Dracula - October BOTM

[Savita]

Follow up : Wuthering Heights is only 311 pages.

[Savita]

Anjali wrote: "Savita wrote: "Are we only allowed to mention chunksters ? I have a few books in mind , but they are not all chunksters .
Les Misérables , 642 pages ; Ayush was reading it , but he hasn't commented..."

Luffy does not want to read War and Peace . That leaves Bleak House and Tess ( This is a lovely book. I have read it , but long ago ) .
I have read Gone With the Wind . It's a lovely book but I don't think I will be reading it again .
A Suitable Boy is only available as paperback, hardcover and to Kindle Unlimited members , on Amazon .
How is Les Misérables , Anjali ?

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

Luffy wrote: "Bookworm wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Savita wrote: "Are we only allowed to mention chunksters ? I have a few books in mind , but they are not all chunksters .
Les Misérables , 642 pages ; ..."

True. I think most of the times, we tend to excuse the misogyny in books because we think it's supposed to be true to it's period. I mean what more can I expect from 19th and 20th century when we still don't have equal opportunities, in many countries across the world. And the pay-gap in the west! That's really off-putting.

You brought up a good point. I remember rating 'To Kill a Mockingbird' high when I had read it. But later on, while in discussion, I came to realize that it was all about white-hero worship and the struggles Atticus and the kids faced because they believed and vouched for the truth, and we kindof forget about the black guy (I don't even recollect the character's name, but I remember the lawyer's, so you see).
If we think about it, that's supposed to be basic humanity but at that time, it was what they could. And to this day, the book is well received among many readers. In my opinion, it hasn't aged well but still I wouldn't change the rating because it's not bad by any means.

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

Savita wrote: "Anjali wrote: "Savita wrote: "Are we only allowed to mention chunksters ? I have a few books in mind , but they are not all chunksters .
Les Misérables , 642 pages ; Ayush was reading it , but he h..."

How about The Goldfinch?

@All, Any thoughts on this book?

[Luffy Sempai]

Savita wrote: "Luffy does not want to read War and Peace . That leaves Bleak House and Tess ( This is a lovely book. I have read it , but long ago ) .
I have read Gone With the Wind . It's a lovely book but I don't think I will be reading it again .
A Suitable Boy is only available as paperback, hardcover and to Kindle Unlimited members , on Amazon .
How is Les Misérables , Anjali ?"

Indeed I do not want to read W&P, but I thought you could get a copy of A Suitable Boy as it is by an Indian author and therefore available wherever you live, India or the west. This is unexpected. There are few solutions except read a different book, probably a classic in public domain.

[Luffy Sempai]

Bookworm wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Bookworm wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Savita wrote: "Are we only allowed to mention chunksters ? I have a few books in mind , but they are not all chunksters .
Les Misérables ..."

Yes it is a sore point, one that is not very simple. Take the case of Vegan movements. Today non-veg people are the norm. They are, however aware of how their meat comes to their plate. They are aware that vegetarianism has some validity. You know where I am going with this. I am a meat eater btw. But I eat non-veg only rarely, twice a month. That too I will eliminate gradually.

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

Luffy wrote: "Bookworm wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Bookworm wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Savita wrote: "Are we only allowed to mention chunksters ? I have a few books in mind , but they are not all chunksters .
[book:Les M..."

Yeah. I do understand. It's great that you're taking initiative, doesn't matter how slowly or quickly you ease into it. :)

[Luffy Sempai]

Here are some big books that might be accessible :-

Glimpses of World History by Jawaharlal Nehru, 1193 pages
Hawaii by James A. Michener, 1136 pages
Sacajawea by Anna Lee Waldo, 1424 pages
Shōgun by James Clavell, 1152 pages
The Wheel of Fortune by Susan Howatch, 1171 pages

[Anjali]

Savita wrote: "A Suitable Boy is only available as paperback, hardcover and to Kindle Unlimited members , on Amazon .
How is Les Misérables , Anjali ?"

I abandoned it halfway through the book, but that was a long time ago. I didn't have much patience then. The same happened with Hard Times but I liked it when I reread it recently.
Hence, I think I could give it a try now.

[Anjali]

Luffy wrote: "Here are some big books that might be accessible :-

Glimpses of World History by Jawaharlal Nehru, 1193 pages
Hawaii by James A. Michener, 1..."

All new to me.

[Anjali]

Bookworm wrote: "How about The Goldfinch?

@All, Any thoughts on this book?"

I've heard about this one. I'm in :)

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

Here are some ranging between 500-800pgs. Just surfed my tbr and found these. Do you guys fancy any one of the following blurbs?
1. The Goldfinch
2. The Unlikely Spy - The blurb sounds like some old movie. Please let me know if I'm actually right and there exists a movie with similar storyline.
3. The Book of Form and Emptiness
4. Cloud Atlas - I think there's a movie adaptation for this one.
5. The Brothers Karamazov

[Luffy Sempai]

Anjali wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Here are some big books that might be accessible :-

Glimpses of World History by Jawaharlal Nehru, 1193 pages
Hawaii by [author:James A. Mic..."

Lol, duly noted.

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

Luffy wrote: "Here are some big books that might be accessible :-

Glimpses of World History by Jawaharlal Nehru, 1193 pages
Hawaii by James A. Michener, 1..."

Looks like you're into historical fiction. Except Nehru's, the rest are.

I just realized this was to be BTOM discussion. I'll leave you guys to it.
Happy Reading. :)

[Austin]

Of all the books mentioned above, two books appeal to me most of all. The Brothers Karamazov and Tess of the D'urbervilles.

A Suitable Boy and Shantaram also sounds good.

[Luffy Sempai]

Bookworm wrote: "Here are some ranging between 500-800pgs. Just surfed my tbr and found these. Do you guys fancy any one of the following blurbs?
1. The Goldfinch
2. The Unlikely Spy - ..."

These are much better choices than mine. I like mystery more than historical fiction. Thank you!!

[Luffy Sempai]

Austin wrote: "Of all the books mentioned above, two books appeal to me most of all. The Brothers Karamazov and Tess of the D'urbervilles.

A Suitable Boy and Shantaram also sounds good."

Any book that is above 500 pages is a chunkster. Austin, please consider Cloud Atlas or The Goldfinch. Cloud Atlas is the type of sci fi I can read. I actually never read any of these options, but I know that The Goldfinch has 200 pages of filler, while Cloud Atlas has a Fantastic Structure. It will also appeal to anyone interested in Indian philosophy. OTOH, The Goldfinch won a Pulitzer Prize. We can't go wrong with either.

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

Luffy wrote: "Bookworm wrote: "Here are some ranging between 500-800pgs. Just surfed my tbr and found these. Do you guys fancy any one of the following blurbs?
1. The Goldfinch
2. [book:The Unlik..."

I enjoy mystery too. Glad that you liked these. You may just add to your tbr, even if these don't get selected for BR. :)

[Austin]

Luffy, to be frank, The Goldfinch doesn't appeal to me. I am interested in The Secret History by the same author though. Cloud Atlas, also doesn't appeal to me.

[Austin]

I see, many of you have included books shorter than 700 pages.

[Luffy Sempai]

Bookworm wrote: "I enjoy mystery too. Glad that you liked these. You may just add to your tbr, even if these don't get selected for BR. :)"

Of course! See you. Will read them relatively soon.

[Luffy Sempai]

Austin wrote: "Luffy, to be frank, The Goldfinch doesn't appeal to me. I am interested in The Secret History by the same author though. Cloud Atlas, also doesn't appeal to me."

Well I have fulfilled my role, now it's up to you and Savita et al. It's time for me to support this little project, and, luck willing, be interested enough to participate. Of course, if it comes to a poll, I will vote.

[Austin]

My preferred choices (as I either have them at home or available at the nearby library free of charge)

1. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
2. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
3. Foucault's Pendulum by U. Eco
4. River God by Wilbur Smith
5. Micro by Crichton/Preston

Anyone else interested in these books? Please do comment on the above mentioned books. If it doesn't appeal to anyone, I can create another list later.

[Austin]

A Suitable Boy seems to appeal to many here. I hope Savita can do something in this regard. Not sure whether Bookworm will be interested in this book. I haven't seen her reading any Indian books. Lol. Brothers Karamazov and Tess of the D'urbervilles seem to have some takers as well. And what about Shriti's Shantaram? I keep hearing it on WhatsApp book groups.

[Savita]

Austin wrote: "My preferred choices (as I either have them at home or available at the nearby library free of charge)

1. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
2. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
3. Foucault's Pendulum by U..."

I will look up these books and put a comment later . Only heard of The Fountainhead and A Suitable Boy . Am not familiar with the others .

[Savita]

I am reading chapter 11 . The Dracula has certainly appeared in ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler)[ England ! He's the one who has set the wolf free . I wonder how Jonathan escaped from him 🤔 ? And is Jonathan still under his evil power ? That would mean Mina is in danger ! (hide spoiler)] ☆☆

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

Austin wrote: "A Suitable Boy seems to appeal to many here. I hope Savita can do something in this regard. Not sure whether Bookworm will be interested in this book. I haven't seen her reading any Indian books. L..."

