Reading Business MD

[Choisya]

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Everyman wrote:

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fanuzzir wrote:
...The Moby Dick club is officially open!

Does that mean we're not waiting until the 26th to start? That will be a problem for some who ordered their books but don't have them yet.

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Yes, it's officially open now Everyman. Fanuzzir was asked by B&N to bring the date forward because other boards had finished early. Those who do not yet have their books can either read MD online or print a few chapters out meanwhile. That is what I did with Cranford.

[Everyman]

Choisya wrote: Yes, [Moby Dick discussion is] officially open now. Fanuzzir was asked by B&N to bring the date forward because other boards had finished early.

Well, that's too bad. I don't have time to get into MD now, was counting on not having to start until after Christmas. I find it more frustrating than enjoyable to enter a discussion after it's been going on for several weeks, so I'll just skip MD. There will be other books in future which perhaps they will read on the actual announced schedule.

Just one of the growing pain issues of this new format, I guess.

I hope those of you who have the book, are ready for the discussion, and have time to get into it at this busy family time of year have fun with it.

[leakybucket]

No complaints here! I am a happy camper. A Moby Dick board and now a monthly Shakespeare club coming! I'm set. Now lets get down to some great discussions!

Bucky

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willowy wrote:
I think the ideas you guys suggested would be great! I'd rather not read the complaints anymore too, and I think it would help to flag down BN toward them, rather than congesting the boards and making them HARDER to navigate. Then again as Choisya said that is the purpose of the Help and Information Section, to house our complaints. Thanks Ladies, great ideas for us to think about!

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Laurel wrote:
Amen, and Amen!

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Choisya wrote:

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Laurel wrote:
It just occurred to me that it would be a good idea to mark complaint posts as COMPLAINT.
Then the BN people could read it, and the rest of us could skip it.

Message Edited by Laurel on 12-11-200610:41 AM

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Good idea Laurel although perhaps we should be putting Complaints in the Help and Information Section and not on discussion boards?

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[Choisya]

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Everyman wrote:
Choisya wrote: Yes, [Moby Dick discussion is] officially open now. Fanuzzir was asked by B&N to bring the date forward because other boards had finished early.

Well, that's too bad. I don't have time to get into MD now, was counting on not having to start until after Christmas. I find it more frustrating than enjoyable to enter a discussion after it's been going on for several weeks, so I'll just skip MD. There will be other books in future which perhaps they will read on the actual announced schedule.

Just one of the growing pain issues of this new format, I guess.

I hope those of you who have the book, are ready for the discussion, and have time to get into it at this busy family time of year have fun with it.

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Because it is a 'busy family time of year' I doubt that many people will get far into it so the discussion may still be at a very early stage by the 26th. Fanuzzir won't be getting into it much before then either but has put up some stuff for us to chew upon meanwhile.

[leakybucket]

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Everyman wrote:

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fanuzzir wrote:
...The Moby Dick club is officially open!

Does that mean we're not waiting until the 26th to start? That will be a problem for some who ordered their books but don't have them yet.

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No problem. Bob isn't jumping in too fast either and many of you don't have the book. This is Bob's (the moderator), schedule and we sure want him along for the Nantucket Sleigh Ride. Everyone is busy for the next couple of weeks.

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Bob's schedule

So today being the 10th, I'm going to give myself at least a week, maybe 10 days to read and comment.... We can also circle in the Melville bio and reference threads, to acquaint ourselves with what others are saying and really get to know each other. So at the earliest, about a week to work through the first 100 pages or so.
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We control what is actually posted. So lets take our time for the busy folks and those without books. Apparently we have the board as long as we are discussing. We also don't want to let Bob down and shut up for two weeks.

So lets follow Bob. For this week lets just stick to background material. If people are not ready to do a little story talk, maybe we could then jump ahead to the non-story background chapters like on whaling. There are a lot of people who might even skip those chapters. Then we could pick up on the Dry Land material but cut it down so the late people have time to read the material. Bob is reading the first 100 pages which consists of Chapters 1-15. We can play this by ear and see how it goes. I think there is enough material to talk about that is interesting and significant without leaving people behind or rushed. I'm still thinking of reading Typee now as backgrounder.

