x - Nominations for January 2011

[John]

Why make one when you can buy a fabulous buche de noel from the local French bakery on the corner?

[John]

I can't think of a year in which the selection was so abysmal as to give it to one of the above, especially considering how many extraordinarily good writers never got it: Hardy, Woolf, Kafka, Proust, Joyce. The list goes on and on.

[Linda2]

Strange.

[Linda2]

John wrote: "Why make one when you can buy a fabulous buche de noel from the local French bakery on the corner?"

For some people, baking is a recreational activity. And you also might be shocked to know that in areas that are not cosmopolitan, there's no French bakery.

[John]

No French bakery? Quelle barbe!

[[deleted user]]

John wrote: "Why make one when you can buy a fabulous buche de noel from the local French bakery on the corner?"

I actually made one this year! Toasted crushed walnuts in the sponge cake and orange marscapone filling (with extra Grand Marnier). Came out great. Better than the bakery stuff. They're really not that hard to do.

[Linda2]

I'm going to answer Nemo's query belatedly: anything we've mentioned so far is lighter than BK!!

I've read 4 of Forster's novels, and A Room with a View would be his lightest. Do you want to nom that?

[John]

You're right, they're not that hard to do. But at least for me, I have to get myself into the mood. Plus, whenever I make a sponge roulade, it seems to break.

And I just got back from a party where I had 8 screwdrivers, 4 glasses of wine, and 2 mimosas, so I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near an oven for 48 hours at least.

*buzz*

[Everyman]

And I just got back from a party where I had 8 screwdrivers, 4 glasses of wine, and 2 mimosas, so I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near an oven for 48 hours at least.


Or anywhere near a computer?

That's 8 screwdrivers, 4 glasses of wine, and 2 mimosas more than I've had in the past 60 plus years.

[[deleted user]]

John wrote: "You're right, they're not that hard to do. But at least for me, I have to get myself into the mood. Plus, whenever I make a sponge roulade, it seems to break.

And I just got back from a party ..."

All that and you can still type coherently?? It must be all the vitamins in the orange juice. :)

[John]

I proofread the message three times just to make sure it was relatively readable. And I just did the same for this one.

I wish I could read some like this to get my daily few hours in, but the letters were a little fuzzy.

Oh, and my screwdrivers were made with grapefruit juice. Which is much better in my opinion ... but very well might have the same amount of vitamin C.

[Linda2]

I think John is B-S'ing us.

[John]

No, Rochelle, I can just drink you under the table.

[Linda2]

Anyone can drink me under the table; I have only an occasional white wine or Bordeaux. I might sign up to be your designated driver.

[Linda2]

This stuff should really be in "Coffee, Tea and Croissants." I'm moving over there with the BIG Q.

[Nemo]

Rochelle wrote: "I'm going to answer Nemo's query belatedly: anything we've mentioned so far is lighter than BK!!

I've read 4 of Forster's novels, and A Room with a View would be his lightest. Do you want to nom t..."

I can't nominate "A Room with a View" because I don't know much about it. But I'll vote for it if someone makes a nice pitch for its nomination. :)

[Linda2]

I nominate it. A delightful book. I'll save the pitch for the voting period.

[MadgeUK]

Rochelle wrote: I can't speak for the people who have time to make candy when both spouses are working. There might be a half dozen in the Midwest.
....."

We don't have those candy sticks over here. Similar sweets are sold at the seaside during the summer. Another English tradition is to set the Xmas pudding alight with brandy before it is ceremoniously brought in, in the dark, to be eaten.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2273/2...

[Ivan]

John wrote: "Looking at the list of people who won the Nobel Prize in Literature during its first 20 or 30 years, it's sort of interesting to see how many don't even come up on the literary radar anymore. I me..."

And then too consider who "didn't" win the prize. Mark Twain and Leo Tolstoy both lived until 1910, Henry James 1916, Thomas Hardy 1928, to name but a few. It is always a crapshoot trying to figure out who's work will endure.

[John]

Rochelle wrote: "Anyone can drink me under the table; I have only an occasional white wine or Bordeaux. I might sign up to be your designated driver."

I don't need two of them.

[John]

Ivan wrote: "John wrote: "Looking at the list of people who won the Nobel Prize in Literature during its first 20 or 30 years, it's sort of interesting to see how many don't even come up on the literary radar a..."

I already have a post like this above.

[Ivan]

Just concurring.

[Linda2]

Ivan, did you nominate something?

[Ivan]

I'm awfully new to the group to nominate something. If pressed I'd say The War of the Worlds because it fits the time constraints of the group and it is what I plan to read next.

