The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion
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x - Nominations for Oct-Nov 2011
I'd like to nominate The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. It seems like something that is both commonly known and is by an American author, which adds variety in that sense as most of our recent authors have been European.
I would be in for Portrait of a Lady. I gotta read me some Henry James anyway.
BunWat wrote: "What about some Twain?"Anything in particular you would like to nominate by him?
BunWat wrote: "Well, Huck Finn is his masterwork if we are trying to choose something with broad appeal. Or Roughing It is fun if we want to do something a little different."What about The Innocents Abroad: or, The New Pilgrims' Progress ?
I haven't read it, so I don't know if it would rankle today, as Twain can do for some of us, but it was very much a best seller in its day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inno...
But Huck Finn I would definitely consider. Sounds as if we will have several good choices.
Alex wrote: "I would be in for Portrait of a Lady. I gotta read me some Henry James anyway."Is there any other Henry James you would consider? PoaL was discussed recently on the Victorian board. It was the first James book I've completed and I enjoyed it very much.
Perhaps one of his travel books? Italian Hours ? (From what I see, don't ever do the Kindle version. The charming drawings of the paper version are apparently missing.)
Yeah, I would totally do Wings of the Dove. And possibly The Awkward Age, which just sounds interesting. Just no Golden Bowl please...I've heard too many scary things about that.
Alex wrote: "Yeah, I would totally do Wings of the Dove. And possibly The Awkward Age, which just sounds interesting. Just no Golden Bowl please...I've heard too many scary things about that."The Wings of the Dove would interest me. I picked up a copy about the time we read Portrait of a Lady, and I haven't gotten to Wings yet.
"Despite the inevitable dissenters, The Wings of the Dove has achieved one of the strongest critical positions of any of James' works. Ironically, one of the dissenters, at least to some extent, might have been the author himself. In his preface to the New York Edition, James spent much time confessing to supposed faults in the novel: defective structure, characters not as well presented as they could be, and a general failure to realize his initial plan for the book.
"By and large, critics have regarded these faults as venial or nonexistent. Instead, they've concentrated on the central characters and supporting cast, and the technique that James uses in their presentation.
"In 1998, the Modern Library ranked The Wings of the Dove 26th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century."
Source: (Link below may have spoilers, particularly in the Plot Summary.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wing...
BunWat wrote: "Well, Huck Finn is his masterwork if we are trying to choose something with broad appeal. Or Roughing It is fun if we want to do something a little different."That was just done at Western Canon. Many of us overlap.
Which one, or are you saying you'd prefer to avoid Twain altogether?
Denae wrote: "Which one, or are you saying you'd prefer to avoid Twain altogether?"No, I said Huck Finn has been done recently, and many of the members of the 3 groups overlap.
I wasn't sure if you were referring to Huck Finn or Roughing It, that's all.
Thanks Silver, and for closing my other thread - I was just trying to jog things along as HND was flagging:). I particularly agree with you that we should: 'keep to books this time around that may be more well known, nothing too obscure this time around.....Also I think it might be a good idea to avoid for the time being any too hefty books and major chuncksters.'
I like Danae's idea of Portrait of a Lady because it is well known and by an American author. The other James are more obscure.
Twain's The Innocents Abroad also sounds fun and would be a good contrast to The Pickwick Papers currently being read here by some of us. It is also a mix of fact and fiction which we haven't tackled before and should therefore provide some good talking points. I think I would vote for that one, all things considered. (It is available online for those who do not wish to purchase it - and it is free on Kindle!)
Because we are all voracious readers here it is likely that quite a few of us will have read whatever is nominated but in the interests of the group and RR, it would be nice if everyone here who has shown an interest in The Next Read could participate nevertheless. I will certainly read whatever is proposed.
I read James' Portrait of a Lady and The American earlier this year, but I would be open to reading any of his other works. I would opt out of Huck Finn mainly because I'm trying to read things I've never read before, but would be up for Innocents Abroad.
