The place where one might obtain a warm welcome and introduction.

[Naomi]

So let me begin I'm Naomi, the moderator of this group, hello and welcome!
I was thinking for introductions, it might be nice to say something small about yourself, then possibly expound somewhat on that most lovely of topics books; why you love them, favourite one or favourite many, favourite authors, a specific book that meant a lot to you/ had big impact (and anything else that your whims may lead you to feel like sharing).

[Alice]

Hello I'm Alice. I am an avid reader and collector and have been for about 25 years. I enjoy almost all genres and have many, many favorite books and authors. Off the top of my head I can think of three books that made the biggest difference in my life.

The first is Shadow of the Moon by M.M. Kaye, which I read when I was 15. It's a romance set during the Indian uprising during the 1800s. It is an Epic tale and I really don't have the words to describe how much I love this book.

Secondly was To Kill a Mockingbird, somewhat of a cliche to be sure, but if you've read it then you'll probably understand.

Then there was American Gods. The journey was exquisite and I hoped it would never end.

I am looking forward to discovering new books and have discussions with fellow cult book lovers. That good Naomi?

[Naomi]

I am looking forward to discovering new books and have discussions with fellow cult book lovers. That good Naomi?
That was great!! I'm so excited the first member (besides me of course) yay!
Thank you so much for your contribution Alice! I loved American Gods, and Shadow of the Moon and To Kill a Mockingbird are ones I really want to read!

[Naomi]

Right then, as previously stated I'm Naomi, I'm a student living in Wales and love books, have since I can remember. As befitting one who is prone to massive tangents, I read books from many different genres/time periods, always having a recent fixation or another, and letting them lead me where they will.

Here are some books that really had a big impact on me:

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. I read this when I was 15 and it was my first introduction to Vonnegut, what really stuck me about it was its complete originality, as if on reading this book a whole new range of possibilities of what a book could be opened up. This is a passage that particularly stuck with me;
As for the story itself, it was entitled "The Dancing Fool." Like so many Trout stories, it was about a tragic failure to communicate.

Here was the plot: A flying saucer creature named Zog arrived on Earth to explain how wars could be prevented and how cancer could be cured. He brought the information from Margo, a planet where the natives conversed by means of farts and tap dancing.

Zog landed at night in Connecticut. He had no sooner touched down than he saw a house on fire. He rushed into the house, farting and tap dancing, warning the people about the terrible danger they were in. The head of the house brained Zog with a golfclub.

This is a perfect exapmple of what I really love about Vonnegut, the way that by creating crazy parallels such as these he manages to get at the truth of things, so much more accurately than many authors who write soberly and demurely about the real world.

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte. My favourite book, needs no introduction it is just an amazing book.

The Hobbit - Tolkein. Read as a kid and loved it ever since, it really fuelled my love for adventures and quests!

[MJ]

Greetings. I'm Mark.

Breakfast of Champions is indeed an awesome piece of work. I'm presently working my way through the Vonneguts. The last one I read was Deadeye Dick, which I though was an another scabrous masterpiece.

Books that have impacted me:

Notes From Underground (Dostoevsky)
How the Dead Live (Will Self)
Mulligan Stew (Gilbert Sorrentino)
Dot in the Universe (Lucy Ellmann)
Inish (Bernard Shore)
The Third Policeman (Flann O'Brien)

Oh, and so many more.

[Naomi]

Greetings. I'm Mark.
Welcome Mark! Wow I'd really love to read every Vonnegut one after another, there are so many that I have left to read!
If you'd like I could set up a Challenges folder and you could share how its going with the group, I'm sure we'd all be interested!

[Naomi]

Hi, my name's Yasmin. I'm a tiny book lover from South Derbyshire. Currently I'm really obsessed with science fiction, more specifically the subgenre steampunk. Basically I just think it's because I want to fly an airship and go on a quest.

Welcome Yasmin! What a great introduction! What a great place to live, I went to Derbyshire this summer and thoroughly enjoyed, this was fuelled also by my love of period dramas, Chatsworth!
By steampunk, I assume your referring to the Gail Carriger books, I read them this summer and loved them, so much fun! Have you got to the cliffhanger of the second book yet, it was horrible having to wait to read the third!

and I did just that. It made me feel like I wasn't alone. It also sparked my (what people like to call) 'underlining disorder'. Which is basically my physical need to underline favourite parts & annotate. It sparked this feeling of... needing to record how I felt the first time I read a book because it felt so special. Like I must remember.

What a great piece of writing! The Bell Jar had a big impact on me too, I loved that you touched on that feeling of not being alone, that's what I love best about reading, especially growing up in ruralish Wales, in a school where it was rare to see people reading, or doing anything remotely against the norm, it definitely kept me sane a bit longer.

Love Lord of the Rings! Read it when I was 12 and I remember for those weeks when I was reading it, it was rarely out of my hands, I read it walking down stairs, when I was eating, remember my parents getting annoyed "Nomi get your head out of that book, your going to bang your head on something if your not careful!" Ah, the Welsh charm!

Anyways, welcome again Yasmin!

[Auntie]

I'm Raye and I'm fabulous!

