MobileRead November 2009 Book Club Nominations

[John F]

I'll third The Picture (or Portrait) of Dorian Gray.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've never once heard that there has to be Cliff Note to make a book a classic.

There doesn't "have to be" cliff notes to make a book a classic.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I do think the entire Discworld series is classic. I don't think it matters that Terry is still alive.

I don't think so. But what you or I "think" doesn't make something a reality.

Anyway, if two other people agree with you and nominate this then it will go on the list.

BOb

[JSWolf]

I'll also nominate Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) Shelley.

The world's most famous monster comes to life in this 1818 novel, a compelling narrative that combines Gothic romance and science fiction to tell of an ambitious young doctor's attempts to breathe life into an artificial man. Despite the doctor's best intentions, the experiment goes horribly wrong in a timeless tale about the hazards of playing creator.

[AnemicOak]

I'll nominate...





Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

‘He was no longer Jean Valjean, but No. 24601’

Victor Hugo’s tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, when, owing to a case of mistaken identity, another man is arrested in his place; and by the relentless investigations of the dogged policeman Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty. A compelling and compassionate view of the victims of early nineteenth-century French society, Les Misérables is a novel on an epic scale, moving inexorably from the eve of the battle of Waterloo to the July Revolution of 1830.

Publisher's Summary

Set in the Parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, Les Miserables follows Jean Valjean, originally an honest peasant, who has been imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family. A hardened criminal upon his release, he eventually reforms, becoming a successful industrialist and town mayor. Despite this, he is haunted by an impulsive former crime and is pursued relentlessly by the police inspector Javert.

Hugo describes early 19th-century France with a sweeping power that gives his novel epic stature. Among the most famous chapters are the account of the battle of Waterloo and Valjean's flight through the Paris sewers.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I'll nominate...
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Do you think that enough of us read French to make this viable, or are you proposing that we read a translation?

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Do you think that enough of us read French to make this viable, or are you proposing that we read a translation?

Guess I thought that was obvious since we're posting in English and not in the French section of the forum, sorry. Just like I'd assume we wouldn't be reading The Brothers Karamazov in Russian

[Elfwreck]

I nominate "Flatland," by Edward Abbott.

From ebookmall:
A fascinating science-fiction story with some biting, funny satire of Victorian society, Edwin Abbott's Flatland still has a lot to say about modern life, mathematics, people, philosophy and our perceptions of reality. The story takes us to a two-dimensional world where all the inhabitants are flat geometric shapes, and who are all firmly convinced that "length and width" is all there is. But one enterprising shape discovers the existence of a third physical dimension, which leads to speculation about a fourth dimension - and that changes everything.

Wikipedia says:
Abbott used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to offer pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture. However, the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions; in a foreword to one of the many publications of the novella, noted science writer Isaac Asimov described Flatland as "The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions."

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I nominate "Flatland," by Edward Abbott.

From ebookmall:
A fascinating science-fiction story with some biting, funny satire of Victorian society, Edwin Abbott's Flatland still has a lot to say about modern life, mathematics, people, philosophy and our perceptions of reality. The story takes us to a two-dimensional world where all the inhabitants are flat geometric shapes, and who are all firmly convinced that "length and width" is all there is. But one enterprising shape discovers the existence of a third physical dimension, which leads to speculation about a fourth dimension - and that changes everything.

Wikipedia says:
Abbott used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to offer pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture. However, the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions; in a foreword to one of the many publications of the novella, noted science writer Isaac Asimov described Flatland as "The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions."

I haven't read that since high school, but I did download it from googlebooks and it is on my re-read list so I will SECOND the nomination!

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I nominate "Flatland," by Edward Abbott.

From ebookmall:
A fascinating science-fiction story with some biting, funny satire of Victorian society, Edwin Abbott's Flatland still has a lot to say about modern life, mathematics, people, philosophy and our perceptions of reality. The story takes us to a two-dimensional world where all the inhabitants are flat geometric shapes, and who are all firmly convinced that "length and width" is all there is. But one enterprising shape discovers the existence of a third physical dimension, which leads to speculation about a fourth dimension - and that changes everything.

