@MK2boogaloo @fluffy @tarperfume
Ok I've got some ideas.
I think the first thing we should do is circulate the idea a bit, see who'd be interested and make a thread about the first featured book.
Either now or later we could make an account that people can follow. I've though of a couple of functions it can fulfill but I'm pretty sure there can be a lot more.
1. OPs (Opening Post) of book reviews where people can discuss about them
2. OPs with questions about genres/authors/books
In both cases OPs can be sent over DM and published either by a script or by those with keys to the account.
3. Every two weeks there will be a featured book.
With a discussion thread pinned for these two weeks.
A suggestion thread for next featured book can also be pinned in the beginning of the second week.
Which can lead to a couple of polls (authors/genres/books).
92580eef0fcc7f1c48c8c9b277f19b64c9638dc30809c697b186563cc6dbf59f.jpg
Ok I've got some ideas.
I think the first thing we should do is circulate the idea a bit, see who'd be interested and make a thread about the first featured book.
Either now or later we could make an account that people can follow. I've though of a couple of functions it can fulfill but I'm pretty sure there can be a lot more.
1. OPs (Opening Post) of book reviews where people can discuss about them
2. OPs with questions about genres/authors/books
In both cases OPs can be sent over DM and published either by a script or by those with keys to the account.
3. Every two weeks there will be a featured book.
With a discussion thread pinned for these two weeks.
A suggestion thread for next featured book can also be pinned in the beginning of the second week.
Which can lead to a couple of polls (authors/genres/books).
92580eef0fcc7f1c48c8c9b277f19b64c9638dc30809c697b186563cc6dbf59f.jpg
@MK2boogaloo @fluffy @tarperfume
Here's some suggestions to get started:
>1. The Psychology of Revolution - Gustave Le Bon
From skimming through it I found it better than "The Crowd". Have read neither btw.
>Half-brothers Michel and Bruno have a mother in common but little else. Michel is a molecular biologist, a thinker and idealist, a man with no erotic life to speak of and little in the way of human society. Bruno, by contrast, is a libertine, though more in theory than in practice, his endless lust is all too rarely reciprocated. Both are symptomatic members of our atomised society, where religion has given way to shallow 'new age' philosophies and love to meaningless sexual connections. Atomised (Les Particules elementaires) tells the stories of the two brothers, but the real subject of the novel is in its dismantling of contemporary society and its assumptions, in its political incorrectness, and its caustic and penetrating asides on everything from anthropology to the problem pages of girls' magazines. A dissection of modern lives and loves. By turns funny, acid, infuriating, didactic, touching and visceral.
>2. Book 1 of Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian war
I've 10-20 pages and it's a really great geopolitics books. No former knowledge needed, the text is self-explanatory. Very related to current events since it describes a naval power (Athens) and a land power (Sparta) slowly being dragged into a war to engulf every city state. Very similar to the current GAE-Russia situation even if it was written 2500 years ago.
>3. Atomised - Houellebecq
I've read 2 other books written by him. One was "The Platform" which I liked very much and the other "Serotonin" which I found to be okay (mediocre to good).
>Half-brothers Michel and Bruno have a mother in common but little else. Michel is a molecular biologist, a thinker and idealist, a man with no erotic life to speak of and little in the way of human society. Bruno, by contrast, is a libertine, though more in theory than in practice, his endless lust is all too rarely reciprocated. Both are symptomatic members of our atomised society, where religion has given way to shallow 'new age' philosophies and love to meaningless sexual connections. Atomised (Les Particules elementaires) tells the stories of the two brothers, but the real subject of the novel is in its dismantling of contemporary society and its assumptions, in its political incorrectness, and its caustic and penetrating asides on everything from anthropology to the problem pages of girls' magazines. A dissection of modern lives and loves. By turns funny, acid, infuriating, didactic, touching and visceral.
Atomised - Houellebecq, Michel, 1958-.pdf
The Psychology of Revolution - Gustave Le Bon.epub
Thucydides_ The War of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians-Cambridge.pdf
Here's some suggestions to get started:
>1. The Psychology of Revolution - Gustave Le Bon
From skimming through it I found it better than "The Crowd". Have read neither btw.
