MobileRead January 2012 Mobile Read Book Club Run-Off Vote

[WT Sharpe]

Help us choose an ebook as the January 2012 eBook for the Mobile Read Book Club. This is the run-off poll for January. It will be open for 3 days. The winner determines the book we will read for January. The vote this month will be visible.


We will start the discussion thread for this book on January 20th. Select from the following Choices:

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
Inkmesh Search

Spoiler:

Alex Leamas is tired. It's the 1960s, he's been out in the cold for years, spying in Berlin for his British masters, and has seen too many good agents murdered for their troubles. Now Control wants to bring him in at last -- but only after one final assignment. He must travel deep into the heart of Communist Germany and betray his country, a job that he will do with his usual cynical professionalism. But when George Smiley tries to help a young woman Leamas has befriended, Leamas's mission may prove to be the worst thing he could ever have done. In le Carré's breakthrough work of 1963, the spy story is reborn as a gritty and terrible tale of men who are caught up in politics beyond their imagining.

Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse
Inkmesh Search

Spoiler:

Black Rain is centered around the story of a young woman who was caught in the radioactive "black rain" that fell after the bombing of Hiroshima. lbuse bases his tale on real-life diaries and interviews with victims of the holocaust; the result is a book that is free from sentimentality yet manages to reveal the magnitude of the human suffering caused by the atom bomb. The life of Yasuko, on whom the black rain fell, is changed forever by periodic bouts of radiation sickness and the suspicion that her future children, too, may be affected. lbuse tempers the horror of his subject with the gentle humor for which he is famous. His sensitivity to the complex web of emotions in a traditional community torn asunder by this historical event has made Black Rain one of the most acclaimed treatments of the Hiroshima story. (From Amazon.com)

[issybird]

I read Black Rain last September, so my memory of it will be imperfect, but I'd love to have a discussion of it. An excellent book.

[Asawi]

I voted Black Rain. I'm not sure I'll be able to get hold of it before the discussion, but I will try! (Even if it doesn't win!)

[hpulley]

Please forgive me if I have committed a faux pas. I voted here and then wondered if I had to join this book club somehow first. I looked and looked through FAQs and stickies but found nothing so I hope that taking part is all I must do to be a member. If more needs to be done, please let me know. Thanks.

[issybird]

Anyone is welcome to jump in at any time. Glad to see you vote!

[Hamlet53]

I voted for Black Rain, but would be happy with either selection.

If anyone is interested most may know of the excellent film adaption of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold; starring Richard Burton in a wonderful performance.

There is also a film adaption of Black Rain out there (not to be confused with a pedestrian police drama of the same title, but also set in Japan), though the Black Rain film may be harder to get a hold of.

[sun surfer]

I like the new double question mark run-off graphic, Tom!

I voted for The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. One of the less appealing subjects to me is really serious and realistic books about modern warfare and its aftermath, if the main focus is war or the devastation it causes. So I am rooting for the lighter and funner book.

And happy holidays!

[Hamlet53]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I like the new double question mark run-off graphic, Tom!

I voted for The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. One of the less appealing subjects to me is really serious and realistic books about modern warfare and its aftermath, if the main focus is war or the devastation it causes. So I am rooting for the lighter and funner book.

And happy holidays!

You may possibly be the first person ever to label The Spy Who Came In From The Cold light and funny. Alright "lighter and funnier," but still amusing,

"An unjust peace is better than a just war." Shigematsu Shizuma from Black Rain.

[sun surfer]

Yes I thought about that while posting, though I never said funny or funnier, I said funner as in fun. In context it fits though - the spy thriller is bound to be lighter and funner than the novel about the effects of radiation.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I like the new double question mark run-off graphic, Tom!...

Thanks. I was wondering if anyone was going to notice the new question marks I made for 2012. Both graphics are now blue and have shadows, and the one for the second vote has, of course, two question marks.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I voted for The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. One of the less appealing subjects to me is really serious and realistic books about modern warfare and its aftermath, if the main focus is war or the devastation it causes. So I am rooting for the lighter and funner book.

Ah! The Cold War! Good times!

What I'm wondering, if Spy wins, is to what extent it will have made the transition to period novel and to what extent it might just seem dated. I have a hard time reading thrillers, especially, that were current when written but have aged badly.

[SamReading]

I'll get hold of both the books and read them, though I voted for Spy. My first shot in the book club.

[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by issybird

Ah! The Cold War! Good times!.

You guys just want the other one to win.

I've not read a James Bond book, but I've seen some Bond films and I'd say some of those films are Cold War spy thrillers that are light, fun and a good time!

I'm not saying the le Carré is as light as Bond, but let me put it this way: it seems like the more enjoyable read of the two options.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I'm not saying the le Carré is as light as Bond, but let me put it this way: it seems like the more enjoyable read of the two.

I do take your point. There's a lot of grief in the world. While it's necessary to be informed and to care, it's not necessary to break your heart for recreation.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

You guys just want the other one to win.

I've not read a James Bond book, but I've seen some Bond films and I'd say some of those films are Cold War spy thrillers that are light, fun and a good time!

I'm not saying the le Carré is as light as Bond, but let me put it this way: it seems like the more enjoyable read of the two options.

Based on subject matter, I agree. I much rather read a spy thriller, then read about a person's ongoing suffering. Nothing says Happy New Year, like lifelong illness and the possibility of deformed children.