Zoners! Your response was positive, so we are going to start the first ever Stephen T. Colbert Book Club For The Literary Excellence.
Here’s how it will work: Below, we have selected three books by guests of the show so that you can vote for the book you want to read. We have included links to Amazon.com in case you are not familiar with a title and would like to read some reviews, the guest’s interview, and also a little bit about why the book would be good for discussion. Voting will run until Friday, March 13 at noon, when we will make an official announcement for the selection. This way you will have time to get hold of the chosen title and read it before our first meeting. This will take place during the next week of reruns, March 23-March 26, with more details to follow. So here are the choices (click on the author name to watch their segment on the ‘Colbert Report’):
Selection 1
Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Paperback – $10.85/Amazon)
Dr. Tyson is not only a brilliant thinker, Rubik’s Cube tinkerer and television personality extraordinaire, he’s also pretty darned good at translating his humor and enthusiasm to the page. Don’t be daunted by the length and intellectual breadth of the book; each chapter began life as an essay in “Natural History” magazine and presents a breezy, easily manageable, bite-sized scientific topic. Dr. Tyson may discuss things like Planck’s constant and Lagrangian points, but he also gives simple examples of what he’s talking about and shares hilarious anecdotes (the one about his lecturing James Cameron for failing to get the night sky right in Titanic *kills* me). Even if you don’t read this for the book club, it deserves a place on your “to read” list.
Selection 2
Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy by Lawrence Lessig (Hardcover – $16.35/Amazon)
Stephen does not, not want you to take his words and remix them into a pumping groove. Lawrence Lessig’s interview about his book, Remix began a saga on The Report that resulted in the infamous Stephen Colbert fan video complete with glowing tongues and walrus impressions.
How could we forget?
Lawrence Lessig’s book about the copyright issues in today’s high-tech world is an interesting look at something that can affect any of us with an original idea. He puts his book into perspective by pinning the old culture against the new, the readers versus the web-users so that people can see the change that is needed in copyright laws. What makes this particularly interesting for this unique book club is how affected our every day actions are reflected in this new “Remix” culture that is discussed by Lessig. Reading this selection and reflecting on our own values and fandom could be a very interesting exercise in self-exploration.
Selection 3
The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson (Hardback – $17.13/Amazon)
If you are not a chemist, you may never have heard of the name Joseph Priestly, but we certainly all know about his discoveries. Oxygen ring a bell? In his book, The Invention of Air, Steven Johnson tells the story of Priestly, a supporter of the French Revolution who fled to America, and became a great influence in the birth of the American Nation.
This book is quickly becoming a well-reviewed best-seller, and Johnson’s interview on The ‘Report’ is a good example of why this is so. He was thoughtful, composed, and even got the last word.
YAYAYAYAYAY!!!! this is going to be so much *fun*.
(maybe I’m a bit over exuberant. but really. *booksquee*)
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*tackles the word “booksquee”*
*hugs it*
*steals it and runs off*
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Oooh!! I will read Remix, but I want the copy with Stephen’s snoopy drawing! Actually, all are fine by me!
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So tough to choose. I voted for “The Invention of Air”, but I almost chose Neil’s book. I do love him. Anyway, I’ll read whatever wins. No doubt they’re all of the literary excellence!
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I chose Tyson’s book because I just read his Pluto Files, which was such a great read — but really I’d be happy with any of these three. Looking forward to the book club!
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I also chose the Invention of Air after debating between it and Tyson the Rubik Master (I have a Scientist!Crush on him), but am excited to read any of these.
I’m surprised the New York Public Library system doesn’t have The Invention of Air yet. Neil’s there though!
And @Ms. Interpreted: I’m picking up _The Magician’s Book_ by Laura Miller at the library today (finally!). Can’t wait to read it. I’m embarrassed to admit that I never gave Tolkien a chance when I was younger (first tried it when I was too young and never gave it a second chance), and have never read any of the LOTR. This fact really cramps my Colbert fan-hood, and I’ve been meaning to remedy it (especially after being told by friends I would probably really like The Hobbit). I might make LOTR my personal Colbert Summer Reading Club.
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Very cool — I really enjoyed that book.
Regarding your comment about coming to Tolkien “too young” and giving up on him, Miller discusses the difference between Tolkien’s writing and Lewis’s at some length, and one of the major distinctions that I saw between the two was in their respective levels of formality. This was true both in how they mixed and re-imagined source materials (Tolkien drawing exclusively from what were primarily Norse legends, with Lewis throwing all sorts of classical mythical elements and regional folklore into the stew) and in the tone of their narratives. I think it’s that formality (rigidity?) in Tolkien’s writing that might make his books less inviting to younger readers; Lewis’s books were much more playful. That said, the complexity and sheer scope of Tolkien’s worlds are rewarding in another sense.
I hope you like the book; I thought it was really interesting both as literary criticism and as a memoir.
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Great idea! I voted for the Tyson book and am going to read it no matter what the selection. I belonged to a book club once, and I could not get them to read anything other than 20th century fiction. This should be more fun.
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I am also noticing that Tyson’s books seems to be available in audiobook form as well.
I am checking all my libraries for all three of these. I’m ready. I’m even pushing to finish my current reading project before the end of this week!
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I voted for Tyson’s book. I’ve yet to read any of his books, although I would like to and the topics definitely interest me. But the other two books also sound interesting.
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My vote is for Remix — how much better related to the content of the show is that book, considering the saga that resulted demonstrated the thesis of the book itself?
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I can’t decide between Remix or Death By Black Hole. Think, think, think…
I really want to do this. I used to read books all the time and I’d love to get back into it.
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Voted for Invention of Air, but I’m excited about all of the selections. Can’t wait to head out and buy whatever book wins!
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*sigh* I never thought I’d say this, but I have Book Club Envy. Like Daydream says, all the book clubs I ever encountered chose Oprah’s books, which I’m sure are all fine, but generally not to my taste.
If only TCR were going on break one week later, I could do the book club this time! But I have a super huge national conference presentation to give on April 2, and I’m going to need all the free time I can muster to prep for that. Great initial choices, I’d love to read any of them.
Next time, for sure!
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I’m a Neil DeGrasse Tyson fangirl. =D
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I am pleased to note that all three of these books are available for my Sony eBook Reader (yes, I have the Sony eBook in the time of the Kindle — like having a Walkman when everyone else has an iPod).
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Don’t feel bad: I have an eBookwise Reader. You wanna talk ancient? :)
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I read Death By Black Hole over the summer on a road trip from Florida to New Orleans to Killeen, Texas. That book was a lifesaver after entering Texas, lemme say. Once you’ve stopped over to NOLA, everything else after that is pretty bland. Neil rescued my brain from boredom!
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I voted for Tyson’s, but the others are interesting. Glad to hear there is an audio, as I like to feel productive listening to books while I do housework. Looking forward to learning more.
So will this do as much for the book industry as Oprah’s club, and come with it’s own seal of approval? (-:
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