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Ship of Fools Book Club 2025

CaissaCaissa Shipmate
in Heaven
I naively posted the below in August 2023 (although my thanks stands to Sarasa. Any ideas or for books, facilitators, preferred months for 2025?

I want to add my vote of thanks @Sarasa. I look forward to coordinating the Book Club next year. I wanted to suggest a manner for proceeding. Would it be possible to get 12 volunteers (1 for each month) to agree to facilitate a discussion? The volunteer would get to choose a book (keeping in mind availability). If we could have a complete schedule in place by the end of this year people could plan for acquiring copies for the months in which they want to join in the reading and discussion. Thoughts?
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Comments

  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    I think this is a good idea and am happy to lead one month though at the moment I'm a bit stumped as to what to suggest. We always have a lot of interest for classics so maybe one of those, but again not sure quite what.
  • Lamb ChoppedLamb Chopped Shipmate
    I wouldn’t mind leading a month.
  • MiliMili Shipmate
    I'm happy to lead December. I think The Christmas Appeal will be a fun, short read and is a sequel to The Appeal by Janice Hallett that we read this year.
  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I'd be willing to return to an ever-giving well and lead a discussion on another of Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, which I know are favourites of many of us here. Search function tells me we did my favourite Gaudy Night, in 2021, and another, the Nine Tailors, back in 2016.

    I was thinking of possibly The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club for November, as it occurs around Remembrance Day and the troubles experienced by recent WW1 veterans like Lord Peter form a major part of the plot, for one character in particular. But I am open to other suggestions.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    I'd be keen on The Unpleasantness at the Belona Club. One of Sayer's best and a good November pick.
    Have we done Cranford?
  • SandemaniacSandemaniac Shipmate
    I would be up for The Unpleasantness at the Belona Club as, I suspect, would @Celtic Knotweed.

    I'm probably not going to volunteer to lead anything, though, as my usual taste in reading is obtuse and obscure history - though maybe if we are a month short I can think of a couple of 20th century history of science that could be interesting?
  • Lamb ChoppedLamb Chopped Shipmate
    For my own, I'm considering whether anyone would be interested in another Lois McMaster Bujold book--either The Curse of Chalion (longer and a bit intricate but good) or Penric's Demon (very short and rather light). There's also the Sharing Knife tetralogy, where you can read the first book (Beguilement) as a stand-alone.
  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Sandemaniac wrote: »
    I would be up for The Unpleasantness at the Belona Club as, I suspect, would @Celtic Knotweed.

    I'm probably not going to volunteer to lead anything, though, as my usual taste in reading is obtuse and obscure history - though maybe if we are a month short I can think of a couple of 20th century history of science that could be interesting?

    I personally love obtuse and obscure history, though only if it's written for the general reader, not for the academic specialist.
  • SandemaniacSandemaniac Shipmate
    You are safe from stuff written for the academic specialist, apart from often being impenetrably turgid it also tends to be very expensive to get hold of!
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    You introduced me to Lois McMaster Bujold @Lamb Chopped , and always happy to read more of hers
    I've been having a think and here are a few more suggestions from me.

    Antonia White's Frost in May
    David Nicholls You are Here - this was published earlier this year, and I'm not sure its out in paperback yet.
    Samantha Harvey Orbital This recently won the Booker Prize
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    It would be nice to have a selection for January in place by the middle of this month, if possible.
  • SandemaniacSandemaniac Shipmate
    Ok, @Caissa, how about I dive in with one, as it looks as though I will have time to spare, and go for another a bit more controversial and harder going later in the year if this one goes OK, and you still need a book?

