Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Well, It IS Like Herding Cats

As many of you know by now, the next book the Nonbelieving Literati will read is Lamb by Christopher Moore.

Since the concept of a target date for posting doesn’t seem to have worked, I’m proposing that we name an “earliest post” date, rather than a “target.” That way, those who want to read the book at their leisure won’t feel that they’re in a race to be done on a specific day, nor will they have cause to whine about having “homework.” As I suggested in my original proposal, if you finish the book before our date, go ahead and write your essay—but to be fair to everyone who might want to enjoy the book without having to filter it through someone else’s ideas, please don’t post your essay until the alarm goes off.

I think the new format, without a target date, may open the discussion up to those who would rather commit themselves to making a few comments than writing a complete post. And it would allow folks who don't blog to become involved.

As a new feature added to my Nonbelieving Literati blogroll, I’m putting a star next to the names of those members who have turned in their assignments ... um, I mean, posted on the book currently under discussion. That way, anyone who wants to read some or all of the essays will know which blogs to visit. I’ll keep adding these stars, until we hit the new earliest post date, at which time I’ll get rid of all the asterisks and start again.

For Lamb, I think a month and a half ought to be plenty of time for those of us who will read it for pleasure rather than as a chore. So I’m proposing November 1 as our earliest post date. Is everyone OK with that?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds good.

Being among those who have not yet written, I'd like to vote for the idea that we have a target week (or two weeks) rather than date. Then how about following with a carnival-style roundup post. This way we can allow for schedule flexibility and have a hard end date/event. I think this is kinda what you're saying so sorry if I'm just parroting.

Ben D said...

Yep, sounds good.

I second all of the above, especially the carnival style round up post.

John Evo said...

very good, Exterminator. This should achieve the desired result. I'd just add that in order to remove the "homework" factor, you might want to say - this is the book currently being read by the Nonbelieving Literati, we'd love to have you join (inform Exterminator) and any time after the earliest post date you can post ANYTHING about the book you like - it can be an essay of a particular thought it provoked, a review of the book, or even just a couple of paragraphs about something you found interesting about it.

"Herding Cats" - LOL! You bet. Atheists are an interesting breed.

Spanish Inquisitor said...

Works for me. But that's easy for me to say. I've already read it, though it's been almost two years since I did, so I'll have to skim back over it.

Just call me Felix.

Unknown said...

I ordered Lamb this morning used and hopefully this time the order isn't canceled due to a miscommunication. :)

I look forward to another interesting read.

Reason's Whore said...

Sounds good to me.

I've enjoyed all the posts on Vidal's books much more than the book itself.

John Evo said...

OG, I ordered it this morning too. I've become quite the "library guy" in recent times, as I've told you before. But I went online and reserved the book and found I was 8th on the "holds" list! I went to Amazon and shelled out a big $6.

Sacred: (I don't think I'll call you Slut anymore. It feels so rude). I hope mine didn't bore you as badly as Gore did! After re-reading it, I wouldn't be at all surprised especially in light of your complaints about Vidal.

I do agree with you about reading everyone elses essays. I even liked reading yours. It was a legitmate point of view and made me think.

The Exterminator said...

Hey, thanks everyone for your continued support of Nonbelieving Literati. I would like to do a Julian carnival, but I think we need at least three or four more entries.

As far as buying Lamb goes, I just said "fuck it" and ponied up my thirteen bucks and change to the local Barnes & Noble. I'm always happy to have my godless purchasing habits reflected in their sales figures.

And a private note to Slut: I'm not as much of a gentleman as John-Evo. But even if I were, I think calling you Sacred is a goddamned insult, given that neither of us believes in sacredness. Plus, there's always the risk of a typo, in which case you'd wind up being Scared. The only thing Slut anagrams to is, appropriately enough, Lust.

Ben D said...

On the subject of non-believing literati, I've got a short story of my own up over at my blog, if anyone's interested.

the blogger formerly known as yinyang said...

Meow.

Oh, and I agree with everything that's been said. Good ideas, people!

EnoNomi said...

If I do my homework I'll get a star!

I read Julian, I loved Julian, I just froze when writing about Julian Performance anxiety. Though I am fully committed to having it done this weekend.

My mistake was not taking notes, thinking I'd remember at the end all those good points I had while reading.

Looking forward to the next book.

EnoNomi said...

I want my star now

The Exterminator said...

Eno:

Well, I had a perfect corner all picked out for you to stand in.

But, instead, you earned your star big time. I really enjoyed your post. There's certainly no need for you to have performance anxiety in the future.

EnoNomi said...

I just finished reading everyone else's essays. This has been a really cool experience, and much better than other book club I've belonged to. You people are more insightfull and articulate than the Oprah club. Everyone had something different to talk about and did a great job.

Big Thanks to Exterminator for comming up with the idea!

John Evo said...

Eno said: "I just finished reading everyone else's essays. This has been a really cool experience,"

Indeed. I actually have enjoyed reading the posts more than writing one.

Spanish Inquisitor said...

Hmmm. We're still waiting for a few more.

{tapping feet}