What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
► UNSOLVED: One specific book
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Fiction book about perils of progress.
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Lol...
My theory is that I remember the book when the rest of the family doesn't because I read it myself a few times after Dad read it aloud. One other little detail is I think the wife's name was Eve or Eva.
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Are you sure it was a novel? It sounds like a sci-fi short story (that is nagging at the back of my head and for which I cannot yet dredge up the name, grrr).
Thank you Michele and Naeem. Definitely not science fiction or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. But I really appreciate the replies.
Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Well, I know I want to read this."Ditto! Someone could write an updated version along these lines with ipads, computers and cell phones!
Moving on up again. Thanks for reading my description, and please please help if you can!
Keep bumping, Mindy, this one sounds really interesting and I'd love to read it when it's found!
Yes, do keep bumping. I very much want to read this.
Haven't bumped since January, so here it is again. I would dearly love to find this book.
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That's not it, but you're right, the era and topics are close. The tone and theme of my forgotten book is much darker.Thanks so much for the title, though, Ayshe! Looks like a very cute book and I've added it to my TBR.
Here's another bump. Would still love to find this one.
This might be totally off (I can't find anything about it online) but how about "Magnificent dishonor; a novel of modern life in the United States" by Frank Newton and Ruby N. Wirth http://www.worldcat.org/title/magnifi... ?
Wow, good searching, Ayshe! I have searched WorldCat so many times and never came up with that one. The title does not sound at all familiar, but the time frame, length, and subject matter are promising. I've requested a copy and will let you know. Thanks so much.
Kris, I think all of us in this thread wish it solved, but it isn't yet. I think Michele created the record just to have it in the database in any case.
Ayshe wrote: "Kris, I think all of us in this thread wish it solved, but it isn't yet. I think Michele created the record just to have it in the database in any case."Yes, exactly. Well, and also because I'm a completist, and I want that GoodReads should have ALL THE THINGS!
Definitely shouldn't be in the solved folder yet. I'll report back once the ILL arrives.
Mindy wrote: "Definitely shouldn't be in the solved folder yet. I'll report back once the ILL arrives."Yeah, somebody needs to edit the topic title to remove SOLVED and move it out of the "solved" folder. I don't know how to do that, unfortunately :(
Michele wrote: "Yeah, somebody needs to edit the topic title to remove SOLVED and move it out of the "solved" folder. I don't know how to do that, unfortunately :("There should be "edit" near the topic's title (on the desktop site at least), visible only to Mindy and mods, I think, from there.
I see someone got it moved back, so thank you. And Michele, thanks for adding the title to GR. I agree, we should all aspire to get EVERY book cataloged. :-)
Does part of the book include vacuum cleaners? I'm remembering a piece of something where all the housewives are amazed by the labor savings of the vacuum cleaner, so they all buy one, only to require more factories to make the cleaners, so the air is dirtier, meaning they all have to clean more often. I'm remembering nothing about the prairie dog holes though, so this is probably a different piece.
Doesn't ring any bells, Hillary, but then I only remember a few bits of the book. Thanks for the input! If I find vacuums play a part in the story I will certainly let you know.
Could it have been a short story? I recently read a short story kind of like this by Fred Hoyle - "The Perils of Slippage City." I can't find anything about it online, but it's in Element 79.
Not a short story, but thank you for the reply! I've put a hold on Element 79...sounds interesting.
I got Magnificent Dishonor through ILL last week, and I can tell you without question that it is NOT your book, more's the pity. I was really hoping. It's kind of interesting on its own merits, but not at all like the story you describe.
Thanks, Michele. Mine arrived too and a skim of the first page told me it wasn't my unknown book. I do plan to read it, though. :-)Thanks again, Ayshe! At least we're getting closer.
Mindy
I'm sorry I sent you wild goose chasing :( I hope it gets found.
Ayshe wrote: "I'm sorry I sent you wild goose chasing :( I hope it gets found."Oh that's OK - it's still an interesting book. Discovering new books is never a waste of time :)
Thanks to all of you who have spent time looking for this. Bumping it again.
It's been over two years since my last bump. I would still love to find this one.
What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
Magnificent Dishonor (other topics)Element 79 (other topics)
Magnificent Dishonor (other topics)
Father's Big Improvements (other topics)
The story starts with a description of a family living in days when most people didn't have cars. They would ride to church in their horse-pulled wagon and count the prairie dog holes along the way. At some point, the family gets its first car and things start to fall apart. They go too fast to be able to count the prairie dog holes. The husband and wife never see each other face to face anymore and begin communicating entirely by notes. As time goes on, they purchase other modern conveniences, which also don't work out well. The theme of the book is definitely that progress corrupts. It is narrated in third person from the father's perspective. He thinks he is the only one who is unhappy, and often says or thinks that he doesn't want to deprive his family of the good things in life.
Any ideas of what this might be? I've been looking for it for a few years. My dad doesn't remember the book or even that he ever read us a novel. My siblings are equally unhelpful.
Thanks