Lol. That's true, I have very few Indian books in my arsenal. The latest ones that I recollect are Malgudi Days and The Rule Breakers (this one was a random pick) and have read them months ago.

[Shriti]

Austin wrote: "My preferred choices (as I either have them at home or available at the nearby library free of charge)

1. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
2. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
3. Foucault's Pendulum by U..."

A lot of the books mentioned in this thread have piqued my interest: The Goldfinch, Cloud Atlas, A Suitable Boy, the Fountainhead, Shantaram. Since everyone will have their preferences of course, I think a poll (or two) is the best way forward here; preferably, in a fresh thread inviting participation from all members and not just the ones active in this BOTM thread?!

[Savita]

Shriti wrote: "Austin wrote: "My preferred choices (as I either have them at home or available at the nearby library free of charge)

1. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
2. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
3. Foucault'..."

Yes , I , too , think a poll , in a fresh thread, will be the best way forward.

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

Agreed. What if we request the Mods to send the BR link/invite in the monthly newsletter msg?

@Mods, upto you.

[Shriti]

Luffy wrote: "Well, a lot of classics have a reputation that is false. The inflated value of Victorian literature is very solid, and is entrenched in English speaking countries. English men and women will defend their books with a fierce fanaticism..."

I agree with you in some parts but I feel a certain loyalty to the classics, and would even defend them fiercely regardless of, whether I have had an enjoyable read of it or not.

Classics are noteworthy boos because not only did they capture the attention of the readers when they first got published, but also the work withstood the tests of time to be thought of as exemplary. As voracious readers, we have had the privilege to better articulate our tastes in literature, so it does not sit well with me to ignore the literary heritage i.e. our classics.

“All that can be done is for each of us to invent our own ideal library of our classics; and I would say that one half of it would consist of books we have read and that have meant something for us and the other half of books which we intend to read and which we suppose might mean something to us. We should also leave a section of empty spaces for surprises and chance discoveries.”
― Italo Calvino, Why Read the Classics?

Hence was born my personal resolve to read at least 1-2 classic books yearly to round-out my reading.

[Luffy Sempai]

Shriti wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Well, a lot of classics have a reputation that is false. The inflated value of Victorian literature is very solid, and is entrenched in English speaking countries. English men and wom..."

I won't argue with you, precisely because you defend classics fiercely. I know who I can persuade and who I cannot. Books are like stairs, the classics are wooden or stone or rarely marble, recent ones are concrete or metal. They exist, and do not compete with each other.

[Austin]

Shriti wrote: "Austin wrote: "My preferred choices (as I either have them at home or available at the nearby library free of charge)

1. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
2. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
3. Foucault'..."

Yes, I agree with you for polls to settle the matter. It will be a separate poll, not BOTM poll. Let each person be allowed to nominate five tomes and be allowed to second two tomes put forward by others?

[Austin]

Bookworm wrote: "Austin wrote: "A Suitable Boy seems to appeal to many here. I hope Savita can do something in this regard. Not sure whether Bookworm will be interested in this book. I haven't seen her reading any ..."

I have known you all for quite some time that that now I know what kind of books y'all prefer to read. Malgudi days was in fact BOTM in March of this year.

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

Austin wrote: "Bookworm wrote: "Austin wrote: "A Suitable Boy seems to appeal to many here. I hope Savita can do something in this regard. Not sure whether Bookworm will be interested in this book. I haven't seen..."

Yeah, I remember it being BOTM. :D
I think I gravitate towards mystery/thriller, sci-fi, fantasy (including UF/pnf, I finished the KD series within a week..lol), contemporary and ofcourse classics (more or less in the same order).

And I still can't dnf books, so if the blurb doesn't appeal to me, I would rather not go into especially if it's a chunster.

[Austin]

You could have tried Dracula, Bookworm. On my book cover it's actually written Dracula: A Mystery Story, though the book usually goes simply as Dracula. And I do agree with the book title. It's a mysterious horror story. But it's okay if you don't want to read as you don't like to DNF.

[Austin]

What do you mean by uf and pnf?

[Austin]

Have you tried sci-fi books by Neal Stephenson, Bookworm? They are very long books. I haven't read any of his books yet but I have several of his long books on my TBR. Stephen King is another person who writes very long books.

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

The reason I didn't try Dracula was because of my mood and I had some books planned which I wanted to complete first. And after reading many works in urban fantasy with vampires (both published and also ages ago in wattpad), I didn't feel like getting on with it, for now.
We never know, I might actually start Dracula in the last week because first Savita and now you, are very sure that I'll enjoy it. lets see, I might pick it up (or maybe not). :D

It's good to see all of you enjoying it though. :)

[Savita]

Bookworm wrote: "The reason I didn't try Dracula was because of my mood and I had some books planned which I wanted to complete first. And after reading many works in urban fantasy with vampires (both published and..."

