Group Read-a-thon-along: The Worm Ouroboros

[Maia]

I am up for it! I nominate stuff that I have been eyeing for some time since it is supposed to be seminal for the development of fantasy/horror:

"[b]The Castle of Otranto"[/b] by [b]Horace Walpole[/b]. Generally regarded as the first Gothic novel, some elements of which are based on biography of Manfred of Sicily.


[b]"Vathek"[/b] by [b]William Thomas Beckford[/b]. According to wikipedia:

"His originality lay in combining the popular Oriental elements with the Gothic stylings of [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Horace_Walpole,_4th_Earl_of_Oxford&action=edit&redlink=1"]Horace Walpole[/url]'s [i][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castle_of_Otranto"]The Castle of Otranto[/url][/i] (1764)."

"The novel chronicles the fall from power of the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliph"]Caliph[/url] Vathek (a fictionalized version of the historical [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Wathiq"]Al-Wathiq[/url]), who renounces [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam"]Islam[/url] and engages with his ally Nouronihar in a series of licentious and deplorable activities designed to gain him [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural"]supernatural[/url] powers."

and finally:
[b]
"The Monk"[/b] by [b]Mathew Gregory Lewis

[/b]"The story concerns Ambrosio - a pious, well-respected monk in Spain - and his violent downfall."

"Featuring demonic pacts, rape, incest, and such props as the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandering_Jew"]Wandering Jew[/url], ruined [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle"]castles[/url], and the Spanish Inquisition, [i]The Monk[/i] serves more or less as a compendium of Gothic taste."

[Zap Rowsdower]

[quote name='Serious Callers Only' post='1720957' date='Mar 16 2009, 09.06']you download a release (last one), unzip to a directory and double click on one Bookjar.jar file (i don't have a installer yet - pure laziness).

A window will open, and then you can click the keyboard letter (o)
to open a filechooser or dragn'drop a file on the reader. The file can be a rtf, html, htm or rtf file, and it can be compressed in a zip or rar.
If you want a version that has text to speech i have it too (working on another with a better voice).

And huh, if you're going to read poetry, its probably best not to use this, since it tries to reformat un-punctuated paragraphs.[/quote]

Thanks!

[quote name='The Pita Enigma' post='1721204' date='Mar 16 2009, 12.14']I would like to participate.
"Newton's Sleep" by I Really Don't Remember Who. can be found as a free e-book.
"Batman: The Long Halloween" Again, don't remember the author
"From Hell" by Alan Moore.
Just what I have and haven't read yet.[/quote]

I'm sure these would be interesting reads but I don't think these are within the public domain and thus if anyone wanted to read them they'd have to buy them. I'd like to avoid this is at all possible. You're more than welcome, however, to participate in the group reading.

[Zap Rowsdower]

Voting is underway.

Please vote for one of the books on the Master List.

You can still join the group but new suggestions for books will not be accepted.

[The Pita]

There was a thread a while ago that said that Newton's Sleep was a free e-book and had a link, from which I got it.
I'll cast my vote in for it.

[MinDonner]

I vote for The Worm Ouroboros

[Muttering Bill]

A very interesting selection. I may have to give screen reading a try, since I probably won't be able to actually buy most of them.

Anyway, I vote for Malleus Maleficarum. Incidentally, it's also the only book on the list that seems likely to be in stock around here.

[Zap Rowsdower]

[quote name='The Pita Enigma' post='1723549' date='Mar 18 2009, 02.45']There was a thread a while ago that said that Newton's Sleep was a free e-book and had a link, from which I got it.
I'll cast my vote in for it.[/quote]

I just found the site where you can download the free e-book so I added "Newtons Sleep" to the master list.

[Bellis]

I don't mind doing a longer work, as long as we don't need to read more than 10 pages a day. I probably wouldn't read these on my own off a screen, but I do want to read them, so they seem ideal for a group read.

I'll cast my vote for

1. Worms Ourobous - Eddison
2. Newton's Sleep
3. The Lord Dunsany one

[Blue Roses]

Sounds like fun - can I join?

I would prefer a real book if possible (ie. if I can get my hands on one) as I hate reading large chucks of text on a computer - I'm sure it makes my contact lenses go for a wander round the back of my eyeballs :rolleyes:

My vote is for 'Riddle of the Sands'; one of my father's favourite books that he has been banging on about for years so would be fun to see what all the fuss was about.

[Shield]

I'm going to vote for [b]The Worm Ouroboros[/b], seeing as I have a copy and I obviously need some motivation to read it, and it's supposed to be excellent once you get into it. :)

[Zap Rowsdower]

[quote name='Blue Roses' post='1723994' date='Mar 18 2009, 09.43']Sounds like fun - can I join?[/quote]

Sure, the more the merrier!

I also wanted to ask the participants, when they cast their votes, if they could state a reading schedule that they think they (and their fellows) can easily keep up with during the week. Keep in mind that some of your fellow posters have school or may be very busy at work.

I think, if I were to throw out a number, 50 or 60 pages per week wouldn't seem like a great commitment of time. It is, after all fewer than 10 pages per day.

From the looks of things, "The Worm Ouroboros," has taken an early lead. Unless the participants who have yet to to vote, pool their resources, this will probably be the book we read. I was at first wary, due to the sheer length of the book, but I managed to find a place online that has an audio reading of (I assume) the entire novel. This might actually might make it very easy for people like Triskele who have classes, and people like Muttering Bill who don't like reading off a computer.

