Welcome & Introduce Yourselves!

[ConnieAnnKirk]

Welcome, Fredericks! I know what you mean about a "group read" sometimes helping to motivate one's individual reading. I hope you enjoy the book club!

~ConnieK

---

Fredericks wrote:
Hello all.

I'm enthused to begin the reading/discussion of this book. I'm hoping a "group read" atmosphere will get me going, as I purchased The Golden Compass a little more than a year ago and have only managed to get past the first thirty or so pages. I read mainly fantasy and science fiction and I'm not quite sure why this book hasn't grabbed my attention, particularly since it's been recommended to me by a number of friends. Oh well. I look forward to conversing with you all.

---

[ConnieAnnKirk]

Welcome, Nadine! I'm glad to see you and so many others here from the Harry Potter Book Club. I've been listening to the CDs as well--you do know that the narrator is Pullman himself, right? I always like hearing the author read his/her own work. Maybe we can start a thread soon for the audio books. I'd like to ask the group some questions about them.

~ConnieK

---

Nadine wrote:
I have been listening to The Golden Compass on the audio CD. Unlike the Harry Potter CDs the dialog is done by several actors with a narrator. It is excellent. I am almost finished with the book and hope to get through it by tomorrow's discussion start date. However, I can see that there are a lot of sections that I will want to reread from the book. You do miss the detail when listening to the CD.

I am not seeing a lot in common with Paradise Lost yet. That might come up more in the later books. Or maybe it is a bit more subtle and I really should read Milton's epic poem. I have an abridged CD on that. There seem to be a lot of interesting ideas TGC I'm just not sure where they are all coming from yet. See you all tomorrow when the discussions officially open.

Oh, and my daemon is a chimp named Erasmos--I guess it is "see no evil, hear no evil, or talk no evil." I could not find an icon to match but he is riding on the elephant. You just can't see him

---

[ConnieAnnKirk]

Welcome, versemicroverse! Having taught college English for many years, too, I'd love to know how your experience in teaching GC worked out with your college freshmen. If you get the chance, could you post about that in the "Off-Topic Cafe" thread? How you used the book; what the students wrote about; their reactions, etc. Anything that comes to mind. If you get a chance, that would be great!

Thanks!

~ConnieK

---

versemicroverse wrote:
Greetings!

I am an English instructor and have taught GC to several of my Freshman classes in the past two years. I intend to use the text in this coming term, hopefully culminating in a field trip to the new film (so long as it is not "adapted" as extensively as The Dark Is Rising film, OMG).
I wish to participate in the discussion, though I may end up lurking a bit more than I would like. The school term begins tomorrow and I will likely be inundated with issues!

vmv

---

[ConnieAnnKirk]

Welcome, ihcgirl/Kris!

You asked about discussing the book's controversies--just so you know, the plan for the club is to focus on one book in the trilogy each month for the next 3 months. So, this month it's _The Golden Compass_ through September; _The Subtle Knife_ will pick up through October, and we'll discuss _The Amber Spyglass_ in November. If you would like to discuss a topic now that goes forward from the first book, please label your thread with the word "Spoiler." That gives readers who do not want to know plot points beyond the first book a warning that they may not want to read or participate yet in that thread of discussion.

Hope this helps!

~ConnieK

---

ihcgirl wrote:
Hi, my name is Kris. I am in my late 50s, and have just read The Golden Compass and the Subtle Knife for the first time. I have just started the third book. I read about Pullman in the New Yorker Magazine, which inspired me to start the series, after coming down from the Harry Potter high. I am fascinated that this series, which slices and dices religion with such relish, while populating a story with magic, angels, murder, truth, and morals, is becoming so popular and also that Hollywood has decided that it is safe enough to make movies about.
When will the controversies about religion and oppression begin?

---

[ConnieAnnKirk]

Welcome, DavidC! It's so great to have you participating in the club. Thank you for being here!

Readers--I hope you have noticed that Philip Pullman himself endorsed David's book about the series. You can't get much better than that!

~ConnieK

---

DavidC wrote:
Hi Everyone-

I've been looking forward to this discussion for a long time. Pullman's stories are a treat. Lively, challenging and worthwhile: just like this group, I'm sure.