Wikipedia says:
Abbott used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to offer pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture. However, the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions; in a foreword to one of the many publications of the novella, noted science writer Isaac Asimov described Flatland as "The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions."

Sounds interesting, I'll THIRD it.

[dreams]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I nominate "Flatland," by Edward Abbott.

Originally Posted by kennyc

I haven't read that since high school, but I did download it from googlebooks and it is on my re-read list so I will SECOND the nomination!

I haven't read that in a while and it was fun... So, I third it..

[Ea]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I nominate "Flatland," by Edward Abbott.

From ebookmall:
A fascinating science-fiction story with some biting, funny satire of Victorian society, Edwin Abbott's Flatland still has a lot to say about modern life, mathematics, people, philosophy and our perceptions of reality. The story takes us to a two-dimensional world where all the inhabitants are flat geometric shapes, and who are all firmly convinced that "length and width" is all there is. But one enterprising shape discovers the existence of a third physical dimension, which leads to speculation about a fourth dimension - and that changes everything.

Wikipedia says:
Abbott used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to offer pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture. However, the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions; in a foreword to one of the many publications of the novella, noted science writer Isaac Asimov described Flatland as "The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions."

I question whether Flatland is a "classic" - i.e. that it is eligeble for nomination.

I am all fired up to read it (I hadn't heard of it before), but it doesn't seem to me to have the recognition of a classic. It doesn't appear to have that quality that classics have of being widely known and widely read.

Harry said earler in the thread that one would know when one encountered a classic; this is not a classic. I don't think it shoudld be nominated for next month's books club. However interesting it is, I don't think it belongs in this category. At least not more than Discworld (which certainly does not belong).

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Ea

I question whether Flatland is a "classic" - i.e. that it is eligeble for nomination.

I am all fired up to read it (I hadn't heard of it before), but it doesn't seem to me to have the recognition of a classic. It doesn't appear to have that quality that classics have of being widely known and widely read.

Harry said earler in the thread that one would know when one encountered a classic; this is not a classic. I don't think it shoudld be nominated for next month's books club. However interesting it is, I don't think it belongs in this category. At least not more than Discworld (which certainly does not belong).

A google search for [flatland classic literature] turns it up on several websites; it's in the public domain, and popular enough to remain in print; Penguin books calls it a classic. It's often included in lists of classic science fiction books.

If "classic" means "widely assigned as reading in literature classes," that needs to be specifically stated. (Along with the def of "widely assigned." One of the google hits was an essay-mill site for students to download papers from.)

I agree that Colour of Magic is not a classic; the Discworld series may turn out to be, but I doubt any one book stands out as "a classic." (The Nancy Drew mysteries may be classics, but no one book is.) But if Flatland is not a classic, we definitely need a more specific definition of the term.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

A google search for [flatland classic literature] turns it up on several websites; it's in the public domain, and popular enough to remain in print; Penguin books calls it a classic. It's often included in lists of classic science fiction books.

If "classic" means "widely assigned as reading in literature classes," that needs to be specifically stated. (Along with the def of "widely assigned." One of the google hits was an essay-mill site for students to download papers from.)

I agree that Colour of Magic is not a classic; the Discworld series may turn out to be, but I doubt any one book stands out as "a classic." (The Nancy Drew mysteries may be classics, but no one book is.) But if Flatland is not a classic, we definitely need a more specific definition of the term.

Agreed with all of that...

[dreams]

I found Flatland listed as a Penguin Classic and a Oxford World's Classic on Amazon. So, maybe we do need a more specific definition of what a classic is.

[kennyc]

Well isn't the whole idea of the 2nds and 3rds kinda meant to either support or not the proposition that the nominated book fits the category?

There could be similar disagreements as to whether a book is sci-fi, fantasy, magical realism, etc. etc.