One of the things I struggle against in our wonderful, infuriating, info-rich world (I’m old enough to remember the time before!) is that it just gets harder and harder to find the time to do the thing that more than anything helps me translate ideas, information, words, into thoughts, knowledge, sense. Share. When kids, career, and a life overflowing with endless to do’s, meetings and deadlines arrive, the hazily remembered days of lazy afternoons in pubs or parks or cafes chatting about a book or idea that has got hold of one dissapear. Apparantly, unlike fashion, this isn’t one of those ‘hang on long enough and it will come around again’ situations. So I’ve concluded the only thing to do is fight fire with fire. If the time to share thoughts can’t escape the data-downpour, time to get the brolly and the wellies out and take a walk into the storm.
I hate reading things without at least some ‘hearing what others have to say’. So how about a Twitter Book Group? On the grounds that creativity flourishes with constraints, let’s keep it to 3 simple steps:
1. Follow @dethnoreads on Twitter to see what people are reading / when ‘book chatter’ sessions will take place.
2. Tweet @dethnoreads if you want to propose a book for the group to read. I picked up Brian Sollis’ Engage2 recently so I would tweet an announcement, a hashtag based on #dethnoreads_authorsurname, a book link and a let’s get together on twitter on such and such a date to share thoughts:
- @dethnoreads call #dethnoreads_Sollis Engage2 (url) read by/chatter date: Monday May xx 2011
3. Tweet away your thoughts on the appointed date… follow the hashtag if you just want to lurk.
Easy eh? Well, let’s see. We can’t tackle Sollis’ book just yet as Amazon UK haven’t got it listed even though Amazon US have (grr), so I’ve proposed something very timely for our upcoming Hothouse Summer research project 
Go follow @dethnoreads and join in!
Catriona
I found your blog whilst searching for info on Ethnography. I like the idea of a Twitter Book Group! It forces me to keep my thoughts punchy and removes the clutter. I know that most of the time the enjoyment of a book group is the lengthy and meandering discussion about the book, but I also think you might be on to something. Consider yourself followed!
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