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WT Sharpe 08-23-2014 04:55 PM

September 2014 Book Club Vote
 
September 2014 MobileRead Book Club Vote

Help us choose a book as the September 2014 eBook for the MobileRead Book Club. The poll will be open for 5 days. There will be no runoff vote unless the voting results a tie, in which case there will be a 3 day run-off poll. This is a visible poll: others can see how you voted. It is http://wtsharpe3.com/Pictures/Multiple-Choice_C3.gif You may cast a vote for each book that appeals to you.

We will start the discussion thread for this book on September 20th. Select from the following Official Choices with three nominations each:

The Giver by Lois Lowry
Amazon US / Goodreads
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

Jonas' world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.


The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub
Spoiler:
The Call of the Wild is a novel by Jack London published in 1903. The story is set in the Yukon during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush—a period when strong sled dogs were in high demand.

From Banned Books Awareness:

The book is commonly challenged in the United States because of its violent scenes. Jack London personally experienced the Klondike Gold Rush, including its triumphs and its horrors. The Yukon of the early 20th century wasn’t a Sunday picnic. It was barren, and hard on the mind and body.

Dogs like Buck were cheap, and animal cruelty was commonplace, leading some to criticize London of glorifying or condoning animal abuse.

Furthermore, the real-life atrocities committed against Native tribes in the name of Manifest Destiny were thought of as just and honorable in the wake of the Great Indian Wars that wiped out the cultures across the United States.

This point of contention is explored in the tribe that takes in Buck, the Yeehats. This tribe is entirely of London’s creation, but some groups feel that the negative light he sheds on the Yeehat is a slam against all Native tribes.

So, here we are again, having an early American novel about a period in history challenged because it paints a picture of a past that is dark and bloody that we’d much rather forget about than admit to, or learn from.

But most notably, according to the University of Pennsylvania, Jack London’s writing was not favored among several European dictatorships during the 1920’s and 1930’s, resulting in many regimes censoring his work.

In 1929, Italy and Yugoslavia banned Call of the Wild for being ‘too radical’. London’s works were also burned by the Nazi Party in 1933 because he had an infamous reputation for being an outspoken supporter of Socialism.


To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Amazon Ca / Amazon UK / Amazon US / Angus & Robertson / B&N / Google Play / Kobo US / Overdrive
Spoiler:
Harper Lee's Pulitzer prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep south—and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred, available now for the first time as an e-book.

One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father-a crusading local lawyer-risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.


Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Overdrive UK / Overdrive US / Pottermore GBP / Pottermore USD
Spoiler:
NOTE: This book is also known as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Harry, an orphan, lives with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley.

One day just before his eleventh birthday, an owl tries to deliver a mysterious letter the first of a sequence of events that end in Harry meeting a giant man named Hagrid. Hagrid explains Harry's history to him: When he was a baby, the Dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, attacked and killed his parents in an attempt to kill Harry; but the only mark on Harry was a mysterious lightning-bolt scar on his forehead.

Now he has been invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the headmaster is the great wizard Albus Dumbledore. Harry visits Diagon Alley to get his school supplies, especially his very own wand. To get to school, he takes the Hogwarts Express from platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station. On the train, he meets two fellow students who will become his closest friends: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Harry is assigned to Gryffindor House at Hogwarts, and soon becomes the youngest-ever Seeker on the House Quidditch team. He also studies Potions with Professor Severus Snape, who displays a deep and abiding dislike for Harry, and Defense Against the Dark Arts with nervous Professor Quirrell; he and his friends defeat a mountain troll, help Hagrid raise a dragon, and explore the wonderful, fascinating world of Hogwarts.

But all events lead irrevocably toward a second encounter with Lord Voldemort, who seeks an object of legend known as the Sorcerer's Stone.


The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Amazon
Spoiler:
No synopsis provided.


Rabbit Run by John Updike
No links provided.
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:
Rabbit, Run is the book that established John Updike as one of the major American novelists of his—or any other—generation. Its hero is Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, a onetime high-school basketball star who on an impulse deserts his wife and son. He is twenty-six years old, a man-child caught in a struggle between instinct and thought, self and society, sexual gratification and family duty—even, in a sense, human hard-heartedness and divine Grace. Though his flight from home traces a zigzag of evasion, he holds to the faith that he is on the right path, an invisible line toward his own salvation as straight as a ruler’s edge.

