Valentine's Day Reading Nominations

[Scheherazade]

http://www.free-smileys.org/emo/love016.gifhttp://www.free-smileys.org/emo/love016.gif http://www.free-smileys.org/emo/love016.gif Would you like to read a book with a theme of llluuuuurrrvvveeee during the Valentine's Day week? http://www.free-smileys.org/emo/love016.gif http://www.free-smileys.org/emo/love016.gif http://www.free-smileys.org/emo/love016.gif

If yes, please post your nominations by January 25th.

The voting will take place between January 25th and February 5th.



Book Club Procedures (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=57103#post57103)

[Scheherazade]

I would like to nominate Lolita by Nabokov.

[Pensive]

Singing: It is been a long long time since I looked into the mirror.

*runs to fetch the mirror*

http://www.paper-words.com/images/valentine/smileyheart.JPG

I nominate Romeo And Juliet.

[papayahed]

I would like to nominate Lolita by Nabokov.

Hey I have that one!!!

Can I nominate Absolom Absolom? Is that a love story? ( I just bought it) Or I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe? (Shopping Spree, I couldn't decide)

[Scheherazade]

Hey I have that one!!!

Can I nominate Absolom Absolom? Is that a love story? ( I just bought it) Or I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe? (Shopping Spree, I couldn't decide)I haven't read either of them but I got the impression (from the amazon synopsis) that they may not be classified as 'love' stories...

But you can still vote for Lolita???


:angel:

[papayahed]

I haven't read either of them but I got the impression (from the amazon synopsis) that they may not be classified as 'love' stories...

But you can still vote for Lolita???


:angel:

I think you're right. I like both nominations so far....

[byucougs]

How about A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway? That is a love story with a realistic ending.

[Nightshade]

byucoughs, we are already reading that :nod:
Fine I propose a nice SHORT story by E. P. Roe (any of them really)
Or one by L. M Alcott?? What was it called A modern cinderella?
Or lets see hummmmmmmm The day boy and the night girl by George macdonald?

I thought of another one but somehow it slipped my mind wqhile I was typing.
Anyway you get the drift Im not nominating anything Im just suggesting SHORT stories
hint! hint! hint!
:D ;D
Oh Or if it really has to be longer Booth Tarkington wrote some lovley books "The Flirt" I excantly really rember "Alice Adams" (but it did win some award or other) its been that long sionce I read them oh and the cannan one.
Of course we might just drop all of these and go to your local library walk into the romace section close your eyes and stick out a hand, They are all pretty much the same anyway.

Oh or we could do an Austen?
:D
Ohh or Charles Reade, or even Pamela , by samuel richardson.
OR cant we read an adapted fairy tale? Im thinking Robin mckinley :brow:

(ok ok I know Ive nominated nothing sorry scher :p)

[papayahed]

oh, I'm not sure if it's out there but perhaps a a short non fiction book about the St. Valentines day Massacre?? :D Just a suggestion.

[Virgil]

I vote for Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra". Absolom Absolom is not a love story, nor is it a week's read.

[rachel]

The gift of the magi written by o.henry.
I realize it is terribly short, but oh the meaning and love, the sacrifice and honor.
if not then I humbly ask that we read Virgil's choice.

[Virgil]

I would like to nominate Lolita by Nabokov.
Lolita? For St V Day? I'm sure it's a good novel (I haven't read it) but its supposed to be physical attraction (I wouldn't call it love, others perhaps might) between a middle aged man and a twelve year old girl.

[Pensive]

Hi Virgil, Romeo And Juliet - A Perfect Love Story

You can vote for it.

[IrishCanadian]

Well i know it opens a whole new world of options ... what about poems? Can I nominate any?

[Pensive]

Well i know it opens a whole new world of options ... what about poems? Can I nominate any?

Hi Irish, I don't think so that we can nominate poems in Book Forum Club but you can surely nominate a poem on Poems, Poets and Poetry Forum. :D

[Nightshade]

hey wait thats a good idea irish how a bout a narritive poem?
but not an enormous one like TThe fall of hyperion or endimion how about Isabella or the pot of Basil by keats?
Or Lamia?
Or somthing similar?? I dont mean keats butas you see Im only familiar really with his poems, I mean of similar length:D:D

:D

[EAP]

I would like to nominate Lolita by Nabokov.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Scheherazade]

Lolita? For St V Day? I'm sure it's a good novel (I haven't read it) but its supposed to be physical attraction (I wouldn't call it love, others perhaps might) between a middle aged man and a twelve year old girl.Many argue that R&J was a teen crush went awry... Did they really find 'true love' within minutes of meeting each other?

