Special Announcement: Join the World Wide Book Club!
Join the world wide book club!
Just when you thought Twitter was only good for finding out what your favorite celebrity had for lunch today, here comes a great idea from @crowdsourcing! Could we create a place where everyone in the world could read the same book at the same time? Could we really create a worldwide frame of reference for millions of people? Just with the power of Twitter and a good book? As it turns out, the answer to all of these questions is “yes”!
So, after a few weeks of good natured arguing back and forth and tons of voting from folks all over the world, the book has finally been decided upon. And it is Neil Gaiman’s incredible bestseller “American Gods”. Neil beat out such classics as Fahrenheit 451 and Slaughterhouse-Five to be the first ever “one book, one tweet” worldwide book club reader’s choice. Here is a brief teaser about the book:
“Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble. Until he learns she’s been killed in a terrible accident. Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible. He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same…”
If you read Gaiman’s “Neverwhere” and “Stardust” you will understand what a serious statement I am making when I agree with others that this is Gaiman’s most ambitious book to date. We have four copies here at the shop, so come and get’em while supplies last.
The “schedule” starts today, but you can read at your own pace. If you want to join the discussion, which is the fun part of a book club after all, all you need is a Twitter account and the ability to follow “@1B1T2010”. Folks will start tweeting their reactions and opinions about each chapter according to a schedule found here:
I am really excited about this! I have seen large scale book groups like this work for city-wide reads, in places like Seattle and Chicago. But this the first time that people from all over the world have come together to read and discuss one book. I can’t wait to see what my fellow Manza-Whee-Lems (gosh, I hope I spelled that right!) think of Neil Gaiman’s book. And if anyone needs any help signing up for Twitter, I would be happy to show them how. It’s easy, it’s free, and it’s fun!
Alright, everybody, get ready – get set – READ!
Comments