussion is what it is. Some people see things differently when reading. Personally, I found the 1st Titan book pretty straight forward. Everyone is going to have their own take on it. And that's the point of this club idea. Frankly, I thought more people were going to be reading the current book after the voting. In my view, it has some of deepest meaning as far as freedom, oppression, revolution, AI, etc. of all the books so far.
Just a thought, and it might be to unmanageable, but I am wondering if more discussion might happen if for each book we read we have a sub forum. That way if people wanted to talk about a certain Character or element of a book, they could start a new post on that one topic in the sub forum. I know that for Taking Wing, some times the discussion felt a bit linear, or maybe more general since we were posting under a general thread for the week. Plus maybe a conversation might come to a stop because we switched to a new week. Again, might be easier said then done, and if the format we have right now is better, then we should keep that. Just thought I would float that idea out here. I could see where two many sub forums could become a nightmare to administer, so this might not be feasible.
Sorry I did not join in on the last round, I was reading something else at the time, and did not get done in time. But I do like the Idea of the next Titan book being considered.
well, there's nothing stopping anyone from making threads other then the main one in the book club forum.
Quote from: Rico on February 20, 2008, 03:30:14 PM
The discussion is what it is. Some people see things differently when reading. Personally, I found the 1st Titan book pretty straight forward. Everyone is going to have their own take on it. And that's the point of this club idea. Frankly, I thought more people were going to be reading the current book after the voting. In my view, it has some of deepest meaning as far as freedom, oppression, revolution, AI, etc. of all the books so far.
Perhaps it is what it is but that does not mean it can't be improved. I see no reason to participate if the discussions are going to be so shallow. I see no reason to invest myself into a book if others are not going to show the same level of participation.
As for the Heinlein book I did not participate because I had several things going on. I love Heinlein's books and I'm sure I would have enjoyed discussing some of the issues the book brings forward.
So, depending upon what book is selected next I will probably join back in and see how things go.
Kevin
I may be alone on this one but I thought our discussion on the first Titan book was pretty good. Remember, that was our second book. These things take time to get into a good groove.
I stopped posting on Titan because I personally did not enjoy the novel as much as everyone else. Rather than complain about every detail of the book, I decided to leave the conversation to those who liked it. Personally, I think calling the comments here "shallow" is disrespectful to those who contributed to the thread. Improvement comes with practice and encouragement. Give them time, be an example and show them how it's done... don't insult them.
I would recommend Star Trek Enterprise, The Good Men Do. As you guys know from Rico's awesome interview, the same authors penned that novel. I enjoyed its attempt to explain Trip's death, and it seemed to move faster.
Quote from: Ktrek on February 20, 2008, 05:34:30 PM
Quote from: Rico on February 20, 2008, 03:30:14 PM
The discussion is what it is. Some people see things differently when reading. Personally, I found the 1st Titan book pretty straight forward. Everyone is going to have their own take on it. And that's the point of this club idea. Frankly, I thought more people were going to be reading the current book after the voting. In my view, it has some of deepest meaning as far as freedom, oppression, revolution, AI, etc. of all the books so far.
Perhaps it is what it is but that does not mean it can't be improved. I see no reason to participate if the discussions are going to be so shallow. I see no reason to invest myself into a book if others are not going to show the same level of participation.
As for the Heinlein book I did not participate because I had several things going on. I love Heinlein's books and I'm sure I would have enjoyed discussing some of the issues the book brings forward.
So, depending upon what book is selected next I will probably join back in and see how things go.
Kevin
Quote from: billybob476 on February 20, 2008, 06:29:24 PM
I may be alone on this one but I thought our discussion on the first Titan book was pretty good. Remember, that was our second book. These things take time to get into a good groove.
I'm with you billy. I thought it was fine and far from "shallow." This is an internet forum discussion and they tend to only go so far. Again, people have different impressions when reading a book. All I will say is you are welcome to participate or not - just like the RPG. However, I take great exception to complaints about how others are posting in it.
Quote from: Jen on February 21, 2008, 04:50:12 AM
I stopped posting on Titan because I personally did not enjoy the novel as much as everyone else. Rather than complain about every detail of the book, I decided to leave the conversation to those who liked it. Personally, I think calling the comments here "shallow" is disrespectful to those who contributed to the thread. Improvement comes with practice and encouragement. Give them time, be an example and show them how it's done... don't insult them.
I would recommend Star Trek Enterprise, The Good Men Do. As you guys know from Rico's awesome interview, the same authors penned that novel. I enjoyed its attempt to explain Trip's death, and it seemed to move faster.
Perhaps you are right Jen in that using the word "shallow" was a little insensitive and rude. Sorry everyone!
However, I for one, would rather have had you post what you didn't like about the book rather than not post at all. That would have been worth discussing and I would have found it engaging. I hate it when people are intimidated to say anything "negative" around here. If you didn't like it there are reasons and you should feel free to express those regardless of what everyone else thinks about the book. I actually didn't care for the book too much the first time I read it but re-reading it for the club helped me appreciate the book a little more. Anyway, I'm sorry you didn't feel free enough to share your views regardless of everyone else's glowing comments.
Kevin
Ok - let's break this down (dang - I did grow up in Detroit). First, I hope people feel free to say both positive and negative things on the forum. However, what I prefer not to see is people saying negative things about someone else's opinion or comments. There is a big difference I think. I have no problem with someone saying, oh I loved that book, or oh I didn't care for it much. But, I do have a problem with someone saying, well you are wrong to think that. I hope people see the difference. One of my favorite author's Harlan Ellison hated the phrase, "Everyone is entitled to an opinion." He would always change it to, "Everyone is entitled to an informed opinion." In other words if you have read a book or watched a movie you are certainly entitled to your own "informed opinion" of it. I hope this helps clear up what I have been talking about here.
I am looking forward to the next book we decide on. I agree that it will take some time to get a good groove going, and for me personally sometimes I have a difficult time getting what is in my head into a coherent written thought.
Some books lend themselfs more to deeper discussion then Others. I have always found books in series to have more places for discussion or thought, then stand alone books (at least from the Star Wars books I read, case in point the Legacy of the Force series). I think the more we do this, the better discussion posts we will get. I know for the Titan thread, Kevin made some excellent posts, hopefully over time I can work myself up to that level.
Discussions will vary I am sure. I guess some of my disappointment was that it looked like there was a lot of initial excitement about the Heinlein book, but it ended up with very little conversation. It was definitely the "deepest" book we have read so far, and one of my favorites, so I was hoping for more interest. Life does get in the way sometimes, so hopefully the next books will elicit more conversations.
I really hope that there is interest to read more then Star Wars and Star Trek novels. Although I enjoy them, there are so many other really good Sci-fi books out there that have really deep, interesting themes. It would be a shame to not include them as well.
Duffster
I would get a list up soon to vote on. So we can decide on the next book and buy it.
It's up..vote away