OK... not that.

Everyone! genjiclub has basically finished the "Genji" portion of "The Tale of Genji". We'll be starting the section with Niou and Kaoru now, which basically has an all-new cast of characters, as it starts about eight years after Genji dies. So if you want to join us now, please do! We're reading ch 42 "The Perfumed Prince (Niou Miya)" to ch 46 "Beneath the Oak (Shiigamoto)" and meeting next to discuss on Sept 20th, two weeks from now.

(And for all the Takarazuka geeks, that means we're starting the section on the characters which will be in Tsukigumi's next show.)

Okay!

So, a couple requests to put off the start date, so I'll set it back one more week. And we had one mention that Friday night would be better, and one that Saturday would be. Since no one else seems to have a preference, I'd say Saturday is slightly better for me as well and tip the balance.

So we'll start on June 7th 9-10 pm EST.

kalen9 mentioned making a comm for us, and if she or someone else does that, I think it would be good to do a locked post with everyone's IM names in it. That way if we have trouble finding the chat room, other people will see us floundering about and invite us in. Speaking of which, what should we call the chat room?

I suspect whoever is going to lead the discussion should pick the chapters we'll be reading, but just to get things started, how does the introduction and then through to the end of chapter four (The Twilight Beauty / Yuugao) sound? kalen9?

Okay, so far we've got these preferences in abundance:

- Tyler's translation, unabridged.
- About 100 pages a week, so we'll choose our chapter quantity each week to fit as close to 100 pages as possible.
- Text chat is the overwhelming preference as well. My only worry is that with the lag for typing it might be pretty disjointed in group chat, but we'll give it a go! Does anyone object strenuously to AIM? Well, I use Trillian, but can connect to AIM that way, etc. Or any other preferences? (I like Kya's suggestion of posting the log of the chat up for people who missed that week.)

So, I'm thinking about an hour a week? Given the times everyone has given me so far, I'm tentatively going to suggest:
Saturday (or Friday) night 9-10 pm EST. That's 8-9 pm CST, 6-7 PDT, and 10-11 am Sunday Japan time. Kind of a grueling hour for the Europeans, and I'm not sure how keen the Nipponites will be to early morning hours. Also, inconvenient for those who prefer to dance the night away. Other suggestions?

And kalen9 has offered to think deep thoughts for all of us help lead discussion.

To give people time to buy the book and things, we won't start for a couple weeks. I'm thinking, around the 30th or 31st? Or would that be too soon?


... Then I think in five years, when we finish, we should read the Kojiki. *grin*

Looks like there's definite interest! Awesome!

Okay, time for the nitty-gritty. I have no problems organizing, but like I said before, if someone else would like to lead discussion, I think that would be better.

So, if I could get from everyone interested:

- Times and days you'd prefer (and what time zone you're in).
- Version preference? We seem to have two or three votes for Tyler's unabridged right now.
- How many pages you think you'd be up to in a week. I'm at work, so I can't check right now, but I seem to remember that individual chapters are very short.

Um... Anything else I'm forgetting. Oh! Chatting vehicle of preference. Text? Audio? Video? We'll have to keep it to the lowest denominator so that everyone can join.

And feel free to spread the word. I'm keeping these entries unlocked so anyone can see them.

*wiggles fingers*

I know some folks had been talking about doing this, and I think it would be really fun. Set a time once or twice a week to get together on IM or skype, and chat for an hour or so as we work our way through The Tale of Genji. It's been quite a while since I read it at Boston U.

We'd have to decide how much to read a week, which I think would depend on who's busiest out of the group. And we'd have to decide whether to read the abridged or unabridged, and which translation. And, of course, we'd have to find a time each week that everyone could make it to.

I... have to admit the thing I hated most about English class as a kid was dissecting stories, but I think with a bunch of friends it'll be more fun. Anyone interested? And anyone interested in leading it? (Please don't look at me, that would be a disaster.)

My schedule shifts every week, so on weekdays I could only promise before 8 am (eastern time), or after 8 pm. Saturdays I also usually work, though only until 4pm. Sundays are free for me.