Comments on The Starship Book List - page 3

Added: Gaskell, Elizabeth - Cranford

Cool, thanks. Which reminds me that another general update is long overdue ...

Alright, I just completed that long-overdue general update.

The good news is that we've got several great new additions -- including everything from books on art, books from other proveniences than the 19th, 20th and 21st century Western hemisphere, and what at least looks to this uninitiated reader like the better part of the books that have become staples on the YA lit. and vampire/werewolf/fantasy lit. lists.

Also, we're past another milestone (1,500 books) and, to misquote the titles of several books (neither of which has as yet, however, been added to this particular catalogue), we're sort of slouching towards the next milestone (2,000 books).

The bad news is that the deletion of any GR contributor ID appears to also automatically remove the votes cast under the deleted ID; therefore, several books that had at one point been added to the list have now, for all practical purposes, vanished. I haven't deleted all that many entries from the catalogue just yet, so if anybody out there wants to re-add any given book(s) that they're aware have now vanished, feel free to do so. I'll probably start trawling the catalogue for orphaned entries at some point in the near future, though, to make it more accurately reflect again what's actually on the list and what isn't. (After all, a major purpose of this exercise is to make it easier for everybody to find yet more books to add ...)

Athena, you are my personal heroine. And this is easily my favorite list on listopia.

I am going to add I heard the Owl Call my Name which I read years ago but now have my own copy so hope to read it again soon. This alphabetized list you created helps so much as it takes lots of time to go down the list to see if the book has already been added.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name

Thank you guys -- and I agree, this is by far the most ingenious list on GR ... kudos to its inventor!

Got your most recent additions, Alice. Isn't it a nice thought that you'll have all the way to Proxima Centauri to reread all your favorite books -- AND discover a wealth of new ones? :)

Its actually mind boggling but all my life I just wanted more time to read. I got more compliments on my sweatshirt which reads So Many Books, So Little Time. I got it from The Wireless and it has held up for about 17 years now.

Now, I'll readily admit that I'm one of this list's more rabid fans and not everybody out there might actually be wishing they were even allowed yet another 100 (or so) votes. But what do I know? There might be others who feel that way as well after all. In any event, while working on the catalogue's most recent update, there were quite a few times where I caught myself thinking: "What - [book XYZ] still hasn't been added?" Or: "I wish I hadn't maxed out on my own permitted 100 books yet ... we could very well use a few more books on [topic ABC]" -- or "[book XYZ] would make for a nice addition to what we've already got on [topic ABC]!"

And, by the same token, the more books are added to the starship library, the more its catalogue is bound to get unwieldy to use as well, for those who really do want to double check whether a given book is already on the list or not. So I've compiled a second list (the link to which I'd like to add to the starship library's description up top as well, if that's OK, Thom?), pooling books that have not yet been added to the library. However, though I've tried to be inclusive, of course the bottom line is still that this is a subjective, personal, biased and arbitrary selection ... so if you think there are books missing there, by all means do let me know! Or, better yet, if you haven't maxed out on your own allowance of 100 books, just add them to the starship library directly (in which case, a note letting me know you've done so in order for me to update the catalogue accordingly would be an extra nice bonus :) )!

My hope is that eventually we'll be able to build up as large and varied a pool of extra books by way of this second list as possible -- it's intended as a tool, after all, and I'm sure people won't find it half as helpful as it might be as long as it just reflects my own tastes, interests and priorities ...

(And, yes, before anybody starts to wonder, I actually do have a life outside of GR as well. :) )

So anyway: The list compiling books not yet in the starship catalogue can be found here: http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/2...

I hope you'll find it helpful!

Themis-Athena wrote: "Now, I'll readily admit that I'm one of this list's more rabid fans and not everybody out there might actually be wishing they were even allowed yet another 100 (or so) votes. But what do I know? ..."

I will try to add In The time of the Butterflies as its one I hope to read someday. I saw a few others I want to read but sometimes I have a problems adding books I have not read. I have to mark them as read so they will come up even tho I have not read them yet. Going to see what happens on this now.