If we're considering reading a book by Twain, I'd really like us to read one of his lesser-known works. How about this one:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...
This is among Twain's funniest books. I read it a very long time ago and would love to read it again. There are 51 editions listed on Goodreads, so I imagine we all should be able to locate a copy either at a bookstore or at the library. There are Kindle and ebook editions as well. Twain makes fun of Adam throughout this book and I found myself rolling on the floor laughing while reading some of the stories. What do you all think?
BunWat wrote: "I would not be very enthusiastic about The Diaries of Adam and Eve. I've read it four times already, once for fun, once for a class, twice for book clubs. It's very short and not all that complex. ..."So perhaps tell us a bit more about why we should consider Roughing It ? I don't know it at all.
Has anyone ever done Pudd'nhead Wilson/Those Extraordinary Twins ? I have it, but haven't read it.
I think TOM SAWYER is better than Huckleberry Finn. It is as well known and a lot more fun to read but I just read a lot of Twain while working with a college lit class I taught so I would rather not read Twain at all it possible.
Of the books mentioned in the thread, I'd especially love to read CRANFORD by Elizabeth Gaskell as it has such a unique flavor to it. There is a sweetness, charm, and humor despite the poverty and there is something uplifting about that. You can read it right here on Goodreads without having to buy it or look for it at a library which is nice too.
I love Elizabeth Gaskell's books, but have never read CRANFORD. Sounds like an enjoyable book to read.
If we're considering reading a book by Twain, I'd really like us to read one of his lesser-known works. Because there has been low participation on our earlier reads, we are now trying to find something well known and popular, as Silver suggested at the top of this thread.
Lily: I haven't heard of Roughing It or Pudd'nhead Wilson/Those Extraordinary Twins - are they well known to American readers?
BunWat wrote: "I would not be very enthusiastic about The Diaries of Adam and Eve. I've read it four times already, once for fun, once for a class, twice for book clubs. It's very short and not all that complex. ..."Gotcha, Bunwat. I certainly do understand about not wanting to re-read a book one's read bunches of times already. This has happened to me in other groups, too. Silver, feel free to withdraw this nomination. Thanks.
Lily wrote: "Alex wrote: "Yeah, I would totally do Wings of the Dove. And possibly The Awkward Age, which just sounds interesting. Just no Golden Bowl please...I've heard too many scary things about that."[bo..."
I could go for this one, too. Love James. Thanks!
Mod
We are a strong group -- a little like herding cats! Unfortunately, at least for me,
Cranford
was a recent read on the Victorian board and it wasn't that many months ago that I read it with still another online group. It is a delightful wisp of a story, or rather, several stories. One might want to consider the Cranford Chronicles, which I believe includes two other stories that were used as well in creating the recent BBC/PBS Masterpiece series.I'd enjoy any Twain that gets selected, even though the language grates on me -- it always has. I haven't read a lot of his and even that was many years ago. If we do a travelogue rather than a novel, I rather like the idea of staying in the United States -- I am almost afraid of the discussion arising out of Twain's tongue turning satirical on at least certain parts of Europe! Let him take on his "own" country! I don't know that Roughing It is widely known, but Twain certainly is and with a bit of explanation, it should be possible to draw votes.
Personally, at the moment, my vote would probably go to James's The Wings of the Dove . I very much enjoyed the recent read and discussion of Portrait of a Lady on the Victorian board. The only two James's novels that I had tried before (a number of years ago now), I abandoned. I don't know if my world view has shifted or PoaL just appealed more -- but I think it is more of the former, still some of both, since the one of the others was The Screwtape Letters. (Nonetheless, I would definitely join a read of a Twain nomination if selected.)
