The Aspiring Polymath's Society discussion

Happy 2013, Polymaths!

I hope you all had relaxing holidays full of family and fun and (of course) learning! With a new year comes a few changes to our group.

First, some of you may have noticed that I've not been around much and have even been (gulp) failing to set monthly reads. This is entirely my fault, and I'd like to rectify it. I've been remarkably busy in my new grad program and I've let the group slip, alongside my fervour for leisure reading. Most of the nonfiction I've read this semester has been related to my research, which would be of no interest to most group members. The first order of business then: I'm looking for a moderator to help choose monthly reads and lead discussions. I've messaged a few active members but have yet to hear back. If you think the job would be good for you, send me a note and tell me why!

Second, I've set the monster Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid as a full year read for 2013, on account of our collective failure to give it much discussion-- I'm personally guilty of not opening it at all until the end of the year. If you head over to the group's discussion of the book, you'll find a handy chart for the monthly target readings fo 2013. I'm hoping at the end of each month we can have a focused discussion on the month's chapter(s), and that this process will allow those interested to get through it with greater ease and enjoyment :)

Finally, I haven't set a book for January, but February's read will be the latest collection of essays by David Foster Wallace, the posthumously published Both Flesh and Not: Essays. I hope that by the time March's monthly read is set, I will have a broad-reading moderator to help me out.

If you guys have any suggestions on how the group can be better run, or again if you'd like to help run it, please don't hesitate to contact me. Otherwise, Happy 2013, and Happy Reading!!

By the powers vested in me, I hereby absolve everyone, myself included, of book-related guilt, because guilt makes reading less enjoyable. Here's to a productive and thought-provoking 2013. Auld lang syne.

Thanks Ian.
I get book-related guilt a lot. So many interesting books and subjects, so little time.

Some of the librarians have asked me "do you really read all those books?" I always tell them "yes, though it may take me a time or two," and that's true.

Rereading and noting my thoughts about GEB while waiting on lunch to cook.

I've not been relly involved in this group, because not much had been happening--but please shout if you need any help, because I love the books you have shelved!