Public reader discussion about Common Denominator by John D. MacDonald.
By window_verse
I really love stuff by Proust, George Eliot, Faulkner, Goncharov, Tolstoy, and a few others where the books just casually toss in big chunks of commentary on life, people, art, war, society, whatever—right in the middle of the story, not instead of it. I keep wondering why modern fiction seems to have moved away from that. Are there any current authors who still do it, or is it basically gone?
By listensAnchor3742
We’re basically a tiny office book club of 3 (2 guys, 1 woman), and honestly we don’t overlap on what we pick to read very often. We’ve mentioned doing a “real” book club a bunch, but every time we try to actually choose a title, it turns into chaos and nobody can agree. I feel like a mystery might be the safest bet for us, but I’m open to whatever. For reference, here’s what we’re usually into: Me: mostly sci-fi and contemporary lit, but I’ll also read fantasy, classics, romance, and non-fiction. Non-fiction is the one I get bored with a lot. Guy co-worker: almost all non-fiction—usually about people, cults, crime, or some kind of weird/bizarre events. He’s read a little fiction too, and he said he liked some sci-fi. Girl co-worker: mostly romance (the more smutty kind) and non-fiction biographies. She does dabble in literary fiction and romantasy, but she hasn’t really liked the literary fiction she’s tried so far. Also… mind blown by all the suggestions and variety. We ended up making a wheel of books to randomly pick, and we’re doing a Saturday “Big Boy Brunch Book Club” where we eat and chat about what we picked after we finish.