January Nominations...

[whichwaydidshego?, the sage of sass]

Okay, gang, it's time to start nominating for January's book! I'd like to suggest limiting your nominations to a maximum of three. If books you want included have already been nominated, say so. Just remember the less books nominated, the more likely your selection will get chosen! Nominations will end Christmas Day at midnight PST and the voting will be put up sometime on the 26th.

[Robbie]

Okay, I'm going to nominate A Tree Grows in Brookline. I'll save my other two nominations for later.

[Alison, the guru of grace]

The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Catch 22

[Sarah]

Oh, man, there are just so many great books on our list!!

Atonement
Life of Pi
Of Mice and Men

[Arctic]

ok had to stop at the first three that appealed to me, otherwise i'd have a list a mile long.

Madame Bovary by Flaubert
Galapagos by Vonnegut
Sense and Sensibility by Austen

[Sarah]

Jane Eyre's actually by Bronte. ;)

[Arctic]

thanks. i actually wanted an austen book, so i'll have to fix that...

[Blanca]

I'm going to go with classics that I either should have read a long time ago, or loved and would enjoy discussing. Aparently, I don't know how to use HTML tags,

Rebecca - Never read, but DuMaurier's haunting imagination draws me to this otherwordly story. Would be fun to read and discuss in comparison with Hitchcock's 1940 adaptation, Rebecca as well.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn : Again, never read before. This might be one of those classics that go along with To Kill A Mockingbird that reveal something about coming of age of young people parallel to a society on the edge of turning its leaf once more.

Jane Eyre - Arctic, I had been against reading this for ages becuase I thought the Bronte Sisters would be boring. So wrong, suspenseful, tragic and engaging, Charlote Bronte is darker than Jane Austen, but a great read.

[Sarah]

Blanca, after you read Jane Eyre, read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.

And the way to tag the book is as follows:

{book: book name}

only instead of { use [.

[Arctic]

Blanca, yeah I was not impressed with Wuthering Heights when I read it in high school, so I've been reluctant to give Charlotte's books a chance, which i realize is completely unfair of me and makes no sense whatsoever as they're different people.

On the other hand a lot of my friends had to read Jane Eyre during freshman year in college and I've always been a little curious as to what it's about.

not sure why i had the austen mix-up. i guess maybe the title just sounds austenish to me. there was an austen discussion in another thread on this forum that piqued my interest in her though, hence the austen choice.

[Blanca]

Arctic, I used to confuse Austen and Bronte because they were British and dead! Ha! Emma is my favorite Jane Austen. It sort of reminds me of Oscar Wilde's, An Ideal Husband as far as pacing and comedy of manners. I have yet to read Wuthering Heights, but Jane Eyre was brooding and terrific. Sarah, thanks for the recommendation and for the handy tag info! ;)
Can't wait to see what we'll be reading next month!

[Sarah]

I love gothic romance but hated Wuthering Heights. But Jane Eyre is amazing.

My favorite Austen is Sense and Sensibility, Heather, so it's a good pick! :) And the film version by Ang Lee is just beautiful.

[Beth]

My picks:

An American Tragedy
Crime and Punishment
Ethan Frome

[Alison, the guru of grace]

No way Beth, I almost picked An American Tragedy. Did you know it was the basis for the movie A Place in the Sun? You would love that movie if you haven't seen it.

[Liz M]

Oracle Night
Beowulf
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

[Dottie]

Lots of interesting books here -- but I have to chime in -- and defend Wuthering Heights -- wonderfully dark and wonderfully haunting Heathcliff -- see comment on Jesse in other thread. Dark, brooding, etc? -- Can't get any more so than Heathcliff IMO.

I loved Jane Eyre also -- and if you haven't read it and do -- then I'd add The Wide Sargasso Sea to be read also -- it is related to Jane Eyre and is worthy of being mentioned in the same breath -- some of those "extensions" of classic books are so not up to par that it is really great when one hits as does Rhys's TWSS.

Also -- Rebecca the book and Rebecca the film by Hitchcock are inseparable in my mind -- I've seen at least two more recent versions of it on TV and so on but the Hitchcock is still my favorite.

[Sarah]

I've got the movie versions of both Rebecca and Jane Eyre on my TiVo right now. The Jane Eyre is the Winona Ryder version, but I think it's interesting that Joan Fontaine played both Jane Eyre and the second Mrs. de Winter.

