Same rules apply: below the jump, there will be spoilers up to, but not beyond, the section entitled “Conspiracy.” For next week, let’s read up to the section called “Golgotha.”  Previous installments in this discussion appear here, here, and here. And away we go… I’ve said before that this is a novel about evolution. I think more... 

Welcome back! I hope that those of you who celebrated Christmas had a wonderful holiday, and those of you who didn’t, got a good rest, or had other good things happen, depending on your pleasure. Let’s read up to, but not past, the section entitled “Phreaking,” by Thursday. For the rest of the week, I’ll be posting once or twice a day.  Read More »

Part I of the book club appeared here. Usual rules apply. Spoilers up to, but not including or past, the section entitled “Lizard” below the jump. One of the things I like most about this novel is that I have absolutely no idea where the story is going. I’ve resisted an urge I sometimes give into to check things on Wikipedia, and am requiring myself to remember names, and plot... 

Welcome to the first installment of the Cryptonomicon book club! I’m thrilled to be discussing this novel with you. The usual rules apply: the post and discussion below the jump will contain spoilers up to, but not beyond, the section entitled “Nightmares.” Please don’t spoil beyond that for your fellow readers, or for that matter, me! There are a lot of things I like about... 

I was feeling rather cranky about Charles Dickens and his influence after finishing Drood, but finally getting around to G.K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday has kind of restored my faith in the age (and actually in retellings of Paradise Lost, too, seriously shaken after His Dark Materials). Thursday is one of those books that falls in a funny interstitial space: classic, but... 

I realized that the guidelines I was using to say where we should be up to in Cryptonomicon vary based on editions and formatting. Let’s read up to the section break titled Nightmare. I’ll discuss up to there, but not beyond, on Friday.  Read More »

I’m so sorry for the delay in kicking this off, everybody. I got a little too caught up in putting together bookshelves (and, uh, repairing drywall) to put it together to have the energy to read anything on them. I really appreciate your patience. Let’s shoot for being through party IV by Friday, and I’ll put up a post towards the end of the day to kick off discussion over the... 

Alright folks, Cryptonomicon it is. And as a side note, can I say how glad I am so many folks came out of the woodwork to vote on this one? It’s nice to meet you all! Programming notes: 1) Next week is Thanksgiving, and the week after that, I’m moving because I did a terrifying and grown-up thing and bought an apartment. So how ’bout we shoot for the first discussion starting... 

No new nominations, guys? In that case, let’s vote on the options we had last time, plus a couple of extra things I’m throwing in the mix. Voting closes at the end of next Tuesday. So, what shall we read? -The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco -The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell -From Hell, Alan Moore -The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami  -Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson  Read More »

Now that we’ve done one round of this, I’d love to hear from you guys a) what you’d like me to do differently (do you like the longer meditations? Do you just want an open thread with me jumping in in comments like Ta-Nehisi tends to do?) and b) nominations for what we should read next. As far as the second part of the equation goes, I’m really open to any kind of literature,...