Literary The MobileRead Literary Book Club November 2011 Vote

[Hamlet53]

Originally Posted by issybird

I understand the frustration. Perhaps we need to change the rule to eBooks only, if not requiring one limits participation. But Hamlet53's selection was made according to the rules in force now, and confirmation is supposed to be an issue only of literary merit.

I don't see why we can't discuss this and change it if necessary, but I hate to see the process derailed. JMO, of course.

Yes if not being available as an ebook is going to be a barrier for people we may have to change to an ebook only rule. It will eliminate a substantial number of books that would otherwise qualify as literature. As for my picking this, I did ask to confirm. www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1802441#post1802441

[HomeInMyShoes]

While some e-book availability might be nice, it's not a limiting factor for me and I don't think the selections should be limited to having to have an e-book available option.

For every book I read, it would be nice to have an e-book, but I can't afford to buy everything anyway so I use the library or ask for gifts from people. I don't base my reading on what is available in e-book format or even on what I can afford. When it's a pricey option, I check the library and go that route when necessary.

[fantasyfan]

I'll probably sit this one out, as I have a number of other items to deal with, but I would still like to confirm The Sea of Fertility as a literary selection. It has been highly praised and regarded as a masterpiece. Is that OK or is one supposed to confirm a work only if one intends to participate in the discussion?

I'll still follow the thread as sometime I might like to try the novel.

[sun surfer]

I'm counting eight clear confirms so far; need two more.


About the confirmations:

-They are not a vote to say "I'm going to read this"

-They are not a vote on how happy one is with the choice in regards to personal taste or ebook availability.

-They are simply about confirming that the winner chose a work that is literature. This is to help prevent for example say Paris Hilton's "Confessions Of An Heiress" from becoming our selection one month, if we let the random winner choose without a confirmation process.

Of course anyone should still feel free here to discuss how happy they are with the selection or its availability or whatever else if they want, but please limit confirming/not confirming to a strict up-or-down on whether or not it seems literature.

This book seems definitely literature, so it would be a shame if it didn't get ten confirms, especially since there has already been more than ten different posters posting in this thread who all seem to agree on its merits as literature. I thought I should try to clear up some possible confusion on what the process is meant to be.

[caleb72]

I'll confirm. The reason I held back is because I hadn't heard of the author before now. Based on the description of the book and the background of the author, I would be happy to categorise his works to be literature.

[Hamlet53]

Originally Posted by issybird

Confirm. It's literature.

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I confirm.

Originally Posted by toomanybooks

I confirm.

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Sorry, I technically forgot to say I confirm in my first post.

Originally Posted by jgaiser

I have it available through inter-library loan, so I'll confirm.

Originally Posted by orlok

Slightly

One of my top 5 songs of all time (etc. etc.) is "Death and Night and Blood" by the Stranglers, which is about Yukio Mishima. As a result I look forward to giving this month's choice a go .

Originally Posted by John F

You are, of course, correct.

It does look like a literary book to me, so take that for what it is worth (does this count for a confirmation?).

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

I'll confirm it.

I'm definitely putting this author on the radar of potential reads. I've managed to find a pile of Japanese and Chinese authors that I had never heard of in selecting some of the books for my reading list next year:

Kenzaburo Oe
Gao Zingjian
Ha Jin

Originally Posted by fantasyfan

I'll probably sit this one out, as I have a number of other items to deal with, but I would still like to confirm The Sea of Fertility as a literary selection. It has been highly praised and regarded as a masterpiece. Is that OK or is one supposed to confirm a work only if one intends to participate in the discussion?

I'll still follow the thread as sometime I might like to try the novel.

Originally Posted by caleb72

I'll confirm. The reason I held back is because I hadn't heard of the author before now. Based on the description of the book and the background of the author, I would be happy to categorise his works to be literature.

So that is 7 to 10 depending on what interpretation to apply to Orlok's, JohnF.'s, and fantasyfan's posts? Perhaps these three could clarify?

[issybird]

JohnF and fantasyfan both explicitly say it's literary and use a form of the word confirm, so I think that's clearcut. And I'd be willing to infer that since orlok plans to read it as the November selection, he thinks it qualifies.

Just my 2¢ in case they don't revisit the thread. And there's no reason why a latecomer couldn't confirm, either.

[Kevin8or]

I read several reviews at goodreads. It clearly satisfies the club's definition of literature.

[sun surfer]

That's ten definite confirms so we now have our November selection! Thanks to all who chimed in with confirms and opinions so far.

I think the book looks very interesting. I'm going to try the switch-to-UK trick to buy the ebook, but if that doesn't work I'll just get the pbook.

[paola]

well, you don't need me anymore, but I'll confirm this book as literature just in case - and look forward to reading it!

EDIT: it is available as EPUB on the UK site of Kobo, so would they not sell it in the US, too?

[orlok]

I'll confirm explicitly, just to be sure

[kennyc]

Oh No! Not Explicit Confirmation!

[John F]

Originally Posted by issybird

JohnF and fantasyfan both explicitly say it's literary and use a form of the word confirm, so I think that's clearcut. And I'd be willing to infer that since orlok plans to read it as the November selection, he thinks it qualifies.

...

I said it "looked like". I can put my cat in a dog costume and make it "look like" a dog, but that doesn't mean I believe my cat is a dog. I'm not overly interested in the book since I won't be reading it, so I don't think my opinion matters in this matter; Let people who care about the book this month vote on whether it is literary.

My apologies for not being more explicit in my post. I meant it to be ambiguous so it wouldn't be counted.

[John F]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

Congratulations to Hamlet53, our second lottery winner, who has been randomly selected from the nominees to choose this month's work.

First, the winner will need to select a work and post it.

To help avoid confusion among voters, the winner's first post in this thread should be of the chosen work, the winner should only post one selection and, once posted, should not change it. Any questions or discussion the winner may have about choosing a work should be posted in the nominations thread or PMed to me.

Then, the work will need TEN confirmation votes to declare it our monthly selection.

The winner may choose any work that he or she considers literature, except for any monthly selections of either book club in the last two years. Anyone else may vote to confirm that the selected work is considered or seems to be literature, whether or not one finds it appealing.

This process will be open for THREE days.

If the winner doesn't post a selection, or if the selection does not receive enough confirmation votes, then we will revert to a second-chance month. The five non-winning selections with the most votes from previous months will be put to a short vote.

What is literature for the purposes of this book club? A well-regarded work. Often (but not always) it is important, challenging, critically acclaimed, has a deeper meaning, makes one think. It may be from ancient times to today; it may be from anywhere in the world; it may be obscure or famous, short or long; it may be a story, a novel, a play, a poem, an essay or another written form.

Hamlet53, the floor is yours!

Maybe for next time, just make an open poll (so you can see how everyone voted), and once there are ten "yes" votes, it will be officially accepted?
It may be interesting to see who does and doesn't think it is literature according to the poll numbers/voters.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by John F

If it was available as an eBook, I'd confirm it.

Originally Posted by John F

It does look like a literary book to me, so take that for what it is worth (does this count for a confirmation?).

Originally Posted by John F

I said it "looked like". I can put my cat in a dog costume and make it "look like" a dog, but that doesn't mean I believe my cat is a dog. I'm not overly interested in the book since I won't be reading it, so I don't think my opinion matters in this matter; Let people who care about the book this month vote on whether it is literary.

My apologies for not being more explicit in my post. I meant it to be ambiguous so it wouldn't be counted.

So somehow being available as an ebook in the US would transform a book that only seems to be literary into one that really is literary? Gotcha.

I can't help thinking that your issues are related to format and disinterest rather than literary merit.