Voting for January 2023 botm CLOSED

[Kristel]

I will be posting books today for our January BOTM. Yes. The end of 2022 is approaching. January: Atwood - Barth

We also will be voting for 2023 quarterly reads after we are done voting for January BOTM so be sure to check out the list of proposed books and add yours.

Our year long read is Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady, Samuel Richardson

Does anyone have any suggestions? Any changes?I Please let me know otherwise, I am continuing the TBR takedown, BOTM, Quarterly reads, Annual Reads. I am sure that Book will continue the Randomizer lists.

Remember we are always looking for volunteers to lead discussions. Anyone interest in leading the annual discussion?

[Kristel]

Voting will be open today, November 15 through the 23rd. We are starting over with the alphabet and our first set are Atwood to Barth. Winners will be announced on the 24th. The second book is chosen by the randomizer.

Please review the list of authors and the books that are eligible in this post. Comment, give your opinions, and most important, don't forget to vote. Everyone gets one free vote but if you want more opportunity you can use participation points. See the thread on participation points on how to earn them and how to use them.

HOW TO VOTE:
1. Make your choice or choices from the list that is posted here.
2. You get one free vote and if you have participation points you can have up to 5 votes. You can use them all on one choice or you can make 5 choices.
3. Send a Personal Message to either me or the shelf personality for Reading 1001
4. If you only comment here on your choice it won't get counted so don't forget to send that message.
5. In order to receive messages you must be a friend or in your profile, click that you will receive mail from everyone.

Excluded books this month.
The Blind Assassin >600 pages
The Newton Letter by John Banville, botm 2021
Super-Cannes by J.G. Ballard, botm 2021
Cloudsplitter, >700 pages, previous Q read
Giles Goat-Boy, >700 pgs

Atwood, Margaret, Canadian author
1. Alias Grace, 468 pages
2. The Robber Bride, 528 pages
3. Cat's Eye, 462 pages, botm 2019 botm
4. The Handmaid's Tale, 481 pgs, 2009, 2010 botm
5. Surfacing, 199, 2015 botm

Bernardo Atxaga - Spain, Basque
6. Obabakoak, 344 pages

Jane Austen UK
7. Northanger Abbey, 260 pages
8. Persuasion, 249 pages
9. Emma 474 pages
10. Mansfield park, 488 pages
11. Pride and Prejudice, 279 pages
12. Sense and Sensibility 409 pages

Paul Auster US
13. Invisible, 308 pages
14. The Book of Illusions, 288 pages
15. Timbuktu 181 pages
16. Mr. Vertigo 318 pges
17. The Music of Chance, 217 pgs, 2012 botm
18. Moon Palace, 320 pages
19. The New York Trilogy, 308 pages

Mariano Azuela, Mexico
20. The Underdogs, 176 pages

Mariama Bâ, Senegal
21. So Long a Letter, 90 pages

James Baldwin, US
22. Go Tell It On the Mountain, 256 pages
23. Giovanni's Room 224 pages

J.G. Ballard, UK (born in China)
24. Cocaine Nights, 336 pgs
25. Empire of the Sun, 351 pgs
26. High Rise, 208 pgs
27. Crash, 224 pgs , botm 2015
28. The Atrocity Exhibition, 136 pgs
29. The Drowned World, 198 pgs

Iain Banks, Scotland
30. Dead Air, 436 pages
31. Complicity, 313 pages
33. The Crow Road, 501 pgs
34. The Wasp Factory, 184 pgs
Iain M. Banks, pseudonym that author uses for his SF
35. The Player of Games, 293 pages

John Banville, Ireland
36. The Sea, 195 pgs, 2009 botm
37. Shroud, 257 pgs
38. The Untouchable, 368 pgs
39. The Book of Evidence, 220 pgs

Muriel Barbery, France
40. The Elegance of the Hedgehog, 325 pgs, 2010, 2012 botm

Henri Barbusse, France
41. Under Fire, 352 pages
42. The Inferno (Hell), 255 pgs

Alessandro Baricco Italy
43. Silk, 91 pgs

Nicola Barker, UK
44. H(A)PPY, 282 pages

Pat Barker UK
45. Another World, 277 pgs, 2019 botm
46. The Ghost Road, 277 pgs
47. Regeneration, 256 pgs

