Big Brother

Lori brings up "Big Brother" and that makes me think about the idea that there was a time when Big Brother wasn't a concept. Now, we all have an idea of it and there is even a reality show with that name for our amusement. A frightening symbol of totalitarianism is a pop cultural reference. What would Orwell make of that?

Arrival of Books

I know our books have arrived and some of us have begun reading. I just received a book to review from Library Journal so as soon as I get that review in I will start 1984. Perhaps to get in the swing of posting again and to get our discussion going, we could write some posts about the title. Our group is spread across a couple of age clusters. Some of us were aware of the book long before we read it and, at the same time, the actual year 1984 was far (or very far) in the future). For others, the year had passed by the time the book was read. I imagine that one's perspective is altered by that. I am in the far (but not very far) in the future group. Thoughts?

It's a Little Dusty!

This blog is a little dusty. Our group has not been on this blog for some time and time has a way of ticking along even when we pay attention to other things. Happily, however, we will be regrouping and making some additions for another session of online book discussing. While I was visiting the Mouse, members of our team tossed about some titles and settled on George Orwell's 1984. I'm sure one of the things we will discuss is how much in the future that title seemed when we first became aware of it, and now it is 25 years in the past. I look forward to seeing where this blog goes, especially as some of have more blogging experience now than when we first attempted it.

I could really go for Silent Spring! Anyone else weighing in?

New Choices

When we were gathering ideas that eventually led to One Hundred Years I had some other thoughts. I have mentioned before that I never read my assignments in school so many of the classics passed me by. Additionally, I acknowledge, as I did with In Cold Blood, that some books on my list might have been read by some of you as popular fiction at the time of release. That said, here are my new ideas in no particular order:

• Ulysses by James Joyce
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (I'm very interested in her), obviously non-fiction
• Tropic of Cancer or Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow
• The Awakening by Kate Chopin
• Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

I welcome other thoughts.

Post the List

Hi all, I'm back. It was an extremely "eventful" trip - between illness and theft. But I am nothing if not a good sport and still managed to have a fabulous time. Luckily we had all Canadians at our table on the cruise so we were able to have some VERY interesting political discussions!
So, I haven't blogged and am feeling a little disoriented today as I spent most of the day filling out forms for lost cards, license, etc. (not to mention deleting the 250 some emails that were totally irrelevant!)
Let's see your list Infobabe. I'm ready to try again.

Back to the Drawing Board

Okay...so magical realism didn't float my magical boat. I have a long list of books that never read. What do you want to read? Let's try again.