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OK,
We have 3 books on the list. Keep the nominations coming.
Books with less than 3 currently are:
(1) Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman
This is the true story of a trip West in the US, published in 1847-49 in a magazine. Parkman is one of the best American writers and historians; when you combine his talents with the controversy and adventure of a trip through dangerous Indian territory, along with Parkman's irreverant, almost flip attitude and his marvellous eye for detail, you have a classic that will not be forgotten.
(2) Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
Most peoples' knowledge of this probably comes from the 1960s musical, which I'm sure we've all seen innumerable times. The novel, though, is a VERY different beast, and definely written for an "adult" audience. It contains some wonderful writing, and has some unforgettable characters - Oliver himself, of course; Fagin, who runs a gang of child thieves and prostitutes, the professional criminal, Bill Sykes and his girlfriend Nancy, and many more. This is a wonderful, unforgetable book, which everybody should read at least once in their life. I commend it to everybody.
(2) The Picture (or Portrait) of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
Spellbound before his own portrait, Dorian Gray utters a fateful wish. In exchange for eternal youth he gives his soul, to be corrupted by the malign influence of his mentor, the aesthete and hedonist Lord Henry Wotton. The novel was met with moral outrage by contemporary critics who, dazzled perhaps by Wilde's brilliant style, may have confused the author with his creation, Lord Henry, to whom even Dorian protests, 'You cut life to pieces with your epigrams.'. Encouraged by Lord Henry to substitute pleasure for goodness and art for reality, Dorian tries to watch impassively as he brings misery and death to those who love him. But the picture is watching him, and, made hideous by the marks of sin, it confronts Dorian with the reflection of his fall from grace, the silent bearer of what is in effect a devastating moral judgement.
BOb
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