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-   -   MobileRead Book Club September 2016 Book Club Nominations (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277480)

WT Sharpe 08-20-2016 12:20 AM
Book Club September 2016 Book Club Nominations
 
Help us select the book that the MobileRead Book Club will read for September, 2016.

The nominations will run through midnight EST August 26 or until 10 books have made the list. The poll will then be posted and will remain open for five days.

The book selection category for September is: Classics.

In order for a book to be included in the poll it needs THREE NOMINATIONS (original nomination, a second and a third).

How Does This Work?
The Mobile Read Book Club (MRBC) is an informal club that requires nothing of you. Each month a book is selected by polling. On the last week of that month a discussion thread is started for the book. If you want to participate feel free. There is no need to "join" or sign up. All are welcome.

How Does a Book Get Selected?
Each book that is nominated will be listed in a poll at the end of the nomination period. The book that polls the most votes will be the official selection.

How Many Nominations Can I Make?
Each participant has 3 nominations. You can nominate a new book for consideration or nominate (second, third) one that has already been nominated by another person.

How Do I Nominate a Book?
Please just post a message with your nomination. If you are the FIRST to nominate a book, please try to provide an abstract to the book so others may consider their level of interest.

How Do I Know What Has Been Nominated?
Just follow the thread. This message will be updated with the status of the nominations as often as I can. If one is missed, please just post a message with a multi-quote of the 3 nominations and it will be added to the list ASAP.

When is the Poll?
The poll thread will open at the end of the nomination period, or once there have been 10 books with 3 nominations each. At that time a link to the initial poll thread will be posted here and this thread will be closed.

The floor is open to nominations. Please comment if you discover a nomination is not available as an ebook in your area.


Official choices with three nominations each:

(1) Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Goodreads | Amazon US / Audible / Barnes & Noble / Kobo US
Print Length: 512 pages
Spoiler:
Independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. The first of his works set in Wessex, Hardy's novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships.


(2) Hiroshima by John Hersey
Goodreads | Amazon Ca / Amazon UK / Audible (1) / Audible (2) / Kobo Ca (1) / Kobo Ca (2)
Print Length: 135 pages
Spoiler:
From the blurb for one of the Kobo editions in the UK:

Hiroshima is John Hersey's timeless and compassionate account of the catastrophic event which heralded the coming of the atomic age. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author went to Japan, while the ashes of Hiroshima were still warm, to interview the survivors of the first atomic bombing. His trip resulted in this world-famous document, the most significant piece of journalism of modern times. "Nothing that can be said about this book," The New York Times wrote, "can equal what the book has to say. It speaks for itself, and in an unforgettable way, for humanity."

From the Kindle UK description:

"The room was filled with a blinding light. She was paralysed by fear, fixed still in her chair for a long moment. Everything fell.'

2015 is the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima, when, on 6 August at 8.15am, an atomic bomb was dropped over the Japanese city, killing one hundred thousand men, women and children in its white fury. John Hersey's spare, devastating report on the attack was first published in the New Yorker in 1946. Written in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, it chronicles what happened through the eyes of six civilians who survived against the odds. It is a classic piece of journalism, and a defining moment of the nuclear age.


(3) Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Goodreads | Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle | Amazon US / Amazon US (Restored) / Barnes & Noble / Kobo US
Print Length: 166 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

One magical night, the Darling children — Wendy, John, and Michael — are visited by two mischievous denizens of Neverland, an island of the imagination where pirates prowl the Mermaids’ Lagoon and fairies live so long as children believe in them. Peter Pan and his loyal, lightning-quick companion, Tinker Bell, have come for Peter’s shadow, captured the previous night by Nana, the children’s Newfoundland nanny. The pair leaves not just with the shadow, but with Wendy and her brothers, as well, whisking them away to Neverland to join the Lost Boys in their war against the evil Captain Hook.