Did Cleopatra really love Antony or was she actually using him to realise her political agenda? How about Antony? Did he actually care about her or was he simply too darn happy to get Julius' 'woman' away from him?

:D

I know Lolita is a controversial choice but don't feel like reading 'traditional' love stories. Love is not always the grand thang it is made out to be... and people call different things 'love' and some of these do not match the usual defition. The whole St V Day's thing is a little over the top, in my personal opinion anyway - but this is not the place to discuss this :)

It is only one of the nominations and we will after all read the book which wins the poll :) If we end up reading it, we will have a chance to discuss the book, which does not necessarily mean that we agree with its content.


As for reading for a short story and/or poems... Since this is a book club, I think we should stick with 'books' but maybe Night would be kind enough to arrange another Live Read for the St V? :D

[LightShade]

may I propose Boris Vian's "The Foam of the Days"? It's a beautiful love story in surrealist writing :)
However, on amazon I found it as "The Foam of the Daze" (?!) and one of my fellow Romanians, I see, considered the English translation rather poor, after having read it in French (the original) also.

Anyway, it's one of the most touching love stories I have ever read and it literally brought tears to my eyes. Not to mention the stunning images and the metaphors adorning the writing from beginning to end.

So please consider it.

ps - I vote NO for Lolita. I read it in school, I saw one movie, the subject already makes me sick. Imho, it's not a love story, it's the story of an obsession, not to mention the grown-man-seducing-the-immature-underage-girl theme. I don't like it.
On the same subject, you could also read Marquez's "Memory of My Melancholy Whores" :p some of the descriptions in there could count as really beautiful had they not been about a decrepit old man and a 14-year old girl :D

Now you can start throwing stones :banana:

[Amra]

I always wanted to read Lolita but never got to it, so I would vote for it:). My other suggestion would be "The story of Layla and Majnun" by Nizami...

[Pensive]

I always wanted to read Lolita but never got to it, so I would vote for it:). My other suggestion would be "The story of Layla and Majnun" by Nizami...

I have read Laila And Majnun. Is it's translation in English available now a days?

[Scheherazade]

I will change my nomination as I am getting Lolita from the Library tomorrow and I don't think I can wait till the voting is over to read it! :blush:

My new nomination is Possession: A Romance by A.S. Byatt (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0099800403/qid=1138125286/sr=8-2/ref=pd_ka_2/026-3564488-0186005) (A Booker Prize winner - 1990)

Nominations so far:

Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare

The Foam of the Daze by Boris Vian

Layla and Majnun by Nizami

Possession by A.S. Byatt

[Logos]

Possession was made into a movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0256276/)

Book and movie are excellent! (though I think Paltrow is tediously over-acting) but if you love history, romance, poetry, mystery, adventure.. it's a great read, for me one of those books I wished would never end :D

[crveniormaric]

Maybe Bram Stoker - Dracula; Beneth the surface it is a beutiful love story...

[rachel]

may I propose Boris Vian's "The Foam of the Days"? It's a beautiful love story in surrealist writing :)
However, on amazon I found it as "The Foam of the Daze" (?!) and one of my fellow Romanians, I see, considered the English translation rather poor, after having read it in French (the original) also.

Anyway, it's one of the most touching love stories I have ever read and it literally brought tears to my eyes. Not to mention the stunning images and the metaphors adorning the writing from beginning to end.

So please consider it.

ps - I vote NO for Lolita. I read it in school, I saw one movie, the subject already makes me sick. Imho, it's not a love story, it's the story of an obsession, not to mention the grown-man-seducing-the-immature-underage-girl theme. I don't like it.
On the same subject, you could also read Marquez's "Memory of My Melancholy Whores" :p some of the descriptions in there could count as really beautiful had they not been about a decrepit old man and a 14-year old girl :D

Now you can start throwing stones :banana:

No throwing stones here. I have worked with several of these little girls who have had such relationships, they have lost their boundaries, there faith in th e protection of older men toward them as still growing children. The horror of it leaves me broken and very tired as I remember the tears, the grief and the many steps backward until they could begin to get well. To me that is not romance, it is pure evil.

[emily655321]

I agree, Rachel. I know in my head that it's a very well-written book, but I can't get around the... you said it best; the pure evil of it. I am usually one to be fascinated by studies of traditionally unsympathetic characters, but Lolita is too graphic for me. There are some things to which I'm just not willing to subject myself again. :cold: