I'm Starting a Book Club! | 2025 Reading Schedule

[@readinsteadbyjake]

Yeah, I definitely don't have people in my life I can talk to about books. Hi Everyone!

[@jakealden2517]

This is great. Thank you for starting a book club! Can't wait to be part of your growing community.

[@davidnovakreadspoetry]

I read _War and Peace_ with a group last January (or Jan-Feb) and it was a glorious experience. Enjoy! You’ve picked a great list of books.

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

Phenomenal year ahead for you, my friend!

[@amorfatiloveyourfate]

This is like heaven! I'm in a book club in my town, but its a rural community, so we have 6 people at most come, and outside of me, the median age is probably 75 (not even an exaggeration). They all want to read these historical fiction books set in WWII, and I'm pretty over it. I've been wanting to read some of the books you talked about anyway, so this will be wonderful.

[@humaidah]

I love Demons more than Crime and Punishment. I remember I couldnt sleep after finishing the book, so grateful you pick it as one of your books, might want to join the discussion on Demons.

[@TheActiveMind1]

Feel free to join in the fall or pop in and out throughout the year :)

[@Wistroll-tm7xe]

Hey, this sounds fun! Looking forward to this! Hey all!

[@yashin1669]

So glad you are doing this. I enjoy your channel, your insights as well as discovering new texts

[@hatethenewyou]

So excited for this, these picks are incredible and I haven't read ANY of them so this is going to be great.

[@Vanoual]

I'm French and I haven't yet found a book club that interests me (after all, I haven't looked very hard). So this idea seems like a good alternative to get me into the habit of reading and talk of it with other people!

[@TheActiveMind1]

Hope it’s a great fit for you!

[@paperpagespossibilities]

Talking about books as a shared experience is one of the best things about Booktube and book clubs! Looking forward to it!

[@HannahsBooks]

What a wonderful list! Faulkner, Melville, Morrison!

[@katealeman1842]

Hi so glad to join🤗

[@burke9497]

Hey Brock. I’m excited about the start of your book club! This a great list of excellent books. I’m looking forward to my first read of The Recognitions, and also excited about rereading some of my very favorite works. 🎉🎉🎉

[@TheActiveMind1]

I suspect The Recognitions will require a team effort to crack that puzzle. Excited for the year!

[@Sarah_Jean86]

Awesome book recs. Started W&P a year ago and only got 1/4 way through and gave up. Now you’ve got me excited to pick it up again. I have the V&P translation. Also, Faulkner is great. Sound and the Fury is a solid choice. I visited Faulkner House Books in NOLA a few years ago and it is an amazing place. Would love to visit his house in Santa Paula. Idk about Moby Dick, but I may try. The Recognitions is sitting on my TBR shelf, so excited for the challenge! What a great idea and excited to hear your opinions/analysis with others and to share mine.

[@TheActiveMind1]

Maybe second time is the charm with W&P! And I think this will be a time for us all to kick the dust off of The Recognitions and conquer it collectively

[@aisrmc]

Amazing list!! My reading speed might be an issue but will do my best 💪

[@TheActiveMind1]

It was tricky to try and pace these appropriately, while also packing in as many books as I could. No shame if you read a little slower than the group! I'd still love to hear your thoughts!

[@BobJacobs10]

This is very exciting, I'll be joining for the books I haven't read yet: The Recognitions and The Song of Solomon. The other books on the list are just about all personal favourites of mine, so I'm curious to hear your thoughts - and the club's - about them. I might joing here and there for a reread, but I still have so much to read that I'll probably only be active with the books I haven't read yet. Anyway, great idea! I'm very much considering joining at the Dostojevski or Pushkin tier - a little bit of doubt just because I've read most of the works haha :)

[@BobJacobs10]

Ah, who am I kidding? I'm joining! I appreciate your content - also without the book club. Creators as yourselves should be supported.

[@TheActiveMind1]

@@BobJacobs10 No pressure to join at all or beyond the months you want to read along with us - but obviously, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the discussions since you've read some of these. Really appreciate the support!

[@BobJacobs10]

@@TheActiveMind1 I just joined the Dostoievski tier, looking forward to it!

[@jz1746]

Awesome, I am forsure there for Moby Dick, The Magic Mountain, Demons and maybe more!

[@TheActiveMind1]

Wonderful!

[@CitizenKane359]

Hi Brock! I am so thrilled that you're kicking this off. I just joined the Pushkin tier. Now, two things about Moby-Dick. First, the introduction of Queequeg (and isn't he the best-named character in all of literature?) is one of the most theatrically impressive introductions of a character I've ever read. Second, the man on Read/Read (forgive me, please, but I don't know his name), said about Moby-Dick: "It's my favorite book of the Bible." And I thought that was absolutely brilliant. Moby-Dick does have a lordly (seriously, I do not mean that as a pun!!!) sound to the writing. Again, it takes some getting used to, but once you do you'll find it extraordinarily compelling. Stay well!

[@TheActiveMind1]

I’ll certainly need to freshen up my memory of the relevant biblical stories before I dive in. Grateful for the support and happy to have you in the club!