J. M. Barrie created the character of Peter Pan to entertain a young family he regularly met in Kensington Gardens. Over the course of two novels and a play, he turned a whimsical idea into one of the most cherished literary characters of all time.


(4) The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Goodreads | Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle | Amazon US
Print Length: 270 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

There is a ghost in the Paris Opera House. Singers, dancers, and stagehands have all seen him lurking in the shadows of the set, and each describes his face differently. Some say it is on fire, others that it is bare bone, and a terrified few say that he has no face at all. Outsiders dismiss the stories as theatrical superstition, but soon the phantom will reveal himself—and the Opera will never be the same.

A crew member is found hanged, and every denizen of the theater is quick to blame the phantom. More deaths follow, until the phantom is forced to make himself known in the most spectacular manner possible. But when the mysterious ghost begins to admire a beautiful singer, it is the beginning of something magnificent: a love story as heartfelt and tragic as any opera ever staged.


(5) 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
Goodreads | Amazon UK / Amazon US / Kobo Ca
Print Length: 324 pages
Spoiler:
Arthur C. Clarke has been the presiding genius of science fiction for almost fifty years. His works include the ground-breaking and profound CHILDHOOD'S END, RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA and EXPEDITION TO EARTH. Written when landing on the moon was still a dream, made into one of the most influential films of our century, brilliant, compulsive, prophetic, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY tackles the enduring theme of man's place in the universe.On the moon an enigma is uncovered. So great are the implications that, for the first time, men are sent out deep into the solar system. But, before they can reach their destination, things begin to go wrong, horribly wrong.


(6) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Goodreads | Amazon UK / Amazon US / Google Play / Kobo US / Overdrive / Sainsbury's UK
Print Length: 180 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last!

But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!


(7) Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
Goodreads | Patricia Clark Memorial Library: Kindle (1) / Kindle (2) / ePub (1) / ePub (2)
Print Length: 162 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

First published in 1897, Captain Courageous tells of the high-seas adventures of Harvey Cheyne, the son of an American millionaire, who, after falling from a luxury ocean liner, is rescued by the raucous crew of the fishing ship We’re Here. Obstinate and spoiled at first, Harvey in due course learns diligence and responsibility and earns the camaraderie of the seamen, who treat him as one of their own. A true test of character, Harvey’s months aboard the We’re Here provide a delightful glimpse of life at sea and well-told morals of discipline, empathy, and self-reliance.


(8) Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lewis Wallace
Goodreads | Amazon US (1) / Amazon US (2) / Barnes & Noble (1) / Barnes & Noble (2) / Kobo US
Print Length: 544 pages
Spoiler:
From the inside flap:

General Lew Wallace's Ben-Hur vividly reimagines the mighty Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity. The saga of Judah Ben-Hur's spiritual journey from slavery to vengeance to redemption is both a vivid historical adventure and a powerful story of one man's religious awakening. As Blake Allmendinger writes in his Introduction to this Modern Library Paperback Classic, "Ben-Hur has endured for more than one hundred years because it offers something for everyone. The story of the Jewish hero Ben-Hur, his conflict with the Roman warrior Messala, and his conversion to Christianity at the foot of the Cross, combines adventure, sentimentality, athletic spectacle, and religious devotion."


(9) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Goodreads | Patricia Clark Memorial Library: Kindle | Amazon US / Audible / Kobo US / Overdrive Audiobook (1) / Overdrive Audiobook (2) / Overdrive eBook
Print Length: 82 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

Heart of Darkness has been considered for most of this century as a literary classic, and also as a powerful indictment of the evils of imperialism. It reflects the savage repressions carried out in the Congo by the Belgians in one of the largest acts of genocide committed up to that time. Conrad's narrator encounters at the end of the story a man named Kurtz, dying, insane, and guilty of unspeakable atrocities.


The nominations are now closed.

