David’s Comments (group member since Dec 29, 2010)

David’s comments from the BGGWW Books group.

Totally agree with Jeff.

I am afraid to lose the interest of those who have already read Dune.

I think a 2nd book is a great idea to keep activity high in the group. I would hate to lose interest in those not interested in the book of the month. It need not even be from the Hugo/Nebula list.

I am assuming we will pick new book(s) again at the beginning of February. I think 1-2 books per month would be great with side discussions of other things we are reading (I've seen some mention of The Handmaid's Tale, so it would be cool to hear thoughts on that in its own thread).

Stat, as I understand, the Kindle does not support library ebooks. Many(/most?/all?) other ereaders do.

Got the sample of Game of Thrones on Kindle last night. Just waiting for the right time to pull the trigger on downloading the rest of the book for a whopping $5. I think I can get used to the Kindle.

Anyone else reading via Kindle?

I am absolutely a bibliophile. I love books. I seek out certain editions. I love Everyman's Library editions to books and I love Penguin Deluxe Classics (some of the artwork/design is great, some is downright aweful). I am currently reading an edition of The Three Musketeers that my wife got through an importer. Penguin UK puts out cooler editions than Penguin USA sometimes.

Here is my Three Musketeers:


I also recently got these Sherlock Holmes books through an importer:


Anyway, I also just got a Kindle and I am very excited about it. As much as I love physical editions, there are some books that I just want to read and have them disappear. Most standard paperbacks I've read (Pillars of the Earth, Ender's Game, Asimov Robot novels, etc.), once I read them, I'm done with them. Certain classics, I keep in my personal library.

So, I think there is a place for Kindle (Game of Thrones, for example). But if I am stoked about a tricked out edition of something, I'd rather read from there.

And on that note, I'm waiting for this new gem to arrive from Amazon:


Anyone else using a Kindle? Any tips/tricks? Any advice on getting over the locations concept vs. the pages concept? I try to read 50 pages/day. I can't quite figure out what that means in Kindle-land.

We can also start populating our group to-read shelf. I like the idea of having some sort of direction.

I'm bummed some just read and/or are just starting A Game of Thrones. That is on my very short list. I would love to read that along side someone, but if we are going to start something here, I think I should wait on GoT.

I was going to get fancy and compile a list of books we all have on our personal to-read shelves and see if we have some crossover. But I can't find an easy way to export this info and listing by hand would be a bit much.

Also, I notice there is a goodbooks widget. Anyone know how to put the bookcovers of your recent 5 reads on your BGG profile? I found a widget page somewhere, but I couldn't get it to work. But I'm not really that savvy.

...now:



Lolita surprised me. When I usually talk about great books, I rarely mention it, but it's an astonishing book. The stigma (you know, pedophilia) is off-putting, naturally, but the totally unreliable narrator and masterful prose results in one great book.

The rest are a broken record for me. They are my 4 favorite books and I think about each of them often. So, no surprise I thought of those.

Not your favorite 5 books. Not the best 5 books. Not the most impressive 5 books.

Just name 5 books that you really, really loved.

Don't think about it, just list them quickly and post. No thinking about it. Just start naming them.

I have intentionally been avoiding doing this myself until right...

My to-read shelf is about 44 deep. That's part of the impetus for my goal to read 50 books this year. I want to read them all or make a huge dent into it.

At 44, that's about the same as my unplayed games list.

I haven't mentioned it because I'm sure everyone else here has read it, but I've been wanting to read Dune. at some point this year I will be reading Dune. I will post it when I'm about to and anyone who wants to read along is welcome to.

And I think we will probably have a lot of that. If you're reading something or want to read something that is not the BGGWW Book of the Month, mention it here and side threads can sprout up with others who have read or want to read along.

I agree with Sparky. Strike while the iron is hot.

I like the double Hugo/Nebula winners idea. How about the first member with enough gumption and time create a poll (yes, we have those) with the list of joint winners. Then we can vote from there. If there are some that more than a few have read, let's scratch it from the list. Also, we should probably scratch books that are part of a linear series.

I can't make the poll now, but if it's not done by Monday morning, I'll do it.

(btw, Wes posted the wikipedia link to the list above; it just needs to be poll-ized)

Also, we are totally open to other ideas. If you have a book or list in mind, we can go off that as well. Someone posted a top 50 sci-fi/fantasy books list somewhere.

I think we are all pretty amiable. I think there are a few like me who have read very little sci-fi/fantasy. I'm not comfortable trying to guide the ship. There are others here who know what's out there better than I.

I like the idea of reading a book together.

Since we have a few different favorite genres, we might end up with a few books being read concurrently. Pick a sci-fi/fantasy and those who are up for it, go for it. Also, pick a historical fiction or classic or whatever and those into that can do that.

I am sure many are like me and are currently in a book or two right now. I'd need a week or so to finish The Three Musketeers and The Scarlet Letter.

As for sci-fi/fantasy, someone posted a few lists already (elad?). Also, we could work through the Hugo or Nebula award winners (starting with those who won both in their year). I have a list of those in excel if we can post files. I have lots of book lists in my excel spreadsheet (Modern Library list, National Book Awards winners, Mann Booker, Pulitzer, and more). I love to catalog.

Since some of us have different user names here than BGG, an introduction thread seems a good place to start.

I am:
Goo
dlutes3
Dave

edit: turns out we can change our names and user names here. I am once again, just Goo.