So what do you all think? Can we be flexible here and keep everyone happy. After all it is our board and we are here to have fun. Any other suggestions?

Bucky

[Choisya]

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leakybucket wrote:
....We also don't want to let Bob down and shut up for two weeks.

So lets follow Bob. For this week lets just stick to background material. If people are not ready to do a little story talk, maybe we could then jump ahead to the non-story background chapters like on whaling. There are a lot of people who might even skip those chapters. Then we could pick up on the Dry Land material but cut it down so the late people have time to read the material. Bob is reading the first 100 pages which consists of Chapters 1-15. We can play this by ear and see how it goes. I think there is enough material to talk about that is interesting and significant without leaving people behind or rushed. I'm still thinking of reading Typee now as backgrounder.

So what do you all think? Can we be flexible here and keep everyone happy. After all it is our board and we are here to have fun. Any other suggestions?

Bucky

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I heartily agree Bucky and even I have family commitments that will keep me away from the board - especially this coming weekend when I will be hosting 15 for dinner and tea But I think we ought to try to keep the board going for Bob's sake and in case any others (who don't celebrate Xmas) pass by and want to jump aboard our ship. After all, the story of MD starts with the Narrator going aboard the Pequod for an initial nosy around so that is exactly what we can do

(BTW I have already posted that Typee contains excellent political background to MD containing as it does, amongst other things, Melville's critique of American capitalism and European imperialism.)

[Laurel]

hurrah for Bucky! We've found our horse-wrangler. Now we know what she's bucking. Hiyah!

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leakybucket wrote:

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No problem. Bob isn't jumping in too fast either and many of you don't have the book. This is Bob's (the moderator), schedule and we sure want him along for the Nantucket Sleigh Ride. Everyone is busy for the next couple of weeks.

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Bob's schedule

So today being the 10th, I'm going to give myself at least a week, maybe 10 days to read and comment.... We can also circle in the Melville bio and reference threads, to acquaint ourselves with what others are saying and really get to know each other. So at the earliest, about a week to work through the first 100 pages or so.
-----------------

We control what is actually posted. So lets take our time for the busy folks and those without books. Apparently we have the board as long as we are discussing. We also don't want to let Bob down and shut up for two weeks.

So lets follow Bob. For this week lets just stick to background material. If people are not ready to do a little story talk, maybe we could then jump ahead to the non-story background chapters like on whaling. There are a lot of people who might even skip those chapters. Then we could pick up on the Dry Land material but cut it down so the late people have time to read the material. Bob is reading the first 100 pages which consists of Chapters 1-15. We can play this by ear and see how it goes. I think there is enough material to talk about that is interesting and significant without leaving people behind or rushed. I'm still thinking of reading Typee now as backgrounder.

So what do you all think? Can we be flexible here and keep everyone happy. After all it is our board and we are here to have fun. Any other suggestions?

Bucky

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[LitEditor]

Hi everyone -- since it's pertinent to the conversation that's going on here, I thought I'd note that I just posted up on the main level of this board.

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/bn/board/message?board.id=MobyDick&message.id=126&jump=true

Thanks -- sorry to interrupt.

Bill

[donyskiw]

I just ordered my book and they said it would take two to four weeks. I will be out of the state visiting my family the last week in December so, unless it only takes 1-1/2 weeks, I won't even get to start it for 2-1/2 weeks. And, it's a loooonnng book. So, I won't even be starting it till close to the beginning of the year. I've been mentioning even before BNU closed that they need to give us advanced warning for just this start of the problem. And I cannot read the book online or print out the beginning chapters at the office. That would not go over very well with my supervisor.

Denise

[leakybucket]

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donyskiw wrote:
I just ordered my book and they said it would take two to four weeks. I will be out of the state visiting my family the last week in December so, unless it only takes 1-1/2 weeks, I won't even get to start it for 2-1/2 weeks. And, it's a loooonnng book. So, I won't even be starting it till close to the beginning of the year. I've been mentioning even before BNU closed that they need to give us advanced warning for just this start of the problem. And I cannot read the book online or print out the beginning chapters at the office. That would not go over very well with my supervisor.

