next book club reading

The next book for the PS book club will be "Fingers" by William Sleater. Nathan has provided a synopsis which is this:

Eighteen-year-old Sam has always been jealous of his younger brother, Humphrey, the famous “wonder child” pianist. But now that Humphrey is fifteen, the one-time child prodigy isn’t able to get any more bookings. Sam’s mother refuses to accept that Humphrey’s career is over and devises a scheme to recapture his fame: Sam will compose “new works” by a long dead gypsy composer, and they will tell the world that the composer is dictating the music to Humphrey from the grave. The scheme is a wild success—until some ghostly occurrences convince Sam that the spirit of the dead composer has actually taken over Humphrey’s fingers. Have Sam and his family unleashed a force from beyond the grave?


The three of us, Andreas, Nathan and I read our first book club book together and it was very nice, because we often times went off on little side subjects and learned a bit more about each other. So it would be great if some more members would come along on this next book. We won't start until everyone has chimed in that wants to participate and has gotten a hold of the book.

 

Hi Monica,
I have looked for this book and I´m interested to go into the "next round" to read this book with you, Nathan and may be some other members.
The only problem is, that this book is not available as an e-book respective I didn´t find it in my search on the internet.
To buy it in the book-shop in Germany means to wait 2-4 weeks. It´s the same matter as with "The Pianoshop on the Left Bank". This novel I received nearly three weeks after I have ordered it in the book-shop. Fortunately I had also the e-book from beginning on. "Fingers" also isn´t available in Europe, but has to be shipped oversea.
I can order it by amazon with a high price for "priority shipping" it would cost me 35 Euro (I don´t know what this is in dollars), but it´s quite expensive for such a little book. The book costs only nearly 6 Euro, the rest is the fee of shipping.
I´m ready to invest that money, if you want to start straight away. Or I could order it for nearly 15 Euro by amazon and I would have to wait 8-16 days for the shipping. I think, this would be o.k. for me.
So, what do you think?

 

O.k., I have ordered it here in Germany in my book-shop, because on amazon I would have to wait until fifth of june for the 15 Euro and here I just pay 5 Euro and have nearly to wait the same time!
I´m looking forward to read again with you both. I really like it!
So, we will start in the second or third week of june, I suppose, and then I think, I will need a month or so to read it like with the other book we have read. So, I can read it partly during my summer holdidays, when I will go to Holland (and visit Chris). That´s very good, because during my vacations I´ll have more time to read.

 

Ok, it's a date - we read in June. Looking forward to it.

 

I´m also looking forward to it. It only may happen, that we have to interupt, when I´m on holidays, because there I`ll have no internet. But that doesn´t matter IMO.

 

Today I got the message from my book-shop, that they will inform me as soon as they will have received the book. It´s the same procedure as with our last novel. I think, I will get it in three or four weeks.

 

That's ok, Andreas. I have another book I can read in the meantime. If you get any more notifications about when your book should arrive, please let me know so I can get to the library.

and btw - I am making a Youtube video of our Rachmaninov six-hands pieces. I'll let you know when it is done.

 

Pianolady wrote:

Wow, that´s very interesting. Do you play all the parts alone? I still have thought, too, to make an experiment like this. May be I´ll make a video with a four-hand-piece and combine the primo- and the secondo-part, f.ex. by blending them over, making interesting transitions or to part the screen into two parts. I have many possibilities like this with my video-editing-program.

I´m attending your video with big curiosity! It´s a great pleasure to see you being active on youtube now, too.

 

Oh no - I don't mean I am making a 'new' video. Well, I am, but I am using our (you, Alfonso, and me) recording. But I probably should have asked you first. That was dumb of me. So...Andreas, can I use our recording to make a video? I will not use your or Alfonso's name, unless you let me.

And don't worry, I am only using art and photos for visual effects. The whole thing may turn out to be stupid, in which case I will just forget about the idea.

But....and now my wheels are turning again....it would be sort of neat if I did use photos or you, me, and Alfonso, wouldn't it? What do you think of that? Maybe you could both send me a whole-body photo of yourself and I can put all three of together with photoshop. What do you think of that idea? Is it stupid?

 

Hi Monica,
that´s a splendid idea to make a video with our common recordings. I have made such "picture-experiments", too, on my youtube-channel (with countrysides and portaits of composers, in one case I added fotos of me, sitting at the piano).
I´ll send you some fotos of me, may be tomorrow, because today I have not much time.

Great idea, I´m looking forward to the video! And thank you very much.

 

Ok, Andreas. See if you can find a photo of yourself standing and also sitting down (not at the piano - I need face-forward shots). I'm not sure I will use the sitting or standing photo yet.

 

O.k., tomorrow I will make some actual fotos with my handy-camera (it´s a good one, it has 8Mpixel solution). First, I thought you to send some fotos of me sitting at the piano, which I already have. But now you say you want face-forward fotos sitting and standing. Now I´m still in my pyjama and it would not be so funny to publish them, at least from my view. :lol: So, you will have to wait until tomorrow in the evening.

 

I'll take the pajama photos too! :lol: (joking - but not really) (haha)

 

O.k., Monica, I have sent the fotos to you together with a download-link on rapidshare with a pm.

 

Yipiee, today I have received the novel "Fingers" by William Sleator. I think, I shall find some time to read at the weekend.
Are you ready to start, too, Monica and Nathan?

 

I just now called my library and put a hold on the book, so hopefully I can pick it up tomorrow.

How about you, Nathan? You ready?

 

I just got home from picking up the book. I'm ready to go!

Andreas, have you started reading? Maybe we can start posting on the first chapter this weekend?

 

I haven´t still begun to read, but I shall try to read the first chapter this weekend. I´m curious and looking forward to it.