Char, NC The Charlotte FanForce Book Club Planning Thread

Ok, I think here would be a good place for all plans and discussions regarding the book club. The first bit of information I need is... What book store would be a good central location for us to meet at. I'm not really sure if this really got resolved at the meeting on Saturday. The way I am understanding Jada want's to work this is that we select a book, read it and then get together to have a discussion about the book at the end of the month. This thread is going to be for the planning of what book is going to be read, where and when we will meet to discuss the book and for discussion of the book after we meet. No spoilers are to be posted here! Jada is going to post the spoiler rules so everyone understands what is expected of them. From what I understand, we are going to be starting out with Labrynth Of Evil, then go on to Revenge Of The Sith and then go on to Dark Lord. That should keep us busy to almost the end of the year. So, let's get some input on what would be a convenient book store to meet at.

 

Okie dokie. My hubbie is making me work here.

First and foremost ---

. NO SPOILERS IN THIS THREAD AT ALL

What is a Spoiler? Giving away the book. Or, as Wikipedia says:

A spoiler is a summary or description of a narrative (or part of a narrative) that relates plot elements not revealed early in the narrative itself. Moreover, because enjoyment of a narrative sometimes depends upon the dramatic tension and suspense which undergird it, this early revelation of plot elements can "spoil" the enjoyment that some consumers of the narrative would otherwise have experienced.

[OK, if we are reading Empire Strikes Back yes we all know Darth Vader is Luke's dad! ]


Second

All of our online discussions of the book must comply with the Terms of Service and Rules of Conduct. Also, there are specific guidelines when discussing Literature and Authors. From the Welcome to the Literature Review Forum thread:

... no author- or mindless book-bashing of any kind will be tolerated. Saying "this book sucks" is not sufficient and will result in a warning, but saying "this book sucks, here's why I think so..." will be fine. Conversely, no bashing of a reviewer for their review will be tolerated either

You can find other information in that link. But I want to stress that TheForce.Net values its relationship with authors of the SW Universe and that many of them are registered here and they do post here from time to time. While all of us know that not every book is perfect there are ways to express a negative opinion without going into bashing.

Third

My aim is to make up a list of book stores, coffee places that might be open to having us and perhaps libraries to meet at for the Book Club. I'm going to try to have that done by tomorrow night. TRY. There is no do or do not.

Fourth

"We're about to have company"

cathiecat would like to have the Tucson Fan Force team up with us to do the book club. So what we will be doing is planning to read the same books and then after the club meets in person we can also discuss them online. Each month one of the groups will host the thread for the book club discussion. Bear with us, Cat and I are still talking this out.

Again, I want to aim to get this up and running for October.

We'll be doing the book right before ROTS [LoE], then the ROTS book and then Dark Lord.

Questions? Ask!

As it is late Jada takes no responsibility for typos.

 

I?ve already spoken to Park Road Books and they don?t host book clubs. I also am shocked to find out that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Libraries charge to use their meeting rooms.

I?ve made a map.

[image=http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n290/CharlotteFanForce/Misc%20Images/MapofCharlotte.jpg]

Please note it is probably not the world?s most accurate map! But it gives you an idea of where these book stores and libraries are located. On the right hand side is a key to the color of the stars and which stores they represent.

I?m also including the addresses and hours of operation when available:

Waldenbooks
11025 Carolina Place Parkway
Pineville, NC 28134
704.544.2810
Carolina Place Parkway,Ste B29
Mon-Sat 10:00am-9:00pm
Sun 12:30pm-6:00pm

Borders
7836 Rea Road
Charlotte, NC 28277
704.752.3782

Waldenbooks
1480 U.S. Highway 29 N
Concord, NC 28025
704.786.1812
Carolina Mall Space #135
Mon-Sat 10:00am-9:00pm
Sun 12:30pm-6:00pm

Borders
3900 Colony Road
Charlotte, NC 28211
704.365.6261

Books-A-Million #286
8301 Concord Mills Blvd.
Concord, NC 28027
704-979-8300

Books-A-Million #237
330 South Sharon Amity Rd
Charlotte, NC 28211
704-364-4035

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Pineville
10701 Centrum Park
Pineville, NC 28134
704-541-1425
Sun 9-9,
Mon-Sat 9-10

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Sharon NC
4720 Sharon Road
Charlotte, NC 28210
704-554-7906
Sun 9-8,
Mon-Sat 9-10

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Birkdale
Birkdale Village
8725 Townley Road
Huntersville, NC 28078
704-895-8855
Sun 9-9,
Mon-Sat 9-11

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
The Aboretum
3327 Pineville-Matthews Road
Charlotte, NC 28226
704-341-9365
Sun 9-9,
Mon-Sat 9-11

Before I start a massive telephone investigation I?d like to hear feedback from folks as to what their Top 3 meeting locations would be. Then I?ll make calls.

 

I really think that sucks that you can't use the libraries without paying a fee.. here in tucson there is no fee for using community rooms at public libraries.. then we do recently have a pay to park issue at our main library, thankfully on sundays they don't charge either way..

I hope one of the bookstores works out for you, ya'll are always welcome to fly to Tucson each month.. LOL sorry.. couldn't resist.. we welcome all of you anytime.

 

I just realized I have misplaced my copy of Labyrinth of Evil.. and I will have to find a copy to read again, as I have not read it in over a year.. can't discuss what I can't remember.. LOL

 

My top 2 votes:

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Birkdale
Birkdale Village
8725 Townley Road
Huntersville, NC 28078


Books-A-Million #286
8301 Concord Mills Blvd.
Concord, NC 28027

Sorry but not sure about a third choice...

 

I really don't care where the meetings are held as long as they're in Charlotte. Pineville, Matthews, Lincolton, Concord, Monroe, etc.. too far of a drive for me especially if it'll be in evening. You don't want to see me after I've been in rush hour.

 

My aim is to vary the locations so that some months it is closer to some people, etc.

My aim is also to have this running for November. So everyone read Labyrinth of Evil.

 

I want to apologize that it has taken me so long to get this together. Many excuses but still I should have communicated more.

I am in contact with the library to set this up. I called a few of the bookstores and they weren't interested. I'm still making a few more calls.

However, I'm going to go ahead and set a date and time for the first bookclub meeting. If need be, we'll meet at a Starbuck's or something.

I'll also update this when I have more info.

Again, many apologies.

 

I wanted to once again update you as to what is going on as far as getting a location. I'm working with the Charlotte Library and trying to get a room at the Beatties Ford Road library for the 3rd Saturday of the month on a regular basis.

I've run into 1 snag . . . I need a Charlotte address. So I'm still working on this.

In the meantime we will find other places to meet.

 

These are the dates for 2007 for the Book Club meetings. All are Saturdays:

January 20th
February 17th
March 17th
April 21st
May 19th
June 16th
July 21st
August 18th
September 15th
October 20th
November 17th

 

Hooray! Starting in February we will be meeting at the Beatties Ford Library Branch!!!!

 

If anyone is interested, TK-2970 and I are members of the Science Fiction Book Club. We've gotten quite a few books that we've used for book club from them at reasonable prices especially when paperback isn't available.

Usually I don't buy into these book club things because you end up losing money on them but this one seems to work very well for us. And no, we don't get a kickback from it.