From Banned Book Club:
Labeled as obscenity (for sex scenes and promiscuity) and banned in Ireland (1962) by the Irish Board of Censors, but apparently was allowed into circulation in 1967. This board, btw, apparently still exists – meets in secret BUT is required to review all submissions (some check whoever submitted a complaint regarding the Bible, in 1988). In the US, was challenged in Maine (1976) and Wyoming (1986) – the Maine students were allowed to read it if parents granted permission. (Well, the whole story felt remarkably like a field trip…)


The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien
Amazon Au / Amazon UK / Goodreads
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

Meet Kate and Baba, two young Irish country girls who have spent their childhood together. As they leave the safety of their convent school in search of life and love in the big city, they struggle to maintain their somewhat tumultuous relationship. Kate, dreamy and romantic, yearns for true love, while Baba just wants to experience the life of a single girl. Although they set out to conquer the world together, as their lives take unexpected turns, Kate and Baba must ultimately learn to find their own way.

"It's a difficult trip, this coming of age . . . O'Brien tells it with love and outrage, compassion and contempt." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)

"A treasure . . . powerful . . . intelligent . . . ironic." (The New York Times Book Review)


Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: Kindle | Kindle (Omnibus) | ePub
Spoiler:
GA Russell:

It's been quite a while since I have read of its being challenged, but back in the '70s it was an annual event for parents of public school children to object to its presence in the schools' libraries because it includes the use of the "n-word."

I read it when I was in the eighth grade, and I'm sure that as an adult I would get much more out of it now.


Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland
Amazon US / Feedbooks / Project Gutenberg
Spoiler:
From Amazon:

Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (popularly known as Fanny Hill), is an erotic novel by John Cleland first published in England in 1748. Written while the author was in debtors' prison in London, it is considered "the first original English prose pornography, and the first pornography to use the form of the novel." One of the most prosecuted and banned books in history; it has become a synonym for obscenity.

From her position of wealth and happy respectability, Fanny Hill looks back at her early life and disreputable adventures. Arriving in London alone, poor and innocent, she falls into the hands of a brothel-keeper. But only when she is separated from the man she loves does she enroll in the 'unhappy profession' of prostitution. Fanny becomes a kept woman and also works in an elegant bawdy-house, entertaining polite voluptuaries. By the age of eighteen, she can afford to retire; in her marriage she can at last combine sexual passion with romantic love.

Fanny Hill, shrouded in controversy for most of its more than 250-year life, & banned from publication in the U.S. until 1966, was once considered immoral & without literary merit, even earning its author a jail sentence for obscenity.

The tale of a naïve young prostitute in bawdy eighteenth-century London who slowly rises to respectability, the novel & its popularity endured many banning’s & critics, & today Fanny Hill is considered an important piece of political parody & sexual philosophy on par with French libertine novels.


A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Amazon Au / Amazon Ca / Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble/ Goodreads/ OverDrive (audio)
Spoiler:
From Wikipedia:

Clockwork Orange is a dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess published in 1962. Set in a not-so-distant future English society that has a culture of extreme youth violence, the novel's teenage protagonist, Alex, narrates his violent exploits and his experiences with state authorities intent on reforming him. When the state undertakes to reform Alex—to "redeem" him—the novel asks, "At what cost?". The book is partially written in a Russian-influenced argot called "Nadsat". According to Burgess it was a jeu d'esprit written in just three weeks.

In 2005, A Clockwork Orange was included on Time magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923 and it was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. The original manuscript of the book is located at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada since that institution purchased the documents in 1971.

JSWolf 08-23-2014 05:17 PM

This is an interesting poll. I've voted for multiple choices this time and not all of them mine. I did put in the Harry Potter book because I wanted to show that not all the books for this category have to be old ones. Though as far as the old ones go we have a pretty good selection.

crich70 08-23-2014 05:46 PM

I agree there are a good mix of different books. I wonder why the Title is a bit wrong for Fanny Hill though. It's 'Memoirs of a woman of pleasure' not 'Memoirs for a woman of pleasure'.

WT Sharpe 08-23-2014 09:27 PM

The title of John Cleland's book is Memoirs for a Woman of Pleasure, but Fanny Hill Memoirs for a Woman of Pleasure came from the US Amazon link. Both the webpage's title and the synopsis use "for" but "of" is used on the image of the book cover.

