I'm afraid there must be rules regarding the suggestion of
books/articles/essays for participants of the Central Market Book Club to vote on. These are actually meant to enhance our group experience so if there is disagreement, I'm open to changing, but for now:
Limit of two suggestions per person. (This helps reduce the
number of "ties".)
Please submit your suggestions in advance via email to me so I
can put together the ballot with enough info about each selection to
help us be informed voters.
If you suggest a book that wins, it is expected that you lead the discussion on it or arrange for someone else to.
There is no limit on length but if the book you suggest is
very long, be prepared for us to consider using an excerpt of it.
Non-fiction as well as fiction is okay to be considered.
Essays and poetry are good sources too even though we haven't done
too many of these.
Selection should be widely available. It is especialy nice
(but not absolutely required) if it is available in the Houston
Public Library. A link to their catalog is here:
Houston Library Online Catalog
A selection should be notable for its "discussability" (i.e.
is it a Great Book?"). One easy way to improve the chances of your recommendation being discussable is to choose something from a list included HERE at www.houstonbookcluabs.org/CentralMarket/lists.html
Discussability is hard to define but can usually be
reflected in cases where
the author is a noted classic writer (e.g. Tolstoy, Maugham,
Steinbeck)
the work is historically significant (e.g. Declaration of
Independence, Plato's Republic)
the author or work has won prestigious awards (e.g. Pulitzer,
Nobel, Booker)
If the above three criteria haven't been met, then
be prepared to defend your choice and confirm that you have read the book yourself. There are so many great authors and books that have won awards, you will be asked to defend why you want us to discuss something that is relatively unknown or not normally considered a "great book".
Usually if there are
questions that come to mind from reading the book that have no easy
answers, this is a good sign.
Feel free to suggest selections again that didn't win on
previous elections. Here are some earlier lists:
Suggestions of readings to be included in the list being
voted on may be submitted in absentia if you have attended at least 2
of the group meetings in the previous 6 months.
Submitting a suggestion is not a requirement for participation in our book group.