[Beth]

You know, Chris told me that, Alison - that American Tragedy is the basis for that movie. I have never seen the movie.

[Emily]

Here are my picks:)

Reading Lolita in Tehran
Madame Bovary
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Jane Eyre is also a fav of mine! I love Emma and Sense and Sensibility and go back and forth as to which is my fav Austen at any given time:)

[Courtney]

I also have to defend [Wuthering Heights]. I do not think it is intended to fall into the category of English domestic novels, be they gothic or witty (am searching for the right word to describe Austen and brain is not functioning. I think [Wuthering Heights] is a more "modern," more psychological novel bent on showing the interrelationship between Heathcliff and Cathy and the effects it has on each of them individually. I like both of the Bronte sisters, but prefer [Wuthering Heights] as a novel.

My choices are:

[Daniel Deronda] by George Elliot
[Women in Love] by D.H. Lawrence
[Bostonians] by Henry James

[Sera]

Here are my picks:

The Group

The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Czar (Next to Henry VIII, my favorite family in history)

The Kite Runner (#2 on my list of all time favorites)

I can't believe that it's time to pick for January already :)

[Gwynne]

First off, I have to defend Wuthering Heights. Not the best book in the world, but I did enjoy it.

I second the Kite Runner and the Kitchen Boy.

I'd also like to nominate the Grapes of Wrath, because I really think I should have read it.

[whichwaydidshego?, the sage of sass]

Don't forget that the books need to be on our Rory Gilmore Book List.

While your books sound great, Courtney, we decided as a group to stick with the books on the list for now. I should have posted that before. Sorry. Anyway, you can submit again!

[whichwaydidshego?, the sage of sass]

Ick to Wuthering Heights. It was torture to get through, especially when reading it on a beach in Cinque Terra!

I adore Jane Eyre, of course. I think I might have mentioned that once or eight-five times. In my opinion, the two books are night and day from each other.

Oh, Courtney, you need to do [ book : (title) ] without the spaces for the book links!

[Dottie]

Well, no wonder you say ick -- Wuthering Heights must be read on a freezing windy blustery snowy day to replicate the moors and the gray howling windwhipped storms depicted in the story.

I probably should check Rory's list to see which of those I've not read might fit with other reading needs -- but I think I'll just go with whatever y'all decide.

[Sarah]

That reminds me of a line from one of my favorite episodes of Frasier. Daphne has just broken up with her boyfriend, Niles' wife is out of town, and Frasier discovers Daphne's stranded at Niles' because of a storm.

"My God, it's a recipe for disaster! You've got a vulnerable woman and an unstable man in a Gothic mansion on a rainy night! The only thing missing is someone shouting 'Heathcliff!' across the moors!"

[Sera]

Good one, Sarah - I am laughing so hard right now. I love Fraiser :)

[Dottie]

Oh my goodness -- I remember that episode, too! Loved it. thanks for the laugh, Sarah.

[whichwaydidshego?, the sage of sass]

My all-time favorite quote referencing Wuthering Heights is from Bridget Jones' Diary (the book)...

"It struck me as pretty ridiculous to be called Mr. Darcy and to stand on your own looking snooty at a party. It's like being called Heathcliff and insisting on spending the entire evening in the garden, shouting 'Cathy' and banging your head against a tree."

I'm laughing just typing it! Gah! So great! The first time I read this I was howling - I mean my gut ached so badly from laughing over it! And what was so lame was that I didn't have a soul around who'd understand the reference. I mean I was in Italy. Loads of international friends, but none of them that read - especially the classics! *contented sigh* Yet another reason to think you all rock!

[Meghan]

Okay, are we forgetting Dorthy Parker or just waiting for another time?

I vote for any of the above.

[Blanca]

Don't forget that the books need to be on our Rory Gilmore Book List.

Ohhhh! I didn't realize that either...
So I suppose DuMaurier's Rebecca is out.


1. A Tree Grows in Broolyn
2. Jane Eyre
3. The Portable Dorothy Parker (I'm sticking with classic nominations. Would love to talk about Kite Runner in the near future.

[Arctic]

LMAO at the excerpt from Bridget Jones...forgot about that. my sentiments exactly.

[Emily]

"Don't forget that the books need to be on our Rory Gilmore Book List."

Oops, forget my previous noms...I really thought Madame Bovary and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe were on it...oh well!