I live in a small village with my 8 demented cats and my non-legal husband Mr. Bunny.

I grew up around books. My mom's side of the family are all readers. I love them cause they are entertaining, and take me away from everything.

It's hard for me to pick out favorite authors/books. It's almost easier to ask me what I don't like.My favorite genre is Bizarro.

Here are a couple books that had an impact:

Satan Burger
House of Leaves
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Callahan's Lady (Lady Sally's, #1)
The Handmaid's Tale

[Alice]

FabulousRaye wrote: "I'm Raye and I'm fabulous!

Welcome Raye! I hope you find more books to love here with us.

[Auntie]

Alice wrote:

Welcome Raye! I hope you find more books to love here with us."

Thanks Alice! I look forward to it =)

[Naomi]

Noticed that this thread got pushed into obscurity, so thought I'd post and encourage new members to introduce themselves, we'd love to hear from you.

[Alice]

This is the place to drop us a tidbit about yourselves. Any little piece will do, especially if it has to do with books.

[Julia]

Hello! My name's Julia and I joined recently and was prodded into a post-lurking attitude ^_^

I love how diverse everyone's favourite books are! (Yes, I'm Australian and I just spell that way)

When I was in Year 6, a teacher loaned me and really jump-started my love of romantic adventure fiction. I read that book 6 times before I finally gave it back!

At University I read and - both of which I loved profoundly. One Day is so very short and so intense it's amazing, while Life is a masterpiece of form and style.

My favourite book of all time is . It actually took me three attempts to get past the first 10 pages, but once I did I never wanted to put it down.

I'm a romance writer, and I generally love , anything by Georgette Heyer, the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde and graphic novels.

Nice to meet you all!

[MJ]

^^ We should definitely add Life: A User's Manual to the cult book list, it's a monstrous achievement. Or failing time restrictions, anything by Raymond Queneau.

[Julia]

MJ wrote: "^^ We should definitely add Life: A User's Manual to the cult book list, it's a monstrous achievement. Or failing time restrictions, anything by Raymond Queneau."

You know what sold me on Queneau? His author profile picture. I'm going to go find something of his to read :-)

[Alice]

Julia wrote: "Hello! My name's Julia and I joined recently and was prodded into a post-lurking attitude ^_^

I love how diverse everyone's favourite books are! (Yes, I'm Australian and I just spell that way)

W..."

Welcome Julia! I appreciate your coming out of lurk mode to say hey. I love your taste in the classics- both Jane Eyre & Count of Monte Cristo are two of my favorites as well.

I've heard a lot of good things about One Day. I'll need to add that to my ever growing list for sure.

[Alice]

MJ wrote: "^^ We should definitely add Life: A User's Manual to the cult book list, it's a monstrous achievement. Or failing time restrictions, anything by Raymond Queneau."

Well MJ it looks like you have someone to nominate from in the near future! Queneua looks very interesting so please, if you'd like, pick one of his titles to nominate.

[MJ]

All the Queneaus I've read have been spiffing, but the famous ones are Exercises in Style and Zazie in the Metro. For sheer hilarity I would plump for the former.

[Alice]

MJ wrote: "All the Queneaus I've read have been spiffing, but the famous ones are Exercises in Style and Zazie in the Metro. For sheer hilarity I would plump for the former."

I'll keep that in mind for June. Who couldn't use some hilarity in their lives?

[Kyle]

hello one and all. So I joined this group a while back and . . . . well let's just say I'm not the greatest at the social media of the world these days. Hell I'm lucky when I remember what books I read between my updates on this site. So as a means of being more . . . sociable, I figured I would post and stop being such a marsh-wiggle about it. So I read a lot as well, don't feel quite right without at least one book going but usually have several that I will work on at a time. Books that changed my life. . . well in Vonnegut land I would have to say Slaughterhouse 5 and Cat's Cradle are tied, though the earlier mention of Deadeye Dick takes me back.

I am constantly reading and re-reading William Blake, I find I understand more and more every time I go back to it and some things I even understand less which is fun too.

Philip K. Dick. . . what a man. I would say the Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, though as always hard to choose.

Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard have my love for all time.

Sci-fi and fantasy give me worlds to lose myself in, ways to alter my perceptions, Patrick Rothfuss The Name of the Wind, Michael Swanwick The Iron Dragon's daughter, Michael Moorecock for giving us Elric, Brian Aldiss The Long Afternoon of Earth.

I am what some may call pre-occupied with post apocalyptic fiction, John Wyndham Day of the Triffids, Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle Lucifer's Hammer, and though I enjoyed the Cormac McCarthy's The Road I would place Blood Meridian as the book of his that really made an impact on me. It broke my heart for the way humans can treat each other.

Well I just realized I need to post this little intro before I have to clock out at work. Hope I made up for my anti-social behavior.

[Alice]

Kyle wrote: "hello one and all. So I joined this group a while back and . . . . well let's just say I'm not the greatest at the social media of the world these days. Hell I'm lucky when I remember what books ..."

Welcome Kyle! I'm just a tad anti-social myself (ok a lot) so I understand. Nice to see another book lover, especially one who loves Vonnegut.