winnah!

Ok, looks like our winner is Good Omens!

When do we want to open discussion for Abe?

May Selections

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

Jitterbug Perfume is an epic. which is to say, it begins in the forests of ancient Bohemia and doesn't conclude until nine o'clock tonight [Paris time]. It is a saga, as well. A saga must have a hero, and the hero of this one is a janitor with a missing bottle. The bottle is blue, very, very old, and embossed with the image of a goat-horned god. If the liquid in the bottle is actually is the secret essence of the universe, as some folks seem to think, it had better be discovered soon becaused it is leaking and there is only a drop of two left

Suggested by: Fleshvine

On The Road by Jack Kerouac

Few novels have had as profound an impact on American culture as On the Road. Pulsating with the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, illicit drugs, and the mystery and promise of the open road, Kerouac's classic novel of freedom and longing defined what it meant to be "beat" and has inspired generations of writers, musicians, artists, poets, and seekers who cite their discovery of the book as the event that "set them free." Based on Kerouac's adventures with Neal Cassady, On the Road tells the story of two friends whose four cross-country road trips are a quest for meaning and true experience. Written with a mixture of sad-eyed naïveté and wild abandon, and imbued with Kerouac's love of America, his compassion for humanity, and his sense of language as jazz, On the Road is the quintessential American vision of freedom and hope, a book that changed American literature and changed anyone who has ever picked it up. This hardcover edition commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the first publication of the novel in 1957 and will be a must-have for any literature lover.

Suggested by: Chuck Metcalf

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

Pratchett (of Discworld fame) and Gaiman (of Sandman fame) may seem an unlikely combination, but the topic (Armageddon) of this fast-paced novel is old hat to both. Pratchett's wackiness collaborates with Gaiman's morbid humor; the result is a humanist delight to be savored and reread again and again. You see, there was a bit of a mixup when the Antichrist was born, due in part to the machinations of Crowley, who did not so much fall as saunter downwards, and in part to the mysterious ways as manifested in the form of a part-time rare book dealer, an angel named Aziraphale. Like top agents everywhere, they've long had more in common with each other than the sides they represent, or the conflict they are nominally engaged in. The only person who knows how it will all end is Agnes Nutter, a witch whose prophecies all come true, if one can only manage to decipher them. The minor characters along the way (Famine makes an appearance as diet crazes, no-calorie food and anorexia epidemics) are as much fun as the story as a whole, which adds up to one of those rare books which is enormous fun to read the first time, and the second time, and the third time...

Suggested by: PhantomV48

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

While the Bible may be the word of God, transcribed by divinely inspired men, it does not provide a full (or even partial) account of the life of Jesus Christ. Lucky for us that Christopher Moore presents a funny, lighthearted satire of the life of Christ--from his childhood days up to his crucifixion--in Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. This clever novel is surely blasphemy to some, but to others it's a coming-of-age story of the highest order.

Joshua (a.k.a. Jesus) knows he is unique and quite alone in his calling, but what exactly does his Father want of him? Taking liberties with ancient history, Moore works up an adventure tale as Biff and Joshua seek out the three wise men so that Joshua can better understand what he is supposed to do as Messiah. Biff, a capable sinner, tags along and gives Joshua ample opportunities to know the failings and weaknesses of being truly human. With a wit similar to Douglas Adams, Moore pulls no punches: a young Biff has the hots for Joshua's mom, Mary, which doesn't amuse Josh much: "Don't let anyone ever tell you that the Prince of Peace never struck anyone." And the origin of the Easter Bunny is explained as a drunken Jesus gushes his affection for bunnies, declaring, "Henceforth and from now on, I decree that whenever something bad happens to me, there shall be bunnies around."

Suggested by: Dindrane

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

From the opening line of his breakthrough cyberpunk novel Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson plunges the reader into a not-too-distant future. It is a world where the Mafia controls pizza delivery, the United States exists as a patchwork of corporate-franchise city-states, and the Internet--incarnate as the Metaverse--looks something like last year's hype would lead you to believe it should. Enter Hiro Protagonist--hacker, samurai swordsman, and pizza-delivery driver. When his best friend fries his brain on a new designer drug called Snow Crash and his beautiful, brainy ex-girlfriend asks for his help, what's a guy with a name like that to do? He rushes to the rescue. A breakneck-paced 21st-century novel, Snow Crash interweaves everything from Sumerian myth to visions of a postmodern civilization on the brink of collapse. Faster than the speed of television and a whole lot more fun, Snow Crash is the portrayal of a future that is bizarre enough to be plausible.

Suggested by: Fiendix

New Yahoo Group for discussions!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rodbookgroup/

When we can't all meet on Skype or Skype is down for some of us, this is the place to talk! We can also post questions at any time, answer questions, etc. Also helps when we don't all follow the #rodbookclub hash tag feed.

This group has closed membership, meaning I have to approve all members, which will ensure that everyone who joins is One of Us. Please pass this note along to anyone in the group who isn't on Twitter; I don't recognize every name that's following this blog, but I want us all to have lively discussions, and that means people. :D

I'll be posted a few Pride & Prejudice discussion questions soon, and I invite you all to do the same!

May Suggestions/Voting

So voting for the next RoD! book starts Friday. Jitterbug Perfume and On The Road are one the list. We need at least two more suggestions. So, suggest a book. Even if someone before you has suggested it, suggest it. The most popular ones will be in the vote. If the popular thing doesn't work out, then they will be randomly selected (cuz I'm a nerd, and I have dice of many sides that have never been used).

Voting will go pretty much the same way as it did last time. Everyone pick one or two books. The vote will be up for a week.

updates?

Hey!

I'm a bit behind because I got caught up in a couple of other projects and had Migrainpaloosa over the weekend, so I'm only about 1/4-1/3 of the way through... Poe just showed up in New Orleans. :D

Do we want to schedule a discussion yet or wait?

Voting, Version 1.0

So, here's how the voting thing will work this time.
We vote for 3 books this round. as we get more people, there will be more books to vote on each round.
We're asking everyone to vote for two books each, so we're not just voting on the book that we picked.
The winner at the end of the poll will be the book we read (obviously). The runner up will either be the NEXT book, or go on to star in the next poll; no one is sure which yet.
Polls will last a week, or until everyone involved has voted, whichever comes first (except for this one, cuz we need to get it started, like, now).
Reads will last a month, or until everyone involved has already read it, or we have to extend it because no one has read it yet, whichever comes first. This will come in handy if/when we come back around to Ulysses.

And that's about it for now. If y'all have a better idea, feel free to comment.

new/next book!

Heya! As you all know, Ulysses doesn't seem to have worked as a book choice. Chuck and I can talk about it separately.

So what do you want to read instead? A few of you have suggestions, so let's hear 'em! :D