By any title, it's a book that manages to work the miracle of making sex boring.

crich70 08-23-2014 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe (Post 2904432)
The title of John Cleland's book is Memoirs for a Woman of Pleasure, but Fanny Hill Memoirs for a Woman of Pleasure came from the US Amazon link. Both the webpage's title and the synopsis use "for" but "of" is used on the image of the book cover.

By any title, it's a book that manages to work the miracle of making sex boring.

Ah. Odd that they would have two different subtitles like that.

sun surfer 08-24-2014 02:16 AM

This is really an embarrassment of riches for me - a full nine selections on the list are books I haven't read that I'd like to. I can't decide how to vote!

orlok 08-24-2014 06:56 AM

I've read half of them, so have voted for four of the five I haven't, and would be pleased if any of them wins.

John F 08-24-2014 10:10 AM

What is different about the Overdrive link for A Clockwork Orange? I don't see any borrow or buy links/buttons on the overdrive page.

bfisher 08-24-2014 11:05 AM

Overdrive isn't a direct book vendor. You'll have to go to Kobo or some other vendor, or to a library that uses ADE, Overdrive just provides the encryption service.

John F 08-24-2014 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bfisher (Post 2904848)
Overdrive isn't a direct book vendor. You'll have to go to Kobo or some other vendor, or to a library that uses ADE, Overdrive just provides the encryption service.

Sure. But click on the link for Overdrive for To Kill A Mocking Bird, and on the Overdrive page there is a Borrow and Buy link/button. Click on the Overdrive link for A Clockwork Orange and there is no Borrow or Buy button. Why the difference?

bfisher 08-24-2014 12:14 PM

Odd. My first thought was that no vendor sold an ADE downloadable version. However, I checked Kobo and they sell both a Kepub (restored version) and an ADE downloadable version (pricier). So that doesn't explain it.

WT Sharpe 08-24-2014 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John F (Post 2904801)
What is different about the Overdrive link for A Clockwork Orange? I don't see any borrow or buy links/buttons on the overdrive page.

I don't know why that was, either, but I've now replaced the link with one that has buttons.

John F 08-24-2014 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe (Post 2904899)
I don't know why that was, either, but I've now replaced the link with one that has buttons.

Isn't that a German translation? I don't think it is available to libraries through Overdrive (in English and as an ebook) in the U.S.?

WT Sharpe 08-24-2014 01:10 PM

So it is. I can't find a straightforward OverDrive English e-book, so I replaced the link with one to an audiobook.

BelleZora 08-24-2014 04:04 PM

Wonderful selection this month. We can't go wrong. I've read 6 of the books, a couple of them multiple times, but I'm always up for a re-read.

Except maybe Fanny Hill. When I read it I was too young to find it boring, and I actually loved it. Best never to re-read that one.

I'm most eager to re-read To Kill a Mockingbird.

sun surfer 08-25-2014 06:35 PM

I narrowed my votes down to half of them - the three I supported in nominations plus Steinbeck and a bit of the old ultraviolence.

drofgnal 08-26-2014 06:34 AM

Title of the thread says 13, not 14.

caleb72 08-26-2014 08:17 AM

Narrowed it down to 5. If Grapes wins, that's some reading I don't have to do. I'm sure I read it recently enough to be able to discuss it.

I do hope Mockingbird wins, but I recently bought the ebook as it's one of the books from my high school years that I would like to read again. Maybe if Grapes wins, I'll re-read Mockingbird instead.

WT Sharpe 08-26-2014 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drofgnal (Post 2906303)
Title of the thread says 13, not 14.

I wonder how that happened? I use the same template every month. :chinscratch:

Oh well, fixed now.

Dazrin 08-27-2014 07:50 PM

If you are trying to get The Giver from your library make sure you check for multiple editions. My library has 2 versions, 1 is illustrated. The non-illustrated version has a 281 person wait list and 26 copies (10.8:1) while the illustrated version has 19 people and 3 copies (6.3:1), so much shorter wait time for the illustrated version.

JSWolf 08-27-2014 08:02 PM

Let's give 3 more votes to Harry Potter. I think that would allow a very good discussion.

Luffy 08-28-2014 05:52 AM

I didn't vote for the book I helped nominate. I keep forgetting I can vote for more than one book. D'oh.

orlok 08-28-2014 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf (Post 2907757)
Let's give 3 more votes to Harry Potter. I think that would allow a very good discussion.

Let's not.

John F 08-28-2014 07:13 AM

Renominate Harry Potter in a couple of years, and I'll vote for it. I'm not up to a re-read of the series right now. :)

JSWolf 08-28-2014 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orlok (Post 2908097)
Let's not.