WT Sharpe 08-20-2016 12:22 AM
Wondering if a particular book is available in your country? The following spoiler contains a list of bookstores outside the United States you can search. If you don't see a bookstore on this list for your country, find one that is, send me the link via PM, and I'll add it to the list. Also, if you find one on the list that is no longer in operation, let me know and I'll remove it from the list.

Spoiler:
Australian
Angus Robertson
Booktopia
Borders
Dymocks
Fishpond
Google

Canada
Amazon. Make sure you are logged out. Then go to the Kindle Store. Search for a book. After the search results come up, in the upper right corner of the screen, change the country to Canada and search away.
Google
Sony eBookstore (Upper right corner switch to/from US/CA)

UK
BooksOnBoard (In the upper right corner is a way to switch to the UK store)
Amazon
Foyle's
Google
Penguin
Random House
Waterstones
WH Smith


*** Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lewis Wallace [GA Russell, drofgnal, bfisher]
Goodreads | Amazon US (1) / Amazon US (2) / Barnes & Noble (1) / Barnes & Noble (2) / Kobo US
Print Length: 544 pages
Spoiler:
From the inside flap:

General Lew Wallace's Ben-Hur vividly reimagines the mighty Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity. The saga of Judah Ben-Hur's spiritual journey from slavery to vengeance to redemption is both a vivid historical adventure and a powerful story of one man's religious awakening. As Blake Allmendinger writes in his Introduction to this Modern Library Paperback Classic, "Ben-Hur has endured for more than one hundred years because it offers something for everyone. The story of the Jewish hero Ben-Hur, his conflict with the Roman warrior Messala, and his conversion to Christianity at the foot of the Cross, combines adventure, sentimentality, athletic spectacle, and religious devotion."


*** Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy [VioletVal, CRussel, Luffy]
Goodreads | Amazon US / Audible / Barnes & Noble / Kobo US
Print Length: 512 pages
Spoiler:
Independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. The first of his works set in Wessex, Hardy's novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships.


*** Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl [JSWolf, Luffy, Dazrin]
Goodreads | Amazon UK / Amazon US / Google Play / Kobo US / Overdrive / Sainsbury's UK
Print Length: 180 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last!

But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!


*** Hiroshima by John Hersey [CRussel, WT Sharpe, din155]
Goodreads | Amazon Ca / Amazon UK / Audible (1) / Audible (2) / Kobo Ca (1) / Kobo Ca (2)
Print Length: 135 pages
Spoiler:
From the blurb for one of the Kobo editions in the UK:

Hiroshima is John Hersey's timeless and compassionate account of the catastrophic event which heralded the coming of the atomic age. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author went to Japan, while the ashes of Hiroshima were still warm, to interview the survivors of the first atomic bombing. His trip resulted in this world-famous document, the most significant piece of journalism of modern times. "Nothing that can be said about this book," The New York Times wrote, "can equal what the book has to say. It speaks for itself, and in an unforgettable way, for humanity."

From the Kindle UK description:

"The room was filled with a blinding light. She was paralysed by fear, fixed still in her chair for a long moment. Everything fell.'

2015 is the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima, when, on 6 August at 8.15am, an atomic bomb was dropped over the Japanese city, killing one hundred thousand men, women and children in its white fury. John Hersey's spare, devastating report on the attack was first published in the New Yorker in 1946. Written in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, it chronicles what happened through the eyes of six civilians who survived against the odds. It is a classic piece of journalism, and a defining moment of the nuclear age.


*** Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie [WT Sharpe, GA Russell, pdurrant]
Goodreads | Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle | Amazon US / Amazon US (Restored) / Barnes & Noble / Kobo US
Print Length: 166 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

One magical night, the Darling children — Wendy, John, and Michael — are visited by two mischievous denizens of Neverland, an island of the imagination where pirates prowl the Mermaids’ Lagoon and fairies live so long as children believe in them. Peter Pan and his loyal, lightning-quick companion, Tinker Bell, have come for Peter’s shadow, captured the previous night by Nana, the children’s Newfoundland nanny. The pair leaves not just with the shadow, but with Wendy and her brothers, as well, whisking them away to Neverland to join the Lost Boys in their war against the evil Captain Hook.