Denise

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It is probably the Christmas rush that is clogging up deliveries. Could you consider a library book? I simply went down to my local B&N book store and bought their edition.

Actually, we are not really pushing this discussion too fast considering that many people don't have the book yet or are involved with Holiday activities. I actually don't see us getting into the serious book discussion until after Christmas. And after that probably only the first hundred pages or so of the book. I know I'm taking some time away from reading right now to get into some background material reading. Don't feel pushed.

They will let us keep these boards open as long as we need them. It isn't like the old BNU where things moved fast as soon as the class opened (and sometimes fizzled after first two weeks of enthusiasm) and then were closed out after four weeks even though we had good discussion going and were only halfway through things. So we can accommodate the members and plan our discussion easily. The way I understand it, if we want to take longer with the discussion we can along as there is some meaningful discussions taking place in the group and that is pretty much up to the moderator (who is also not trying to rush things).


Bucky

[ziki]

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Choisya wrote:try to keep the board going for Bob's sake

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ROFL..I will certainly start using that saying: "for bob's sake!"

hahah, love it.

ziki

PS
I just read when I am ready and see what can happen here, NP, I take it as it comes.

[ziki]

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donyskiw wrote:
I just ordered my book and they said it would take two to four weeks. I will be out of the state visiting my family the last week in December so, unless it only takes 1-1/2 weeks, I won't even get to start it for 2-1/2 weeks. And, it's a loooonnng book. So, I won't even be starting it till close to the beginning of the year. I've been mentioning even before BNU closed that they need to give us advanced warning for just this start of the problem. And I cannot read the book online or print out the beginning chapters at the office. That would not go over very well with my supervisor.

Denise

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Well,there's a chance that if we discuss slowly Bob will have the time to moderate even if he gets other BNU tasks. You can't do more than you can, the slow pace is OK with me.
No worries, mate.

ziki

[ziki]

So will you serve some "whale dish" having your dinner for 15? Or do you go by plum pudding to be certain? What menu did you choose?

ziki
the gourmet

[Choisya]

I do a traditional roast beef and yorkshire pudding for Xmas lunch as folks don't have that as much nowadays - beef is very expensive. Followed by Xmas 'plum' pudding, served alight with brandy, with brandy sauce or custard. For tea I just do a selection of the usual cakes; stollen, panettone, mince pies etc., with salmon and cucumber sandwiches and cheeses, including stilton with port wine. We then open our presents and sing folk songs, accompanied by various instruments, play charades etc. The younger children will do a 'turn from their school plays. All very traditional, although we are not a traditional family in other ways.

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ziki wrote:
So will you serve some "whale dish" having your dinner for 15? Or do you go by plum pudding to be certain? What menu did you choose?

ziki
the gourmet

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[fanuzzir]

Ziki, I'd love to hear more about Bush or Shakira or whomever strikes our fancy. I hope for some off topic discussion as well. Is anyone giving a copy of the Iraq Study Group report to anyone for Christmas?

[fanuzzir]

As I said, I set up some sections of discussion so we can all comment and learn about Melville's biography, whaling lore before the books actually arrive. Something like whetting appetites. But BN did want the board to go up before we have originally said and without anyone actually having the book! So apologies to you, and hope you can find something of interest here while you wait for your novel.

[fanuzzir]

My thanks to everyone for coming to a consensus about scheduling a reading. As Ziki said, slow is good, especially with all of us doing double time working and holiday shopping/organizing.

[fanuzzir]

Ah, a fellow foodie. Do you know about the Italian tradition of seven courses of fish on Christmas eve? One for each sacrament of the Catholic Church. I'm not Catholic, and I'm not a glutton, so I don't cook seven courses, but it's great to plan a menu with such simple Italian antipasti and a great homeade clam sauce. I'm a big fan of Mario Batali cookbooks and Hazan's.
Bob

[Laurel]

And of course there's the beloved Norwegian lutefisk.

[donyskiw]

I'd like the SparkNotes version.

Denise