April '10 Reading Poll

[Scheherazade]

10 nominations for April are:

1. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

2. The Recognitions by William Gaddis

3. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

4. Nine Stories by Salinger

5. Elective Affinities by Wolfgang Goethe

6. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

7. The Spire by William Golding

8. Someplace to be Flying by Charles De Lint

9. Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore.

10. The House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde

[Nikhar]

I wonder why my nomination isn't considered....

I have 50+ posts.... I did not make muiltiple nominations...hmmmm

[neilgee]

Maybe it was just human error, Nikhar, unless it's been a book of the month already.

[Scheherazade]

I wonder why my nomination isn't considered....

I have 50+ posts.... I did not make muiltiple nominations...hmmmm

Maybe it was just human error, Nikhar, unless it's been a book of the month already.

It was just that... A Scheherazadish error:

10 nominations for April are:

1. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

2. The Recognitions by William Gaddis

3. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

4. Nine Stories by Salinger

5. Elective Affinities by Wolfgang Goethe

6. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

7. The Spire by William Golding

8. Someplace to be Flying by Charles De Lint

9. Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore.

10. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Neely> Since we had already got our 10 nominations by the time you nominated your book, we will not be able to include that, I am afraid. Maybe next month?

[LitNetIsGreat]

Neely> Since we had already got our 10 nominations by the time you nominated your book, we will not be able to include that, I am afraid. Maybe next month?

Oh OK, no worries, no problem...maybe next time...

Actually anyway, I think Agatha Christie is under-represented here, and in the past I have been a great fan, (I have read about 70 of her books) so she would most likely get my vote anyway, of the ones left, good choice.
.................................................


Incidentally, I might post a few thoughts on House of Pomegranates anyway, in the Wilde sub-forum, in a couple of weeks time, so if anybody is interested in the books and would like to contribute then I would be very glad to converse.

Thank you, Neely.

[Nikhar]

Yayee....Yayee...Yayee.....

I love Agatha Christie!

@Neely.

I couldn't agree with you more. Agatha Christie is indeed underrated here seeing that she is one of the greatest empress of detective fiction.

And 70...whoa! Awesome. I think I must have made a half century.

[Scheherazade]

Some information on the books:

1. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang: This is a tour-de-force new work by rising indie comics star Gene Yang. "American Born Chinese" maps the adolescent Chinese-American experience through three separate but interwoven stories. One story centres on Jin Wang, a Chinese-American student at an all-white California high school. Jin is plagued by jocks and bullies, so when another Chinese student transfers to the school, Jin wants nothing to do with him. Next is a comic update of the legendary story of the Monkey King, an ancient Chinese morality tale. Finally, there's the gross and surreal stereotype of Chin-Kee, the ultimate negative Chinese cliche, complete with a sitcom-style "laugh track". These three apparently unrelated tales come together in an astonishing climax - all with a mighty blast of humour, surprising poignancy and skilled artistry.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/American-Bor...7689678&sr=8-1

2. The Recognitions by William Gaddis : Wyatt Gwyon's desire to forge is not driven by larceny but from love. Exactingly faithful to the spirit and letter of the Flemish masters, he produces uncannily accurate 'originals' - pictures the painters themselves might have envied. In an age of counterfeit emotion and taste, the real and fake have become indistinguishable; yet Gwyon's forgeries reflect a truth that others cannot touch - cannot even recognize. Contemporary life collapses the distinction between the 'real' and the 'virtual' world, and Gaddis' novel pre-empts our common obsessions by almost half a century. This novel tackles the blurring of perceptual boundaries, The Matrix and Bladerunner pale in comparison to this epic novel.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Recognitions...7689740&sr=1-1

3. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks: Readers who are entranced by sweeping historical sagas will devour Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks' drama set during the first world war. There's even a little high-toned erotica thrown into the mix to convince the doubtful. The book's hero, a 20-year-old Englishman named Stephen Wraysford, finds his true love on a trip to Amiens in 1910. Unfortunately, she's already married, the wife of a wealthy textile baron. Wrayford convinces her to leave a life of passionless comfort to be at his side, but things do not turn out according to plan. Wraysford is haunted by this doomed affair and carries it with him into the trenches of the war. Birdsong derives most of its power from its descriptions of mud and blood, and Wraysford's attempt to retain a scrap of humanity while surrounded by it. There is a simultaneous description of his present-day granddaughter's quest to read his diaries, which is designed to give some sense of perspective; this device is only somewhat successful. Nevertheless, Birdsong is a rewarding read, an unflinching war story and a touching romance.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Birdsong-Seb...7689835&sr=1-1

4. Nine Stories by Salinger: "DeDaumier-Smith's Blue Period," "Teddy," and "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" are among the nine works in a collection of Salinger's perceptive and realistic short stories.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nine-Stories...7689946&sr=8-1

5. Elective Affinities by Wolfgang Goethe: In Elective Affinities Goethe conducts an experiment with the lives of people who are living badly. Charlotte and Eduard, aristocracts with little to occupy them, invite Ottilie and the Captain into their lives; against morality, good sense, and conscious volition all four are drawn into relationships as inexorably as if they were substances in a chemical equation. The novel asks whether we have free will or not; more disturbingly, it confronts its characters with the monstrous consequences of their repression of any real life in themselves. Goethe wrote Elective Affinities when he was sixty and long established as Germany's literary giant. He remained an uneasy and scandalous figure, none the less, and readers of Elective Affinities were profoundly disturbed by its penetrating study of marriage and passion.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elective-Aff...7690017&sr=1-1

6. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout: Olive Kitteridge might be described by some as a battle axe or as brilliantly pushy, by others as the kindest person they had ever met. Olive herself has always been certain that she is 100% correct about everything - although, lately, her certitude has been shaken. This indomitable character appears at the centre of these narratives that comprise Olive Kitteridge. In each of them, we watch Olive, a retired schoolteacher, as she struggles to make sense of the changes in her life and the lives of those around her - always with brutal honesty, if sometimes painfully. Olive will make you laugh, nod in recognition, as well as wince in pain or shed a tear or two. We meet her stoic husband, bound to her in a marriage both broken and strong, and her own son, tyrannised by Olive's overbearing sensitivities. The reader comes away, amazed by this author's ability to conjure this formidable heroine and her deep humanity that infiltrates every page.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olive-Kitter...7690075&sr=1-1

7. The Spire by William Golding: Dean Jocelin has a vision: that God has chosen him to erect a great spire on his cathedral. His mason anxiously advises against it, for the old cathedral was built without foundations. Nevertheless, the spire rises octagon upon octagon, pinnacle by pinnacle, until the stone pillars shriek and the ground beneath it swims. Its shadow falls ever darker on the world below, and on Dean Jocelin in particular.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spire-Willia...7690128&sr=1-1

8. Someplace to be Flying by Charles De Lint: Originally published by Macmillan in 1998. Hank Walker sees photographer Lily Carson being brutally attacked. Lily confesses that she came out "looking for animal people" that exist in the city. Kerry Madan arrives in the city and becomes the catalyst in a drama for the prize of the Raven's pot, which could affect the animal people and humankind.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Someplace-be...7690188&sr=8-1

9. Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore: Lorna Doone, a Romance of Exmoor is an historical novel of high adventure set in the South West of England during the turbulent time of Monmouth's rebellion (1685). It is also a moving love story told through the life of the young farmer John Ridd, as he grows to manhood determined to right the wrongs in his land, and to win the heart and hand of the beautiful Lorna Doone.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lorna-Doone-...7690240&sr=1-1

10. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie: 'Agatha Christie's masterpiece.' Spectator 'One of the very best, most genuinely bewildering Christies.' Observer 'The most astonishingly impudent, ingenious and altogether successful mystery story since The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.' Daily Herald 'One of the most ingenious thrillers in many a day.' Time Magazine 'There is no doubt that this is a highly ingenious jigsaw by a master of puzzling.' Books 'There is no cheating; the reader is just bamboozled in a straightforward way from first to last! The most colossal achievement of a colossal career. The book must rank with Mrs Christie's previous best -- on the top notch of detection.' New Statesman 'The whole thing is utterly impossible and utterly fascinating. It is the most baffling mystery Agatha Christie has ever written.' New York Times
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Then-There-A...7690299&sr=1-1

[TurquoiseSunset]

Actually anyway, I think Agatha Christie is under-represented here, and in the past I have been a great fan, (I have read about 70 of her books) so she would most likely get my vote anyway, of the ones left, good choice.

I agree, she is under-represented here. By a mile.

Yayee....Yayee...Yayee.....

I love Agatha Christie!

@Neely.

I couldn't agree with you more. Agatha Christie is indeed underrated here seeing that she is one of the greatest empress of detective fiction.

And 70...whoa! Awesome. I think I must have made a half century.

Ah, I'm so glad you nominated this book Nikhar!!! I absolutely love Agatha Christie!!!!!

[Nikhar]

Yayee...thanks. Turquoise.
Have you already read this book?

Where have you been all these days?

10. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie: 'Agatha Christie's masterpiece.' Spectator 'One of the very best, most genuinely bewildering Christies.' Observer 'The most astonishingly impudent, ingenious and altogether successful mystery story since The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.' Daily Herald 'One of the most ingenious thrillers in many a day.' Time Magazine 'There is no doubt that this is a highly ingenious jigsaw by a master of puzzling.' Books 'There is no cheating; the reader is just bamboozled in a straightforward way from first to last! The most colossal achievement of a colossal career. The book must rank with Mrs Christie's previous best -- on the top notch of detection.' New Statesman 'The whole thing is utterly impossible and utterly fascinating. It is the most baffling mystery Agatha Christie has ever written.' New York Times
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Then-There-A...7690299&sr=1-1

And thanks Scher for posting this. Now, people should vote for it after reading this.

[TurquoiseSunset]

Yes I have, I own it But I'd love to read it again for the book club.
Agatha Christie is the best...I'm not sure why people don't read her books more...

[Scheherazade]

I read Birdsong couple of years ago. Even though it started off promisingly, later on the story line failed, in my opinion, miserably:

http://www.online-literature.com/for...light=birdsong

[Michael T]

I have to agree with you regarding 'Birdsong' Scher; it put me off reading anything else by Faulks. What I found most annoying was that so many people recommended it!

[Scheherazade]

I have to agree with you regarding 'Birdsong' Scher; it put me off reading anything else by Faulks. What I found most annoying was that so many people recommended it!

I read it because it is one of the books that are listed in BBC's Big Read and I am not sure why it was included in the list at all.

I also read Faulks' Engleby, which, again, led to a disappointing end after a promising start.

Have to admit, though, that his books titles in general are rather intriguing.

[Michael T]

I read it because it is one of the books that are listed in BBC's Big Read and I am not sure why it was included in the list at all.

I also read Faulks' Engleby, which, again, led to a disappointing end after a promising start.

Have to admit, though, that his books titles in general are rather intriguing.

Perhaps the author begins to run short of money because he's taking too long writing his books and consequently has to rush the endings!

[Nightshade]

Oh such difficuult choices ( Ive actually started reading steppenwolf yay me and my return to the book club!) i already have a copy of 3 of them and Goethe is in the public domain isnt it? so I would also be able to access that oh dear I think I will have to go for the book have but havent read, though we have done it once before I think.