So, no Catch-22 or David Foster Wallace til then?

Catch-22 blows.

JonBrescia said:

Catch-22 has been recorded. I'll edit it and have it up soon. I'll be doing DFW and Murakami during July to get caught up. No new book for July, though.

Cheers. Looking forward to both of these.

RobotBastard said:

Catch-22 blows.

Blasphemy. You take that back.

Yessir. Specifically, it means that I get to pretend like I've even started it =D

Never. I'm also replacing one, I think. I bought the Dworkin book I added, and it's both lengthy and dense (penis joke), perhaps so much that it might put people off. I'm thinking I'll swap it with his more readable Is Democracy Possible Here?. And obviously Paul Chapman's book is going on the list now.

What do you have in mind?

My concern with that is that probably everyone has read the whole series by now. Before I add it, let's hear from folks to see if either they haven't read it or they want to re-read it.

^ But I appreciate you answering seriously

THIS WHOLE FORUM IS OUT OF ORDER!!!1

NO I'M DON FRANCISCO'S SISTER!

From Woody Allen's "Love and Death."

I think we need to add House Of Leaves to the book list. I need an excuse to reread that.

I think it is another great book you will hate.

Haha I know Jon's going to hate it because it's Po-Po-Mo pretentious bulkshit.

(I thought it was good)

Yet I am drinking tonight at a bar called Double Happiness. HOW CAN THIS BE?

The only book I can add with any shroud of seriousness is "Brave New World" but I'm pretty sure everybody's read it.

Can I also recommend Borges' "Fictions"? They have a collected edition of all his short stories, but I doubt we should attempt 100+ short stories in a single month, and "Fictions" is the best work of this I've read yet.

I dont know if it's been suggested, but 1984 by George Orwell. Also not a fiction, but a book called Red Market.

Also, there is a new awesome book that everybody is raving about. 50 shades of grey i think its called.

Suggestions added. Based on my reading of the first 45 pages of Dworkin's Justice for Hedgehogs, I've determined that it's probably too boring or a bit too esoteric for most folks, so I'm swapping it for his book on political discourse in America. It's also going to be September's book, so there's that. Hedgehogs is a good book, though, so I can recommend it as general reading to anybody who likes tackling dense philosophy texts.

I'd gladly do another RURD podcast, for sure. I just need to sucker someone into talking about it. =D I'm glad you liked the first one so much.

Yakov, I am ready to do the Murakami recording. And it looks like Kyle will do a Vollmann podcast with me at some point soon. Finally, his philosophy BA will come in handy for something!

Is it possible to switch speeds every now and then on the material the book club covers? I've been finding most of the books unapproachable. Maybe throw some PKD in there (Confessions of a Crap Artist and A Maze of Death come to mind) or some Vonnegut (I'm interested in reading Mother Night and Cat's Cradle). Those are more my speed. Or a decent sci-fi / fantasy or something.

Sure, we could do some Dick. I figure everyone here loves Dick. I certainly do.

I thought I'd add to the book pile, since the next has not yet been chosen. Some short to average length science fiction and fantasy books which I mostly enjoyed. Unless you all hate them. In which was I suggested them for the joys of criticism. Right...

Nine Princes in Amber, which is the first book in the Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny. A short fantasy book that has a pretty interesting world and characters. The first book is only 175 pages, and the rest of the series isn't much longer that I can remember. Haven't read the follow up series yet.

Good Omens, the novel resulting from Gaiman and Pratchett doing a literary high five. Basically Hitchhiker's Guide to the Apocalypse. That being said I'll also throw any other Gaiman novel onto the pile that people haven't asked for yet. Not suggesting his short stories though because I've read a few and it was just three pages of inescapable awkwarrrddddd....

Catspaw by Joan D. Vinge. Actually the second book in a trilogy, but they make detailed reference to the first book so often that you don't really need to read it. I never did. While not a shining beacon of sci-fi it has a pretty cool world and a tolerable main character with a pronounceable name, and the sex in it doesn't make you want to join a nunnery or cry. So it's already got a few points in its favour compared to certain books that have been read in this club.

The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss. May have been suggested by now, I do not know. Offering this one up because my hatred of the author is only matched by my love for him. Easily as god as the first book, I even found some parts superior.

Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis. I haven't actually read this one, it was given to me as a gift a few days ago. I was told it would appeal to me as a Doctor Who fan. If the back cover is anything to go by it's about time travel, rebuilding a cathedral, and (of course) a dog.

The Innocent Mage, by Karen Miller. I bought and read it and its sequel while waiting for Wiseman's Fear to come out. While apparently there were some prequels written, you'll get along just fine with it and its sequel. They make up the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker series, which I'm sure Dave is going to get a kick out of.

That should do it, since I've started wandering around my house picking up books to check titles for ones to suggest. Not sure if any appeal but I thought I'd give it a shot.

We're doing Good Omens. Too much pressure not to. It promises to be fantastic.

End of the month should be fine.