[Laurel]

Everyman wrote: That's 8 screwdrivers, 4 glasses of wine, and 2 mimosas more than I've had in the past 60 plus years.

Most commendable, E-man. Me too.

[John]

Being a teetotaler is no more commendable than choosing to not be one.

[Linda2]

We have about 10, which is a good selection. Madge, when do you want to end noms?

[Nemo]

Laurele, would you like to make a nomination?

BTW, you listed "Moby Dick" as one of your favorite books in your profile. What do you like about it? It might be a good candidate for a group read too, as it fits the time frame.

[Linda2]

Isn't Western Canon considering Moby Dick soon?

[[deleted user]]

Western Canon is doing Moby Dick after Chaucer, and there is so much overlap between these two groups it doesn't make sense to duplicate reads.

[Nemo]

I wasn't aware of that. Thanks for letting me know. Have you read it?

[[deleted user]]

Yes, a long time ago. It's a difficult book to appreciate and I didn't succeed. Kathy suggested (over on the Western Canon thread) that reading the American Trancendentalists would be a huge help prior to reading Moby Dick and really necessary to understanding a lot of what Melville was doing with the book. She's probably right.

[Nemo]

Kate Mc. wrote: "Yes, a long time ago. It's a difficult book to appreciate and I didn't succeed. Kathy suggested (over on the Western Canon thread) that reading the American Trancendentalists would be a huge help..."

Interesting. What didn't you like about it?

I read three books by the American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau and enjoyed them all. If Kathy is right, I'd like Moby Dick too.

[[deleted user]]

It's a mish mash of story, the history of New England whaling industry, lengthy descriptions of whaling and whales, divergences into the narrator's philosophy, all wrapped up in sometimes heavy and impenetrable 19th century prose. He used a lot of symbolism and metaphors in his writing which makes for slow going. I'm sure you can find plenty about Moby on the internet without looking too hard.

[John]

Think "Brothers Karamazov," but with whales.

[[deleted user]]

I wouldn't make that comparison. Why do you think they're similar?

[John]

To use your words, "divergences into the narrator's philosophy [perhaps not the narrator's in "Brothers," but philosophy nonetheless]," "symbolism and metaphors," et cetera. Pretty much the stuff you'd find in any nineteenth century "serious novel," if not in any serious novel of any time.

And, depending on whom you ask, "heavy and impenetrable prose."

[[deleted user]]

I meant "divergence" literally in MD. It ranges from story telling, to digressions on whaling and off to a philosophical soliloquy, then back to the crew of the ship. The language is clumsy in a lot of places because the metaphors and symbolism are forced into place. In others it's difficult to connect the various pieces of the narrative coherently.

[MadgeUK]

Rochelle wrote: "We have about 10, which is a good selection. Madge, when do you want to end noms?"

Today? Which gives a couple of days for polling before 1st Jan??

[Linda2]

OK, check in about half an hour and tell me if I missed anything.

[Linda2]

I thought they would alphabetize. Anyway, the poll allowed me to send out the notice to all 6,096 members

[Linda2]

Noms are finished. Look for the poll for voting up at the top right. You can campaign for your favorite below the poll.

[Nemo]

Rochelle wrote: "Noms are finished. Look for the poll for voting up at the top right. You can campaign for your favorite below the poll."

Could you make a correction to the poll? Jean Christophe should be the title, and Romain Rolland the author. You have it reversed.

[Nemo]

Rochelle wrote: "Sorry, there's no option for editing. I'll post it here: ..."

Thanks for posting the correction in the poll comment too. I'd be really surprised if it wins the nomination, but at least we give it a fair chance. :)

[John]

You wouldn't be the only one.

[Nemo]

Kate Mc. wrote: "I meant "divergence" literally in MD. It ranges from story telling, to digressions on whaling and off to a philosophical soliloquy,..."

How would you characterize Melville's philosophy?

[Linda2]

Funny Frenchmen, they do everything backwards.

[Linda2]

Madge and I felt we had given it enough time from Dec 20 to today. Give me a nom in BOLDTYPE, but I can't add it. People can vote in their posts.

[Historybuff93]

I haven't read through all the posts, but has anyone mentioned The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? That might be a good, short work. The Invisible Man might interest people too. Perhaps a more comedic work would be desired?

[John]

Odd how all these nominations come out of the woodwork even though they've been open for several days now. Save yourself several migraines and cut off the nominations, Rochelle. If people really want something nominated, they'll know to visit the forum and cast their preferences in a timely manner.