Book Club - Paris discussion
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2015 Book #2 - Games
Mod
I second René's choice. I've wanted to read
I would like to propose two books if you let me. One would be accountable only if you dont mind having seen the movie before reading the book: Beautiful Mind - the book which was the origin of the movie about THE Game Theory Scientist John Nash.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
And if you dont agree with taking a book which has a film on it I propose a Russian (and funny) book The Turkish Gambit.
Its one of the books on a very loved Erast Fandorin who is like our Holmes/Bond in one.
In this story he is young, clever and is facing the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Its something between a detective / an action / a love story / a historic novel :)
the Gambit if i understand is a chess strategy :) but it is more important than chess :)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...
and Réne, this is the first google Paris Book club search result :( http://www.meetup.com/anglophonebookc...
Mod
Hi GuysI am Vincent and I would love to join your book club, if it is still doable.
Also, I am French and so not an English native speaker, just an English decent speaker, I hope that is ok...
If I can still join, I would like to pitch in with the following :
The Flanders Panel, by Spanish novelist Arturo Pérez-Reverte.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Here is a summary:
While restoring a 15th-century painting which depicts a chess game between the Duke of Flanders and his knight, Julia, a young art expert, discovers a hidden inscription in the corner: Quis Necavit Equitem. Translation: Who killed the knight? Breaking the silence of five centuries, Julia's hunt for a Renaissance murderer leads her into a modern-day game of sin, betrayal, and death.
I hope we'll get to meet soon!
Vincent
Mod
Thanks René! Great, that's good to hear : )
Okay, am going to recommend a book by one of my favourite authors (actually it's pretty much the only Don DeLillo I haven't read): End Zone (1972).
It's Don's second novel. And how is it linked to games, you may well ask? Well, it's set in and around the world of American Football – but don't let that put you off, because according to Wiki it's a light-hearted farce that focuses on Gary, who spends time playing football, picnicking with a girl named Myna and contemplating nuclear warfare.
So if you're after a joyful book, this may or may not be it, and if you're the kind that needs to head to Wiki to check things out, then maybe don't....
Here are lots of lovely covers of End Zone from over the years:
http://perival.com/delillo/endzone_ed...
Mod
Welcome Vincent, language is no issue as many of us are not native English speakers.Justin, I'm so down for some nuclear warfare contemplation!
R: I've been trying to buy the huge logoed 1973 UK one for years...N: yay, see it covers two of our voted for themes! There's possibly even a river in there somewhere too...
I'd like to propose "Chess Story" by Stefan Zweig:"Travelers by ship from New York to Buenos Aires find that on board with them is the world champion of chess, an arrogant and unfriendly man. They come together to try their skills against him and are soundly defeated. Then a mysterious passenger steps forward to advise them and their fortunes change. How he came to possess his extraordinary grasp of the game of chess and at what cost lie at the heart of Zweig's story."
Since it's a novella and I'm not sure how short you usually go for books, I'll propose another full-length book (this is basically just a way for me to suggest two books).
My other suggestion is "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. This might not be a super popular choice considering the author and the fact it's sci-fi again but I thought I might suggest it since I've always wanted to read one of his books.
"Ender's Game is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled mankind after two conflicts with the "buggers", an insectoid alien species. In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, children, including the novel's protagonist, Ender Wiggin, are trained from a very young age through increasingly difficult games including some in zero gravity, where Ender's tactical genius is revealed."
I was going to suggest Ender's game, but Emily beat me to it, so yeah! Ready Player One is already on my tbr list, so yeah (my friend from another bookclub is friend's with the author; maybe we could get him to partake in our discussion?). And Vincent's choice looks really good too. So, I'm not going to throw another suggestion out there.Though, to Justin I suggest Harry Potter for the quidditch. See how Harry just seems to fit all our themes, haahaha. ;-)
I google Paris book club too, and though it wasn't first on the list it has the title of Paris Bookclub and this is the address- http://bookclubdeparis.blogspot.fr Ours, of course, is better :-)
Rachel, you know the rules, no children's books!
