readers advisory for all discussion

I don't know if this is the right spot to put this idea, but the moderators can move this to someplace else if they want.

When I was reading through the appeal categories that Karen posted here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5..., I thought it could be fun to do a mix and match from the four different categories and see what kind of books people could think of that would fit the criterion, not necessarily books that people enjoyed but just ones that fit into the criteria. Does that make sense?

For example one could pick say: Issue Oriented, Fast-Paced, Homespun and Candid..... now what books can people think of that would match this criteria?

This might be more something that booksellers and librarians might be more interested in but general booknerds could find this possibly fun? Maybe?

that sounds fun!! can we make some kind of random-generating machine??

I don't know how one would do that, that might be something someone even nerdier than us would know.

But you know I mean nerdier in the best possible way!!

i wanna play - should we ask each other??

did I say nerdier? I meant cooler!

you are probably right about that.

Ok, how about we start with just the four of us. I'll pick the storyline, Karen how about you pick pace, Tommy pick tone and Elizabeth you do writing style.

okay, but just so's you know - nick may be working something out with machines! for fun!

but we can do both and compare!

that's ok, we can have multiple rounds of fun, fun, fun!!

i choose: fast-paced (relentless)

I choose character driven (character-centered)

I know how to make a random number generator on my calculator. or greg could draw things out of a hat.

Elizabeth wrote: "Witty!

So, a fast-paced, character driven, dark, and witty book?"

Thomas The Imposter

... maybe.

our beloved HELP! A Bear is Eating Me! also qualifies

I feel like Asylum too but I can't decide if it is witty.

only if you are a sociopath.

my fist couple of thoughts were The Catcher in the Rye and Flowers for Algernon because it is not the norm for something to be both character-driven and fast-paced; usually the character's meditations will slow a book down, unless it is in he head of a singular kind of character. but neither of those are really dark. dark things occur, but i don't think the overall tone is dark.

Less Than Zero or am I still a sociopath?

I am really just not good with what counts as witty I think

no, that one is definitely witty. i don't remember if that one is character-driven or not... because none of them have any character...but i am probably wrong - i read it ages ago.

karen wrote: "no, that one is definitely witty. i don't remember if that one is character-driven or not... because none of them have any character...but i am probably wrong - i read it ages ago."

I would say yes, but it might be because I am annoyed with the character. I think that and Imperial Bedrooms are both character driven. Less than zero is driven by the main characters guilt, whereas imperial bedrooms is driven by his acceptance of himself as a terrible human being. I think they both read as character studies of the seedy underbelly, but then I'm also probably looking for that.

I would say Story of the Eye fits too, but I read that a long time ago so it might not be as dark as I remember.

The Devil Tree too.

although it makes me wonder how much of RA is subjective.

it's not an exact science, but most of it isn't subjective. you don't need to personally find something funny in order for it to be "witty." even if your response to it is different from other people's responses, you can understand the tone in which it was written. i don't find books written in a slapsticky manner funny, but i recognize their intent.

karen wrote: "it's not an exact science, but most of it isn't subjective. you don't need to personally find something funny in order for it to be "witty." even if your response to it is different from other peop..."

and you are such a good RAer. I guess you just have to figure out if the person who wants the book finds slapstick funny

I'm thinking that authors like Liz Jensen might generally fit this category. Slights I think would also fit. It is dark, the book moves along by action but it's all done through the focus on the narrators introspection about herself and her family so it's as much about those characters as it is the killing and bad things that happen. The novel is also on the witty side in the way that the narrator presents herself and the situations she finds herself in. Similarly I might also say that Dark Places may also fit for just about all the same reasons I said for Slights

Can I play too? I was thinking The White Tiger would be a good fit. It's fast-paced with a witty narrator and a dark, dark plot.

Cruddy might work too, although the wit is maybe more subtle.

i love this game!

me too

Good Omens although that might be stretching the criteria.

i don't remember if it was character-driven, but the other ones fit. woo-hoo! are we going to do another round?

The Talented Mr. Ripley?

I think you should do another round because I missed the first one.

yes! four different people should pick the categories!

In addition to being a fun game, this may be thought-provoking... For instance, I would have said that "fast-paced, character-driven, dark, and witty" sounds like a category I would really like, but I haven't (voluntarily, for school doesn't count) read anything suggested unless you include Good Omens.

I saw the equivalent of this, but for music. It was a cool website. Here, I found it again: http://musicovery.com/index.php?ct=us

I am no good at this kind of game. Oh, The Egg Said Nothing, though. And maybe Our Mutual Friend on the classics side of things.

Ok. Atmospheric.

world-building.

Ooh, I love nerdly but cool games. Can I pick an appeal? How about writing style: gritty.

player four??

What's left? Pace? Alright, I pick relaxed pace (unhurried) but not glacial.

I'm really interested to see what people come up with!

quick! before we are raptured!!

gritty
unhurried
world building
atmospheric

this one is hard

i can loosely interpret "world-building" to mean "a place in which i do not live and have no firsthand knowledge of??"

karen wrote: "gritty
unhurried
world building
atmospheric"

Would The Road work for this? Maybe Blindness?

ohhhhh blindness!! good one!

i was thinking mccarthy, but his prose is so brief, usually, it seems hurried, even though it's all lit'ry and stuff...

if only jim thompson built world!!

see, i was thinking winter's bone, because he does a great job of describing that particular community, which is such an exclusive community it feels like a built world...

thoughts?

karen wrote: "i was thinking mccarthy, but his prose is so brief, usually, it seems hurried, even though it's all lit'ry and stuff..."

Yeah, I know what you mean. The Road reads really fast, but it doesn't feel hurried to me because it's not like a lot is happening.

see, i was thinking winter's bone,/i> because he does a great job of describing that particular community, which is such an exclusive community it feels like a built world...

I actually thought of this one, too, but wasn't sure if it would work, not just because it's a real place but because of the definition attached to atmospheric. It says, "These titles feature distinct settings, and immerse the reader in the book's environment. These titles tend to have a more generic setting than books with a strong sense of place." It' definitely has the first qualities, but also has a strong sense of place, which strikes me as kind of weird, actually.