Ground Rules (and First Book)

Greetings again!

Several decisions have been made since my last post, not the least of which is the first book we'll read. It's the "April book" I suppose, assuming that there will only be one book per month.  Before I reveal it (no drum rolls, please) there are a few suggestions (I don't like to think of them as rules) I would like to make.

First, it would seem to be a good idea for everyone to start the book at the same time.  The book is being announced a couple of weeks ahead of time to give people a plenty of time to get their hands on a copy.  See if you can wait until April 1st to actually start it, though, or you'll probably finish it long before I do!  I'm a relatively slow reader.  No, I'm a SLOW reader.  Not only do I sometimes go for days without picking up my current read, my pages-per-hour rate is pretty slow.  But my comprehension is high!  (Reminds me of the Blind Date Caveat: [s]he's really, really NICE - meaning [s]he's not much to look at...)

Second, the first book is not necessarily indicative of future books.  It was chosen as the first because it's my favorite author and my favorite genre, and seemed a fitting choice for the inaugural book for a book club instigated by me.  The long-term intent is to cover a wide range of books, including a non-fiction book from time to time; once a year maybe? 

Third, future books will be picked by me for now (this is certainly subject to change), but I would like to pick them from a list compiled from suggestions made by others. 

Fourth; a matter of timing.  By the end of the first week of the month, feel free to write in about the first quarter of the book.  By the 15th of the month, the first half of the book.  No spoilers, please!  This is one of the things that make an online book club very different from one that meets in someone's living room once a month.

Fifth, the intention is to pick - at least, most of the time - relatively short books, maybe 200-400 pages.  This eliminates lots of really good books, I know.  But I don't want to get bogged down in a book that might take ME more than a month to read.  War and Peace took me 8 months!  If you live a busy life (and who doesn't?) you will probably appreciate this.

Sixth; except for the classics, we'll try to avoid books that are "too old" or "too new."  Ideally they will be books that can be easily located at used book stores and libraries.  (The first one is somewhat of an exception, being rather new.)

Genres?  In order - loosely - of importance to me: Suspense, Classics, Mystery, Supernatural/Horror, Contemporary, Science Fiction, Youth, Philosophy, Biography, Self-help, Historic, Travel.

So.  The first selection is a suspense novel.  And my favorite author (though there are many close second favorites), Dean Koontz, is the author.  I have read 59 of his novels; yes, I've counted and can even tell you what order I read them in.  The book selection is a pretty new one of his, 77 Shadow Street.  If you have read Koontz before, you probably know you're in for a treat.  If you haven't, you might be surprised how much fun he can be, especially in the dialogue.  Is it Horror, the genre you find him in at the bookstore?  I don't really think so, and neither does he.  He says he writes Suspense, with a little "horror" mixed in sometimes for spice.  It's not highbrow reading, but you might be surprised at how intelligent the writing is.

As stated in the original posting here, please don't be shy about recommending books that may be of more interest to you.  Also, suggestions as to how to run the club are very welcome.

That's all for now!