I believe that the Nexus has a lot of avid readers with a diverse interest in literature therefore I am proposing we begin a book club.

I think the way to start is to open the thread up for suggestions and then narrow it down to 9 choices, set up a poll and vote on the book. I am thinking we can all read along together and decide on the pace once we have selected the book.

I recently bought Wizard of the Upper Amazon by Bruce Lamb so I submit that for my first choice.

The book doesn't have to be in any specific genre.

Please list your first pick!

Good one!

I would recommend a book that was recommended to me by none less than Enoon: To Your Scattered Bodies Go.

It is not only Sci-Fi but also mostly a philosophical journey into many possibilities that makes you ponder. And I wonder where yours would lead your mind with this one.


Kind regards,

The Traveler

I'd like to suggest a group reading and discussion of Left in the Dark.

Great idea. I will sit bakc and wait to vote

+1

(here is the newer version)

We could likely even get the author involved in the discussion depending on how busy he is.

Hello Fellow Nexians,

I am thinking I will keep this open for submissions for one more week, this way everyone who wants to participate should get a chance to suggest a book. I will begin the voting next Sunday! We will discuss the pace that we will read the book at once the voting has finished.

Any suggestions on how we will run the book club are welcome.

Thank you,

adam

Finnegans Wake
- James Joyce

Three Halves of Ino Moxo : Teachings of the Wizard of the Upper Amazon
- Cesar Calvo

Both are very dense and multi-domensional in reading. Two of my favorites. They will send your mind inside out, no question there.

Although it's probably been read and digested by many here, I must toot Melville's horn and recommend Moby Dick to those interested in grand adventure novellas. The story can be interpreted six ways from a sundaze on the south pacific seas. In fact, the book itself severely influenced my own writing style and stands strong as one of the most prolific/greatest works of literature I have experienced in my lifetime. I embarked on Ishmael's adventure when on the tale end of an MDMA experience and, need not say, I was profoundly addicted to the adventure from the get go. I knew where the tale would lead but the text in itself was rich beyond compare. The shadow of death which permeates the prose hooked me from the get go; the battles, adventures, backstories and philosophies presented and dissected with respect to the white spectre of death on the horizon sends shivers through my spine even now as I contemplate my own experience reading it. It's influence in my own outlook on life and writing style has been as profound as some of my deeper LSD experiences and in some cases even deeper. From the beginning to the end, I felt a cold presence send shivers down my spine as, knowing what was on the horizon, I was swept along with the tides of time accross the seas and into death's icy maw lurking in the depths below. Even if you read it years ago, I would still highly recommend re-reading it as my own outlook has changed with the years.

Another great series would have to be the hitch-hikers trilogy by Adams. It also had a profound influence on my fictional style and helped me better address the theme of grand intergalactic adventure writings (very very hyperspatial in all regards).

Magicians of the Gods by Graham Hancock.

I have been waiting to read this book for a little while now and I finally had the chance to order it. It will arrive tomorrow. I don't know if this should be counted as an official entry since I haven't actually read it but I have heard good things about this book.

The Grateful One the book does not need to be one you read, rather one you would like to read (again/for the first time).

Ah, yes! Silly me! Well, an official entry it is then! Thanks Adam!



Edit: BTW, I love this idea of having a Nexian book club. It is a superb idea!

The Naked Lunch by William S Burroughs.

Jitterbug Perfume was a pretty mindblowing read for me.

I've been resisting, but can't any longer....


The Windup Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami
Veniss Underground - Jeff Vandermeer
His Master's Voice - Stanislaw Lem (I've read it, but would gladly do so again; a jem)

I went to Graham Hancocks lecture last month, which he had to do completely unrehearsed because David Pearce ran off 5 minutes before he was supposed to go on. After the talk, they were selling Magicians of the Gods and I managed to buy it and get it signed by the man himself. I am going to start reading it once I finish "Wind, Sand, and Stars" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, which won't take long as it's quite short.

Harry Browne:
How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World

I second this. I picked this up again recently after trying to read it once when I was much younger. I'd absolutely love to see a discussion about this book

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. It's what this world desperately needs.

Yeah, it's a very dense book. Tough to read. It's like one story being told through simultaneous experiences. There's a 'Finnegans Wake Wiki' that I have spent many hours on trying to understand thousands of words and sentence fragments.

It's written in really thick idiosyncratic language, not to mention so many of the words and sentence fragments are of Joyces own creation and completely self-made words.

Very psychedelic though. Actually found about about it through an old Mckenna lecture.

Wow, that is amazing! My copy arrived as scheduled on Monday and I plan to crack it open tomorrow!