Saturday, August 19

A book-loop suggestion

Despite MJA's noble idea of trading books - which was the impetus to get this wonderful site started, so it remains a wonderful idea - I don't foresee much of that happening on this site. So besides discussing books we have read independently, what could we do? Glad I asked! We could have the Book-Loop Book-Club! Or something to that effect. I got the idea when Louis and Ben were discussing Cloud Atlas and they abandoned ship because most of us hadn't read it. Why don't we pick a book every other month, or every three months, and plow through it together, posting our thoughts once we've all finished (or in real time, if everyone's got to a certain spot)? I say every 60 or 90 days at least so we have time to a) decide on the book, making sure it's one we all want to read and b) read other books in the interim. Since this is all very non-binding, you can ditch the book at any time, but it might be fun to do this. It also might be fun with especially long books, as we could give ourselves more time and plow through them together (I know this has been done online with Infinite Jest and Gravity's Rainbow, I remember Moacir telling me about it in college), and take them up chapter by chapter. In short, we could go back to school. Only we're smarter now.

I think it's at least worth a try...

5 comments:

Ben said...

That's a fine idea. I nominate Cloud Atlas! How about some Margaret Atwood? John Fowles? J.M. Coetzee? The Book of Disquiet? Of course I am open to just about anything.

And don't keep knocking the trading books idea. Whatever comes of it comes of it. We needn't foresee what's going to happen. I am still more than willing to mail any of my books.

Ben said...

Ooh, I know, Italo Calvino!

Bryan said...

As the son of a librarian, I'm fundamentally opposed to mailing books across the country. This is why libraries exist.

Ben said...

I know your stance, and like I said, I am still more than willing to mail any of my books.

MJA said...

Bryan, I feel you on the libraries. I'm somewhat of a library cat too when the mood strikes, and I do agree that mailing books across the country doesn't make a lot of sense at first glance.

When the idea of Book-Loop popped into my head (a head which was then recovering from slicing and dicing), it was a romantic idea. I envisioned hundreds of people sending their favorite books across the country, sometimes to strangers, sometimes to friends of various ilk. Dog-eared and decorated with margin musings, spotted with questions and challenges directed specifically from one Looper to another, the books I imagined Looping about the country would have a special place in the world of pages.

I just sort of like the idea of reading Ben's copy of a story, you know?

Nothing is mutually exclusive.