Djuna Barnes, US
48. Nightwood, 182 pgs

Julian Barnes, UK
49. The Sense of an Ending, 150 pgs, 2012 botm
50. Flaubert's Parrot, 190 pgs , 2015 botm

Kevin Barry, Ireland
51. Night Boat to Tangier, 224 pgs

John Barth
52. The End of the Road, 184 pgs
53. The Floating Opera, 240 pgs

That's our list of choices for January 2023. Which ones would you like to read?

[Leni]

I really hope to get back into reading more BotMs next year. I've mainly just done the TBR takedown this year. (That is my favourite of any reading challenge.) Fortunately there are quite a few on the January list that I would love to read:

-Any of the Atwoods except for the Handmaid's Tale
-The New York trilogy
-Empire of the Sun or The Drowned World
-The Sea
-H(A)PPY
-Night Boat to Tangier

And I imagine everyone has read all of the Austen's already, but I am always up for a re-read of any of them.

[Amanda]

Once again 4 books I haven't read:

- Obabakoak
-dead air
-shroud
-H(A)PPY

would be willing to vote for any of these if people are feeling them.

[Gail]

I have read 24 of these (a new high for me) but have not read The New York trilogy, H(A)PPY or Dead Air so I have some common ground with Leni and Amanda. I could also read either of the Barbusse or So Long a Letter.

[Valerie]

I'm most interested in The New York Trilogy.

[Diane]

I am interested in reading Alias Grace, the only Atwood I haven't read.

[Patrick]

I have gone through 25 of these, but I still have a few on my TBR shelf:

The Handmaid's Tale (Atwood; believe it or not)
Emma (Austen; believe it or not)
Moon Palace (Auster)
So Long a Letter (Bâ)
H(A)PPY (Barker)
Night Boat to Tangier (Barry)

So, it can be H(A)PPY or a Night Boat to Tangier for me at this stage.

[Kristel]

>8 Patrick, I would be H(A)PPY with either of those as well. The Atwood I’ve left to read is The Robber’s Bride. I also own So Long a Letter.

I’ve read 34 of these.

[Amanda]

Seems like a lot of people could be inclined towards H(A)PPY right now, which is great and probs what I'm going to vote for at this rate.

[Rosemary]

I've read more of these than usual, 38. I only own one that's waiting to be read, Timbuktu, but I will put that on my TBR Takedown list for next year and go with something else this time. I haven't read H(A)PPY so that would be fine for me.

[George P.]

I've read just 15 of these, a little less than my usual third- there are some authors here with several list books whom I haven't read, like Banville, Banks and Ballard.
Like Kristel, I've read all the Atwoods except The Robber Bride.
The highest in my to-read list are The Crow Road and Nightwood. So any of those three would be great for me but I would read some of the others that were mentioned, like Moon Palace or Empire of the Sun.

[Pip]

I have read 29 - more than usual. I would like to revisit Barker’s trilogy so will vote for Regeneration.

[George P.]

I split my votes between The Robber Bride and Empire of the Sun.

[[deleted user]]

Two excluded from Randomiser this month you will need to vote for them if you want them to be read

The Handmaid's Tale
Elegance of the Hedgehog

[Kristel]

Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US.

Starting off 2023 we will be reading
The Atrocity Exhibition by Ballard (Random pick)
H(A)PPY by Barker.

[Kristel]

We had a great turn out with 6 books receiving votes. H(A)PPY jumped out ahead fairly quickly and Robber Bride in second place. What will you be reading to start off the new year?

Are you on track to finish our year long read? Will you be reading Clarissa?

Be sure to get your votes in so we can get our quarterly reads set up.

Happy reading!

[Amanda]

Nice! Will definitely be reading H(A)PPY, and will order it today. I don't know about other countries, but I've found it hard to source in Canada (or at least near me) compared to Nicola Barker's other books.

Have already read atrocity exhibition, but will def be reading Clarissa in the new year.

