Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Talking Tuesday

OK, folks...I hope you are ready to jump on board with me on this experiment!

Over the years, I have participated in several book discussion groups. Some have consisted of lively and intelligent conversation, others have known more slurred speech from too much wine consumption. I joined one group at the library, which had plenty of interesting conversation...but too many people and too much difficulty on book selection. (anybody reading this blog from that group, please don't hate!)By far, my favorite of all book groups consisted of a bunch of friendly neighbors with diverse tastes. We had light-hearted chatter at the beginning of our 'meeting', then we were able to buckle down and enjoy sharing our thoughts on the book. It amazed me how we could all read the same words and walk away with such different perceptions, such different visions of how the characters looked and behaved. How eye-opening the experience of talking about a book and hearing other viewpoints of how the book was written or should the ending had been different?

I would like to attempt a Blogging Book Group, here at AirmanMom. I need your feedback. Have you belonged to a book group in the past? If so, what did you like or dislike? If you have not belonged to a book group, is it due to lack of interest or it simply never came to be? Do you feel an online group has potential for the kind of discussion needed for a book group? I'd appreciate your ideas on how to make this happen.

Our first book is a recommendation by one of my readers, I've picked it up and can tell already it is a good read! "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young" by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway. It's a well written story of the first significant engagement between American troops and the Viet Cong. Written by those who were there, this book is a New York Times Bestseller.


I believe this could be a fun and informative adventure.
Your turn.........

17 comments:

Coffeypot said...

I would love to join you in a book club. I have read this book three times and it is all marked up. I even googled some of the characters and read more about them, like Clinton Posey. Ed 'Too Tall' Jones, the MOH from Pres. Bush, is also in this book. When do we start?

none said...

I was just given that book. I need to give it a try.

Unknown said...

coffeypot...Great! I have just opened the book and have found it to be a good read. We need to figure out how to go on from here...

Unknown said...

hammerr...I am hoping this means you are in on this with me!

MightyMom said...

didn't they make this into a movie??

seems like Mel Gibson was in it.

Book club? well. i dunno. never been in a book club and tend to have trouble with deadlines.

speaking of which..you didn't give the deadline for having the book read.

Bag Blog said...

I think a book club is a great idea. I have read the book, "We Were Soldiers." A friend of mine, a young USAF Captain, said of the book - it is a life changing experience. More on that later.

Pink Champagne, Gatorade, and MRE's said...

this sounds great! I just bought this book recently also!

Anonymous said...

I seen the movie and loved it. I have been looking for a new book and may need to go find this one. I will let you know if I am into the book club thing. Thanks for the suggestion on the read.

Tami said...

AM~
Count me in I am game. I will head to the bookstore at lunch and see if I can find it.

Love this idea.

God Bless;
aam

Jeanne said...

Sounds like a great idea. I too saw this movie and enjoyed it and always meant to get the book but never did. I'll pick up the book and try to finish it by whatever deadline you set (I've been having a problem with books about war lately so I may have to wait another month or two to join in) This should be fun, I've never had the opportunity to join a book club before and I love to read.

Tami said...

Have book in hand. Ready when you are. LOL

aam

Unknown said...

WOW!!!!
I am thrilled with the response! I thank each of you for showing interest in reading this book. For those of you interested, hopefully this will turn out to be a successful attempt at an online book group.
Let's make it work.
It's our party.
Now for logistics (can you tell I am married to an engineer and have two sons in the military?)
I'm not sure how much time everyone wants or needs to read the book...I'm figuring 3 weeks.
My next question...do we want to respond to questions and answers, or everyone write a brief synopsis, or does somebody have another idea of how to share our review of this book?
Truly...no pressure, no stress!!!
My hope is this to be a group of us blogging buddies to read a good book, share our thoughts...since we all share a passion for our military.
I welcome all ideas, suggestions and feedback of any sort.
I do thank each of your for showing interest and I do believe this will be fun!
~AirmanMom

Tami said...

I like the question and answer option but will be happy to go along with the majority on this one.


aam

Bag Blog said...

Three weeks is good - in case someone needs time to find the book (some of us live in the boonies) and then read it. Once you start this book, you will not be able to put it down. I like the questions or synopsis idea. With most books you should be able to talk about certain aspects of the book like the over all theme, the plot, the character development, etc. With this book being a non-fiction, it will be a little different. I am really looking forward to your thoughts and sharing.

Unknown said...

aam and bag...thanks for the feedback! bag, you point is well taken...being a non-fiction book will require a different format. Please, keep the comments coming in! We can plan on three weeks for everyone to get the book and read it. As we get closer, I'll post to find out if this is still realistic.
I do thank you all for joining me!!!

Wendy said...

Thanks for leaving the comment, glad you liked my blog.

If its not too late, I'd be game for a book club. I actually prefer nonfiction, so this selection is right up my ally.

Unknown said...

wendy...I thank you for stopping by and you are more than welcome to join our book group!!!