Logan's comments (member since Jul 02, 2009)

Logan's comments from the The Next Best Book Club group.

Wow Petra, thanks for sharing that! I can't wait to dive in to see just how many of my "to-buy-soon" stack I can find there.

There are so very very many, though I've been putting quite a dent in them throughout the year thus far. I'm also hoping to get to these in the next couple of years:

Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Eyeless in Gaza by Aldous Huxley
For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
Passage to India by E.M. Forster
Herzog by Saul Bellow
King Solomon's Mine by H. Rider Haggard
A Light In August by William Faulkner
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
If On A Winter's Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino

I think that I could be quite happy for quite a long while if I stuck solely to Southern authors and Russian classics for a long while. Also, I think that I could quite easily go the rest of my life without cracking any of the Victorians that I have yet to read and be none the worse for wear, likewise for the rest of Dickens' oeuvre. Also, I think that a reread of The Great Gatsby is in order because I only vaguely remember most of it.

Huh, looks like Simon hit here too. I just got done telling him that his "shame on you" approach to self-promotion is in fact very shameful over in the 1001 group.

What is so hard to understand about people not wanting to read advertising in the context of a post?

Wow. I am suddenly not at all hungry.

Oh. And I'm currently trading off of reading between Tolstoy's War & Peace and Gogol's Dead Souls. December is made for the Russians (or Russians are made for December, I'm not sure). I like this approach because after 300 pages of military maneuvers and contemplations on feudal living, I can change to Gogol, who is far more light-hearted and amusing.

Emma, what are you talking about? I'm right here. I've been here literally the whole time. Kidding. I curtailed a lot of my Goodreads activity in November for Nanowrimo and then just kept the streak alive in December. Sometimes it's good to revisit the flesh-and-blood world. Sometimes.

I really just don't have the time these days to read through this group in the detail that I used to. That's the only downfall I can see to TNBBC growing as large as it has, I just can't keep up.

I can't even decide how it's supposed to be pronounced! I just shorten it in my head to 'Smee, like Captain Hook's first mate, which makes me laugh because then I picture baby vampiric pirates.

Katie, I'm not judging. I'm just pointing out that there are three different threads, each numbering nearly 200 posts, in this group alone that already discuss Twilight. I'm just sick of it. I haven't even read the books and I already know more about Bella, Jacob and Edward (not to mention Renesmeee, please let's just not mention Renesmee) than I ever cared to know.

For bob's sake people, it's not even a good vampire book- it's a harlequin romance for teenage girls who have moved on from their Harry Potter obsession but still can't get up the nerve to read real books. Everyone says "well at least kids are reading" but I can't even see how that's a worthwhile excuse anymore when it doesn't serve as a jumping off point for a larger foray into the world of letters.

Wait, I guess I am judging. In my defense, I was brought to this point by being pounded with Twilight propaganda ceaselessly for over five months now. I just want to hear about something different.

No Twilight. Everyone's already either read it or talked it to death. It should just go away and die at this point.

no. just, no. i'm all for democracy, but some things should not be brooked.

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

I love Andrew's suggestion of If on a Winter's Night a Traveler and Jen's nomination for The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. I'll probably end up voting for The Spirit Catches... because I loved it so much when I read it, but I still feel compelled to nominate something.

How about War and Peace to get us through the winter doldrums?

Oh we don't discriminate- I like thick noodles too.

Here you go, Petra:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sriracha

It's very tasty. I used to put it on everything.

I'll admit it- I'm a recovering Ramen addict. That and mac and cheese were two staples of my college career. The ability to cook them easily on a hot plate was very key. It took me a long time to get over being completely burnt out on them though. I have only recently begun eating either of them again.

Abigail, I'm intrigued by this talk of miso paste. That sounds like it could impart some good flavor to Ramen.

I always used to spice it up with some Sriracha and then drop an egg and some green onions in.

I have to say that it's always been a dream of mine, though hearing of all the trials and tribulations that Petra goes through with her store has made me hesitate. For the time being I'll just keep on building the most awesome home library possible.

Ofmatt, I just saw your post #5700 in my update feed and it intrigued me. How, exactly, do you go about getting a bunny to pee in your eye?

My copy of this book arrived on Saturday and it's calling to me from atop Mt. TBR right now.

I just recently read the book and fell absolutely in love with it. Of course, I haven't seen the film but from people I've talked to who've done both they say that knowing the awfulness of the movie doesn't take away from the greatness of the book.

If you're really uncertain, maybe put off reading it until the movie has faded from memory?

Hi Joseph- I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to promote your book. Bob knows that it's difficult enough for new writers to make it. The arguments about spam have nothing to do with you promoting your book on a radio show- authors have been doing that forever. Not only is it a great outlet for you to expose people to your point-of-view on whatever topic but can help attract readers to your work.

When we talk about Spam in the context of Goodreads, we are referring to authors or promoters who post unsolicited plugs for their books/programs without taking the time to interact with the members of this online community or to see if your wares are even topical to the group you're in.

Portia does not seem to understand this. We have nothing against her running a radio show. We have everything against her invading our personal space without so much as a "hi, how are you doing?" or even letting us know what her current read is. In essence, we find this offensive because what it projects to us is that she really could not care less about this group, its members or Goodreads at large. No, instead she is more interested in advancing her agenda and in doing so she pollutes our community with unwanted advertising. This is Web 2.0- we are active in creating the community that we like to exist in. We don't like being treated like passive receptors of wasteful info.

So, yes, do your talk radio interview. More power to you! I hope it helps attract readers.