In the Time of the Butterflies

Added:

Baudelaire, Charles - Les Fleurs de Mal
Blyton, Enid - Five Get into Trouble and Five Run Away Together
Bona, Damien - Inside Oscar
Carnes, Mark - Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies
Carr, Caleb - The Alienist
Chekhov, Anton - The Seagull
Conroy, Frank - The Prince of Tides
de Voto, Frank - The Year of Decision: 1846
Dickens, Charles - Little Dorrit
Fitzgerald, F. Scott - Jazz Age Stories (includes both Tales of the Jazz Age and Flappers and Philosophers)
Fraser, Antonia - The Wives of Henry VIII, Marie Antoinette: The Journey, The Weaker Vessel
Gies, Frances - Life in a Medieval City
Greene, Graham - The Quiet American
Sayers, Dorothy L. - The Nine Tailors
White, T.H. - The Making of the President 1960

Thanks -- to both of you!

I've added the entire Foreigner series by C.J Cherryh (http://www.goodreads.com/series/40807... ), because they're great books, and it might not be a bad idea to have a fictional example of alien/human diplomacy in case we encounter some on our way to Proxima Centauri.

Edit:

Cherryh, C.J. Foreigner
Cherryh, C.J. Invader
Cherryh, C.J. Inheritor
Cherryh, C.J. Precursor
Cherryh, C.J. Defender
Cherryh, C.J. Explorer
Cherryh, C.J. Destroyer
Cherryh, C.J. Pretender
Cherryh, C.J. Deliverer
Cherryh, C.J. Conspirator
Cherryh, C.J. Deceiver
Cherryh, C.J. Betrayer

Very thoughtful -- will update the catalogue accordingly! :)

Added:

DeCurtis, Anthony - The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll

Thanks once more!

Love this list :-)
Added:
The Dragon Waiting by John M Ford
Penguins stopped play by Harry Thompson
Moondust by Andrew Smith
War Junkie by Jon Steele
The adventures of Alianore Audley by Brian Wainwright.

(and still thinking about what to do with my remaining votes...)

Added:

Dickens, Charles - Our Mutual Friend

Thanks for remembering this list ... AND for faithfully always posting notes on your additions!!

No problem.

I was looking up another list, and saw this one, and remembered I hadn't added anything to it in a while.

Added:

Moliere - Le Malade Imaginaire
O'Neill, Eugene - The Emperor Jones

I'm amazed you still have any space left in your 100 book contingent!

I occasionally find that someone else has voted for one, opening up space, luckily.

Added:

Wilkerson, Isabel - The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
Lewis, W.H. - The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV
Horwitz, Tony - A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World
Danziger, Danny - 1215: The World of Magna Carta
Jonnes, Jill - Eiffel's Tower: And the World's Fair Where Buffalo Bill Beguiled Paris, theArtists Quarreled, and Thomas Edison Became a Count
Jardine, Lisa - Ingenious Pursuits: Building the Scientific Revolution

Susanna wrote: "I occasionally find that someone else has voted for one, opening up space, luckily."

Yes, I used to be able to replace my choices as well. Looks like I'm now down to my final selection, though -- it's been a long time since somebody else picked something I'd already added! ;)

Themis-Athena wrote: "Susanna wrote: "I occasionally find that someone else has voted for one, opening up space, luckily."

Yes, I used to be able to replace my choices as well. Looks like I'm now down to my final sele..."

I am hearted to see that, past #200, most of the remaining 2000 are single choices, and pleased to see people still adding. I like to think that I am improving my list thinking about what a space-born human might want to know about Earth.

Why should we be limited to 100 books? Can't we just bring an iPad running on kinetic energy or something? (to supply with limitless power)

"Hooven Santmeyer, Helen - And Ladies of the Club" is listed twice, once in its proper order, and again between Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land and Heller's Catch-22.

Susanna wrote: ""Hooven Santmeyer, Helen - And Ladies of the Club" is listed twice, once in its proper order, and again between Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land and Heller's Catch-22."

Oops, will amend that. Thanks!

sanshow wrote: "Why should we be limited to 100 books? Can't we just bring an iPad running on kinetic energy or something? (to supply with limitless power)"

Oh, if it were up to me, I'd be all for bringing as many books as I like ("real" books preferably, though) -- I'm perfectly capable of packing 2 large suitcases for a week-long trip, too.

But the GR elders have seen fit to limit people's contributions to any and all lists -- not just this one -- to 100 entries ... and by the same token, arguably, there's limited space in a space ship, especially the more the number of fellow travelers grows (and limited space, though decidedly more generous than the bytes taken by 100 books, even on an iPad). So I guess the notion is, "think about what you yourself will absolutely want to bring (and which isn't in the library already, at least on this particular list) and make your choices accordingly!" :)

Themis-Athena wrote: "sanshow wrote: "Why should we be limited to 100 books? Can't we just bring an iPad running on kinetic energy or something? (to supply with limitless power)"

Oh, if it were up to me, I'd be all for..."

I routinely go down the first 300 entries from the top. If I see a green check, meaning I posted a book which has become a multiple, I delete it from my list, leaving me a bit of room to tack on at the end. This list works best when die-hards like us return often to vet it and theirs. And thanks again, Themes, for all your work on this project.

Shockingly enough, two more spaces opened up. Must decide what to add.

I added The Genteel Tradition: Nine Essays by George Santayana.

I did a bit of an update on the library today, but see that another big overhaul is long overdue. (115 voters now. Yeah!)

Btw, did anybody catch the recent NPR/'Humankind' broadcast about Room to Read? It sounds like a "real life" program somewhat similar to this list's intention -- in this particular case, to bring literacy to the world's children, regardless where they live. There should be more folks like that ...

Added:

Chernow, Ron - Washington: A Life
Erdrich, Louise - Shadow Tag: A Novel

Got them. Thanks!

Added:

The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science, by Richard Holmes
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition, by Caroline Alexander
The Beekeeper's Apprentice, by Laurie R. King

Hayes wrote: "Are we supposed to be cancelling ourselves from the duplicates and choosing other books?"

Exactly. From time to time, serious Starship Listers will go down the list and zap anything with multiple votes from their list and then pull in other titles from the periphery.

Yep, that's how I was able to just add three.

This is a great list! I have tried very hard to only add ones not on here, mostly philosophy, all rated fives, and it is interesting to see books I have never heard of all on here. Somebody reads them. Somebody likes them. I do not know how to record ones added, sorry.

You can put a list of your additions here in the comments, if you like. (That's what I do, so Themis-Athena, our mad librarian, doesn't have to go looking for them.)

Reese wrote: "T-A,

I updated my list, removing books that other voters selected after I last looked at the list and adding many works that I did not see in your catalogue. I added the books listed below.

Chopi..."
Great choices here. I like the inclusion of A.R.Gurney: My wife directed a production of The Dining Room. I met and talked with John Howard Griffin when he lectured at Miami (of Ohio), and we have a time share in Lenox that overlooks the Wharton estate.

Reese (and all), I really do appreciate the heads up! A thorough update of the catalogue is long overdue but I don't think I'll get around to that for another few weeks, if that, so your posting your additions/edits here to at least get me started on those really is a great help. Thank you so much!

(Incidentally, thank you also for helping transfer a few entries from this list to the "actual" Starship Book List.)

Thom, I echo Reese's response on Griffin and Wharton.

Susanna, a little madness does go a long way sometimes ... ;)

Indeed it does!

Added:

McAuliffe, Mary: Twilight of the Belle Epoque: The Paris of Picasso, Stravinsky, Proust, Renault, Marie Curie, Gertrude Stein, and Their Friends Through the Great War
Penny, Louise: Still Life
Moore, Wendy: How to Create the Perfect Wife: Britain's Most Ineligible Bachelor and His Enlightened Quest to Train the Ideal Mate
Brooks, Geraldine: March

Added:

Beard, Mary: SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

Well, that was easy.... :-) And to think I only added books either written in English or translated into English. There are so many more I'd love to add, but unfortunately 100 is the limit... I've added several famous classics, which I'd love to (re)read and weren't on the list yet, to my surprise.

@Thom Dunn
Thanks for this great list!

This list is so much fun! Thanks for creating it.

Books I added:

Classic G.I. Joe Volumes 1-12 by Larry Hama
G.I. Joe Special Missions Volume 1 by Larry Hama
Holy Bible: The Daily Bible
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Story Trumps Structure by Steven James
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
Ultimate Comics Captain America by Jason Aaron
The Moon Moth by Jack Vance
Jellyfish: A Natural History by Lisa-Ann Gershwin
The Living Forest by Robert Llewellyn
Richthofen: A True History of the Red Baron by William E. Burrows
Chronopolis and Other Stories by J. G. Ballard
Daylight and Nightmare by G.K. Chesterton
Who's Afraid of Godzilla by Marc Cerasini
The Will of God is the Word of God by James MacDonald
The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich

I've removed the Captain America comic. Not sure if anyone mourns that loss...
Continuing the Classic G.I. Joe series.