Chess Story, also known as The Royal Game, is the Austrian master Stefan Zweig's final achievement, completed in Brazilian exile and sent off to his American publisher only days before his suicide in 1942. It is the only story in which Zweig looks at Nazism, and he does so with characteristic emphasis on the psychological.Hello,
I'd like to nominate "Chess story" by Stefan Zweig :
"Travelers by ship from New York to Buenos Aires find that on board with them is the world champion of chess, an arrogant and unfriendly man. They come together to try their skills against him and are soundly defeated. Then a mysterious passenger steps forward to advise them and their fortunes change. How he came to possess his extraordinary grasp of the game of chess and at what cost lie at the heart of Zweig's story."
sorry I hadn t seen that Emily had proposed chess story first ...I ll support her choice then :)
I'm proposing 'the girl who played go' it features a love story between a young go player and a Japanese army officer in 1930s China and there's barely any sorghum mention.
Mod
doodle will be up by Wednesday evening
René wrote: "@Katerina pay no mind, those are fake book club assholes. I happen to know for a FACT that 74.2% of them can't even read. We are THE Paris Book Club, capitals on all letters."Hey Rene, remember me? I used to join you in the goodread book club...
Sweet of you to refer so nicely to my book club (yes, yes... I happen to be the organiser)... just that you know, that not only most members can read but they can also talk... saying that, we run no tests for proving that, so you can come as well :)
Anyway, I do like your choice of books, usually, but unfortunately, I can't always make it... I might try though to do so soon
Mod
Ha ha ha! Thank god irony translates so well online - how come no geek has ever fixed that?!
Justin wrote: "Ha ha ha! Thank god irony translates so well online - how come no geek has ever fixed that?!"because they don't get it :)
René wrote: "@Ganit Haha, this is awkward! Please do come back if you can make it! Good job organizing the "other" book club, it's a big success."will try... I'm very motivated now :)
Oh, I am sooo laughing :) non even LOL :) Ganit, to extrapolate the effect of awkwardness (i found a funnier word) you should now come to our next meeting!
and i dont know which book i like the most ...
hi - just joined up, and to help myself get over the disappointment of having missed vonnegut and asimov, i thought i'd throw in a suggestion for this month. battle royale by koushun takami - pulpy pulpy japanese classic. apparently a new translation was released just last year...
Welcome Mimi.Would you mind telling us about the book and/or how it fits into this month's theme, which is games? Thanks :-)
some of you may have seen the film, or come across it in reference to the hunger games (to be clear, takami published battle royale more than 10 years prior). taken from the goodreads description: "Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller - Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, now available for the first time in the English language."
Hello y'all doodle is at the following link:http://doodle.com/65rtey7dsauyx5mz
Will close on Sunday evening since there are many options to choose from.
Edit: for newcomers, everyone gets to vote for two books.
Hello, I have a small suggestion for our next doodle ( i know that im not hosting anything but still) you think adding a link to the book in the doodle would be useful ?
Great idea Katerina, I'll post the goodreads links here :Ready player one: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...
A breautiful mind: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
The Turkish gambit: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...
The Flanders https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
End zone: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Chess story: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
Ender's game: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...
The girl who played Go: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...
Battle royale: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
For other links involving high seas book plunder, we will keep it on the DL :D (Arrr!)
Don't think you need to keep it open till sun Nabil. Looks like we have a clear winner already, Ready Player One! There are only 4, maybe 5 people left to vote and unless none chooses RPO (which Rene will) and all choose the same other one with a vote already, boom it's done. Not saying you should close it today, but sunday is a stretch for nothing.
I was going to suggest closing the poll Friday evening.We don't want people drunk voting :D
Mod
@Rachel you can't close the poll on Friday if you say you'll keep it open 'til Sunday. Everybody gets to vote, even if the winner seems clear-cut (self-expression > voting result).
Poll is now closed with Ready Player One as a clear winner.Good reading to all of you.
P.S. Anyone who can't find the book just drop me a DM and I'll email you the epub.
Mod
@René: definitely not a Minimum Necessary Change
@Emily: A quarter is the minimum necessary change for a coin operated arcade machine.
We should not have chosen this book. Being a geek is difficult... Now I dont sleep, I still eat (unfortunately) but i just cant take this book from my head ...
I still dont know the difference. Although I consider myself a kind of geek, but not nerd ...
Mod
Post your suggestions here.
Glory be unto the one and only Paris book club!