Christmas Reading Poll '09

[Scheherazade]

Even though most of us will be dashing through the snow in one-horse open sleighs as the bells jingle, why not try to read another book during the Christmas madness?

Post your nominations for our Christmas reading in this thread by December 5th.

Please remember that:

- Only those members with 50+ posts can nominate.

- One nomination per member.

- Only the first 10 nominations will be included in the poll.


The Book Club readings are for those who would like to read and discuss books together with other members.

If you are not able to take part or unwilling to (re)read your own nominations, please refrain from nominating books.

[papayahed]

Holidays on Ice: Stories ~ David Sedaris

[Virgil]

Not sure if this is Christmas themed, but let put out Lost Paradise: A Novel, by Cees Nooteboom. Fifthelement gave a great endorsement of this novel in one of her blogs. You can look at a review on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...X0DER&v=glance or read about the author here: http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/pe...sc.cfm?id=3436. Another plus, it's only 160 pages.

[Jozanny]

The Turn of The Screw by Henry James. In some of his shorter novellas the religious import is significant, and the bracketing narrator who sets the scene up for us in this masterpiece begins this hair raising adventure on Christmas Eve and ends it with the dispersion of his listeners on Christmas Day for a reason.

[Lokasenna]

What about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight? That begins on Christmas, and is a cracking read!

[Eryk]

Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

Cold-blooded murder in a dysfunctional family. And you thought your holidays were stressful.

[Scheherazade]

I nominate Christmas Memory by Truman Capote.

Nominations so far:

1. Holidays on Ice: Stories ~ David Sedaris

2. Lost Paradise: A Novel by Cees Nooteboom

3. The Turn of The Screw by Henry James

4. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

5. Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

6. Christmas Memory by Truman Capote

[Red-Headed]

I keep trying to read The Turn of the Screw, but something crops up & I never get to finish it. I'm at chapter nine, does that count?

[Dark Muse]

A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens

[Gladys]

I keep trying to read The Turn of the Screw

I'm entranced reading the final pages of The Golden Bowl by Henry James - what a subtle masterpiece! The thriller, The Other House, was rather disappointing but I loved the understated Washington Square. Have you read The Bostonians yet, Scheherazade?

Surely The Turn of the Screw would make my Christmas.

[Jozanny]

Gladys, though I need to shut up (not because I am in a prattle-post mood but because this Wednesday could be a good working day if I could stop having after thoughts) let me connect you to my friend Dr. Hathaway's Henry James scholar web site.

I was going to try to explain Jamesian fanaticism to Red-Headed, but I am a life-long devotee...

[Dark Muse]

I might re-read the Turn of the Screw for this, it was a good story and not too long.

[Jozanny]

I have been bugging the Jamesians to help me pull some old discussions, and I will keep mum until I can figure if I can pull the data I am after, but it will assist in shedding some light on what parts of Christian theologies were uppermost in Henry's mind when he chose to highlight them. Neither he nor his family were Catholic, but James had an attraction to Catholicism which was most evident in "The Altar of The Dead", which for me is one of my most beloved of his shorter tales, along with "The Beast in The Jungle". Both are sheer and utter masterpieces without equal. They almost make Maupassant look like a crass materialist, by way of comparison, and would send Dickens back to junior high.

Among the lay people I am a Jamesian fanatic, and with the Jamesians I am a hostile revisionist. Why, alas, Jozanny, art thou thus?

The answer isn't all that difficult, but I won't provide it.

[Virgil]

Yay, Jozy, it looks we'll do a James together. Whatever happened to that nice young man who's lit net name was Jamsian. I haven't seen him in ages. I bet he wold like to read this along.

[Scheherazade]

Not sure if I want to read something so ghostly (!) during the Christmas holidays... Was hoping for something more heart warming.