D

---

[Nadine]

Welcome, Nadine! I'm glad to see you and so many others here from the Harry Potter Book Club. I've been listening to the CDs as well--you do know that the narrator is Pullman himself, right? I always like hearing the author read his/her own work. Maybe we can start a thread soon for the audio books. I'd like to ask the group some questions about them.

~ConnieK
-------------------------------------------

No, I didn't know that was Pulman doing the narrating. They sure don't advertise it. I just went and looked at the CD cover and had to do a bit of hunting until I found him way down in the cast fine print!

[Nadine]

---

ConnieK wrote:
Welcome, DavidC! It's so great to have you participating in the club. Thank you for being here!

Readers--I hope you have noticed that Philip Pullman himself endorsed David's book about the series. You can't get much better than that!

~ConnieK

---

DavidC wrote:
Hi Everyone-

I've been looking forward to this discussion for a long time. Pullman's stories are a treat. Lively, challenging and worthwhile: just like this group, I'm sure.

D

---

---

I would like to endorse David's book. Many books that try to analyze the works of other are long and dreary reading. Often far more words than the original! I have not read all of David's book yet (and you can skip around easily) but I have found it to the point, full of great information, and thought-provoking ideas. This he manages to achieve in a concise and readable way. He is right to the point. You won't find it dreary reading. Essential reading if you want to dig deeper into his HDM and know more about it.

[maxcat]

Hi, everyone. I just bought this book today and have read a couple of chapters. I have read this book a while ago but have forgotten the plot. I live in NC where it is still hot and we are under severe drought conditions for lack of rain.

[Shadow_Poet2]

---

maxcat wrote:
Hi, everyone. I just bought this book today and have read a couple of chapters. I have read this book a while ago but have forgotten the plot. I live in NC where it is still hot and we are under severe drought conditions for lack of rain.

---

Hey there! Another NC resident....welcome! I hope it rains soon...a good strong summer storm would be great. I keep getting hopeful when the sky clouds over, but it always blows off!

[maxcat]

Hi, Shadow_poet, it's been a long time without rain here. We've had a couple of downpours but that's it. I have a case of bronchitis due to the air pollutin, believe it or not. We had some code red days and one code purple, that's bad. So, I'm trying to stay indoors whenever possible and go out only foe essentials. Hope it cools down and we get rain soon.

[ConnieAnnKirk]

Welcome, maxcat! You will soon be traveling "North" in your reading of THE GOLDEN COMPASS, so hopefully the sensation of snow and cold will help cool you down there in steamy NC! Welcome to the discussion--we look forward to hearing your impressions of the book.

~ConnieK

Message Edited by ConnieK on 09-07-2007 08:43 AM

[sparrowsnest]

HI, Im Mandy. i have been taking part in a great HP book club at the local B&N and we have decided to continue on and read this set of books too. I am delighted. I have no previous experience with this author or on-line book clubs. this is great.
i enjoy historical fiction, knitting books and fantasy!

[pambeesly]

Hullo all! My name is Bee. I read the books way, way back in the day and just loved them. This is my first time doing the bookclub thing, and I'm thinking that this looks like a lot of fun

[ConnieAnnKirk]

Welcome, Mandy! Join right in! The online book clubs are great, since you can post and/or read whenever you like and don't have to meet all at the same time somewhere. Some say the format allows for a bit more time to think and compose comments, etc. It's neat!

~ConnieK

---

sparrowsnest wrote:
HI, Im Mandy. i have been taking part in a great HP book club at the local B&N and we have decided to continue on and read this set of books too. I am delighted. I have no previous experience with this author or on-line book clubs. this is great.
i enjoy historical fiction, knitting books and fantasy!

---

[ConnieAnnKirk]

Welcome, Bee! The club is easy to do once you get the hang of posting, which isn't hard. You can come and go as you like according to your own schedule. I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to jump right in!

~ConnieK

---

pambeesly wrote:
Hullo all! My name is Bee. I read the books way, way back in the day and just loved them. This is my first time doing the bookclub thing, and I'm thinking that this looks like a lot of fun

---

[Vampyre]

Hello all,

I'm a 51 YO male. I came to the Book Club Forums for the first time when Kim Harrison was a featured author. Then hung around for Vicki(Showgirl)Pettersson stint last month.

