I have finally gathered my books for the next round of reading for the online book groups I belong to. There are a variety of them out there these days--no doubt catering to all types of interests. For me, reading along with others has really helped me to understand/appreciate some of the more difficult books that have been chosen, and I find that it keeps me on track to finish more books as well. It is also a nice excuse (not really that I need one--but you know how you, well I do anyway, tend to put books in the TBR stack thinking I will get to it after I read this one and that one and then this one first...) to read a book that I have long wanted to read, but never got around to. The reading group that hooked me was The Slaves of Golconda (you can read about the initial impetus for the forming of the Salves here), which also has a forum over at The Metaxu Cafe. Our next book is The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells. Last time we decided that "extra credit" books would be optional as Muriel Spark's works tend to be slender volumes. This worked quite nicely as everyone chose different books and we were able to get a taste of her work. Once again we have the option of reading a second work by Wells (many of his books are slim volumes as well). I am not sure I will be able to fit in a second book this time around, but I do have a few on my bookshelves to choose from if I do: Ann Veronica (I am leaning towards this one, if I can get a second book read), or Tono-Bungay, or maybe When the Sleeper Wakes.
Reading Matters is tackling Scoop by Evelyn Waugh next. I have never read Waugh before, and he has been long on my list of authors "I want to read". See what I mean by letting them jump ahead of the queue? I won't mention how far behind I am in War and Peace by Tolstoy. The second and third parts of the first book are already being discussed. I guess I feel like it is better to read this in chunks rather than a few pages here and there. And, well, I haven't had "chunks" of reading time available to me lately. I am hoping to take a few afternoons off work in the near future and devote them to W&P! And now a new discussion group has sprung up (well is in the planning phase anyway) thanks to Kate S. She is planning on devoting reading time to short stories. Although she wants to embark on a systematic study of them, she thought it would be a good idea to discuss individual stories in a group. The plan is to just read one a month (surely I can fit in at least one a month)--and hopefully the texts will be available online or easily obtainable from the library. Too bad someone won't start one for essays and then I would be set (my plan on reading one a week has faltered already!). What books are you reading along in groups?