Quote:
Originally Posted by caleb72
I've only read one of her books, Exquisite Corpse. Actually, I really liked the writing, but - well - the content was a bit hard to take. Have you read that one?
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I haven't read much beyond
Swamp Foetus which I found pretty strong stuff!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bookpossum
On the matter of free books being a preferred choice, it's not necessarily that people are just being mean.
I'm retired and so am on a restricted budget for buying books, which in Australia are a lot more expensive than in at least some other countries - including ebooks. If a book is selected by the book club that I don't already own or can't get from my library, and it's not by a favourite author, then I'm not able to justify spending money on getting a copy unless I am convinced that the particular book is something really out of the box.
The Literary Book Club selection for March is an example of that, and I am waiting on a paper copy of it to arrive from the UK, because it isn't available as an epub and Kindle was only prepared to let me have it on their "cloud", so I couldn't have turned it into an epub.
By all means have a category that requires people to buy the book in question unless they can borrow it, but understand that a number of people may not be able to participate.
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I concur with Bookpossum. I'm in a quite similar position.
On a personal note--and with no offense intended to anyone--The idea of making sure that a book is going to cost the member money--and even banning inexpensive books is not an ideal position for an inclusive book club. As to the argument that people vote for inferior books simply because they are free:--Well, I can only speak for myself but I have never voted for a book simply because it was free nor do I presume that others do so.
In the last Literary Club vote I proposed and initially voted for two selections which were in the Public domain. But I did so because I think they are both excellent books. On the final vote, I switched to a book which I felt would provide a new and rich experience. I could have used a copy from a friend, but because it was an older unrevised edition I bought an iTunes copy to read on my iPad. There were other cases in which I bought PB copies because I felt that the proposer in each situation made a good case for them.
On balance, I prefer public domain books--all things being equal. And price is a factor I must consider--particularly if an Overdrive or Library copy is not available to me. So I echo Bookpossum: "By all means have a category that requires people to buy the book in question unless they can borrow it, but understand that a number of people may not be able to participate"