I just noticed this group forming and thought I'd take a peek. I just finished the last book just a couple of days ago. I'll say that I wasn't a big fan of the way the books went. In fact, I didn't really like it at all. I am of course talking about the author's views on religion. Everyone is entitled to their opinions though and I will respect his.

While I didn't like the plot much, I did love the characters. I wanted to see what was going to happen to them. After traveling with them for so long I owed them that much.

I'm not sure how much I'll join in here. I'll keep an eye out here and see how things go. I'll do my best to have an open mind.



On a side note I just received the first 6 book oh Harry Potter set for the second time. The first set was stolen from my mail box before I got home to get it. I had to buy it again. I'm just up to chapter 10 of the Sorcerer's Stone. I did see all of the movies so I guess I am spoiled already but not all that much.

Message Edited by Vampyre on 09-08-2007 07:54 PM

[ConnieAnnKirk]

Welcome, Vampyre! Feel free to read or participate in the book club as you wish. You don't have to be a big fan of a book to be in a book club about it, though your interest may not be the same as those who do favor the series. In case you weren't aware of it, B&N.com does have a Harry Potter Book Club that is continuing on into the fall. You will find that here:

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/bn/board?board.id=HarryPotter

~ConnieK

---

Vampyre wrote:
Hello all,

I'm a 51 YO male. I came to the Book Club Forums for the first time when Kim Harrison was a featured author. Then hung around for Vicki(Showgirl)Pettersson stint last month.

I just noticed this group forming and thought I'd take a peek. I just finished the last book just a couple of days ago. I'll say that I wasn't a big fan of the way the books went. In fact, I didn't really like it at all. I am of course talking about the author's views on religion. Everyone is entitled to their opinions though and I will respect his.

While I didn't like the plot much, I did love the characters. I wanted to see what was going to happen to them. After traveling with them for so long I owed them that much.

I'm not sure how much I'll join in here. I'll keep an eye out here and see how things go. I'll do my best to have an open mind.



On a side note I just received the first 6 book oh Harry Potter set for the second time. The first set was stolen from my mail box before I got home to get it. I had to buy it again. I'm just up to chapter 10 of the Sorcerer's Stone. I did see all of the movies so I guess I am spoiled already but not all that much.

Message Edited by Vampyre on 09-08-2007 07:54 PM

---

[Vampyre]

I'm aware of pretty much all of the clubs. I'm trying to limit myself. I'll end up posting more than reading. I'll pop in when I see something interesting. Also I am well aware that just because I don't like something it's not a bad thing. If everyone liked exactly the samething, what a boring world we'd live in.

The series is very well written. The characters are all very well done. My only real problem is the over all message I feel it sends to the readers. It's possible I've misunderstood something so I'll be looking to see if that's the case.

Message Edited by Vampyre on 09-09-2007 04:44 PM

[iceflower30]

Hi,
I have read two of the three books in the HDM series and I am looking forward to reading the third. I am also looking forward to the movie The Golden Compass coming out soon. I am a big fan of fantasy and Sci-fi and I think that HDM combines the best of both worlds! This is my first post on this site so sorry if I've violated some online taboo, I didn't mean to. I hope they didn't ruin the movie and I'm looking forward to discussing the books with you all.

[Nadine]

---

iceflower30 wrote:
Hi,
I have read two of the three books in the HDM series and I am looking forward to reading the third. I am also looking forward to the movie The Golden Compass coming out soon. I am a big fan of fantasy and Sci-fi and I think that HDM combines the best of both worlds! This is my first post on this site so sorry if I've violated some online taboo, I didn't mean to. I hope they didn't ruin the movie and I'm looking forward to discussing the books with you all.

---

Hi iceflower. You did just fine. HDM is scheduled for the next three months with one book per month. Right now we are reading The Golden Compass so you are right on time. I read it just a few weeks ago and I'm rereading it again now. You discover so much more the second time through. Just jump into the discussion anytime the spirit moves you.

------------------------