[Teng Ai Hui]

I'll give it a try also. I vote for Newtons Sleep, but I'll read whatever the group choses.

[Muttering Bill]

[i]The Worm of Ouroboros[/i] seems like a book that should be easily located. I'll have to do a more extensive search, now that it looks like it'll be the winner.

All of those books do look like they are worth checking out (except the first one which sounds boring). Worse case though, I'll just have to print off a copy (using my employers paper, of course).

I have no preference on reading schedule. I can work with whatever, as long as it's not something ridiculous like 100 pages a day. I'd think that a chapter a day sounds like it would be reasonable for anyone - but then, I suppose that depends on the length of the chapters too.

So when does voting end? Are we waiting for everyone on the list to state their preference, or is there going to be a cutoff, so we can get started (and I can get shopping)?

EDIT - turns out that there's a copy of [i]The Worm [/i]on shelf at my library, so I'm good if that's the winner.

[Maia]

I am against the [b]"Worm"[/b], since I already read it and don't plan to re-read. I am also against the [b]"Maleus"[/b], because I think that the book should be somewhat enjoyable to read ;) .

Of the other candidates, any is OK with me, though I favor [b]Dunsany[/b], whom I love as an author.

[Vrana]

I'd be up for [i]Newton's Sleep [/i]if I got it right and it's available online. Otherwise I'll probably go with [i]Worm[/i].

[felice]

[quote name='Vrana' post='1725685' date='Mar 19 2009, 13.27']I'd be up for [i]Newtons Sleep [/i]if I got it right and it's available online.[/quote]
Yes, pdf and html editions are free online [url="http://www.randomstatic.net/newtonssleep.php"]here[/url], and there's also a trade paperback available to buy for those who prefer physical books.

[Zap Rowsdower]

[quote name='Muttering Bill' post='1725284' date='Mar 19 2009, 04.53']So when does voting end? Are we waiting for everyone on the list to state their preference, or is there going to be a cutoff, so we can get started (and I can get shopping)?[/quote]

The voting ends Friday. There is no specific time- whenever I can summon enough energy to overcome my lethargy and post on the thread will be when voting ends. If there is a tie vote then I will cast the final and deciding vote. If not, we'll go with whatever has the most votes up to that point.

During my preliminary count I counted

Newton’s Sleep: 3
The Worm Ouroboros: 3
The Riddle of the Sands: 1
Malleus Maleficarum: 1
Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley by Lord Dunsany: 1

So there is currently a tie between Sleep and Ouroboros. I don't think Triskele, Wildfire or Yerman have voted yet so they still have a chance to decide the outcome. Or if we have any last minute joiners who also cast a vote.

In order to help people make a more informed opinion, please consider the following facts:

Newton's Sleep is available [url="http://www.randomstatic.net/newtonssleep.php"]here[/url] in pdf and htlm format. According to Amazon.com, a paperback copy of the book runs at 288 pages.

The Worm Ouroboros, according to Amazon.com runs at around 445 pages. It can be found [url="http://www.sacred-texts.com/ring/two/index.htm"]here[/url] and also [url="http://manybooks.net/titles/eddisoneother060602051.html"]here [/url]in a multitude of different formats. There is also a free audiobook version [url="http://www.archive.org/details/WormOuroboros"]here[/url] for people with fast internet connections.

[quote name='Maia' post='1725494' date='Mar 19 2009, 08.38']I am against the [b]"Worm"[/b], since I already read it and don't plan to re-read. I am also against the [b]"Maleus"[/b], because I think that the book should be somewhat enjoyable to read ;) .

Of the other candidates, any is OK with me, though I favor [b]Dunsany[/b], whom I love as an author.[/quote]

I'm sorry Maia, I feel for you, I really do, but if memory serves me correctly Mindonner has already read and reviewed Newton's Sleep on her site. If it wasn't for this fact I'd certainly cast my vote for Newton's Sleep so you could participate.

But I'll mull over it tonight since I haven't really decided how I'll vote and break the tie. Or perhaps someone else will add their vote by Friday and remove the problem from my hands

[Muttering Bill]

[quote name='felice' post='1725910' date='Mar 19 2009, 15.47']Yes, pdf and html editions are free online [url="http://www.randomstatic.net/newtonssleep.php"]here[/url], and there's also a trade paperback available to buy for those who prefer physical books.[/quote]
Yeah, you can buy it for $30. And Amazon looks to be the only place that has it. Better off getting the free version.

[Zap Rowsdower]

As no one else has voted to break the tie, I will cast the deciding vote.

I vote for: The Worm Ouroboros.


As for the reading schedule, I thought the we could try for 60-70 pages each week. This would mean that for the first week, we would read to the end of Chapter IV. "Conjuring in the Iron Tower." Next Friday we would proceed and read from chapter V. "King Gorice's Sending" onwards.

Does anyone have any major objection to that reading schedule? If not, I'd recommend we go with it so we can actually start the group read without any more delays.

As for the discussion, I think it would be nice, (but obviously I can't force you) to post at least one post for each 60-70 page reading block. The posts can contain anything- your thoughts and impressions of the work, whether you like or dislike it so far, etc. Then hopefully other people can respond to your post and we can get a discussion going. Feel free to make as many posts about the reading material as you want.

Avanti!

[Maia]

But I still have a vote, don't I? IIRC, somebody else already cast theirs for Dunsany, so that can't be mine. I am casting for Newton's Sleep, then :) !