[@tonybennett4159]

Brock, you have a great array of books to engage with. I won't be joining you, but I will be following your thoughts closely. In particular I'm eager to find what you think about Moby Dick. I read it as a mature reader, having already tackled War and Peace, The Brothers Karamazov, Middlemarch, Life and Fate etc, so it could hardly be said that I was lacking in my reading, but I just didn't get it. I look forward too, to your take on The Magic Mountain which I am currently well into. I'm happy to see that you will soon be reading Krasznahorkai. His sentences are immensely long and I liken reading him to a surfer searching for that big wave. He catches the roller and he stays with it and it just seems to go on and on but finally it subsides and he thinks "What a ride that was". It's quite exhilarating. I've read "Seiobo Here Below", "Satantango" and "The Melancholy of Resistance" but as I see you also have "War and War" I hope to read that at the same time as you. You may be interested to know that Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr filmed both "Satantango" and "The Melancholy of Resistance" (the latter as "Werkmeister Harmonies") using, just like Krasznahorkai, immensely long takes that require patience of the viewer.

[@TheActiveMind1]

No problem, I’ll be sure to bring many of my thoughts and insights over to this channel as well. And yes, I’ve already noticed how initially jarring Krasznahorkai’s style can be, but I quickly found my footing and have been ‘surfing’ his waves. I’ll be sure to watch the corresponding films after I finish each book

[@CallosumBooks]

this is amazing dude!! what a stacked year of reading you have ahead of you. the sound and the fury is one of my favorite books ever written, i really hope you like it and cannot wait to hear your thoughts on it. and i think i'll join you all for magic mountain :) and maaayyybbeee the recognitions if i feel courageous enough haha

[@TheActiveMind1]

Join in on both! There's likely some creative ways we could collaborate surrounding both books. We'll have to chat about it over email over the next few months and figure something out!

[@CallosumBooks]

@@TheActiveMind1 oh would totally love that! let's do it

[@MadiCovington]

wahoo 🎉

[@magnumopus7502]

"If the world could write, it would write like Tolstoy!" - Isaac Babel

[@jackwalter5970]

I put off starting my reread of War and Peace, so I'll be joining you in July. I love your picks, and look forward to being part of the club!

[@TheActiveMind1]

Perfect! Grateful for the support as always!

[@jackwalter5970]

@TheActiveMind1 I meant January, not July!

[@Scottlp2]

War and peace is great. 1. Printout list of all families/characters (many go by 3 names) to refer to as you read. 2. I like Maude translation, there are other good ones. 3. I chickened out and read abridged Moby Dick to avoid whaling info.

[@TheActiveMind1]

Those pesky Russian novelists and their endless name variations...

[@ireadbooks3475]

I've been wanting to read William Gaddis for a very long time. "Carpenter's Gothic" was the novel that I was really interested, but I'm definitely down to get on this reading train. Also, a quick recommendation, if you're interested in any short fiction, George Saunders is fantastic. I'm finishing up his collection "Civil WarLand in Bad Decline". Super excited about the book club!

[@TheActiveMind1]

Perfect! And I’ll add that book to my TBR!

[@ChrisSenM]

KZbin has my number lol. A book club emphasizing community? I'm new here but following you now. I loved the book I read by Faulkner, and have been wanting to read The Magic Mountain. Nice to meet you!

[@TheActiveMind1]

Glad the KZbin algorithm fed you my channel! I appreciate the support!

[@milfredcummings717]

I recommend watching Bela Tarr films while reading László Krasznahorkai.

[@Steve-Duh-Rino]

Consider Les Miserables’. Often overlooked by many book-ish types. Nothing like it. Greetings from a fellow Virginian

[@TheActiveMind1]

That might be a big one to squeeze it in next year among these, but I’ll plan to read some of Victor Hugo’s work in the near future!

[@Steve-Duh-Rino]

@ For future lists. I think it’s one of the classics that’s eclipsed by others. It is a spectacular journey from start to finish with few if any lulls

[@michaelmahood5694]

Currently I am working through Samuel Beckett's trilogy Molloy,Malone Dies, and The Unnamable.

[@TheActiveMind1]

I've seen a nice Everyman's Library edition of that trilogy (or some set of 3 plays/works by Beckett) and have been tempted to grab it. The only thing slowing me down is the books I already need to read...

[@michaelmahood5694]

@TheActiveMind1 that's the edition I purchased! I figured I would splurge since I had never seen a character share my surname before [Mahood] - in The Unnamable..haha

[@ladispute8810]

I would love to join. :) But I‘m not sure if I understood it correctly. Do I need to subscribe to the middle option for the final zoom meeting? Or will that also be uploaded for the first option? :) And great books btw!

[@TheActiveMind1]

A detailed analysis and discussion video from just me will be uploaded for all members at the end of each book. The zoom discussion will only be for Dostoevsky and Pushkin tiers. Hope that makes sense!

[@ladispute8810]

@ Thank you so much for the information! :)

[@xMo29]

The Magic Man by Thomas Mountain

[@TheActiveMind1]

Hahaha OG viewers know my frequent slip with this title

[@joeyq9953]

I subscribed because you’re cute and I’m not ashamed to admit that.

[@nyc88s]

Funny, but War and Peace, and Moby-Dick are my favorite novels.

[@FabriceLEQUEUX]

hello you ares the nice boy of book;s best 2025 POR YOU BRAVO HI FABRICE

[@jchip0o]

Books are finer like nowadays football false "world cup"Arabian christs and "monopoly records" teams.... Indeed , some new are awful like football lies, Harry Potter forever ( never read this serie)...