We are a strong group -- a little like herding cats! Unfortunately, at least for me,
Cranford
was a recent read on the Victorian board and it wasn't that many months ago that I read it with still another online group. It is a delightful wisp of a story, or rather, several stories. One might want to consider the Cranford Chronicles, which I believe includes two other stories that were used as well in creating the recent BBC/PBS Masterpiece series. I'd enjoy any Twain that gets selected, even though the language grates on me -- it always has. I haven't read a lot of his and even that was many years ago. If we do a travelogue rather than a novel, I rather like the idea of staying in the United States -- I am almost afraid of the discussion arising out of Twain's tongue turning satirical on at least certain parts of Europe! Let him take on his "own" country! I don't know that Roughing It is widely known, but Twain certainly is and with a bit of explanation, it should be possible to draw votes.
Personally, at the moment, my vote would probably go to James's The Wings of the Dove if nominated. I very much enjoyed the recent read and discussion of Portrait of a Lady on the Victorian board. The only two James's novels that I had tried before (a number of years ago now), I abandoned. I don't know if my world view has shifted or PoaL just appealed more -- but I think it is more of the former, still some of both, since the one of the others was The Screwtape Letters. (Nonetheless, I would definitely join a read of a Twain nomination if selected.)
Incidentally, I just read some of the reviews of WotD on Amazon, and they are not encouraging of it being an "easy" read. Maybe Twain after all....
Would love North and South. It is my choice.
Lily wrote: "We are a strong group -- a little like herding cats! Unfortunately, at least for me, Cranford was a recent read on the Victorian board and it wasn't that many months ago that I read ..."James wrote something called The Screwtape Letters as well? How similar is it to the CS Lewis one?
I love the idea of some Mark Twain. The only works of his that I've read are Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer and that was a long time ago, so I'd be enthusiastic about reading some of his non-fiction. I would also be very happy to read North and South, as it's been on my TBR list for quite a while.
I would be prepared to tackle some Henry James. I read quite a bit of James when I was at university, but once again that was a long time ago. As I recall, though, The Golden Bowl was referred to quite often as The Golden Bore!
BunWat wrote: "I don't think James did write something called The Screwtape Letters."James wrote the novella, The Turn of the Screw.
For anyone choosing WoTD or PoaL--they're from his later period, very long, very wordy, complex and sometimes cryptic. That may appeal to some, but this is just FYI. I dislike the endless WotD intensely in college, but saw the film about 10 years ago, and it was hauntingly beautiful. I've taken it out of the library 3 times since.
I recently read Portrait of a Lady and it is VERY wordy, which is true of most of James' writings.
If I had to choose a James, I would prefer one of his shorter works, such as The Europeans or The Bostonians.
While I know you cannot please everyone in the name of trying to boost participation and wanting to appeal to the interests of the group. Originally I had thought Cranford would be a good choice for Gaskell but it seems North and South is getting a lot of support.
So would the majority of you prefer to have North and South on the poll over Cranford?
Rochelle wrote: "If I had to choose a James, I would prefer one of his shorter works, such as The Europeans or The Bostonians."Now there's an interesting idea, Rochelle. I haven't read "The Europeans" yet, and might be on board with you for that one. Thanks!
So many good suggestions. Would love to do North and South or Cranwell. Also, a big fan of Twain, and just love James. Although I think that James might be a bit heavy after Hunchback (I am one of those who just gave up on Hunchback - after awhile, I felt that it was painful, and I usually don't feel that way about a book no matter how hard it was to get through.)Can I offer one more suggestion? In keeping with the American theme, I've wanted to reread Alcott's Little Women for some time. Jo is my favorite literary character period. When I was a kid, I wanted to be Jo. Unfortunately, I haven't read the book in a couple of decades, although I do enjoy watching the movie now and again.
I won't, however, be offended if you all say "bah humbug" to Little Women. :-)
And Moonstone would also be great. And I love Austen so any book by Miss Jane is fine by me as well.
Silver wrote: "While I know you cannot please everyone in the name of trying to boost participation and wanting to appeal to the interests of the group. Originally I had thought Cranford would be a good choic..."
