So, I fail at posting things in a timely fashion. No one is surprised. Margaret told me that I had to proclaim my love for her and paper-tzipporah as penance. So, you know. Margaret and Joni are amazing and beautiful. They are the best mods anyone could ever have. And I also wear ribbons in my hair and want to kiss all the boys will love them for always ( Read more... )

Holy crap, it's Wednesday. Oops? Uh, we're watching the movie Children of Men this week. You should also feel more than welcome to read and discuss the book. The discussion this week will be led by the delightful kamili.

So, go forth, students, and watch/read/whatever! Next week, we'll be reading The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, so get ( Read more... )

Actual conversations I have had about this book in the last couple weeks:

Week 1
Me: Voinovich is HILARIOUS!
Margaret: This book is AMAZING!
Me: I am on page 30. You?
Margaret: Same.

Week 2My Boss: Oh, hey, you're reading Moscow 2042 ( Read more... )

Happy Monday, campers! As promised, brilligspoons and I have been sorting out a system of REWARDS.

Here's how it works: participation earns you points. Earn enough points, and the mods will send you something (more points = more rewards). Everyone who participates will earn something, even if it's just a few pieces of candy or stickers or a small toy ( Read more... )

BEHOLD, STUDENTS, THE RESULTS OF YOUR COUP:

( Dystopian Fiction 101: The Revised Schedule )

Happy Monday, everyone! We're finishing up our Soviet Dystopias cluster with Vladimir Voinovich's Moscow 2042, and you get THREE WHOLE WEEKS to read this one. It's longer than anything we've read so far, but I think you'll find it fun.

If you're interested, there's an article available for download here, "Anti-Utopian Carnival: Vladimir Voinovich ( Read more... )

Good morning, intrepid readers! We're kicking off our Soviet Dystopias cluster with a book that is described on the cover as "the first Bolshevik utopia" -- yes, I said utopia. We also have some supplementary reading this week, "Red Star: Bridging the Intellectual Divide within the early Bolshevik Party," by Jason R. Koepke. Don't worry; it's short ( Read more... )

Hello, campers! I'm posting on behalf of fishandcustard, who emailed me her notes for this book. We're discussing The Giver, by Lois Lowry, and if you'd like to refer back to any of the information in the kickoff post, it's hereWithout further ado, some points for discussion ( Read more... )

Happy Monday, intrepid readers! This week we're reading We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin, and that will be the end of our introductory cluster. After this week, the books are grouped into thematic clusters. Previous discussion posts will remain open, so feel free to continue your conversations in the comments, here. And thanks, momebie, for your excellent ( Read more... )

Good afternoon! My name is KL and I'm going to be heading the discussion post for The Time Machine. What follows is a mixture of notes and questions I took down while reading the book, and interesting questions I found on the internet. I don't expect anyone to answer all of the questions, I just wanted to give you a large spread so you could ( Read more... )