[Gail]

Same, same. I will be reading H(A)ppy and Clarissa but have already read that Ballard.

[Rosemary]

I haven't read either of the BOTMs so very h(a)ppy with those.

Good luck with Clarissa - I have read that one and don't plan to reread, but will peek at the threads to see what you all think!

[George P.]

I'm interested in The Atrocity Exhibition but it's not at my libraries and lowest price I find is US $15.20 used (> 10 cents a page), so maybe not.

[Kristel]

audible has The Atrocity Exhibition if you have an account with them.

[Pip]

I am so pleased - just bought it from Audible - but I still have 16 credits to use up!

[George P.]

I'm probably going to sign up for the 4-month trial on Audible at $6/ mo. so I can get Atrocity Exhibition. You can cancel anytime, no commitment.

[Patrick]

My brain must have been addled by COVID, as I don't have H(A)PPY on my TBR (I confused it with H is for Hawk); not willing to pay $46 for the hard cover version, it still hasn't had a paperback release; so I will skip it. I already read The Atrocity Exhibition (hint: the Joy Division song of the same title is better than the book). So 2023 will start with my TBR challenge and the quarterly read, if I haven't already read it.

[Pip]

Found H(a)ppy on Kindle for $NZ18 which is more expensive than usual - but I haven’t bought a book for awhile. I used 3 of my Audible credits on Clarissa, which will keep me busy for sometime!

[Kristel]

Patrick wrote: "My brain must have been addled by COVID, as I don't have H(A)PPY on my TBR (I confused it with H is for Hawk); not willing to pay $46 for the hard cover version, it still hasn't had a paperback rel..."

It’s an experimental structure novel with things like blank pages so really probably has to be read in book form. It was not easy to find and I didn’t have top pay $46 but it was still money that I usually try to avoid spending.

[George P.]

I just noticed that Amazon sells an audio-CD in mp3 format of the hard-to-find "The Atrocity Exhibition" for $12.

[[deleted user]]

I ordered December and January books from library as the inter library thingy bobby normally takes ages so guess what happened... The Atrocity Exhibition has already arrived while Decembers books... no sign LOL

[Dianne]

I was excited to find a free online edition of the atrocity exhibition, which includes the author's annotations alongside the text. How cool! Here is the link:

https://www.nothuman.net/images/files...


Also, this book is extremely short at 137 pages, so easy to fit in.

[Diane]

Dianne wrote: "I was excited to find a free online edition of the atrocity exhibition, which includes the author's annotations alongside the text. How cool! Here is the link:

https://www.nothuman.net/images/file..."

Thank you Dianne for sharing with the group :)

[George P.]

Patrick wrote of The Atrocity Exhibition: "...(hint: the Joy Division song of the same title is better than the book).."

LOL

[Amanda]

Just noticed that it like no one previously volunteered to host H(A)PPY, I've already read it this week and could do so.

Since it is hard to secure in many countries, I can also send my copy to anyone in Canada hoping to read that hasn't secured one.

[Diane]

Amanda wrote: "Just noticed that it like no one previously volunteered to host H(A)PPY, I've already read it this week and could do so.

Since it is hard to secure in many countries, I can also send my copy to a..."

Thank you Amanda that would be great.

[Kristel]

Amanda wrote: "Just noticed that it like no one previously volunteered to host H(A)PPY, I've already read it this week and could do so.

Since it is hard to secure in many countries, I can also send my copy to a..."
Yes, I also thank you for volunteering.

[Amanda]

cool cool I'll put up some questions :)

[Valerie]

Amanda wrote: "Just noticed that it like no one previously volunteered to host H(A)PPY, I've already read it this week and could do so.

Since it is hard to secure in many countries, I can also send my copy to a..."

I am interested, Amanda. I just didn't want to jump on it in case there are any other Canadians in the group who would like a chance to get it.....

[[deleted user]]

Guess we are lucky here as my library had it woo hoo makes a change for me to be able to get something

[Amanda]

Sounds good Valerie: I'll message you later about it. :)

[Pip]

Thank you so much Dianne for sharing the link for the Atrocity Exhibition! I started listening to it and it was difficult to follow so I am grateful to have a print version.