Summer Reading 2008 Poll

[_Shannon_]

Ahhhh....I see (LOL! tht's punny!)

[Scheherazade]

Ahhhh....I see (LOL! tht's punny!)

__________________

[Virgil]

Lord Jim is a great novel, but I've already read it twice. I may finally read Robinson Crusoe. Or I would like to.

[sofia82]

Although i can not nominate any novel but i suggest J. M. Coetzee's Foe which is based on Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusie. You can think about this, too.

[_Shannon_]

Alright-- I think I'm gonna change mine--because Kipling is too short for a summer read. But should I change it to A General History of the Pyrates by Daniel Defoe http://www.amazon.com/General-Histor...1117828&sr=8-1

-OR-
Two Years Before The Mast by Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (which was a great influence of Melville)

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Two...1527592/?itm=1

[Nightshade]

Ha ha it looks like Ill definatly be reading along this year, Ive been sorting through my books and discovered I own alot Id fogotten about or these books are available online -

1. Captains' Courageous by Kipling- available online at the litnet

2. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne- available online at the litnet altough really Id preffer not to read this as I found my childrens version increadibly mind numbing and wth the notable exception of 80 days Ive hated all his books, soimething about the writing style .,

3. The Sea by John Banville-not online and I dont own a copy...boo hiss

4. Every Man for Himself by Beryl Bainbridge-- ditto

5. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe - available online at the litnet

6. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini- another boo hiss

7. The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat - boo and hiss again

8. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - yay! its online!

9. English Passengers by Matthew Kneale Have my own copy, but I never got round to finishing it the first time I read it

10. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad - it is available online but pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease I dont want this one

turns out I own a copy of billy bud I might take that with me to entertain me on the flight to prague
See what I mean there is a 60% chance Ill be able to participate...
(Just as long as noone votes for the ones in red )

[Virgil]

Virgil, you would love Banville's The Sea. Just ask Niamh!

OK, that's a possibility.

[Niamh]

I would have loved to discuss Alessandro Barricco's Ocean Sea because I don't understand the ending. LOL And it's so poetic. But I didn't get here in time. Too much like a tortoise with this thread.

I can tell you, I'm with Niamh. My vote's going to John Banville's The Sea, though I've heard English Passengers is very good.

Lord Jim and Captain Blood also sound interesting to me, but right now, my vote's still with The Sea.

Virgil, you would love Banville's The Sea. Just ask Niamh!

Oooohhhhh!!!!! you would make a great campaigner!
Nightie, I could always send you a copy as an early B-day present if its selected. Remember i work in a book shop.

I had been considering changing my nomination to The Star of the Sea by Joseph O' Connor (based on famine ships from Ireland) but Now i'm not too sure. Might stick with The Sea. Although if people voice that they'd rather Star of the sea than The Sea i'd change my nomination. Either way they are two books i really want to read.
I mean there is sooooo many classics on that list. Something modern might make a nice change.

[Virgil]

Oooohhhhh!!!!! you would make a great campaigner!

She certainly does. She's almost convinced me.

[Il Penseroso]

Thanks Scher.

I doubt Moby Dick will win, for the reason someone mentioned that many people have already read it, but it's at least worth a try. Maybe I'll get lucky and the bunch participating will have yet to read it (it's a must, apparently, so those who have not read it, give it your vote!)

[DapperDrake]

bah humbug to modern authors.

You won't catch me voting for anything written in the past 50 years - probably ever. Infact I take some convincing to read anythng written in the past 100 years

[_Shannon_]

OKay--final time--I swear! After much deliberation-- I want to change my nomination to Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Shi...6713900/?itm=1

[Nightshade]

Oooohhhhh!!!!! you would make a great campaigner!
Nightie, I could always send you a copy as an early B-day present if its selected. Remember i work in a book shop.

I had been considering changing my nomination to The Star of the Sea by Joseph O' Connor (based on famine ships from Ireland) but Now i'm not too sure. Might stick with The Sea. Although if people voice that they'd rather Star of the sea than The Sea i'd change my nomination. Either way they are two books i really want to read.
I mean there is sooooo many classics on that list. Something modern might make a nice change.

In which case vote for whatever Nims wants ..... ( if monte cristo doesnt win that is- sorry chuck, but I do want to read monte cristo )

[DapperDrake]

In general, I feel as you do, but there are a few more modern authors I really like - John Banville, William Trevor, Edna O'Brien, Jose Saramago, Toni Morrison - but I agree that much of what's being published now is junk.

Yes, that's part of what I think but mostly its just personal taste, I take a positive pleasure in reading a book that was written long before I was born.
Its the style, old books are much slower, they're meant to be read in big chunks and savoured. Modern books cater to a much shorter attention span.

[Niamh]

Antiquarian, I would recommend, if you can get your hands on it, Hellfire by Mia Gallagher. It is amazing.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/...r/hellfire.htm I dont usually read this type of novel but there was just something about it that caught my attention and in the end i just loved it.