J. M. Barrie created the character of Peter Pan to entertain a young family he regularly met in Kensington Gardens. Over the course of two novels and a play, he turned a whimsical idea into one of the most cherished literary characters of all time.


*** The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux [WT Sharpe, GA Russell, pdurrant]
Goodreads | Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle | Amazon US
Print Length: 270 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

There is a ghost in the Paris Opera House. Singers, dancers, and stagehands have all seen him lurking in the shadows of the set, and each describes his face differently. Some say it is on fire, others that it is bare bone, and a terrified few say that he has no face at all. Outsiders dismiss the stories as theatrical superstition, but soon the phantom will reveal himself—and the Opera will never be the same.

A crew member is found hanged, and every denizen of the theater is quick to blame the phantom. More deaths follow, until the phantom is forced to make himself known in the most spectacular manner possible. But when the mysterious ghost begins to admire a beautiful singer, it is the beginning of something magnificent: a love story as heartfelt and tragic as any opera ever staged.


*** 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke [din155, CRussel, Dazrin]
Goodreads | Amazon UK / Amazon US / Kobo Ca
Print Length: 324 pages
Spoiler:
Arthur C. Clarke has been the presiding genius of science fiction for almost fifty years. His works include the ground-breaking and profound CHILDHOOD'S END, RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA and EXPEDITION TO EARTH. Written when landing on the moon was still a dream, made into one of the most influential films of our century, brilliant, compulsive, prophetic, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY tackles the enduring theme of man's place in the universe.On the moon an enigma is uncovered. So great are the implications that, for the first time, men are sent out deep into the solar system. But, before they can reach their destination, things begin to go wrong, horribly wrong.


*** Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling [pdurrant, CRussel, Dazrin]
Goodreads | Patricia Clark Memorial Library: Kindle (1) / Kindle (2) / ePub (1) / ePub (2)
Print Length: 162 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

First published in 1897, Captain Courageous tells of the high-seas adventures of Harvey Cheyne, the son of an American millionaire, who, after falling from a luxury ocean liner, is rescued by the raucous crew of the fishing ship We’re Here. Obstinate and spoiled at first, Harvey in due course learns diligence and responsibility and earns the camaraderie of the seamen, who treat him as one of their own. A true test of character, Harvey’s months aboard the We’re Here provide a delightful glimpse of life at sea and well-told morals of discipline, empathy, and self-reliance.


*** Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad [issybird, din155, bfisher]
Goodreads | Patricia Clark Memorial Library: Kindle | Amazon US / Audible / Kobo US / Overdrive Audiobook (1) / Overdrive Audiobook (2) / Overdrive eBook
Print Length: 82 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

Heart of Darkness has been considered for most of this century as a literary classic, and also as a powerful indictment of the evils of imperialism. It reflects the savage repressions carried out in the Congo by the Belgians in one of the largest acts of genocide committed up to that time. Conrad's narrator encounters at the end of the story a man named Kurtz, dying, insane, and guilty of unspeakable atrocities.


The nominations are now closed.

GA Russell 08-20-2016 02:48 AM
I nominate Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lewis Wallace.

The best-selling American novel of all time. - Amazon

General Lew Wallace's Ben-Hur vividly reimagines the mighty Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity. The saga of Judah Ben-Hur's spiritual journey from slavery to vengeance to redemption is both a vivid historical adventure and a powerful story of one man's religious awakening. As Blake Allmendinger writes in his Introduction to this Modern Library Paperback Classic, "Ben-Hur has endured for more than one hundred years because it offers something for everyone. The story of the Jewish hero Ben-Hur, his conflict with the Roman warrior Messala, and his conversion to Christianity at the foot of the Cross, combines adventure, sentimentality, athletic spectacle, and religious devotion." - from the inside flap

Kindle - free
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004UJ10U6
https://www.amazon.com/Ben-Hur-Illus...dp/B01FFYCMMO/

Kobo - 99 cents
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/eb...-the-christ-36

B&N nook - 99 cents
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ben-...ace/1100059503
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ben-...ace/1113673095

VioletVal 08-21-2016 04:02 PM
I nominate Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

Independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. The first of his works set in Wessex, Hardy's novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships.