YES
Rochelle wrote: "If I had to choose a James, I would prefer one of his shorter works, such as The Europeans or The Bostonians."I read The Bostonians years ago and enjoyed it. Don't remember it being as wordy as Portrait.
Would anyone be interested in reading a Joseph Conrad work?Hmm, I'll have to think of some other books ... :)
I love Joseph Conrad, Historybuff93. Last year I reread Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer. I would not read any Twain novel or North and South if they were chosen. Twain is something I am not fond of and I can't stand North and South at all. I will gladly read Cranford and do enjoy Henry James very much. Little Women is a great book! I once read a book about Louisa May Alcott called Invincible Louisa which added to the pleasure of her books.
I would not mind reading a book of Emily Dickinson's poems or a scary Poe book or some Dumas.
Mod
Which is why I'm not a James fan.
Mod
I know there has been a lot if dispute, conversation about which books to choose by what authors, so not everyone will be satisfied with some of this selection, but than that is why there is a poll, so if you do not like one choice you can vote for another. So from reading all suggestions, comments and thoughts, this is the nomination list thus far:
Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
Terri wrote: "Little Women is a great book! I once read a book about Louisa May Alcott called Invincible Louisa which added to the pleasure of her books."Alcott was a very cool lady...an abolitionist and feminist. Little Women is my favorite, although I also read Little Men and Jo's Boys. They were good, but somehow a let down after Little Women. Also, in grad school, we read "Work" - different feel from her other books.
Silver wrote: "I know there has been a lot if dispute, conversation about which books to choose by what authors, so not everyone will be satisfied with some of this selection, but than that is why there is a poll..."I like them all, although I would be a bit bummed if Agnes Grey or Wings of the Dove were selected. After Hunchback, I would rather go for "classics lite." Neither fit that category.
Lynnm wrote: "I like them all, although I would be a bit bummed if Agnes Grey or Wings of the Dove were selected. After Hunchback, I would rather go for "classics lite." Neither fit that category.Haha those are the two that I am looking forward to reading the most on this list.
Mostly becasue the other half I have already read, and I have to admit something about Little Women just does not appeal to me. If it wins I might read it but I cannot say I ever felt a real desire or inclination to do so.
The Twain could be interesting as I have never really read a travel novel before.
Lynnm wrote: "Silver wrote: "I know there has been a lot if dispute, conversation about which books to choose by what authors, so not everyone will be satisfied with some of this selection, but than that is why ..."I didn't think Agnes Grey was a heavy read!
Emily wrote: "I didn't think Agnes Grey was a heavy read! "Heavy was perhaps the wrong word. But it certainly isn't "light." ;)
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The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910
Books mentioned in this topic
Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England (other topics)The Diary of a Nobody (other topics)
The Death of Ivan Ilyich (other topics)
Little Women (other topics)
The Wings of the Dove (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Wilkie Collins (other topics)Jane Austen (other topics)
Anne Brontë (other topics)
Henry James (other topics)
Mark Twain (other topics)
More...
So I am going to start nominations for our next major read for Oct-Nov.
Here are some suggestions that were proposed on the thread started by Madge:
Agnes Gray by Anne Brontë
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant
A few things I would like to say is that the above list is only books that jumped out at me as being possible good choices. If there is another book mentioned in the previous thread that you would like to be an official nomination than you may nominate it here.
Some things to keep in mind for this nomination period to try and hopefully boost participation.
In order to prevent the list from being as long as it was the first time, I will only accept one book per author. So if two books by the same author are nominated I will make the executive decision to select one of them for the poll.
As suggested by Madge I think it best to keep to books this time around that may be more well known, nothing too obscure this time around.
Also I think it might be a good idea to avoid for the time being any too hefty books and major chuncksters.
But these are only guidelines to help the group. If there is something you really want to read and you think will draw in others please feel free to nominate.