View Full Version : Book Club
Hi guys - forgive me if this has been tried / done before, but I have seen quite a few posts regarding books that people are reading, and as a keen reader myself, I thought it might be fun to attempt to start up some kind of book club...
I figured with the use of the chat room, it would be possible to discuss what we are reading each week / month and we could all take turns in setting a book to read... I know a few people that do this in real life and it sounds really fun (although I would be too nervous to go and talk about a book in front of a group of almost-strangers!).
I'm pretty new to the forums, so this may be a hugely awful idea... If it is, please go ahead and tell me - I won't be offended!
Cheers :)
Catherine S
01-07-14, 01:47
Sounds good DJ, but those of us who use tablets etc can't use chat because we can't download Java, however nmp is working on a way to use chat without Java, but until then we'd have to just start a book sharing thread :)
ISB x
Ah yes, sorry I forgot about the Java thing... Hmm, well I'm sure there would be a way around it, even if the new site can't help us out.
Glad you think it's a good idea in principle though... If I can get a few others interested, I'm happy to look into how we can make it work! :)
Catherine S
01-07-14, 11:16
That'd be great. I swop between my home computer during the day and a tablet in evenings, and can't access Java on either one. The laptop used to be ok with it but since we had it cleared after a virus last year it's gone a bit haywire, something to do with browser settings or some such techno thing that makes me too nervous to play with lol! But yes, if you come up with any ideas let me know, thanks muchly.
ISB x
Cool, will do... There must be some kind of chat room that doesn't require java / flash?!
Anyone else interested? :blush:
sarahb2904
01-07-14, 12:55
I'd be interested :yesyes: I keep promising myself to read more.
I also use a tablet, so the forum would be best for me too x
I'd be interested :yesyes: I keep promising myself to read more.
I also use a tablet, so the forum would be best for me too x
Excellent, thanks Sarah :) Hopefully having a book club would give everyone extra incentive to get reading... That's the theory, at least!
Thinking out loud, I suppose we could always form a group on Skype or something like that... Pretty sure you can have a conversation window with multiple people typing at once?
sarahb2904
01-07-14, 14:21
Skype sounds like a fab idea.......good thinking Batman :D
I would be interested ... I've been trying to get back into reading. Would this be something where we all read the same book and talk about it or just talk about whatever we are reading at the time?
My only hinderance (same with the quiz) is that sometimes because of the time differences I am not home at the same time as everybody on the other side of the atlantic ocean lol but I would still try to make it work.
Catherine S
01-07-14, 14:55
Not sure about skyping personally, but love the idea of having an individual thread or chat room catch up just for a book club sounds great...books that we've read and loved and getting recomendations for other books whether they are self help for our mental health or just books that made an impact.
ISB :read:
I would be interested ... I've been trying to get back into reading. Would this be something where we all read the same book and talk about it or just talk about whatever we are reading at the time?
My only hinderance (same with the quiz) is that sometimes because of the time differences I am not home at the same time as everybody on the other side of the atlantic ocean lol but I would still try to make it work.
What time difference do you have? (Sorry, not sure where in the US you reside) We could most definitely try to make it work for everyone... I am flexible and usually available until fairly late in the evening.
From the book clubs i've read about / spoken to people about, it seems as though you all take turns in setting a book, which the group then goes away and reads, before coming back and having a group discussion about it. I think you can either do this gradually - i.e. every week set 10 chapters to read and then discuss, until you finish, or perhaps if everyone is ambitious, have say two weeks to read the whole book before talking about - i suppose the book length will dictate this somewhat!
I am really open to anything... Discussing and recommending books we like is also a great idea, although i'd worry that it might become a bit of an aimless free-for-all of people just posting random book names, with nobody ever reading them...
What do you guys think? :shrug:
Catherine S
01-07-14, 15:40
Oh ok I'm with you now...doesn't take much to confuse me :) I thought you meant people just coming onto a thread...or in chat for those who can...and talking about a book they've read and whyt it did to help/not help them and if anybody else has read it how they had a different experience from it. Without necessarily going out and all buying the same book, if any of that makes any sense?