OH yes, lets. It Harry Potter would make for a very good discussion especially relating to why it was a challenged book.

orlok 08-28-2014 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf (Post 2908212)
OH yes, lets. It Harry Potter would make for a very good discussion especially relating to why it was a challenged book.

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

JSWolf 08-28-2014 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orlok (Post 2908229)
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

Different book. And you have no idea what makes a good discussion. :smack:

Luffy 08-28-2014 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf (Post 2908255)
Different book. And you have no idea what makes a good discussion. :smack:

Ah yes. Part of me wishes to forget about Harry Potter forever, because I've been overexposed to the phenomenon. Part of me wishes to dabble in the book's discussion and ponder over how every single of Rowling's twists had been guessed a year before The Deathly Hallows cam out. Or, perish the thought, why didn't Rowling ship Harry with Hermione.

orlok 08-28-2014 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf (Post 2908255)
Different book. And you have no idea what makes a good discussion. :smack:

I would suggest that your multiple abrupt dismissals of other people's opinions over several years suggests you don't even know what a discussion is, let alone a good one.

BelleZora 08-28-2014 01:56 PM

I re-read To Kill a Mockingbird this week and it is even better than I remembered. So now I am delighted that The Grapes of Wrath is winning. One of the best books I've ever read, and Steinbeck will always be my most beloved author. In anticipation, I dug out Bruce Springsteen's absolutely great The Ghost of Tom Joad.

The Ghost of Tom Joad

The Ballad of Tom Joad by Woody Guthrie. Contains spoilers if you haven't read The Grapes of Wrath.

Just in case you didn't realize the extent to which The Grapes of Wrath became part of American culture and mythology.

Dazrin 08-28-2014 02:05 PM

Neither The Grapes of Wrath nor To Kill a Mockingbird sound at all interesting to me but I will probably try to read either one if they win. I normally actively try to avoid anything that was regularly taught in a high school English class. I am still not sure how I missed both of these (and The Great Gatsby) then and just count my blessings. :)

In order to avoid being the "literary club lite" I voted for a read that would be more fun than serious and thought-provoking.

BelleZora 08-28-2014 02:40 PM

I was looking for good links to Dust Bowl Dance by Mumford and Sons and Pink Floyd's Sorrow when I found this link:

8 Great Pop-Culture References to The Grapes of Wrath.

BelleZora 08-28-2014 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dazrin (Post 2908473)
[....snip] In order to avoid being the "literary club lite" I voted for a read that would be more fun than serious and thought-provoking.

I don't believe that either To Kill a Mockingbird or The Grapes of Wrath were considered to be literary fiction when they were published. They both have a plot, are written in the vernacular, and both stories are riveting. The Grapes of Wrath contains rough language more common to see in print today than in 1939. To Kill a Mockingbird is hilarious at times. Really.

So many of the best books have been ruined for people by having them inflicted at a tender and rebellious age.

JSWolf 08-28-2014 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BelleZora (Post 2908516)
So many of the best books have been ruined for people by having them inflicted at a tender and rebellious age.

I don't know if they are the best books. I've read some of these "best" books and they are not best, but in fact quite awful.

But I do have to agree that forcing them on kids when the kids aren't ready for them is wrong. Problem is, these books are written in a way that kids don't take to and the kids don't find them all that relevant. This and the way some teachers teach them makes them not enjoyable at all and no way are these kids going back to reread them as an adult. Plus, it can (very much so) turn kids off to reading. Shakespeare is a good one to help turn kids off to reading.

Luffy 08-28-2014 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf (Post 2908546)
Shakespeare is a good one to help turn kids off to reading.

If someone had novelized all of his plays, I mean properly and thoroughly, with annotations and all, I would pay good money to get my hands on that book.

Dazrin 08-28-2014 06:56 PM

Added The Grapes of Wrath to the Selections List thread. Looks like January will have an extra book in to choose from as well since there was a tie for the runner-up position.

WT Sharpe 08-29-2014 01:05 AM

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck it is.

crich70 08-29-2014 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe (Post 2908915)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck it is.

It's tempting to make a joke and ask if we don't like the choice if we could order some cheese with the wine. :rofl: Just making a pun. I need something to joke about tonight.

WT Sharpe 08-29-2014 01:31 AM

:D :D :D

orlok 08-29-2014 11:49 AM

Yay! Look forward to it.


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