>Half-brothers Michel and Bruno have a mother in common but little else. Michel is a molecular biologist, a thinker and idealist, a man with no erotic life to speak of and little in the way of human society. Bruno, by contrast, is a libertine, though more in theory than in practice, his endless lust is all too rarely reciprocated. Both are symptomatic members of our atomised society, where religion has given way to shallow 'new age' philosophies and love to meaningless sexual connections. Atomised (Les Particules elementaires) tells the stories of the two brothers, but the real subject of the novel is in its dismantling of contemporary society and its assumptions, in its political incorrectness, and its caustic and penetrating asides on everything from anthropology to the problem pages of girls' magazines. A dissection of modern lives and loves. By turns funny, acid, infuriating, didactic, touching and visceral.
>2. Book 1 of Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian war
I've 10-20 pages and it's a really great geopolitics books. No former knowledge needed, the text is self-explanatory. Very related to current events since it describes a naval power (Athens) and a land power (Sparta) slowly being dragged into a war to engulf every city state. Very similar to the current GAE-Russia situation even if it was written 2500 years ago.
>3. Atomised - Houellebecq
I've read 2 other books written by him. One was "The Platform" which I liked very much and the other "Serotonin" which I found to be okay (mediocre to good).
>Half-brothers Michel and Bruno have a mother in common but little else. Michel is a molecular biologist, a thinker and idealist, a man with no erotic life to speak of and little in the way of human society. Bruno, by contrast, is a libertine, though more in theory than in practice, his endless lust is all too rarely reciprocated. Both are symptomatic members of our atomised society, where religion has given way to shallow 'new age' philosophies and love to meaningless sexual connections. Atomised (Les Particules elementaires) tells the stories of the two brothers, but the real subject of the novel is in its dismantling of contemporary society and its assumptions, in its political incorrectness, and its caustic and penetrating asides on everything from anthropology to the problem pages of girls' magazines. A dissection of modern lives and loves. By turns funny, acid, infuriating, didactic, touching and visceral.
Atomised - Houellebecq, Michel, 1958-.pdf
The Psychology of Revolution - Gustave Le Bon.epub
Thucydides_ The War of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians-Cambridge.pdf
@fluffy @laurel @skells @tarperfume anyway we need to do polls after everyone here agree on the list of books.
i'm not really the type to do group reads but it's a good effort
@fluffy @7 @MK2boogaloo @laurel @skells @tarperfume I don't normally do group reading either, and it depends on if I find something interesting. Eventually I do want to find a writing group but in person. Being able to discuss books with others online is good though.
@fluffy @skells @MK2boogaloo @tarperfume
Could perhaps write a small description of the book to go in the group read OP since it's your favorite?
Could perhaps write a small description of the book to go in the group read OP since it's your favorite?
@skells @laurel @MK2boogaloo @tarperfume @fluffy That one does sound really interesting. I'd be up for reading it some time. Just a bit busy with other books and stuff right now.
@sim @skells @fluffy @laurel @tarperfume let's do a poll then to decide what book we should do first.
@MK2boogaloo @sim @laurel @skells @tarperfume @fluffy Voted the third one based solely on it's name, it doesn't sound nearly as pretentious as the rest
@sim @fluffy @laurel @skells @tarperfume alright so the poll has been closed and the book with the most votes are Thucydides.
@MK2boogaloo @laurel @skells @tarperfume @fluffy That's cool. Do we read this in our own time for the next two weeks or so?
@MK2boogaloo @laurel @tarperfume @sim @fluffy
>suggests book club
> refuses to elaborate
@MK2boogaloo @sim @fluffy @skells @tarperfume
Sorry been away today.
Neither have I ever run a book club.
I'm thinking, let's start a thread either today or tomorrow with the details and a link to the book notifying everyone in this thread.
Let's see:
***********************************************
[we need a name for the club] Book Club.
