BOTM Suggestions Nov. '18 - Classics (1969 & Before)

[Joanna Loves Reading]

Marcos wrote: ":-)
Having two mods is like that!

I listed the non eligible books in the "Bookshelf Catch up" thread, based on the rule of not repeating any book reread in the last 12 months.

But let's stick to ..."

I mis-interpreted the rules! I am good either way.

[Susan]

I'll second Stoner and Of Mice and Men.
Also Papillon and Angle of Repose.

[Cassie]

I second Jeckyll & Hyde

[Zainab]

I second Of Mice and Men, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

[Atlanta]

I second man in the high castle and dr. Kelly an mr. Hyde. Also which invisible man? If hg wells I 2nd,

[Kerri]

I will second Stoner, Anna Karenina, and Invisible Man (which is linked to the Ralph Ellison version so Atlanta, is that not a second for you? I think your message cut off)
There are so many good book nominations this month! It is making it really hard to choose!

[Cheryl]

Oh, good question, is it
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
or
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
that we're considering?

[Joanna Loves Reading]

It’s the Ralph Ellison book. See message 23 for the nomination.

[Rachel]

I vote Anna Karenina!

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Quinty wrote: "I nominate On the Road"

Linda wrote: "I nominate Tales of the South Pacific"

second these

[Atlanta]

I’m not seconding invisible man.

[Liz]

I second Man in the High Castle!

[Jessica]

I second Swann's Way

[Joanna Loves Reading]

Atlanta wrote: "I’m not seconding invisible man."

Noted. And not counted as a second.

[hannah]

Seconding Anna Karenina, Jekyll and Hyde, and On the Road!

[Allison]

I second Doctor Zhivago!

[Mandy]

So many great nominations! I will add my votes to the following:

Anna Karenina
On the Road
Lady Chatterley's Lover
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and
Swann's Way

[Marcos]

I usually recommend members not to nominate a book in the final part of the period, because it will have less time to be seen and seconded.

But... This time I'm doing the opposite! :-)

I found a very interesting book, The Zimmermann Telegram: The Astounding Espionage Operation That Propelled America into the First World War, by Barbara W. Tuchman.

I was sure I'd like it, but I got it today, that's why I decided to nominate it.

This an American historian and Pulitzer-Prize winner, and also a great writer. As a result, her history books sound like thrillers!

Some reviews:

'As thrilling as a John Buchan novel' The Times Literary Supplement
'The tale has most of the ingredients of an Eric Ambler spy thriller' Saturday Review

Of course we are not to take book praise to its full extent, but even if with an 50 % discount, the following is still a great one! :-)

'Its 200 pages are worth more than all the thrillers and whodunits of the fiction writers put together' Herald

It's a a spy story, a thriller, very well written and it's all true! Well, that's it. See if you like the suggestion and if it's worth seconding.

[Lisa]

I second Anna Karenina and Swann's Way please!

[Megan]

I second Marco’s book, The Zimmerman Telegram. . .

[Berna]

I second Of Mice and Men

[Rachel]

I nominate A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

[MissLemon]

Marcos wrote: "I usually recommend members not to nominate a book in the final part of the period, because it will have less time to be seen and seconded.

But... This time I'm doing the opposite! :-)

I found a ..."

That does look like a great book Marcos, thanks for the recommendation :-)

But I'm not sure it qualifies as a book 'everyone' has read?

[Marcos]

Good question, Carolyn! I have a good answer, too! :-)

Coming soon!

[Andrea]

I'll also second The Zimmermann Telegram. Looks fascinating!

thanks Marcos for alerting us to this book. Added it to my 'To Read' list already.

[Joanna Loves Reading]

Hi all! Just one more day to nominate or second. As the tally stand now, these books will be featured:

2. The Man in the High Castle — 7
6. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — 14
7. Anna Karenina — 15
8. Of Mice and Men — 7

There are definitely some close contenders, though, so I could change!

[Marcos]

Yes, that's it! I nominated The Zimmermann Telegram because I thought Swann's Way wasn't taking off, but, surprise! It's the next contender, with 6 seconds!

So, I'm sending a thank you telegram to Zimmermann's supporters, and back to the Proust campaign! :-)

Any of the four present front runners will be a great read! Some months just go great!

[Marcos]

Like I said, a good tip is to avoid nominating in the second half of the nominating period: chances are much lower. Zimmermman proved the theory. :-)

[Renee]

this is another win /win /win/win list

[Marcos]

Still have to answer Carolyn's question.