How about:

Reading Lolita in Tehran
The Portable Dorothy Parker
Just a Couple of Days

[Sarah]

I thought Madam Bovary was on it too... it is! I just looked! it's on the first page of the bookshelf.

[Debra]

Hi, I've just joined and will post a picture later. Anyway my vote:

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

[Erin]

I LOVE Wuthering Heights; I used to teach it when I taught British Lit. You should see the film version with Juliette Binoche...it's stunning. However, these are my nominations for this month:

A Separate Peace
A Tree Grown in Brooklyn
Atonement

[whichwaydidshego?, the sage of sass]

Emily I'm going to take your first nominations as they were all on the list. If you wish to change them, let me know.

If anyone would like me to email the book list in an Excel spreadsheet, let me know. I have it. It's ever so much easier to navigate and see what's actually there.

[Emily]

My first nominations are fine:)

This is what happened though, I had been looking at the Rory Gilmore list posted at http://www.listsofbests.com/list/697?... which is somewhat different...maybe the host of that site changed it a little when they moved it from the WB site? I dunno...

[Courtney]

Here are my revised nominations. Middlesex, Atonement, which I am reading now and am dying to discuss, and Portable Dorothy Parker, which is one of my favorite collections of poetry and short stories ever!

[Courtney]

Oh my goodness, the html code worked!! What a complete and utter shocker!

[Sarah]

Emily, we did get most of the books on the list from that web site, but also when the group first started our members were able to recall other books and/or authors who were mentioned on the show but not on that site's list.

[Meghan]

Questions to our lovely moderators:

If Dorthy Parker is chosen, are we planning on choosing a contemporary? Or is she considered contemporary? How are we defining "classic" vs. "contemporary"?

I ask because DP is looonnnggg and while January is a slower month, I'm almost certain that I won't be reading two books for this club if one is over 600 pages. Not to say what I can and cannot do should dictate the reading for others...

Secondly:

Can we make it so that the discussion threads all begin on one date? I love the idea of saying every month, threads may begin on the 7th (giving members a whole week to start getting into the books). Since we're doing threads by chapters, this should allow discussions to start while not revealing too many spoilers.

But my point is what if someone chooses only to read one of the two books picked? Or chooses to read the second book before the first. Making them wait a whole week simply because they chose to read the second book, seems not right (to moi). Plus, I tend to read simultaneously. I really wanted to compare and contrast the two books this month, but because we had to wait a week before discussing ACC, I never did (mainly because I forgot).

Anyway, these are mere musings on my part. Take them as you will.

[Laura]

Adventures of Kavalier and clay
Attonement
Demons

[Arctic]

i second the single discussion start date idea, if it's feasible.

[Liz M]

I'm not sure about a single start date. I read fairly quickly and do occasionally read more than one book at a time, but would prefer to have time to focus on each.

And I am a little slower about getting books than y'all. Between the selection and the start of discussion for Holidays on Ice & A Christmas Carol, I hadn't gotten to the library, let alone had the time to read the two books.

So, if you do decide on one start date, perhaps there can be more time between announcing the selections & starting discussions? (Difficult with this group of enthusiastic readers, I know).

[Liz M]

As someone that has rarely read an entire non-fiction work for a real-life bookclub, I can say that the beauty of books like Portable Dorothy Parker, short stories, and non-fiction, is you don't have to read the whole thing to participate in discussions.

I just hope that the Portable Dorothy Parker doesn't get paired with The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (636 pages).

[Sarah]

I like the single start date. Only I don't think we should delay. I think we should be able to just start discussing on the first and go all month. I like to post as I read when a passage moves me.

[Jen Manning]

1) A Month Of Sundays
2) Catch 22
3) Daisy Miller

[whichwaydidshego?, the sage of sass]

I really felt that having a fixed start date part way through the month worked well. A wider variety of people were involved because they weren't going to be way behind in the discussions.

As far as a single start date, you know there was only five days between the two this month but that was great for those that needed that little extra time. Even if you only want to read the second book to be discussed, you'd have all that time and then be discussing it with everyone. Basically if we did do a single start date, it seems to me it would have to be later in the month.

Using start dates was all about participation and no one feeling like they could never catch up or feeling overwhelmed at everything that had already been posted. This month at least it really worked. Don't you think?

[whichwaydidshego?, the sage of sass]

I nominate:

The Count of Monte Cristo

That's all to start with...