Amazon - free
https://www.amazon.com/Far-Madding-C.../dp/B0084B0DOK

Kobo - 68 cents
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/eb...dding-crowd-57

B&N nook - 99 cents
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/far-...=2940014144360

CRussel 08-22-2016 12:11 AM
Well, I can't say it excites me, but I willing to second and read Far From the Madding Crowd. In addition to the versions listed in VioletVal's post, there are also some 20 Audible versions (though I've excluded the abridged versions from that search string.)

Some of the Audible versions are WhisperSync enabled, and while no longer free, the combined eBook+audio book are still cheaper than the audio book alone. So for those who would prefer to read that way, a good option.

There are several possible narrators worthy of a listen, so take a moment to check out the samples. The variation is fairly substantial. :eek:

JSWolf 08-22-2016 02:01 AM
I would like to nominate Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Quote:
Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last!

But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!
Overdrive: https://www.overdrive.com/media/4661...colate-factory
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/eb...late-factory-3
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ies_dp_rw_ca_1
Google Play US: https://play.google.com/store/books/...d=TpGWiBzrxhAC
Sainsbury's UK https://www.sainsburysentertainment..../9780141960616
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charlie-Cho...rlie+chocolate
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...om_search=true

WT Sharpe 08-22-2016 08:18 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by GA Russell (Post 3375652)
I nominate Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lewis Wallace....
BTW, you can watch the original 1907 film version at YouTube. Note, this is a low budget 15 minute long production. The big budget and quite impressive MGM version came out 18 years later in 1925. I've seen the 1925 version and highly recommend it if you can find it.

JSWolf 08-22-2016 09:04 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by GA Russell (Post 3375652)
I nominate Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lewis Wallace.

The best-selling American novel of all time. - Amazon

General Lew Wallace's Ben-Hur vividly reimagines the mighty Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity. The saga of Judah Ben-Hur's spiritual journey from slavery to vengeance to redemption is both a vivid historical adventure and a powerful story of one man's religious awakening. As Blake Allmendinger writes in his Introduction to this Modern Library Paperback Classic, "Ben-Hur has endured for more than one hundred years because it offers something for everyone. The story of the Jewish hero Ben-Hur, his conflict with the Roman warrior Messala, and his conversion to Christianity at the foot of the Cross, combines adventure, sentimentality, athletic spectacle, and religious devotion." - from the inside flap

Kindle - free
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004UJ10U6
https://www.amazon.com/Ben-Hur-Illus...dp/B01FFYCMMO/

Kobo - 99 cents
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/eb...-the-christ-36

B&N nook - 99 cents
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ben-...ace/1100059503
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ben-...ace/1113673095
If this book was to win, the discussion would have to be moved to the P&R forum. So because of that, I think any politically or religious based book should be disqualified.

WT Sharpe 08-22-2016 09:20 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf (Post 3376974)
If this book was to win, the discussion would have to be moved to the P&R forum. So because of that, I think any politically or religious based book should be disqualified.
I disagree. I think rational adults can discuss the literary merits of a book with a religious or political agenda without crossing the line into arguments as to whether one agrees or disagrees with the personal beliefs of the author.

JSWolf 08-22-2016 09:25 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by WT Sharpe (Post 3376992)
I disagree. I think rational adults can discuss the literary merits of a book with a religious or political agenda without crossing the line into arguments as to whether one agrees or disagrees with the personal beliefs of the author.
Rational or not is not the issue. The issue is that religious and/or political discussion belongs in the P%R forum. That's why it exists. So even the most rational and the most polite discussion belongs in the P&R forum. That's not my rule. That's the forum's rule. If you allow the discussion to take place outside the P&R frum, then the P&R forum may as well be deleted. Besides, if you have one religious dicussion outside the P&R forum, then there would be precedence to not use the P&R forum. I don't think an exception can be made without undermining the P&R forum.