    I'm going to suggest The Mould in Dr Florey's Coat by Eric Lax, looks be available for not too many beer vouchers on both sides of the pond, and everyone knows the accepted story.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    I think its a wonderful choice, Sandemaniac.
  • SandemaniacSandemaniac Shipmate
    In which case, let's do it. Do you post up the book and leader, or do I wait for the thread to appear and then stick my oar in?
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    I think last year, I asked for Month, book and leader. I then created a year calendar with the information I had in it for a post. As the year moved on I copied and pasted it into a new post trying to fill the blanks. Did you have a month in mind?
  • SandemaniacSandemaniac Shipmate
    Ah, I was thinking you were shirt for January, which is why I jumped in. I'll take January if you want otherwise whenever.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Perfect. January is yours. I have learned a new expression "you were shirt".
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    January- The Mould in Dr Florey's Coat by Eric Lax-Sandemaniac

    Any others have a month in mind?
  • SandemaniacSandemaniac Shipmate
    Caissa wrote: »
    Perfect. January is yours. I have learned a new expression "you were shirt".

    No, you've learnt I didn't spot a typo in time... that was meant to be "you were short"... *red face*
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Ok. And I thought I was learning a new part of British idiom.
  • MiliMili Shipmate
    My book is a Christmas book so December would be great.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    January- The Mould in Dr Florey's Coat by Eric Lax-Sandemaniac
    February-
    March-
    April-
    May-
    June-
    July-
    August-
    September-
    October-
    November-
    December-The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett-Mili
  • SandemaniacSandemaniac Shipmate
    Well, we've got the bookends in place!
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Canada is experiencing a postal strike so this is causing challenges here in smaller areas to potential source books for any January book clubs . ( I am involved in a few.)
  • SandemaniacSandemaniac Shipmate
    That's awkward. As a non-Kindle user I have no idea if my book is available or not.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    Can I do February with Frost in May? It should be easily available anywhere.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    January- The Mould in Dr Florey's Coat by Eric Lax-Sandemaniac
    February- Frost in May by Antonia White-Sarasa
    March-
    April-
    May-
    June-
    July-
    August-
    September-
    October-
    November-
    December-The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett-Mili
  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I offered to lead The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club in November.
  • MiliMili Shipmate
    Now we just need the middle of the year. I have borrowed my mum's copy of Frost in May ready for February. I read it about 25 to 30 years ago after mum got a second hand copy, but I don't remember much of the story.
  • SojournerSojourner Shipmate
    You’d remember if you’d been taught by the rscjs, trust me
  • MiliMili Shipmate
    I'm protestant and attended secular government schools, so definitely can't relate personally! I have read and watched a few movies and heard and read personal stories of being taught by nuns so can't remember which events happened in this one.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    January- The Mould in Dr Florey's Coat by Eric Lax-Sandemaniac
    February- Frost in May by Antonia White-Sarasa
    March-
    April-
    May-
    June-
    July-
    August-
    September-
    October-
    November- The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers-Trudy
    December-The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett-Mili
  • TukaiTukai Shipmate

    Here a couple of suggestions I made based on my experience when about October 2024. I could perhaps study one of these in sometime between March and May 2025 if my health persists. So far I continue to feel well, nearly 12 months over a dramatic breakdown I held in January 2024.

    I have found a few short novels that might be suitable for Ship of Fools book readers for next year. Two that might be worth doing so (and worth reading for anyway) are:

    - Stewart O'Nan "City of Secrets" (2016), which is set in the Israel revolution of 1948. Narrator is a Jewish survivor from the Nazi regime, who is hardly a strongly religious revolutionary, but a local taxi-driver drawn in by his girlfriend to various users of the revolution. It makes for very timely readers as it's Israel's government doing its best by killing thousands of the region to set off war yet again in the Middle East.

    - Guy Kennaway "The Accidental Collector" (2021) , an English satirical novel set on the art world. A kind young man , having partnered a rich young widow, makes his efforts to impress her as an art dealer. The story tells in three parts, of which I found the first only mild but the middle made me laughing so aloud to break my wife wake up.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    The Stewart O' Nan sounds interesting, Tukai. Would you be willing to lead it some month next year?
  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I was going to say the other one (The Accidental Collector) sounds interesting! Actually they both sound interesting, but in light of current events I think it might be difficult to have a discussion about a novel set in 1948 Israel and Palestine and keep it within the bounds of vigorous, but still Heavenly, book discussion.

