We do have this one in holland.
El Aleph is a great book, but not as easy to read as Ficciones. Not that it demands you be a genious or anything, but it feels like reading philosophy with a plot. 
Man… finally my broke ass got around to ordering Ficciones from Amazon.com! Geez it took me waaaaay to long! Hope the english translation is good and that it gets here soon I’m pumped!
Don’t worry if it takes a while to arrive, there will be at least the whole of March for you to join the discussion. 
Yep, it’s listed in there. 
I got labyrinter today 
Long live the library!
Ok. The month has started and I hope there’s been time for enough people to get the book so we can start discussing. Since I don’t know how far people have read, and still expect a couple more to join in the next two or three days, I’ll make a post about the history of this book for now.
On the Christmas eve of 1938, Borges had a serious accident in which he injured his head; during the treatment, he almost died of sepsis. By that time, he was already a cult classic among the academia for his essays and poetry. His philosophy was young and playful, and his poems were fresh and vivid. Although perhaps not a public figure of Buenos Aires at that point, he was already pretty notorious within his scene. So it was with great despair that he received the news that his injury had apparently damaged the language region of his brain, and that the doctors didn’t know exactly what effects that would have.
Borges later confessed that his first incursion in fiction wasn’t completely incidental. Being already somewhat notorious for his essays and poetry, he felt he just wouldn’t be able to face failure in composing a piece of either… But as for stories, he had never done them before, failure could just as well mean he sucked at it. So he started gathering material and ideas for a story while still in the hospital — success at this enterprise would mean no loss of writing capacity, while failure would pretty much mean nothing. And so during his first days out of the hospital he composed what would be his first short story. That story was “Pierre Menard”.
Those who read it will see how he actually wasn’t able to keep himself from risking an essay in his first short story. That dual style of writing, that style Borges would later become famous worldwide for, was actually born of his fear of having lost his capacity to write essays. After having “Pierre Menard” published in the Sur magazine, being received with much praise, he decided to write another one. And another one. And another one. And so he composed the pieces — or fictions — of the first book in our collection, The Garden of Forking Paths.
So that’s how it all started. I wish everyone a happy reading, and I’ll be back with something about the first few stories, tomorrow.
Ok here it is. I don’t have it yet, but I would have if it was in English. I went to the library today and got Ficciones, just to find that it was all in Spanish! 
So when I got home I just went and held ‘Collected Fictions’ on my library’s website. So I won’t get it until Thursday or Friday.
If you speak English and can’t read Spanish get Collected Fictions!!! It’s the English translation.
Jeez, and even Ficciones drags for me sometimes! 
Maybe it’s the translation, and maybe it’s because this isn’t the type of material I normally read anyway. I’m about ten pages into Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, but just to keep everything straight I’m thinking of re-reading and taking a few notes so when discussion time comes I actually have something to discuss. 
I do have The Aleph too, so maybe someday when I feel up to it I’ll take a look. Why put the rest of this book to waste?
raying for his book to arrive tomorrow:
Maybe it’s “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”. 
That story has too many citations and discusses a bunch of theories. The others, even the ones that look like essays [com]cough Pierre Menard and Herbert Quain cough[/com] are an easier read. But there’s a reason for Tlön Uqbar to be the first story in the book: in fact, two reasons there are for that.
[color=#663366]The following lines aren’t spoilers per se, as they do not specifically discuss facts in the plot of any story beyond vague alusions. However, they might in a sense influence your perception of the whole book. Therefore, it might be a good idea to read them only after you’ve read all stories from “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” to “The Garden of Forking Paths”.[/color]
First, there is a sense of progress from one story to the next; Orbis Tertius meets Al-Mu’tasim in the figure of Pierre Menard, who is reflected by the dreamer of the “Circular Ruins”. The later plot is a theme from whose variation springs the “Babylon Lottery”… The Babylonic liar meets the shadow of Pierre Menard, a clash from which “Herbert Quain” results. His literature, taken to a lottery extreme, is described in the Library of Babel, which in a sense confirms the ideas brought about by “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”. This complex web of intercrossing doxa is finally condensed and synthesized in the incredible, multi-layered structure of the “Garden of Forking Paths”.
[color=#663366]“Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” spoiler inside:[/color]
The second reason is simple: “Tlön, Uqbar” works as an introduction the rest of the book. In my first post here, I said a friend of mine is afraid of Borges because his fiction seems to melt the boundaries of reality and swallow it: you’ll understand that weird sensation after you’ve read a couple of other stories of his. But for now, bear in mind: ain’t that exactly what “Tlön, Uqbar” describes? In a sense, Borges’ magic begins at the very first story, in which fiction takes over reality, but this sinister confusion between his story and yours will only be perceived a posteriori, when you finish reading another story and realise it: “oh my, he did it, and now it’s too late for me to escape it”.
By all means, do so only if you really feel up to it. I’ll make a quick revision of “Tlön, Uqbar” for the people who want to get in-depth on the ideas Borges exposes. The only requirement in this topic, however, is to enjoy the literature: the ideas. What I’m trying to say is, if you want an explanation, you’ll have it, I promise, but for now you don’t need any philosophical background.
I’m sure you don’t need to have read a single line about Berkeley’s idealism in order to be able to stare at the moonlight tonight and think to yourself, hlör u fang axaxaxas mlö, and wonder. And, believe me, the next morning you’ll catch yourself making up verbal (or adjective) languages as you walk to the bus station, and when you realise what’s going on in your mind’s background, you’ll curse Borges and smile.
I definitely recommend it. And, like I said, that book will never be a waste: if you actually get tired of it, I’m still willing to buy it from you.
You’re good, Bruno. Wanna know why? Because the creation of those verbal and adjective languages has already happened! It’s brilliant: I can see myself musing over this for the next few days, too.
I’ll win either way!
I’m in if you guys don’t mind
By all means, James, we don’t. 
I’m actually glad people are joining this project.
I’d like to know how far has everyone got by now. Has anyone read “the Lottery in Babilon” so far? It is, in my opinion, one of the best stories ever written. What about “the Circular Ruins”?— Anyone tried to read anything from the second book, like “Three Versions of Judas” or the “theme of the Hero and the Traitor”? What’s everyone thinking of it so far? And, among those who still haven’t started reading, who’s planning to join us still?
Though i am already caught up in a multitude of wonderful literature, I will do my best to find these books and begin reading. Reality manifested through thought and willed imagination? I’m in, and will begin reading as soon as possible.
Ok, I just placed the order online for collected fictions. The collection is surprisingly quite extensive. Anyone ever read Dream Tigers by the same author? It is apparently supposed to be pretty amazing.
Ok, Now the right book is at the library. I’m going to go pick it up tomorrow and start reading it then.
I ordered the book last yesterday afternoon, it should be here sometime early next week. I can’t wait! 
EDIT: It arrived today! (well, friday night - we hadn’t checked the mail).
I’ve just finished reading about that extreme library! It is a pretty extreme thought really: All we ever are gonna do/say is described. But everything is covered up in, and surrounded by, all other possible texts!