ISB :read:
Yes, that makes sense - sorry, I obviously wasn't very clear! :) I do think that's a good idea, but I suppose it would be tough because most people wouldn't really be able to relate to the book someone was talking about if they hadn't read it themselves (or even heard of it) and I thought it was a little aimless if we just have a forum page where people post the title and a short piece of text about a book they like.
I guess I was hoping for some discussion and activity, which will encourage people to talk more, share their ideas and therefore grow in confidence, and take their minds off of anything negative whilst in the discussions (and of course whilst actually reading the book!).
Obviously it would take some trust and willingness on people's behalf if we have to buy a book, but these days its possible to get a lot of books for next to nothing on an e-reader (if people have them) or just a few pounds from an online store.
:)
sarahb2904
01-07-14, 18:55
Sounds good so far. Some books may also be available from your local library, and Amazon are good for books too :)
Yep, by 'online store' I was mainly referring to Amazon ;)
And yes, of course, the library is always there for free! Why did I not think of that?!?! :doh:
Catherine S
01-07-14, 19:50
The Dr. Claire Weekes books are still available in most libraries and still as relevant today. Its good that you can order books they haven't got too :)
ISB x
I'm on the east coast, so Eastern Standard Time ... I think I'm maybe 5 hours behind the UK? maybe 6? It's 6:15 PM right now here if that helps us figure it out! lol
---------- Post added at 18:19 ---------- Previous post was at 18:16 ----------
Also, I think on amazon you can get a lot of classic books for free too if money is an issue for people.
I would be interested, sounds good :D
I would be interested, sounds good :D
Excellent... Another person for the team! :)
I'm on the east coast, so Eastern Standard Time ... I think I'm maybe 5 hours behind the UK? maybe 6? It's 6:15 PM right now here if that helps us figure it out! lol
---------- Post added at 18:19 ---------- Previous post was at 18:16 ----------
Also, I think on amazon you can get a lot of classic books for free too if money is an issue for people.
Yep, that would be 5 hours then, by my calculations... In that case I guess we could try and make something work... If not, there's always the weekend!
Good thinking... I have had a few of the classics for free on Amazon... That's a great call! :)
Anyone else interested, or is this the bad idea that I feared?! :)
I'd still like to do this. Maybe we can have a running thread and decide on a book to all read. Then a certain day of the week whenever people have time we can post what we thought. So we could like assign a chapter or something and then everybody posts after they've read the chapter.
That sounds like a good idea and would def work for anyone who has a time difference :)
Question: do people think we should read a general book (i.e. not related to mental health), or one that is in some way linked to the forum? For the purposes of the group, I would say a general book will provide a more interesting and straight forwards discussion... But that's just my opinion.
Cheers!
Catherine S
07-07-14, 18:20
Good ideas both. Perhaps DJ can start us off seeing as how he started the thread?
ISB x
I'm very new to reading, but now i have days off that are truly mine I've decided to take it up....maybe a book club will help me explore different genres and develop it into a proper hobby...so yes, I'd be up for that :)
I'm in.
It could easily be done on the forum for those who cannot access chat.
Each week, fortnight or month, set questions then they can be answered and chatted abut during the interim between the next section or chapter questions.
Doing it on chat would be easier, but also may not be as good as using the forum as people are apt to talk over one another, whereas everyones thoughts can be digested easier using the forum!
Just my two cents, but i'm definitely in!
Excellent, thanks guys... !
Great points Gats - like the sound of that.
I'll give it 24 hours for more people to reply and will then post some finalised ideas and we can get things started :D
Really appreciate the input everyone has given so far :hugs:
Catherine S
07-07-14, 19:23
Kewl :D
Sounds like a good idea to me, I'm in too :D
Hi I have just joined a bookclub this evening - although I was anxious before I went!!
I would also like to join this one if that's okay, I love reading books it takes my mind away from my anxiety.:)
Of course, Anna... Everyone is welcome :)
Look out for some more details tomorrow night... Hope to get things started soon :yesyes:
Thanks, AnxietyDJ, for figuring this out for us!
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