I, Nonbelieving Literati

Well... it's not just me. The last I checked there was 15 of us in the group "Nonbelieving Literati". It was started by The Exterminator over at No More Hornets. Here's the basic premise of our group, as explained by our chieftain:

"I think it’s time we atheists draw some inspiration from literature as well as science... And so I’d like to propose such a group. My idea is that nine or ten of us — if we can get that many to commit — will read a book every month and a half or so. That’s a long enough time that even the slowest readers, or those with the least amount of time, can participate. We’ll take turns making book suggestions. The only stipulation will be that the book not be an atheist diatribe, best-selling or otherwise.

"We’ll target a specific day on which to finish. On that date, or shortly thereafter, each of us will publish a post about the chosen book. (In fairness, those of us who finish reading early may write our posts, but not publish them online until everyone has had a chance to complete the reading.) The post will not be a review or a summary. It will be an essayistic ramble on what the book got us thinking about. Whether we liked the book or not, we’ll use it as an entry point to our own thoughts. If enough people are interested, perhaps we can even publish a Carnival of Nonbelieving Literati a week or so after each target date."

Exterminator had just started reading "Julian" by the great Gore Vidal when he came up with this wonderful idea. So, that's the first book that we've read. Our deadline, to read and complete our essay, was September 15, so I'm busily putting the finishing touches on what I hope will be a thought provoking essay. It was definitely a thought provoking book. Secularists with a passion for fiction are highly encouraged to pick it up and give it a read. It's just a great book! My main reason for this post is just to warn that I may not do much other posting for the next 48 hours or so.

So, you ask, how did you get involved in this, and how do I join? For me, it was just one of those classic moments of fate. I happened across the Exterminator's blog a couple of months ago and liked what I saw. I made a few comments there and I guess he returned the favor and stopped by here. The day he came by was the day I had posted the Gore Vidal interview. He left me a comment to the effect of, "if you like Gore so much then you should join our group and read 'Julian' with us". And so I did. As to you - well, it's pretty difficult to get in to this highly secretive society of free thinkers.

I've probably said too much here, although I didn't reveal any of the "blood rites" or sexual practices that we engage in. You'll just have to click on the links I gave earlier in this post and join if you want to find out and participate.