    I read a fascinating novel a few years back set against the background of Israeli settlement of Palestine in the period between WW1 and WW2 ... a great and insightful read, but I would not want to be trying to have or host a discussion about it in the current geopolitical climate. Maybe I'm just too conflict-averse.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    My interest for the first probably arises from my MA thesis being on aspect of Canadian Jewish history and having written an article on Canada's involvement in UNSCOP.

    I would like to think we could have decent conversations of literature during the current geopolitical climate, Trudy, but you may correct.
  • Lamb ChoppedLamb Chopped Shipmate
    I'd like to take June for my month, and have us read The Wounded Sky by Diane Duane. This is a Star Trek novel (characters from the original series) but I think it will interest non-Trekkies--deals with themes of creation, sacrifice, and fellowship/unity among very different kinds of, um, people. :wink: It also looks at what happens when someone invents something and it has unintended side effects--how do you take responsibility, and what do you do about it? It's from 1983, but has remained very popular, so I doubt anyone will have much trouble finding a copy, either as a used book or in e-book form. One place I checked (bn.com) had it as an e-book for about $8.99.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Thanks, Lamb Chopped. Ms C. tells me she has a copy. Seven more months up for grabs still.
    January- The Mould in Dr Florey's Coat by Eric Lax-Sandemaniac
    February- Frost in May by Antonia White-Sarasa
    March-
    April-
    May-
    June- The Wounded Sky by Diane Duane-Lamb Chopped
    July-
    August-
    September-
    October-
    November- The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers-Trudy
    December-The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett-Mili
  • SandemaniacSandemaniac Shipmate
    I'll run another sciencey one for October if you are still short, but I'd prefer to give opportunity to others to fill the gap first.
  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Lamb Chopped wrote: »
    I'd like to take June for my month, and have us read The Wounded Sky by Diane Duane. This is a Star Trek novel (characters from the original series) but I think it will interest non-Trekkies--deals with themes of creation, sacrifice, and fellowship/unity among very different kinds of, um, people. :wink: It also looks at what happens when someone invents something and it has unintended side effects--how do you take responsibility, and what do you do about it? It's from 1983, but has remained very popular, so I doubt anyone will have much trouble finding a copy, either as a used book or in e-book form. One place I checked (bn.com) had it as an e-book for about $8.99.

    I'm not sure if I've read this one or not -- I went through a phase of reading a lot of Trek novels years ago, but it was before I had started tracking what I read. I do remember reading and liking at least one by Diane Duane, so I'll be on board for this!
  • MiliMili Shipmate
    I'm also happy to run another month if needed. Like Sandemaniac, I want to give others the chance to put their hand up first.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    Same here, I’ll do another month if needed.
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    I'm happy to take a month; just at the moment I can't think of a book I'd like to lead on, nor can I quite see which month might be best to offer for, given other stuff that might be going on.
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    I am partway through Samantha Harvey's Orbital, a Booker Prize winner in 2024. It's a short read but not necessarily a quick one; I'm currently having mixed feelings about it but that's no bad thing when it comes to discussion. Would other people be interested? I know @Sarasa has read it.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    If people could let me know their preferred months ( and if possible book) I can update the schedule. Thanks for volunteering.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    I’d be interested in discussing Orbital . I, for one, am not at all sure what I think about it.
  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I've seen a lot of people putting Orbital on their "favourite books of the year" lists, so I am intrigued by it. Being intrigued might not be enough to push me into reading it, but if it's a book club selection, I likely will read it!
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    I'll lead on Orbital in March, then.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Thanks, Nenya. Six to go.
    January- The Mould in Dr Florey's Coat by Eric Lax-Sandemaniac
    February- Frost in May by Antonia White-Sarasa
    March-Orbital by Samantha Harvey-Nenya
    April-
    May-
    June- The Wounded Sky by Diane Duane-Lamb Chopped
    July-
    August-
    September-
    October-
    November- The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers-Trudy
    December-The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett-Mili
  • TukaiTukai Shipmate
    OK, put me down for April "City of Secrets" by Stewart O'Nan (2016). [Subject of course that I continue to be reasonably healthy by the. But so fa, so good!]
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