Does anyone have an idea for how we can have an awesome fiction discussion?

DWill · Unread post Sun Apr 16, 2017 7:13 am

I agree it's probably true that having an overarching theme helps to sustain an interest and therefore a discussion. In this regard I'll note the theme that gave Booktalk its start (Chris tells us): atheism, religion, and critical thinking. Books on those topics surely account for the most sustained levels of participation. Branching out from there has been more difficult because there hasn't been the same opportunity to tap into the interests of a more defined community.

Unread post Sun Apr 16, 2017 10:39 am

stahrwe wrote:I have attached a ranking of 26 fiction books discussed on BookTalk.org over the years. By far, the most discussed book was Conrad's, The Heart of Darkness with 681 replies. However, I believe its number one ranking is not valid as that discussion included students, not just BT members.

I meant to thank Stahrwe for doing this. Very useful. Atlas Shrugged had a lot of participants, probably due to the book's political undertones. Moby Dick is up there too. So different reasons for wanting to participate in a discussion perhaps? Maybe to argue a political perspective as in Atlas, and to explore universal themes of the human condition in Moby Dick.

DWill wrote:I agree it's probably true that having an overarching theme helps to sustain an interest and therefore a discussion. In this regard I'll note the theme that gave Booktalk its start (Chris tells us): atheism, religion, and critical thinking. Books on those topics surely account for the most sustained levels of participation. Branching out from there has been more difficult because there hasn't been the same opportunity to tap into the interests of a more defined community.

On the other hand, I sense a growing reticence to discuss matters of atheism and religion on BT. We've covered a lot of terrain over the years.

Unread post Sun Apr 16, 2017 10:11 pm

DWill wrote: the theme that gave Booktalk its start (Chris tells us): atheism, religion, and critical thinking. Books on those topics surely account for the most sustained levels of participation.

I had a good chat with a friend the other day about Disc World by Terry Pratchett, which is a very highly regarded series of atheist fantasy, but which I have read none of, despite being a massive true believer in the turtle at the bottom of the universe, which gives Disc World its entire spin.

A relevant discussion is at https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article ... PQxCoiGPIU

His 44 Discworld novels could be broadly described as comic fantasy, or fantasy satire, and yet that's really just the starting point for the immense variety of complicated ideas they explored in such a fun, joyous way.

Perhaps strangely for someone whose work is so grounded in atheism, Pratchett has had a profound impact on my religious faith.

Pratchett had a lot to say about religion. In 1992 book Small Gods, he joked that 'gods like to see an atheist around ... gives them something to aim at'. He also had more cutting things to say about religious faith, including this observation during one scene: 'They were engaged in religion. You could tell by the knives (it's not murder if you do it for a god).'

What set Pratchett apart from many other critics of religion of these times was his recognition of the basic human need for meaning, and the beautiful way so many of his books tried to find a positive, life-giving way to exist in a universe where gods either don't exist, or aren't worth believing in.

Unread post Sun Apr 16, 2017 10:28 pm

This is indeed a great discussion with plenty of valid points being made. Stahrwe, thanks for breaking down the fiction discussions like that. It sure helps to see which books generated the most interest.

Moby Dick was right up there near the top and that one is a classic. I've always thought reading the classics is not only entertaining but also educational and it contributes to our cultural literacy. I'm not sure if a book being a classic is enough to guarantee a decent book talk but it does seem to be a positive.

I'd actually be game for a super short fiction book or even one really famous short story. We could do one short story and start the discussion May 1st. Or is that too limiting?

I just Googled "famous short stories" and up popped Jack London's "To Build a Fire" and Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery." Both would stimulate discussion, especially The Lottery.

I'm all ears. What should we do?

Unread post Sun Apr 16, 2017 10:47 pm

All this talk about short stories is exciting to me. I think we've been missing out on a great opportunity for some quality discussions over the years. Many members struggle with the time commitment of our book discussions, but with a short story discussion they might be more inclined to give it a shot.

I just moved the "Short Stories" forum up from the "Special Forums" section into the "Fiction Book Discussion Forums" section where it belongs. Short stories are indeed works of fiction or they'd be called essays or articles right? Maybe the category "Fiction Book Discussion Forums" needs to be changed to "Fiction Discussion Forums." I renamed it from simply "Short Stories" to "Short Story Discussions" hoping that little extra word sends a message that the forum is to be used for discussing short stories.

DB Roy · Unread post Mon May 08, 2017 1:13 pm

I started one "They Crying of Lot 49" in the General Discussion folder but nobody seems interested. Awesome discussions require participation.

Murmur · Unread post Thu May 18, 2017 6:00 pm

Murmur wrote:Here are some possibilities.

1. Volume IV of Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant

I recommend Volume IV only due to the size of this work. In particular, I recommend Volume IV because it has the Horla story in it. I heard this story in four different radio plays, and each play told the story in a different manner.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3090/3090-h/3090-h.htm

2. Famous Modern Ghost Stories

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15143

3. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M. R. James

Part 1 only.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8486

4. Myths and Tales from the White Mountain Apache by Pliny Earle Goddard

This one is a bit short.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53113

5. Legends of the Gods by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge

This is regarding ancient Egyptian myth stories.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9411

6. Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4018

7. Twenty-Five Ghost Stories

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53419

Regarding that book by Guy de Maupassant, I wrote about it here:

post162650.html#p162650

I no longer recommend that particular volume of that particular book.

Unread post Fri May 26, 2017 3:14 pm

I'm going to lock this thread and create a poll right now. Hopefully all of you that suggested books vote in this poll.

Does anyone have an idea for how we can have an awesome fiction discussion?

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