1st Group Read starting [date]
[Book Title]
[Description]
For our first group read Thucydides has been selected after very extensive and impartial polling.
This is a book about [@fluffy@social.handholding.io should write this part since he really likes the book].
Next Sunday[?] another [name] Book Club thread will made where members are encouraged to post their thoughts of the book and have a discussion about it.
**********************************************
It needs some more work, and the wording could do with a lot of improvements.
What do you think?
Sorry been away today.
Neither have I ever run a book club.
I'm thinking, let's start a thread either today or tomorrow with the details and a link to the book notifying everyone in this thread.
Let's see:
***********************************************
[we need a name for the club] Book Club.
1st Group Read starting [date]
[Book Title]
[Description]
For our first group read Thucydides has been selected after very extensive and impartial polling.
This is a book about [@fluffy@social.handholding.io should write this part since he really likes the book].
Next Sunday[?] another [name] Book Club thread will made where members are encouraged to post their thoughts of the book and have a discussion about it.
**********************************************
It needs some more work, and the wording could do with a lot of improvements.
What do you think?
@laurel @MK2boogaloo @tarperfume @sim @fluffy looks good, maybe 2 weeks makes sense, with work etc. one week is a little short
Problematics Anonymous
if i find time I'll write a blurb
@laurel @fluffy @sim @skells @tarperfume sure I can work with that. Just make sure everyone has the exact same copy of the book.
@MK2boogaloo @fluffy @sim @skells @tarperfume
I think that the Cambridge translation I posted in the OP (and I'm gonna repost now) is the best one.
The book is divided into eight parts (or books), perhaps going for just one is too little. But going for all eight in just two weeks might be a little too much for everyone. Perhaps lets say Parts(books) 1 and 2 (around 160 pages) and whoever wants to can keep going.
I think that the Cambridge translation I posted in the OP (and I'm gonna repost now) is the best one.
The book is divided into eight parts (or books), perhaps going for just one is too little. But going for all eight in just two weeks might be a little too much for everyone. Perhaps lets say Parts(books) 1 and 2 (around 160 pages) and whoever wants to can keep going.
@MK2boogaloo @fluffy @sim @skells @tarperfume
I think that the book club should be more about getting people interested in reading and offering an outlet to discuss about what they're reading.
Book is a total of ~550 pages and the writing, even though very enjoyable, is pretty dense.
We could go for the first 4 parts up to page 320 but whoever wants to can keep going past the first 2. And when we'll be discussing about it in one/two weeks time we'll be able to evaluate better whether we should do another session for the rest of the book (if a lot of people went past the fist two parts) or two sessions, or even none if most people want to switch.
I think that the book club should be more about getting people interested in reading and offering an outlet to discuss about what they're reading.
Book is a total of ~550 pages and the writing, even though very enjoyable, is pretty dense.
We could go for the first 4 parts up to page 320 but whoever wants to can keep going past the first 2. And when we'll be discussing about it in one/two weeks time we'll be able to evaluate better whether we should do another session for the rest of the book (if a lot of people went past the fist two parts) or two sessions, or even none if most people want to switch.
@laurel @MK2boogaloo @tarperfume @sim @fluffy
After fighting off successive Persian invasions, Hellas stood triumphant and sovereign. Front and centre stood the twin city states of Athens - decimated in the war with Persia but now ascendent in their dominance of the sea and trade - and Sparta - a proto-Communist military elite ruling their Helots with savage zeal.
Yet unease was not far away, as Athens began to convert the Anti-Persian Delian League into a de facto Athenian Empire, much to the chagrin and fear of Sparta.
The Pelopponesian War was the culmination of that unease and the war between Athens and Sparta has become the prototype of the Thucydides trap - the implicit threat of another superpower and the temptation to seize the initiative in a war for dominance.
This is the war that Thucydides sought to describe, a war that he fought in on the side of Athens. Histories had been written before yet Thucydides was the first to write a consciously "scientific" history - one which sought not just to tell an engaging story, but to understand the causes, motivations and consequences of the events.
would not mind reading it again at all