Does anyone    out there belong to a book discussion group? We have
a book readers newsletter for book groups.

24 responses total.

Please tell us about it - and who is "we". There have been inquiries
about book discussion groups in other items in this conference, but
this is the first item so identified. How would you like it to be
used? Discussion of book discussion groups? Some descriptions of
such - what they read and how they conduct discussions - would be
interesting.

STARTING a book discussion would also be interesting.

        #2 agreed...

I was interested in finding out what other book discussion groups are
reading.  I also publish a bookreaders newsletter that reviews books
that are good for discussion.  I am always looking for new subscribers,
and for information on what other groups are reading.  I would also be
glad to share with anyone the "rules" that our book discussion group
has developed over the years.  I've been a member of this group over
twenty years, so we've changed rules many times.  I can also share what
our group will be reading this year.

Sounds interesting -- please do.

This sounds quite interesting..I'm definitely for starting one.

This t[D[D is the list of what our group is reading this year.
Jane and Prudence, Barbar Pym; In Country, Bobby Ann Mason; I AM One of
You Forever, Fred Chappel; Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy; Like Water for
Chocolate, [ALaura Esquivel; A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines;  The Holder
of the World, B. Mikherjee; Lucy, Jamaica Kincaid.  Any comments?

Yes - how do you find the time for such extensive reading? I've picked up
and set down the same book, for the last six months.

You're spending too much of your life on Grex, Rane.  That's all.

Why are you following me around, here, Dave?  ;->

I have resorted *gasp* to books on tape.  This is not nearly as
pleasurable or convenient as actually reading a book, but I find the net
effect to be the same.  Unfortunately, my free time is mostly in-car time.
After listening to a book, I feel as if I have read it.  Different ports,
same processor (and I am fortunate enough to have a choice of ports).

Re #10: I too am spending too much time on Grex, that's all.

I like books on tape, as I grew up on radio drama, but I have trouble
learning/retaining auditory information unless I can take notes to make it
visual/kinisthetic.

Doesn't that depend on what you want to be able to do with the
information? I always know if I have heard a recording before, so
I have learned/retained significant parts of all auditory information,
and I think the same would be true for most people.

Thinking about the eyes/ears port question more closely (subjectively of
course) I'd have to say my experience is the opposite of kami's.  I love
to read, but seem to have slightly better recall of books I have heard. 
My internal reading voice is silent.  The reader's voice seems to leave a
memory marker, but I also can think of the information in ways that don't
involve remembering voices on the tape, in other words as if I had read it
to myself.  None of this may test out, but the sensations are there.  I
think I'll leave this one to the clinical researchers.  

(apologies for the the drift)

 I have started to listen to Lonesome Dove on tape, and I am finding that
I am getting more from it, than if I was reading it. Also it's nice that
you can listen as you relax in your easy chair or bed. 

We listen to books on tapes on long car trips - generally books chosen by
our daughter. I've only *read* Gulliver's travels once, but I have *heard*
it a hundred times - and at least the first fifty times (;->) it was still
interesting, despite the familiarity. In fact, one looks forward to
hearing it again, which one would not do so frequently with a book (except
for those *special* books that one reads over and over). I feel that this
is related to what mwarner describes - *feel* is the right description of
both this opinion, and the effect. 

(I guess my problem is that I've got too many *special* books.)

 Books on Tape are also good if you're not feeling to well, and just want
to relax without concentrating on a book. It's helped me in the last few days.

Yes, you can read while sleeping, too. Do you find yourself in a dream
that follows the plot, omni?

I like travel books told in the first person.  This matches the narrative
on the tape and avoids the multiple character impersonations, being
written as "a telling".  The travel part suits the fact that I am
commuting.  I enjoyed a book by Tristan Jones(called "Ice" I think)
telling about his efforts to solo sail farther north than any person had
previously (in the 1950's).  He ended up stuck in the ice pack for many,
many months.  Somehow this fit the mood of traveling along in my car. 
Just had to watch out for those diesel ice bergs. 

  Another well done tape is "Cry of the Panther" by McMullen.  This is a
very unusual biographical account of a returning Vietnam war veteran who
retreats into the "jungle" of the Florida everglades in an obsessive
effort to learn to track the wild panther.  In discovering the ways of the
cat, he discovers the ways of his soul, etc. and learns what is necessary
to save both.  Sounds trite, and I personally disagree with some of his
religious conclusions, but the story is truly fascinating.  The
descriptions of his experiences in the everglades interweave with
considerations of events from Vietnam that he had been suppressing while
in civilization. 

  I found these tapes at the AAPL.  Both tapes have the advantage of being
well read (not always the case).

to answer 20-
   Not really. I found myself falling asleep at a midpoint in the tape
and I usually have to go rewind it before I can go on. I hope to adjust my
listening times so this doesn't happen again.

I also "check out" while in a car if I become tired.  The voices role, but
the brain is impervious.  Time for fresh air or obnoxious non-NPR radio.  
WARNING:  Books on tape in a car are a good way to pass time, but a lousy
way to stay awake!!!!!    (!!!!!)   :)

Actually, if I can't find talk radion that's tolerable, I like book tapes
for staying awake on long trips- more complex and engaging than music. But
I really do have terrible recall from them- I can just about reconstruct the
general plot for someone, while I can retell many print books fairly well.
And I hate  to have my hands empty, so I won't often sit still and just
listen to a tape.  Then, when I get involved in whatever make-work task I
have chosen, I end up tuning out and forgetting about the book. I guess they
really do go best in a car.

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