So, Carolyn, we've debated it before, it's all still there (somewhere in the Heart of Darkness of the discussion threads...:-), but I'll prefer to explain again, so that everyone can follow.

Of course, our guideline is "Everyone has read this" and will keep being.

But... who is "everyone"? :-) The answer to that question may vary in time, country, language, etc.

When we discussed it before, someone had suggested an important American History book, which I think was The Things They Carried. Some mentioned it was a frequent high school read. Well, that may be in the US, but actually not so much elsewhere.

On the other hand, if a Spanish book (or Swedish, or Italian, or Russian, or Argentinian, etc.) is a huge success in that country or language, "everyone" may be reading and talking about it, but within a different geographical or cultural boundary. How many Norwegian, Dutch or Chinese books do we read? Yet, "everyone" may be reading one of them in China, for instance - and that would be millions of people, even if we have never heard about it.

Or consider time. A writer may have been a huge success some time ago (one century, just 50 years?), but may have faded from the media and sales after their death. So, "everyone" was reading him/her by that time. Their place in Literature won't fade away, even if the sales and prominence may fade.

This late case is the case with Barbara Tuchman. From Goodreads: "As an author, Tuchman focused on producing popular history. Her clear, dramatic storytelling covered topics as diverse as the 14th century and World War I, and sold millions of copies."

Millions of copies, two Pulitzer Prizes. Certainly earned her place. "Everyone" was talking about her around 1960, but Goodreads wasn't around yet. :-)

(Er... Don't tell anyone, but I was around by then, although reading "Little Red Riding Hood", not Tuchman. :-)

So, my conclusion at the time, and still the same, was that those nominations do fit our criteria. If one of our members feels that a book can be nominated because "everyone" is talking about it in his/her specific environment (place, time, etc.), that's OK.

Even if there is an eventual misjudgement, the group has proved to be a great filter, and very good at course correcting.

Finally, even if someone nominates a Mongolian book that no one can really classify as "EHRTBM", but members for some reason (maybe a cellphone Call from Cthulu, or because of the Left Hand of Darkness, or because Something Wicked This Way Comes), decide - by seconding and voting - to read that strange work... Well, then, I can see no Thirteen Reasons Why not! :-)

[Marcos]

Hope you like it, Carolyn! :-)

I was enthusiastic about The Zimmerman Telegram. But it will be my "Z" for the Alphabet Soup, anyway! :-)

[Marcos]

Now for Proust.

Because of the film "Call Me by Your Name" being in evidence earlier this year, the author of the original book, André Aciman, has been as well. André Aciman was born in Alexandria, Egypt and is an American memoirist, essayist, novelist, and scholar of seventeenth-century literature.

And I recently watched an inteview with him on Brazilian TV. I not only liked him very much and was attracted by his work, but learned that he has also written many essays and reviews on, and teaches, Marcel Proust.

What by its turn ignited an old wish of mine to read Proust, which I haven't so far. Aciman said very interesting, clever and nice things of Proust, like readers saying as they read, "It's not Proust, it's me!".

From Goodreads: "Today Proust is widely recognised as one of the greatest authors of the 20th Century, and À la recherche du temps perdu as one of the most dazzling and significant works of literature to be written in modern times.". And for Aciman, "the greatest".

The one I nominated is the first book of his great work In Search of Lost Time (À la recherche du temps perdu, published in seven volumes, (1913–1927).

This first volume is Swann's Way (Du côté de chez Swann, sometimes translated as The Way by Swann's) (1913).

[Helen]

On the Road, and The Man in the High Castle

[Joanna Loves Reading]

Nominations are now closed, and these books will be featured:

2. The Man in the High Castle — 8
6. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — 14
7. Anna Karenina — 15
8. Of Mice and Men — 7

If I am off in counts, let me know. I plan to put up the polls tomorrow!

[Zeljka]

Why don't we have 5 books in the poll?

[Marcos]

Zeljka, the more books we have in a poll, the more vote dispersion. Which means a poorer choice in terms of a BOTM that will please the most readers.

Joanna and I agreed that four books is a good limit. That's why. :-) No news, we've had four books for a long time in the group with Kasey. We started with more in the beginning of the group, then had this discussion, and cut to four. Only recently Kasey had started including more than four again.

If there is a tie, like five books with the same secondings, there might be a poll with five books, but that's the exception, not the rule. :-)

This month, my suggestion, Swann's Way, was the next in line. Had it got one more seconding, it would have had 7, the same as AK and Of M&M. But it didn't. Despite my campaigning! :-) So, no Proust this month. :-)

[Joanna Loves Reading]

Polls are up!
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...