bibliophiles

Hello! I've noticed that several people have decided to follow this community, including people whom I don't know. Now that I've got a little bit of free time, I thought it would be a good time to get things started around here.

First, I want to speak a little bit to why I created this community (partly excerpted from my personal journal). My biggest desire is to have a place for people who like to read beyond the classics, best sellers, and the front tables at Barnes & Noble. I want to talk books with people who get excited about elements of literature other than story. And with people who can think critically about works, even those that they enjoy. My favorite books make me think and ponder. They make consider questions of structure and narrative discourse, intertextuality and metafiction. They make me examine myself and my relationship to the world around me. They awaken my mind and force me to grapple with ideas that I don't always understand. They show me the beauty of language and ideas and form. Hopefully, this community will be a place where people who share a similar approach and philosophy (even if the specifics of aesthetic taste and preference differ) can get together to talk about such things.

Applications: Why an application process? Having an application process is a way to keep the community focused. Moreso, I've always enjoyed the rich discussion that can take place on an application--and how it gives the applicant a chance to interact and get to know the existing membership better. There are a number of open-membership book discussion communities on Dreamwidth that are awesome. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of applications and the baggage they carry, then this probably is not a good community to join. Anyone may subscribe to the community and read the discussions, but only people who successfully apply will be permitted to post and comment.

APPLY NOW!
Between now and June 7th, anyone who posts an application will be able to vote on any other application put up during that time. This will be a time to establish a core membership group and begin to set the tone for the type of community we want. Also, it means that even the first applicants will get the chance to respond to challenges and talk about their favorite books.

To apply, join the community and submit your list of Top 20 books. Be prepared to talk about your choices, possibly to defend them, and to respond to challenges. Include the full title of each work and the author's name as it is credited--be mindful to use correct spelling and formatting.

What I knew when creating bibliophiles is that I wanted a community where I can talk with others about my passion for books. However, the format of the community still needs to be determined. So, for those of you who have joined already, I pose the following question:

What sort of community would you like this to be?

Do you want to have an application process?
Do you want regularly occurring discussions or no?
Do you want to help me out somehow?

Tell me about your hopes for this community.

Thanks.