BenG 08-22-2016 11:43 AM
By the same token we would have to rule out things like The Davinci Code, The Grapes of Wrath, All the King's Men, 1984, The Animal Farm, The Handmaid's Tale, The Line of Beauty, The Brothers Karamozov, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Man Who Was Thursday, The Golden Compass, etc. some of which we've read already without any complaint from you.
I suppose you object to the title, though the majority of the book, like the movie, is about Ben Hur and his revenge.

I'm not voting for it since I read it a couple of times already and the movie (not the current one) was better.

Luffy 08-22-2016 11:56 AM
I third Far from the Madding Crowd, and second Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

drofgnal 08-22-2016 02:06 PM
I'll second Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. It's on my TBR list anyway.

CRussel 08-22-2016 03:11 PM
I'm not voting for it because I don't particularly want to read it, but I agree with Tom on whether or not we could read and discuss Ben-Hur. We've had this claim before, and recently, for The Golden Compass, and it wasn't valid then and isn't valid here.

CRussel 08-22-2016 03:37 PM
I'd like to nominate Hiroshima by John Hersey. This is a short book (75-105 pages, depending on edition), from the blurb for one of the Kobo editions in the UK:
Quote:
Hiroshima is John Hersey's timeless and compassionate account of the catastrophic event which heralded the coming of the atomic age. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author went to Japan, while the ashes of Hiroshima were still warm, to interview the survivors of the first atomic bombing. His trip resulted in this world-famous document, the most significant piece of journalism of modern times. "Nothing that can be said about this book," The New York Times wrote, "can equal what the book has to say. It speaks for itself, and in an unforgettable way, for humanity."
From the Kindle UK description:
Quote:
"The room was filled with a blinding light. She was paralysed by fear, fixed still in her chair for a long moment. Everything fell.'

2015 is the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima, when, on 6 August at 8.15am, an atomic bomb was dropped over the Japanese city, killing one hundred thousand men, women and children in its white fury. John Hersey's spare, devastating report on the attack was first published in the New Yorker in 1946. Written in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, it chronicles what happened through the eyes of six civilians who survived against the odds. It is a classic piece of journalism, and a defining moment of the nuclear age.
There are no US Kindle versions, however a brief trip to Canada or the UK will solve that, or go with the Kobo versions - they appear to be more broadly available. And there are certainly pBook and Audible versions available. At least one of the Kobo versions is completely free.

Kobo Canada ($2.99 CDN)
Kobo Canada ($0.00, no DRM)
Kindle (Canada) ($7.67 CDN, No DRM)
Kindle UK (£1.49)
Audible (George Guidall Narration)
Audible (Ed Asner Narration)

WT Sharpe 08-22-2016 05:04 PM
Second Hiroshima. Hope that Ed Asner version isn't too steep.

WT Sharpe 08-22-2016 05:07 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by WT Sharpe (Post 3377255)
Second Hiroshima. Hope that Ed Asner version isn't too steep.
Hmmm... not too bad for an audiobook. $14.95 for us non-members, but if we join, we can get it for only $14.95! :D

CRussel 08-22-2016 05:16 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by WT Sharpe (Post 3377255)
Second Hiroshima. Hope that Ed Asner version isn't too steep.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WT Sharpe (Post 3377256)
Hmmm... not too bad for an audiobook. $14.95 for us non-members, but if we join, we can get it for only $14.95! :D
Yeah, I'm a bit torn about which one to get. I know Guidall is an excellent reader, and normally I'd just go with him. But Ed Asner? Tempting.
(BTW, I'm showing a member price of $6.95 for the Asner version. Pretty reasonable, and definitely not something I'll need to use a credit on.)

