MobileRead December 2012 Run-Off Vote

[orlok]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Frome is pretty bad and very depressing. Not a good choice for December when there is a lot of depression and suicide.

Do you think it's going to push a MR member over the edge ?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by orlok

Do you think it's going to push a MR member over the edge ?

I cannot say. I don't know the mental state of the other MR users. But then again, you never know.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by Bookatarian

I can't tolerate Hardy...not after a lengthy paper involving several of his works. Please tell me Ethan Frome is not as bad as Hardy....would much rather read I, Robot for the month of December, even if I do have to pay for it.

The only Hardy I read was Tess of the D'urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. I can see some parallel in the mental state of Jude --> Ethan.

I have other Hardy but haven't yet read it, I had a hard time with Far from the Madding Crowd, as I found it intolerably boring.

[spindlegirl]

drat now i wish i had not voted in haste

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

drat now i wish i had not voted in haste

?? Ethan Frome won by 12 votes.

[JSWolf]

It looks like December's Bookclub is going to be dreadful. Don't say you've not been warned when you find Frome to be awful.

[medard]

I'll start to read I, Robot now. Minority wins.

[JSWolf]

On GoodReads, Frome has been voted the 29th most depressing book.

Here are some very appropriate reviews found on GoodReads...

Bleak fiction for bleak fiction’s sake about a miserable man in an inescapable, loveless marriage and his desire for another woman. Hollow and myopic, easily one of the most disappointing experiences I’ve ever had with a supposed classic. Other gothics would earn their tragedy, but this is just cold. If it has any merit it is an argument against theodicy, for look what gods we make when we play as authors.

Don't bother reading Ethan Frome. Go sledding instead.

I read this for school. The plot is generally boring. The characters got on my nerves, too. Tie it all together for the most depressing, miserable ending in the history of painful books English teachers force their students to read.

I gave it two stars because it wasn't as horrible as some other books I've read *cough cough* Lord of the Flies, but it was pretty bad. It's definitely a "please stick a needle in my eye because I can't stand this any longer" sort of book. But hey, if you like that sort of thing...

Anyway, Ethan Frome----His life is merely so depressing that he would jump anything that came along. There is nothing particularly engaging about this type of writing. I found Edith's writing style to be a lot like nathaniel hawthorne's style: there are a lot of descriptions of the landscape, and the environment but there is little discussion to what the characters are thinking/feeling. This makes it difficult for the reader, a reader like me anyway, to connect with the story and really care about the out come.

I did not find any value or enjoyment out of this novel/plot line what-so-ever.n. So if you have time on your hands and you are looking for a good read, I suggest the local phone book would be a viable alternative to the novel Ethan Frome.

I absolutely hated this book. It seemed like Wharton wanted to find a horrible, semi-frozen ditch full of depressing, frigid mud and deliberately fall in it, flop about despondently, claw halfheartedly at the steepest face, fall back in, and languish miserably while expounding in a monotone about the futility of hope... and drag her readers in too.

The climax of this book involves a broken plate and sledding. I feel like that in itself should be enough to warn you, but in case I still have some uncertain individuals I will go farther.

I'm not even sure that this book had a point. All I could take from it is that sledding is a highly ineffectual way to commit suicide. Right. You're going "duh, of course it is, who was stupid enough to actually think that sledding was a sure way of ending their life?"

Exactly. This book is over dramatic, riddled with lame symbolism, and has really selfish, unlikeable characters.

Need I say more?

Next time I want to ruin someone's reading life I will give them Ethan Frome. Just thinking back to this horrid book has put me in a foul mood. Hey, HEY YOU! YEAH, YOU. GET OUTTTTAAAA MY REVIEW!!!

Worst book I have ever read. The first sentence reads like this, "Gray town, gray house, gray sky, gray, boring, depressed characters. Yawn."

This book is just a complete fail. They even failed at committing suicide.

Death by sledding...what an absolutely stupid idea. You don't commit suicide by trying to run a sled into a tree.

[medard]

As far as I know, I, Robot contains a hidden message that only intellectual giants can find and understand.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by Synamon

?? Ethan Frome won by 12 votes.

exactly. Now I want to read I Robot due to being easily swayed

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

exactly. Now I want to read I Robot due to being easily swayed

Really? I'm turned off by the repetitive whinging, but whatever floats your boat.

[spindlegirl]

I like both books, so I am happy nonetheless.

[WT Sharpe]

FWIW, I just read the first story in I, Robot (the one about a little girl and Robbie, her robot nanny), and it was wonderful. Just the kind of upbeat charmer that's perfect for the holidays.

And I just downloaded the late, great Patricia's prc upload of Ethan Frome from MobileRead's Patricia Clark Memorial Library. From the comments at Goodreads Jon quoted, I'd say we're in for a holiday season fit for the Addams Family, sans the humor.

[Nyssa]

My family and I have had enough real life Holiday sadness to last a lifetime, as far as I'm concerned, so I definitely do not want to add it through whats supposed to be my entertainment.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

FWIW, I just read the first story in I, Robot (the one about a little girl and Robbie, her robot nanny), and it was wonderful. Just the kind of upbeat charmer that's perfect for the holidays.

And I just downloaded the late, great Patricia's prc upload of Ethan Frome from MobileRead's Patricia Clark Memorial Library. From the comments at Goodreads Jon quoted, I'd say we're in for a holiday season fit for the Addams Family, except sans the humor.

I just wanted people to know what sort of book Ethan Frome really is and that it's not really appropriate for December. I have to say that I love the fourth review quote I pasted. The person who wrote it is oviously quite intelligent and has a very nice way with words.

I, Robot is a much more upbeat book that is just a much better read for the holidays. But it seems it won't win just because it's science fiction. But, at least it's not dreadful.

So on one hand we have science fiction and on the other we have dreadful. We got gypped with Cloud Atlas as that wasn't science fiction and now we'll get stuck with dreadful. I would like to know who voted for dreadful because last month was supposed to have been science fiction (it was dystopian fiction at best)

I think we could use some Sharpe overrides at times like these.