Ken’s Comments (group member since Jan 21, 2020)

Ken’s comments from the The Obscure Reading Group group.

I put up folders for both books, the Saramago for a June 1st start (I figured two weeks would work for a 300-pager, though the discussion can overflow into late June no problem) and the Serge for a June 15th start.

Cherisa, feel free to put up a Week #1 and Week #2 thread at the appropriate time as well as a Reading Schedule one once you have the book in hand and choose a chapter to break it at.

I'll do the same for the Victor Serge book when the time comes.

Great to see some intrepid souls vowing the read BOTH books!

This thread is for pre-discussion topics for The Case of Comrade Tulayev by Victor Serge (Book 2 of 2 for June discussion). The first discussion thread for this book will be up by June 15th and hosted by Ken C.

This thread is for pre-discussion topics for The Stone Raft by José Saramago (Book 1 of 2 for June discussion). The first discussion thread for this book will be up by June 1st and hosted by Cherisa.

See poll result:

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...

See Message 20:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Important news near the water cooler of the JUNE nomination thread. Be there or be thirsty.

Poll #2 has ended in another tie. Here's my proposal, and if we get the right reactions here, we'll proceed.

I say, for the first time ever and in deference to the strong interest in both books, we have TWO June reads. As Cherisa nominated The Stone Raft, she would lead the discussion of that book, and as I nominated The Case of Comrade Tulayev, I would lead a concurrent discussion of that book.

Before I pull the trigger and put both pre-discussion threads up for those books up, though, I'd need a green light here from Cherisa for her book nomination AND at least three other members who are willing to commit here to joining the discussion of one book or the other.

If Cherisa plus three say "I'm in" for the Saramago and three are willing to join me for the Serge, then we'll proceed with a double header.

I'm only being cautious because sometimes voters are voters but not readers, and I'm at least trying to get a small core group of four (but hopefully more) for each book.

What say you, ORG-ers?

Kathleen wrote: "Sounds like those robots should be required toys for all siblings! Didn't have those, but did have all the others you mentioned, and my favorites were the Etch-a-Sketch and Yahtzee. Amazing how muc..."

Chance can be good. And bad. A mix of skill and chance works best. Win some, lose some.


Anyhow: TICK, TICK, TICK, peeps. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for our poll (previously known as "thee") in 5.5 hours.

Kathleen wrote: "I love the poll picture, Ken. These two books sure seem to be duking it out at the moment--a great match!"

Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots! My older brother and I logged many hours with that game using up unvented aggression via swift uppercuts to the blue and red jaw.

Also in the Hall of Fame: Silly Putty, Slinky, Etch-a-Sketch, Operation, Mouse Trap, Trouble, Shenanigans, and Yahtzee.

Meanwhile, the game at hand.

The Case of Comrade Tulayev and The Stone Raft are at this moment tied in our second poll (just as they were at the end of our first).

I hope a busload of ORG members show up to vote before midnight Pacific tonight. If I see another tie tomorrow morning, I'm dusting off my robots and calling my brother.

Today is DAY 2 for POLL 2 for our June's reading book. As of this moment, we have a TIE (again), so if you haven't exercised your democratic right, please do!

As the first poll finished in a tie between The Stone Raft and The Case of Comrade Tulayev, we are now running a 2-day runoff poll between those books.

Vote, folks, vote!

As the first poll finished in a tie between The Stone Raft and The Case of Comrade Tulayev, we are now running a 2-day runoff poll between those books.

Vote, folks, vote!

"Free Range" = London to Paris

The vote count doesn't get much closer than it is at this moment.

Voting still open.

If there's a tie, I will make a second poll in the morning for the books (could be two or three, it's so close right now) for the runoff.

Sandra, I hope your husband has turned a corner and is doing better.

Dianne wrote: "Thanks Ken! I may think about changing my vote given the standings. I was totally sidelined timewise from participating in the last read unfortunately so looking forward to joining this one."

I don't participate in every read either so no worries, Dianne. It's called "Life," as in "gets in the way sometimes."

In some cases, it's also called, "I have lots of books on my TBR and can't work up enough enthusiasm to interrupt things for this particular selection.'

Around 8 polling hours remain (midnight Pacific) to vote for the JUNE selection.

As of this morning, Eastern We-Hate-Daylight-Savings Time, there's a 3-vote difference between the top vote-getters.

The poll is visible on the bottom of ORG's homepage.

The JUNE 2024 reading selection poll is up for today and tomorrow. Remember, if you accidentally vote for a book you don't want, you can simply vote again and the vote will change.

Jannifer wrote: "I'd like to second Dianne's nomination, The Mandarins. I've never read Simone de Beauvoir and this looks like a good start."


Great. As of now, all four nominations have been seconded and will appear on the poll tomorrow.

There's still time for more offers/seconds!

Last full day for nominations and / or seconds on the JUNE NOMINATIONS thread in logistics.

OK, as the nominations are slight, I'll add an author I've been wanting to get to and a book that's rated highly but read infrequently (well, less than 1,500 ratings):

The Case of Comrade Tulayev

The Stalinist Purges may seem dated but reading the news and witnessing the upswing in authoritarian strongmen worldwide (and yes, even in so-called "democracies," which fascists love to use as a ticket to ride), perhaps the time is ripe.