Group reads?

[Melissa, Chief Bookworm]

Is anyone interested in doing group reads/discussions with authors? I think this could be interesting, as there are a couple Canadian authors on Goodreads, like Margaret Atwood, Amanda Leduc, and Kelley Armstrong.

[Janice]

Group reads would be fun, with or without author participation.

[Melissa, Chief Bookworm]

I agree, groups reads would be fun with or without author participation. With the author's participation it seems, to me at least(I can't speak for everyone else), like it would be so much fun. You get to ask the author questions, hear about deleted scenes, all that stuff.

[Janice]

I agree. I led a group discussion for the book Moloka'i. Alan Brennert joined us and it was a great discussion. He wasn't even on Goodreads and he joined just so he could participate.

That's an idea. Even if the author isn't on Goodreads, we can always approach him/her and ask if they'd like to participate.

[Melissa, Chief Bookworm]

That's so neat that the author joined just so he could participate. If we go the group reads route and the author isn't on here, we could approach him or her.

[GateGypsy]

That does sound like a lot of fun! I was thinking about reading Year of the Flood by Atwood as my Ontario book because I happen to own a copy I'm itching to read and I did so enjoy Oryx and Crake. I had also considered (for my BC book) reading The Gathering by Armstrong because it's set on Vancouver Island, where I grew up. (But there are soooooo many to choose from! My interest is piqued for Leduc's book Instructions For an Inexperienced Lover. I lived in Victoria and loved it there, and I wouldn't mind visiting again in my mind.)

I guess, since we have all of 2013 to get through the provinces, I might have time to read more than one book from various regions, if the whim should strike ;-)

[Janice]

I love Victoria too. Our cruise stops there for 4 hours. By the time we go through customs getting off the ship and back on the ship, I'm not sure if I'll even have enough time to hold out my pinky and sip on a cup of tea at The Empress.

[Betty]

Melissa wrote: "...You get to ask the author questions, hear about deleted scenes, all that stuff. ..."

I'd never thought of asking about the 'deleted scenes'. Doing so would be fascinating, taking the reader right into the writing process. Thks, Melissa.

[Melissa, Chief Bookworm]

You're welcome, Asmah.
I do like hearing about all that, though- backstories that never get put into the books, what inspired a particular book. A couple of my favorite authors used to do that, which got me hooked.

[GateGypsy]

I was just thinking of something: perhaps for those of us who are having difficulty locating books by/about particular provinces might band together. If someone happens to have access to a non-library copy of something that others are interested in reading, maybe we could arrange a bookring situation, where we each read the book and mail it on to another participant when we finish?

This was occurring to me with particular regard to New Brunswick ;-)

[Melissa, Chief Bookworm]

I like your idea, Gate Gypsy.

[Susan]

Do we have any group reads scheduled?

[Melissa, Chief Bookworm]

Not right now, Susan. Do you want group reads? It might be fun to have one to kick off 2013.

[GateGypsy]

I like that idea. I should be just finishing up the massive book I'm reading right now in time to start a group read with some folks. Are there any books on everyone's list?

[Susan]

Still working on my list so pretty open. I don't mind duplicating areas either. Will probably read more than one book for each spot anyway.

[Melissa, Chief Bookworm]

I wouldn't mind duplicating certain areas, either.
GateGypsy, I haven't had a chance to go through all the lists and see if one book consistently pops up.