WT Sharpe 08-22-2016 05:22 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel (Post 3377264)
Yeah, I'm a bit torn about which one to get. I know Guidall is an excellent reader, and normally I'd just go with him. But Ed Asner? Tempting.
(BTW, I'm showing a member price of $6.95 for the Asner version. Pretty reasonable, and definitely not something I'll need to use a credit on.)
$6.95? Are you a member? Here in the U.S. I'm seeing $14.95 for both members and non-members.

CRussel 08-22-2016 06:00 PM
1 Attachment(s)
Yes, I'm a US member, and that's what it's showing as a US price for members.

(I don't think it shows the right price until you actually ARE a member.)

WT Sharpe 08-22-2016 08:31 PM
1 Attachment(s)
Strange. On everything else at audible I see a member's price and everyone else's price. But on this one I see:

WT Sharpe 08-24-2016 11:09 AM
I nominate Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (AKA The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up AKA Peter and Wendy).

Quote:
One magical night, the Darling children — Wendy, John, and Michael — are visited by two mischievous denizens of Neverland, an island of the imagination where pirates prowl the Mermaids’ Lagoon and fairies live so long as children believe in them. Peter Pan and his loyal, lightning-quick companion, Tinker Bell, have come for Peter’s shadow, captured the previous night by Nana, the children’s Newfoundland nanny. The pair leaves not just with the shadow, but with Wendy and her brothers, as well, whisking them away to Neverland to join the Lost Boys in their war against the evil Captain Hook.

J. M. Barrie created the character of Peter Pan to entertain a young family he regularly met in Kensington Gardens. Over the course of two novels and a play, he turned a whimsical idea into one of the most cherished literary characters of all time.
Goodreads | Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle | Amazon US / Amazon US (Restored) / Barnes & Noble / Kobo US

WT Sharpe 08-24-2016 12:03 PM
It's be six months, so once again I nominate The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. This is a fortuitous day for anyone who wishes to read it, for as of today, it is a Whispersync deal of the month that will cost you exactly nothing.

We've seen the musical, and a few of us have be fortunate enough to have seen the silent classic starring the "man of a thousand faces" Lon Cheney in the title role, but how many of us have read the original?

Quote:
From Goodreads:

First published in French as a serial in 1909, "The Phantom of the Opera" is a riveting story that revolves around the young, Swedish Christine Daaé. Her father, a famous musician, dies, and she is raised in the Paris Opera House with his dying promise of a protective angel of music to guide her. After a time at the opera house, she begins hearing a voice, who eventually teaches her how to sing beautifully. All goes well until Christine's childhood friend Raoul comes to visit his parents, who are patrons of the opera, and he sees Christine when she begins successfully singing on the stage. The voice, who is the deformed, murderous 'ghost' of the opera house named Erik, however, grows violent in his terrible jealousy, until Christine suddenly disappears. The phantom is in love, but it can only spell disaster. Leroux's work, with characters ranging from the spoiled prima donna Carlotta to the mysterious Persian from Erik's past, has been immortalized by memorable adaptations. Despite this, it remains a remarkable piece of Gothic horror literature in and of itself, deeper and darker than any version that follows.
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle | Amazon US

CRussel 08-24-2016 01:40 PM
Hmmm. Both of those are certainly classics, Tom. I'm just not sure I want to read either _right now_. And I've only got one vote left. Though I suspect I'll grab that WhisperSync deal in case my mood changes. :)

JSWolf 08-24-2016 01:57 PM
Come on people. Do you want a moldy oldy or do you want a fun read? If you want a fun read, give a nod to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

CRussel 08-24-2016 02:46 PM
No interest, Jon. It's one of only two books so far that I would not read. I don't quibble that it's a classic. Just not my classic. :)

How about nominating a classic SF novel? Surely there are some you fondly remember.

