Any interest in a fiction book debate?

MadArchitect

In addition to the non-fiction book debate I mentioned in a similar thread in the "Additional non-fiction readings" forum, we've been considering the possibility of having a similar debate about a fiction book.

Staging a debate for a fiction book presents its own challenges, and we're interested in hearing what others have to think. What sort of questions would we debate about a novel? We could talk about its relevance to the outside world, or we might use it as a springboard to talk about questions of social and moral significance. Or we might find a way to just talk about the book and the sort of impact it has on us. We're looking for ideas, so feel free to toss in your two cents. And let us know if you'd be interested in participating in this sort of thing or just seeing it happen.

We're still tossing around ideas concerning the format. The basic idea is that we would, as a group, choose a book -- nothing too daunting, but something with enough meat in it to give us something to talk about. Two people would volunteer as the debators, one person would volunteer to moderate. The debators would read the book, and then debate some question or questions related to the subject matter of that book.

There are still lots of questions to answer as to how the debate would be handled, and we're looking for input. For instance, BookTalk has nifty new chat software which allows for moderated chats, but there are also some benefits to conducting the debate through a regular thread.

It's an idea that can be fun if we do it right, but we need some interest before we really move forward. Let us know what you think.

Mr. Pessimistic

Well Mad...I still think it was a good idea.

Even if we had just the bare minimum in participants for now, we could do a trial run....

Mr. P.

The one thing of which I am positive is that there is much of which to be negative - Mr. P.

Once you perceive the irrevocable truth, you can no longer justify the irrational denial. - Mr. P.

The pain in hell has two sides. The kind you can touch with your hand; the kind you can feel in your heart...Scorsese's "Mean Streets"

I came to kick ass and chew Bubble Gum...and I am all out of Bubble Gum - They Live, Roddy Piper

Chris OConnor

See what I mean about getting new members? This is a numbers game guys. We have to have enough active members to make side projects like this a success.

Help me figure out where and how to advertise to draw in some new people and we can explore new ideas like this debate scenario. I am willing to spend a little money, so paid advertisements are good. I just don't know where to advertise.

If we were not a "freethinker" community we could advertise at any and all public libraries. Or maybe we still can. Maybe we should create a one page flyer that can be faxed to libraries that they can stick on their bulletin board. There are tens of thousands of libraries I suppose.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a flyer up on the bulletin board of 500 libraries all over the country/world? This is totally possible with all of us working together. We'd want a 1/2 page flyer so that the librarians are more willing to give up bulletin board space.

I have wanted to create a page or two on our site for marketing material. Members could download a PDF file, print it out, photocopy it, and then put it up at their local libraries or coffee shops or wherever else there is a place that allows flyers to be stuck.

MadArchitect

You might try listing with these sites:
www.readinggroupguides.com/
dmoz.org/Arts/Literature/Reading_Grou ps/

Chris OConnor

Thanks Mad. I submitted BookTalk to the top site months ago and we're listed already on the bottom site. Note that we're classified in the wrong area and this needs to be addressed.

search.dmoz.org/cgi-bin/s...ing_Groups


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