Unofficial GWJ Book Club - Thanks, All.

NSMike wrote:

21 people in the Goodreads group already! This is much bigger than I was expecting it to be... You guys are making me nervous, I may actually have to do something. ;)

You're in charge of the Mumble server. That's above my pay grade

Ha! I've already got the server, that's not a problem. I've just been lazy about posting the info. No, I mean I've got to read this sucker and actually come up with discussion questions in time for everyone to formulate answers for them. Then I have to moderate. And I really wasn't expecting 21 people. Not that it's a problem. It's just a surprise.

So, take it one step further.... podcast it?

Then again, not everyone might that talkative suddenly anymore. Knowing others will hear it and judge, judge and judge again

I'm going to keep an eye on this but I don't think I'm going to participate unless it's a book that I already own. My book pile is bigger than my game pile.

iaintgotnopants wrote:

I'm going to keep an eye on this but I don't think I'm going to participate unless it's a book that I already own. My book pile is bigger than my game pile.

What's a few more then? And as trade off, you get to participate!!!

Per the updated OP, the wiki is current right now but I suspect Goodreads will serve us better in the long run.

I am in mainly to follow, your US schedules probably won't allow me to participate. I will see.

NSMike wrote:

Ha! I've already got the server, that's not a problem. I've just been lazy about posting the info. No, I mean I've got to read this sucker and actually come up with discussion questions in time for everyone to formulate answers for them. Then I have to moderate. And I really wasn't expecting 21 people. Not that it's a problem. It's just a surprise.

Get your Google-Fu on and do a search of the book plus discussion points or book club discussion.

In an effort to make a bad joke in oilypenguin's twins thread, I ended up looking up information on Tigana. I am going to strongarm this book into our lineup at some point. I am long overdue for a reread of this book, and everyone else could stand to read it as well.

NSMike wrote:

In an effort to make a bad joke in oilypenguin's twins thread, I ended up looking up information on Tigana. I am going to strongarm this book into our lineup at some point. I am long overdue for a reread of this book, and everyone else could stand to read it as well.

Tigana and Song for Arbonne are the last two GGK books I haven't read yet, so this works for me

It has been on my to-read list for years, so I am down.

Tanglebones wrote:
NSMike wrote:

In an effort to make a bad joke in oilypenguin's twins thread, I ended up looking up information on Tigana. I am going to strongarm this book into our lineup at some point. I am long overdue for a reread of this book, and everyone else could stand to read it as well.

Tigana and Song for Arbonne are the last two GGK books I haven't read yet, so this works for me :)

Only read Lions of al-Rassan and loved it. His other books have been on my list forever.

Joined up on Goodreads, now going to get the Sagan book ordered since it's one of the few of his my local library doesn't have.

I am a huge fan of GGK, and Lions was, IMHO, not as good as Tigana. That's like saying David is not as good as Pietà.

NSMike wrote:

I am a huge fan of GGK, and Lions was, IMHO, not as good as Tigana. That's like saying David is not as good as Pietà.

Not having read Tigana, I can't make a direct comparison, but Lions is my favorite GGK to date, only slightly edging out the Sarantine Mosaic

I might have to start reading GGK anyway, based on what I see on Amazon. Where should I start if I'm not reading for the book club?

Jolly Bill wrote:

I might have to start reading GGK anyway, based on what I see on Amazon. Where should I start if I'm not reading for the book club?

If you're a fan of Tolkien, right the Fionavar Tapestry. GGK worked on Tolkien's papers as a graduate assistant, and Fionavar is highly influenced. Otherwise, the vast majority of his work is set in a slightly alternate version of Earth, with some light magic - of those books, Lions of Al-Rassan (Muslim Spain at the beginning of its big decline) and the Sarantine Mosaic (focused on Hagia Sophia and Justinian/Theodora) are my two favorite works of his.

Yeah, the influence of LOTR on The Fionavar Tapestry is quite apparent. It's not a 1-to-1 duplication, but there is a lot of LOTR you'll find there. Don't mistake that for poor quality, though. They're damn good novels.

The Sarantine Mosaic is on my to-read list.

Lions of Al-Rassan is quite good as well.

Tigana is the gem of his work that I have read so far.

iaintgotnopants wrote:

I'm going to keep an eye on this but I don't think I'm going to participate unless it's a book that I already own. My book pile is bigger than my game pile.

Perhaps this can act as a chance for some collective pile reduction efforts. Start reading anything 12/7, finish by 12/30. Post here about it? Would anyone mind?

GGK books

Is there a timeline within the series or are they all stand-alone novels within the same world?

StaggerLee wrote:
iaintgotnopants wrote:

I'm going to keep an eye on this but I don't think I'm going to participate unless it's a book that I already own. My book pile is bigger than my game pile.

Perhaps this can act as a chance for some collective pile reduction efforts. Start reading anything 12/7, finish by 12/30. Post here about it? Would anyone mind?

I would prefer this goes in another thread, personally. I like that we're all reading the same book here and planning to discuss it.

The Sarantine Mosaic and The Fionavar Tapestry are both their own series. Everything else is standalone.

Jolly Bill wrote:

I would prefer this goes in another thread, personally. I like that we're all reading the same book here and planning to discuss it.

This is my intent, yes. Like I said earlier, I started a book pile thread a few years ago, but it died out.

It's past midnight, EST, which means you should all be getting a start on the book today.

Remember, our due date for completion is the 30th. I want you all to have some time to answer discussion questions, as well as formulate your own, if you so desire. I will post discussion questions on the 26th. These will be general, and may even carry over from book to book. We'll see how they work out this time around.

I appreciate the Goodreads invite, but I honestly don't have the time to add another book.

wordsmythe wrote:

I appreciate the Goodreads invite, but I honestly don't have the time to add another book.

I'm going to say we not invite folks to the goodreads group that did not express interest here in the thread. Thanks, folks.

No worries, I just couldn't leave a comment there without first joining.

That's fine. I just don't want this group to get spammy before we even have the chance to read our first book.

I'm up for it. I just have to accept the invite at some point (heh).

I may have my girlfriend participating.

I need to sign up for goodreads. I am reading now!

Awesome. Keep going!

Curious about the upcoming questions we are going to tackle