din155 08-24-2016 06:36 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel (Post 3378339)
No interest, Jon. It's one of only two books so far that I would not read. I don't quibble that it's a classic. Just not my classic. :)

How about nominating a classic SF novel? Surely there are some you fondly remember.
You don't say! I would like to nominate 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. I have been meaning to read this since we had science month in the book club.
Spoiler:
Arthur C. Clarke has been the presiding genius of science fiction for almost fifty years. His works include the ground-breaking and profound CHILDHOOD'S END, RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA and EXPEDITION TO EARTH. Written when landing on the moon was still a dream, made into one of the most influential films of our century, brilliant, compulsive, prophetic, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY tackles the enduring theme of man's place in the universe.On the moon an enigma is uncovered. So great are the implications that, for the first time, men are sent out deep into the solar system. But, before they can reach their destination, things begin to go wrong, horribly wrong


Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/2001-Odysse...=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/2001-Odyssey-...2074366&sr=8-3
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/eb...1-26eeaf82eb52

din155 08-24-2016 06:47 PM
Damn! I want to read them all. How do I decide :chinscratch:

CRussel 08-24-2016 07:04 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by din155 (Post 3378490)
Damn! I want to read them all. How do I decide :chinscratch:
Well, you start by giving Hiroshima its third. :)

Seriously, folks. This is perhaps the finest piece of journalism ever written. For the only time in its history, The New Yorker devoted its entire issue to a single article. The initial print run sold out in hours, and they allowed pretty much anyone and everyone to reprint the article. John Hersey took a different tack from other writers of the time and told the story of the people, the survivors, in a way that was far more compelling than just the myriad details of the devastation had been. This book hasn't been out of print since it was written in 1946, and this is the 70th Anniversary of its publication. It's short - Novella length at ~100 pages. And while I don't think it will be a "fun" read, I do think it will be an interesting and provocative one.

din155 08-24-2016 07:25 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel (Post 3378493)
Well, you start by giving Hiroshima its third. :)
It is a very compelling book. Oh what the heck! I third Hiroshima.
now its Peter Pan v/s Charlie and the chocolate factory.

JSWolf 08-24-2016 07:33 PM
Charlie is more fun to read than Peter.

GA Russell 08-24-2016 07:56 PM
I second Peter Pan.

I second The Phantom of the Opera.

CRussel 08-24-2016 08:14 PM
Come on, folks. Only two days left and so far we only have two books nominated. I admit, I'm hording my final ticket to see if there's a last minute new book, but if not, then either Clark or Leroux will get my last ticket.

Dazrin 08-24-2016 10:57 PM
I really doubt I will be able to read any selection this month so I have refrained from anything. If there are only two options fully nominated though I might come in tomorrow/Friday and finish off everything I can.

WT Sharpe 08-25-2016 06:55 PM
C'mon, folks! This is the slowest Classics month ever. It's not for shortage of possibilities. Pretty much everything that's stood the test of time since 3200 BCE is fair game, but just a few minutes over 30 hours to go!

din155 08-26-2016 02:36 AM
seems I will have to read the 2001:space odyssey alone at some point.

Dazrin 08-26-2016 03:03 AM
I am hoping it at least gets a second. I would certainly give it a third if it does. I doubt I will be able to read whatever is the selection turns out to be anyway so I am going to give nominations only to books that need a third to make sure there are several options for the vote.

din155 08-26-2016 06:30 AM
I am hoping we get more participation.

In a last ditch effort I am calling out all the mobilereaders :shout:

Please do let us know what would you like to read this month. Even if you don't actually read it :thanks:

pdurrant 08-26-2016 07:47 AM
I'll nominate Captains Courageous by Kipling.

And I'll third Peter Pan. and Phantom of the Opera

WT Sharpe 08-26-2016 10:13 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by din155 (Post 3379132)
seems I will have to read the 2001:space odyssey alone at some point.
I would willingly reread it but I have no votes left.


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