When / if you do get down to Dracula , Bookworm , I think you will enjoy it as much as we all are . The book is just Not a sketchy, childish story . The descriptions are so beautiful, as is the building up of the right ambience. Reminds me of Daphne du Maurier in Rebecca. She also has a beautiful language and builds up the ambience very well .
I am curious to know how the Dracula is dealt with in the end. It's a fight of God against the Devil really.

[Savita]

Shriti wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Well, a lot of classics have a reputation that is false. The inflated value of Victorian literature is very solid, and is entrenched in English speaking countries. English men and wom..."

Very beautifully said , Shriti ! I couldn't agree more .
But , a word , too , for contemporary fiction - it is through Goodreads that I've come to read newer authors , and I have been pleasantly surprised by so many books . The Nightingale , Stormy Weather and so on . Of course , with newer authors, since they're not time tested , tthe risk of having to DNF a book is always there . But , that risk is acceptable , I think .
Classic authors are priceless . Their language has so much of substance. They have so much to teach about life . Sometimes you get so lost in the story , to come back to real life takes a bit of effort ! 👌 😊

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

Savita wrote: "Bookworm wrote: "The reason I didn't try Dracula was because of my mood and I had some books planned which I wanted to complete first. And after reading many works in urban fantasy with vampires (b..."

😊

[Austin]

Savita wrote: "Shriti wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Well, a lot of classics have a reputation that is false. The inflated value of Victorian literature is very solid, and is entrenched in English speaking countries. Engl..."

I usually am very hesitant to read books by authors I have never heard of before. Increases the chance of DNFing the book, I agree. But even well known authors whom I had never read before like Stephen King, Salman Rushdie, Gunter Gras, Arthur Hailey, Vladimir Nabokov, China Mieville, James Rollins, Harper Lee and Elif Shafak etc bombed for me. While some authors like Kahlil Gibran, Ayn Rand, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Mary Higgins Clark, Arthur Golden, S.L. Bhyrappa etc turned out to be a success. It's like trial and error method. Sometimes it will click, other times it won't. And now I am liking Bram Stoker's writing. First time I am reading anything by him.

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

Austin wrote: "Savita wrote: "Shriti wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Well, a lot of classics have a reputation that is false. The inflated value of Victorian literature is very solid, and is entrenched in English speaking ..."

Agreed. All depends on personal taste and/or the mood one's in.
You win some, you lose some. :)

[Austin]

Bookworm wrote: "Austin wrote: "Savita wrote: "Shriti wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Well, a lot of classics have a reputation that is false. The inflated value of Victorian literature is very solid, and is entrenched in En..."

Yeah. But it doesn't mean I am outrightly rejecting those authors. I am still willing to give them another chance via their other books.

[Austin]

Savita wrote: "I am reading chapter 11 . The Dracula has certainly appeared in ☆☆Beware Spoilers [spoilers removed] ☆☆"

It's got to a part where it's all about Lucy, Dr. Seward and Dr. Van Helsing. I am waiting to know more about what happened to Jonathan Harker.

[Bookworm (have loads of catching up to do)]

Austin wrote: "Bookworm wrote: "Austin wrote: "Savita wrote: "Shriti wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Well, a lot of classics have a reputation that is false. The inflated value of Victorian literature is very solid, and is..."

That's great, Austin. It happens more often than we might think, we could adore a specific work of an author and at the same time we could be bored by another of their works.

[Shriti]

Austin wrote: "Savita wrote: "Shriti wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Well, a lot of classics have a reputation that is false. The inflated value of Victorian literature is very solid, and is entrenched in English speaking ..."

I am certainly grateful for GR. It tempted me to read beyond my comfort zone of happy / light-hearted books and only whodunit mysteries.

For me, reading is all abut enjoying the story ultimately. No amount of clever quips, popular references, or beautiful flowery language is going to cut it with me, unless the book has an original story at its heart. Even with re-tellings, it is - the fresh voice, a different POV, alternative circumstances - that grab my attention.

[Shriti]

Bookworm wrote: "Austin wrote: "Bookworm wrote: "Austin wrote: "A Suitable Boy seems to appeal to many here. I hope Savita can do something in this regard. Not sure whether Bookworm will be interested in this book...."

I have a similar 'can't DNF' problem which keeps me from picking books I am feeling even slightly ambivalent about. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Austin]

Shriti, Bookworm, Savita, Luffy, Anjali and anyone else who is interested, please list your final list of books that you want to nominate. Nominate as many as you want. Each person will be allowed to second three books nominated by others. Can't second one's own nominated books though.