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Online summer book clubs - David Foster Wallace, Aravind Adiga, and more
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New York, and much of New England, has been deluged by daily rain for what seems like the entirety of summer so far. Staten Island Yankees games, row boats in Central Park, and the brand new High Line walkway are all summer pleasures we're still waiting to enjoy. In the meantime, a few online summer book clubs of note have popped up, and they could be just the thing to combat this dreary weather.
Infinite Summer - Dreamed up by writer/blogger Matthew Baldwin in the wake of David Foster Wallace's tragic suicide, Infinite Summer is an online reading group centered around Wallace's masterpiece, Infinite Jest. From June 21 to September 22 (they have a schedule) participants will battle through the thousand-pager (plus footnotes) and discuss the book on every social networking site known to man. If all goes as planned, Baldwin may make this an annual tradition, shepherding the digital masses through a variety of hefty, worthwhile books. The website has all the information you could want, but for just a little more, Jacob Silverman interviewed Baldwin about the project over at Jacket Copy.
Book Beast - Over at Tina Brown's digital baby, The Daily Beast, the book page has launched its own book club, beginning with Aravind Adiga's follow up to The White Tiger, Between the Assassinations, described on the site as follows: "A series of interconnected stories set in the fictional city of Kittur, the collection shows a wide swath of Indian society operating with ruthless competitiveness at times, and disarming compassion at others." Aside from the comments sections to the various articles, it's unclear what kind of forum will be available for reader conversation. But what the Beast Book Club lacks in discussion it makes up for in access to the author. He's written an original essay for the site, and will answer the 40 best reader questions in two weeks time.
Reading Room - Over at New York Magazine, the recently launched Reading Room has wrapped up discussion on its second book, And Then There's This, Bill Wasik's reflection on viral culture. Their format, compelling if somewhat more irreverent than the others, involves a handful of experts (in this case Anil Dash, Virginia Heffernan, David Rees, Charlie Todd, and New York Magazine book critic Sam Anderson) discussing the book and its central arguments. Readers are encouraged to comment, but the big upside to this medium is not participating in the discussion so much as hearing the variety of different angles the experts offer.
Oprah recommendations - She doesn't have a book club going this summer, but she does have a list of 25 recommended summer books, and the following titles come with online reading group guides for those of you lucky enough to have a flesh and blood reading group of your own! Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, A Pearl in the Storm by Tori Murden Mcclure, Columbine by David Cullen, The Glister by John Burnside, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, The Peep Diaries by Hal Niedzviecki, and Lime Tree Can't Bear Orange by Amanda Smyth.
Check out part 1 of my summer paperbacks round-up.
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