Literary The MR Literary Club • Welcome, Information & General Discussion

[sun surfer]

All right, in the absence of any other ideas, 'Viral' sounds like a go for April 2020!

[Bookworm_Girl]

Okay!

[Pulpmeister]

Remember "The Andromeda Strain"?

[AnotherCat]

Thanks, that turned out to be a reminder to put that on my to be read list .

[sun surfer]

April distance brings May existence, and we're on to choosing May's topic.

All ideas are appreciated; just post! We're very flexible with our monthly topic; it can be a topic, theme, category or whatever else. This can also be collaborative so any little kernel of an idea is great.

The floor is now open!

[sun surfer]

One idea I had in relation to the recent topic of Rome is the sister topic of 'It's All Greek to Me'. This one could be interpretive in that it could simply be a book considered difficult or with a plot about something that is complex or hard to understand, maybe even with some type of difficult puzzle, problem or code to unravel. Or, considering the language aspect of the phrase, it could just be a book originally written in another language. Of course, more specifically it could be a book about ancient Greece, or modern Greece, or with a Greek character or author, etc.

Another idea I had is May Flowers. Considering we just selected a book concerning a garden I'm not sure if more variety may be wanted instead for May. But this topic could do with any sort of flowers in the plot or title, or the month/word of May. Or more generally it could have something to do with botany, horticulture, or floriculture/anthology (the study of flowers). Or perhaps something to do with the season of spring (ahem, my apologies southern hemisphere!). As well, since the phrase April showers bring May flowers can also represent a darker or more gloomy time before a happier, sunnier time with rebirth and blooms, the topic could more interpretively be taken to be about hope springing up.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I think that puzzles and codes are interesting.

Something travel-themed or adventurous would also be fun since we are not traveling these days.

It is definitely not spring here anymore. Temperatures are record HOT. Summer has arrived even earlier than normal.

[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Something travel-themed or adventurous would also be fun since we are not traveling these days.

Great idea! I was trying to think of possible titles to go along with that. All I've got so far are:

-'X Marks the Spot' which could work really well since that could refer to both the x of a destination to travel to or a treasure or whatever to be found; however we recently had a topic called 'X' which, although very different topics, it might be odd to have two topics both starting with an X alone in such a short time. I'd be fine with that but I'd understand if others preferred a less similar title.

-'Leaving on a Jet Plane' for a more travel-focused topic with a song lyric title

ETA - Another idea is the ultra simplistic but apt 'Travel & Adventure' or the reverse 'Adventure & Travel'

ETA Again - Another is 'Do not follow where the path may lead', which is a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This one would lend more to 'off the beaten path' travel, adventure and discovery.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

Great idea! I was trying to think of possible titles to go along with that. All I've got so far are:

--'Leaving on a Jet Plane' for a more travel-focused topic with a song lyric title

ETA Again - Another is 'Do not follow where the path may lead', which is a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This one would lend more to 'off the beaten path' travel, adventure and discovery.

I like both of these ideas.

[sun surfer]

All right then, how about we go with the latter? They both sound equally good to me. The main reason I lean towards that one is that the other has a hint of melancholy to it, and while I do like melancholy and while we could just as easily end up with as many great melancholic and non-melancholic options with either topic, with the goal of 'something travel-themed or adventurous would also be fun' and with last month's pensive selection, the latter topic sounds like the greater directional zag.

On a quick researching of that quote, it appears I slightly misquoted and attributed it incorrectly (though it is apparently generally misattributed to Emerson so I'm not alone!). The poet Muriel Strode is who should be attributed and her words are, 'I will not follow where the path may lead'. If it's all right, I think it would be better to use the actual quote as the topic title since it's basically the same meaning as the other.

I know it's not a lot of time to offer any additional input, but I'll have the nominations thread up soonish so if anyone has any opinions or different ideas, throw them in! Otherwise this sounds like the plan.

[sun surfer]

And we're on to choosing June's topic!

All ideas are appreciated; just post! We're very flexible with our monthly topic; it can be a topic, theme, category or whatever else. This can also be collaborative so any little kernel of an idea is great.

The floor is now open!

[sun surfer]

No other ideas for June yet? Hm, we have a day to go. Let's see, we could still go with 'It's All Greek to Me'.

Another idea I've thought of is 'Southern Hemisphere'. This would be books both by authors from the southern hemisphere and set in the southern hemisphere. That's a huge swath so there's more than plenty to choose from, but it still gives us a unique focus.

If anyone prefers either of those ideas or another previous one, or has a new one, please let us know! If I think of any other ideas in the next hours I'll post them as well.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Southern Hemisphere sounds interesting.

[sun surfer]

I scoured the wee grey matter and here's a few other ideas I’ve come up with:

-Distancing. Another tongue in cheek title referencing the current world, but this could refer to something about people or a person being apart from each other or another for whatever reason, or maybe people slowly drifting apart, or whatever take on the word you may come up with.

-Zoot Suit Riot. A zoot suit is a style from the 1940s featuring a baggy suit with a lot of extra fabric. It was especially popular with the young urban stylish set and minorities. The Zoot Suit Riot was a 1943 riot in Los Angeles (and subsequently some other US cities as well) where servicemen stationed in the city targeted youths wearing the outfit as being unpatriotic during wartime because of the extra fabric used despite rationing. There is also an upbeat swing song from the 1990s called Zoot Suit Riot. This topic wouldn’t be specific to zoot suits or the riot but rather the period or themes it conjures up. Maybe something set in the stylish club or nighttime scene during WWII, or maybe something to do with riots during any period, or however else you may interpret it.

-Everything Old Is New Again. I like the title, but I’m not really sure exactly where this one would go, so it’s very open to interpretation. Maybe an old book that somehow seems very relevant, current or predictive of the future. Or perhaps a new book that somehow references another older book or something else old. Or it could be plot-specific, having something old be somehow new again. Or books with ‘old’ or ‘new’ in the title. There’s a lot to play with here.

-Great Expectations. Excluding the actual book with that title, this could be books about a person or characters formerly or currently destined for greatness, or expected to achieve greatness, whether they actually do or not.

[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Southern Hemisphere sounds interesting.

LOL, we cross posted. Glad you like that one. I'm just as good with Southern Hemisphere as any of the others just posted, but now that they're out there too would you still prefer that one or another?