I’m just incapable of reading a book (or watching a film) that way.
No discipline.
Plus chapters are a bit arbitrary, aren’t they? (note to self - next time make sure the book you vote for doesn’t have any).
As I understand it, there’s a lot of wine involved. (I might be getting my info from TV stereotypes.)
Speaking of which, what is the right beverage (doesn’t have to be alcoholic) to consume while reading and discussing this book…anyone know?
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Well, that was my plan too, but now I’m feeling inadequate!
I did spend over 3 hours shoveling yesterday (and over 2 hours the day before). You’d think all I’d be good for at this point is to slump in a chair and read.
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Single Malt… Like this Scapa. mmmm (was sure it was pselled with a ‘k’!)
“After doing extensive research, I can definitely tell you that single malt whiskies are good to drink.”
-Iain Banks, Raw Spirit
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Excellent! That ties in well with my own preference anyway. 
Perhaps something peaty, like:
Otherwise, the other two currently on my shelf are:
and:
I know, I know…party at my house, right?!
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Talisker! Haven’t had that in ages. You should get some Lagavulin, too.
I tend towards the Speysides, myself.
Edit: or if you can find some, this in interesting:
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Dictate? I? Never! I don’t worry about those guys getting ahead of us, but rather my concerns (which are extremely mild, so never fear) are twofold:
-
That when we do finally get to a particular chapter’s discussion, their memory of the specifics of that chapter (in isolation from the later parts of the book) might be a tad foggy if they read it many days before. I know mine would be. But, of course, if they re-read or take notes, that will make this much less of an issue (and it’s already pretty inconsequential). But that also might lead to:
-
That their knowledge of later events might color their perception of the chapter under discussion. I figure the last chapter’s discussion would be a great time to discuss the book as a whole, whereas each prior chapter’s discussion serves as a discussion of The Story So Far, and if I were, like, some professor of literature (one who doesn’t know what he’s doing, of course, because I am no academic), I’d want to enforce the discussion this way. But hell, it’s a book club, and everyone should certainly read and discuss it their own way (as long as nothing gets spoiled for us
slowermore disciplined readers).
I don’t, but I may do so anyway, since I want to keep my impressions fresh in my mind when I enter the discussion.
Courage! I’ll be right there with you! It’s the Proper Way, and we can Harrumph together, in a Statler & Waldorf fashion.
I dunno. I always assume they’re there for a reason, even if said reason is known only to the author. In this case, they do make for regular bite-size chunks.
Never! We’ll be right there with you. My sympathies to your poor, aching snow-shoveling Chicago shoulders from out here in Pasadena, where it is expected to hit 78 degrees (also excellent reading weather!). And my beverage of choice will be one of these, made with Double Vanilla ice cream:
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Well, I’ve decided to only read the book on a strict chapter-by-chapter basis (instead of being maybe a few chapters ahead, at most) now too, so count me in. I’ll still probably be taking notes, just because - and also because, depending on my schedule, I might read the chapter during the very start of the reading week, and I know I won’t remember all those insightful observations that I’m sure to have a week later.
My biggest fear right now is that I just won’t have anything smart to say about the book. In my mind, BoingBoingers seem such educated and well-read visionaries (not to mention most of you are native English speakers) who will surely be cutting through every subtle layer of this book like a sharp knife through an onion (get it? because it’s layered?) with witty insight and obscure references.
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I love Lagavulin!
Never even heard of Brew Dog Paradox Smokehead stout, but now that I have it must be found and consumed. Thanks!
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That’s the last thing you need fear. I can’t speak for anyone else here, but I’m a high school graduate with a couple of years of community college credit as a Theatre Arts major. I’d lay odds that I’m the least-educated person in this thread (though, yeah, I guess I’m a native speaker of English, but honestly I wouldn’t have guessed you weren’t from any of your posts), and if I’m not afraid of locking horns with these erudite and elbow-patched eggheads, then you shouldn’t be either! I expect your contributions will be perfectly wonderful.
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Same here.
Don’t worry. I’ve never done a book report and my education is mostly patchy and self-taught (I stopped regularly submitting to the living hell of school at around age 15 and have made a few aborted attempts at formal education since which really didn’t end well. )
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Here’s my book pic:
Found this on my office chair this morning (from our IT Director) – kinda like having 500 doofy Boing posts compiled into a book.
Prague, Paris, and Berlin and he brings a goofy book instead of chocolate?
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Dyslexia did me a favor there (or lack of favor 
). I read the bottle as Cake Strength Edition. I was somewhat sad when it was not that.
I’m … selectively well-educated. I don’t have a college degree because none of the courses I wanted to take (and did take 
) added up to anything before I ran out of money. At any rate, I take a dim view to people trying to make themselves look and feel better by putting others down. I’m sure I’m not the only one either.
I have a great deal of respect for anyone who learns English as a second language even if it’s just a bit. I’ve been trying to learn French off and on for a year and a month now (as time and energy allows) and if I stepped onto the French equivalent of BBS, I wouldn’t even know there was a book discussion going on.
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For me, the comments and critiques I like the best come from a place of honest self-reflection, not from intellectual erudition.
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I was planning to rely on @anon61221983 for the serious academic analysis. 
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I’m a historian, Jim, not a English prof! I’ll contextualize the shit out of it, but I’m not as keen on lit-crit (though I can do some of it).
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Believe me, I’m the least formally educated person here. But I’m very well self-taught and trying to get an education at the moment.
Also, thank you for the compliment on my English. I’ve been practising it for quite a while now; partly in school (since the age of 9 or 10), but mostly on the Internet, and it sure helped to have an American boyfriend for 3 years and visit America several times. These days, I find it easier to think and write in English than in Finnish, though I would prefer to speak a mix of both languages (which I sometimes do with my family - dropping English words here and there), as there are things you can only properly express in one language.
It’s glad to know you’re all just regular people and not literary snobs who will look down on the opinions of others - not that any of you seemed like that, I just have a tendency to feel inferior and that feelings is just aggravated by how generally knowledgeable BoingBoingers seem.
Yeah, I’m really looking forward to the the different takes that all these wonderful people, each with their own experiences and views on life, will have to offer.
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Owning a physical copy but unable to read it because it’s still in transit is not cool. 
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