Ramble ramble
Hey, guys, this place is kinda dead- and what a shame! I think I know why this is. pooperman said it before, elsewhere: reading together is hard. We all have different reading levels and different schedules, and when some of us fall behind while others zoom past whatever schedule is agreed on, it can be frustrating for all. Especially when unforeseen IRL schtuff goes down and we're forced to put the book down, it can be hard to pick it back up. Personally, I have a bad habit of never finishing books I start (but I'm ridiculously ADHD/American, whatyagonnado) because once I put them down they stay down. I'm rambling, but I think we all agree that there's trouble that comes with reading groups?
What I'd like to propose is that we take the reading group out of the reading group. That is, I think this community would work better with a bit more anarchy and a little less macro-focus. Are you currently reading Oscar Wilde's the Picture of Dorian Gray on your own and want to share your thoughts? That's what this community should be for. Do you want to take on Murasaki Shikibu's the Tale of Genji but wonder if anyone else would like to tackle that kind of project with you? You could find one or two, if not more, people here who'd be up for that! On a much larger scale, we could have Books of the Month which reflect what we originally wanted to do with the Brothers Karamazov, to keep us all on our toes.
To restate the point, if this community is to work--and maybe it won't, but I think the idea at least has promise-- the key, I think, is to make the focus more individual and less collective. Maybe I'd like to talk about the Diary of a Young Girl (which I am supposed to be reading but, again, bad habits die hard) but don't want to wait until everyone decides they want a reading group, and then gets up to the point I'm at. I personally want to read everyone's thoughts on the Brothers Karamazov, even though I stopped reading a while ago. Naturally, spoilers should be marked somehow, I think we can manage that.
I dunno, just my thoughts. Also, Happy Halloween everyone!
What I'd like to propose is that we take the reading group out of the reading group. That is, I think this community would work better with a bit more anarchy and a little less macro-focus. Are you currently reading Oscar Wilde's the Picture of Dorian Gray on your own and want to share your thoughts? That's what this community should be for. Do you want to take on Murasaki Shikibu's the Tale of Genji but wonder if anyone else would like to tackle that kind of project with you? You could find one or two, if not more, people here who'd be up for that! On a much larger scale, we could have Books of the Month which reflect what we originally wanted to do with the Brothers Karamazov, to keep us all on our toes.
To restate the point, if this community is to work--and maybe it won't, but I think the idea at least has promise-- the key, I think, is to make the focus more individual and less collective. Maybe I'd like to talk about the Diary of a Young Girl (which I am supposed to be reading but, again, bad habits die hard) but don't want to wait until everyone decides they want a reading group, and then gets up to the point I'm at. I personally want to read everyone's thoughts on the Brothers Karamazov, even though I stopped reading a while ago. Naturally, spoilers should be marked somehow, I think we can manage that.
I dunno, just my thoughts. Also, Happy Halloween everyone!