We're getting closer!

In three days (well, would it be considered two days since I only have to live through a Wednesday and a Thursday - sleep only twice - before Friday?), I will TAKE THE GRE.

Needless to say, this monster of a test has bogged me down for the better part of, oh, five months. BUT, once I take it, I'll be finished studying, at least for now and hopefully for forever.

Therefore, October 1st will commence the reading of the bagillion books of the "Before We Die" list. It seems we have decided to begin at the beginning, sans those books some have already read. That leaves us with "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea."

From what Lorrie remembers of an attempt to read the book in the past, it is "dry."

I don't know about you, but I came into this knowing we'd run into some "dry" ones.

So I guess we may as well start with one of 'em and get it out of the way.

Sam ordered a copy of the book online from Amazon. I made fun of that copy, because it looks like a giant children's book - as thick as a chapter book but hard-backed and over-sized like those you find in a preschool section. I then proceeded to check out an identical copy of the book at the library the following day.

Thus, if you haven't gotten a copy yet, you might find it equally entertaining to choose as silly a version as we did (it comes with pictures and diagrams!)

Anyway, we'll officially begin the book this Saturday, October 1st, 2011. On Friday, look for a beginner post about the book, for from that first post our discussion thereafter about "20,000" will grow. Discussion can include any questions, frustrations, comments you wish to share with the others. In fact, the discussion is hugely important, because without it, we are no book club - we're just some people who happen to be reading the same random, weird, possibly over-sized book at the same time.

If anyone has any suggestions, questions, etc leading up to Saturday, post it here! Otherwise...let's set sail! [Get it? 'Cause the book's about the sea??]

When to start??

Okay, scouts, so far there are four of us. If you know of anyone else who would like to join this "book club," send them here to comment on the list so I can mark which ones they've read. We need to get everyone in on it soon so we can begin chipping away at this thing. My thought is to allow the remainder of this month (September) to finish up books/projects (like studying for the G.R.E. in my case) that we're currently working on, as well as allow time for anyone else to join, and begin the list Oct. 1. What are your thoughts on this?

After deciding when to start, we need to also decide what to read. As you can see, we have all already chipped away at the list on our own over the years before we even knew it was a list. Some have read books while others have not. That will make it difficult to read together. Anyone have ideas on how we could do it? We also need to decide in what time frame we should read each book. You ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Finally, I think the best way for us the "read together" is for each of us to comment on this blog periodically to share our thoughts, insights, etc. I will create an initial post describing the book we are currently reading, and from there, we can begin a discussion chain of comments on the book.

Please share your ideas via comments on this post. Thanks, friends! Can't wait to get started!

Before I begin the monster list...

I am attempting to chip away at the books I've made promises to and neglected for too long. One includes "Committed," Elizabeth Gilbert's answer to the questions raised in her first "megajumbo" (as she calls it) hit Eat, Pray, Love. I can't speak highly enough of Gilbert. Sure, many were turned off by the raw emotions and impulsive decisions described in the first book, but the key to her success is that Gilbert lives with a priceless humility. "Committed" proves she has grown to understand herself and learn from her past mistakes. I strongly recommend that anyone considering the epic commitment that is marriage first take time to read this book and consider the many aspects of history, research and insight Gilbert provides during her own quest to make peace with the institution. I know that I, being someone who entered marriage very much the way she did (young, naive, ill-equipped), have taken so very many useful gems away from her work and will be ever grateful to her for saving me from making any future costly mistakes.