MobileRead June 2012 Mobile Read Book Club 1st Vote

[WT Sharpe]

June 2012 Mobile Read Book Club Vote

Help us choose a book as the June 2012 eBook for the Mobile Read Book Club. The poll will be open for 4 days, followed by a 3 day run-off poll between the two* top vote getters. The vote this month will be hidden.


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

1) Persuasion by Jane Austen [fantasyfan, issybird, Nyssa]
Inkmesh search / Mobi (Illustrated) & ePub (Illustrated) by HarryT | Mobi by GibbinR | Mobi by Strether

Spoiler:

Description: From Content: "Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs changed naturally into pity and contempt as he turned over the almost endless creations of the last century; and there, if every other leaf were powerless, he could read his own history with an interest which never failed. This was the page at which the favourite volume always opened: "ELLIOT OF KELLYNCH HALL. "Walter Elliot, born March 1, 1760, married, July 15, 1784, Elizabeth, daughter of James Stevenson, Esq. of South Park, in the county of Gloucester, by which lady (who died 1800) he has issue Elizabeth, born June 1, 1785; Anne, born August 9, 1787; a still-born son, November 5, 1789; Mary, born November 20, 1791." Precisely such had the paragraph originally stood from the printer's hands; but Sir Walter had improved it by adding, for the information of himself and his family, these words, after the date of Mary's birth--"Married, December 16, 1810, Charles, son and heir of Charles Musgrove, Esq. of Uppercross, in the county of Somerset," and by inserting most accurately the day of the month on which he had lost his wife. Then followed the history and rise of the ancient and respectable family, in the usual terms; how it had been first settled in Cheshire; how mentioned in Dugdale, serving the office of high sheriff, representing a borough in three successive parliaments, exertions of loyalty, and dignity of baronet, in the first year of Charles II, with all the Marys and Elizabeths they had married; forming altogether two handsome duodecimo pages, and concluding with the arms and motto:--"Principal seat, Kellynch Hall, in the county of Somerset," and Sir Walter's handwriting again in this finale:-- "Heir presumptive, William Walter Elliot, Esq., great grandson of the second Sir Walter." Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot's character; vanity of person and of situation. He had been remarkably handsome in his youth; and, at fifty-four, was still a very fine man. Few women could think more of their personal appearance than he did, nor could the valet of any new made lord be more delighted with the place he held in society. He considered the blessing of beauty as inferior only to the blessing of a baronetcy; and the Sir Walter Elliot, who united these gifts, was the constant object of his warmest respect and devotion. His good looks and his rank had one fair claim on his attachment; since to them he must have owed a wife of very superior character to any thing deserved by his own. Lady Elliot had been an excellent woman, sensible and amiable; whose judgement and conduct, if they might be pardoned the youthful infatuation which made her Lady Elliot, had never required indulgence afterwards.--She had humoured, or softened, or concealed his failings, and promoted his real respectability for seventeen years; and though not the very happiest being in the world herself, had found enough in her duties, her friends, and her children, to attach her to life, and make it no matter of indifference to her when she was called on to quit them.--Three girls, the two eldest sixteen and fourteen, was an awful legacy for a mother to bequeath, an awful charge rather, to confide to the authority and guidance of a conceited, silly father." (from CyberRead)

2) The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells [JSWolf, caleb72, WT Sharpe]
Inkmesh search / Interactive ebook for iPad / ePub & mobi by JSWolf | ePub & mobi by HarryT | ePub Omnibus & mobi Omnibus by crich70 | other books - KF8/AZW3 by JSWolf

Spoiler:

Description: CSF Publishing's Classic Literature Collection includes title's carefully updated and corrected from the original text, and features new enhancements such as the author's complete biography and bibliography, story description, list of characters and their role in the story, and occasionally illustrations from antique editions. ABOUT THE BOOK: The innovative science-fiction story about the possibilities of intelligent life on distant planets follows an English astronomer, in company with an artilleryman, a country curate, and others, as they struggle to survive the invasion of Earth by Martians in 1894. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: H.G. Wells was born in Bromley, England, the son of an unsuccessful merchant. After a limited education, he was apprenticed to a dry-goods merchant, but soon found he wanted something more out of life. He read widely and got a position as a student assistant in a secondary school, eventually winning a scholarship to the College of Science in South Kensington, where he studied biology under the British biologist and educator, Thomas Henry Huxley. After graduating, Wells took several different teaching positions and began writing for magazines. When his stories began to sell, he left teaching to write full time. Wells's first major novel, The Time Machine (1895), launched his career as a writer, and he began to produce a steady stream of science-fiction tales, short stories, realistic novels, and books of sociology, history, science, and biography, producing one or more books a year. Much of Wells's work is forward-looking, peering into the future of prophesy social and scientific developments, sometimes with amazing accuracy. Along with French writer Jules Verne, Wells is credited with popularizing science fiction, and such novels as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds (1898) are still widely read. Many of Wells's stories are based on his own experiences. The History of Mr. Polly (1910) draws on the life of Wells's father. Kipps (1905) uses Wells's experience as an apprentice, and Love and Mr. Lewisham (1900) draws on Wells's experiences as a school teacher. Wells also wrote stories showing how the world could be a better place. One such story is A Modern Utopia (1905). As a writer, Wells's range was exceptionally wide and his imagination extremely fertile. While time may have caught up with him (many of the things he predicted have already come to pass), he remains an interesting writer because of his ability to tell a lively tale. (from Diesel eBook Store)

3) A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway [issybird, fantasyfan, Hamlet53]
Inkmesh search / The Restored Edition: Inkmesh search

Spoiler:

Description: "You belong to me and all Paris belongs to me and I belong to this notebook and this pencil." Begun in the autumn of 1957 and published posthumously in 1964, Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast captures what it meant to be young and poor and writing in Paris during the 1920s. A correspondent for the Toronto Star , Hemingway arrived in Paris in 1921, three years after the trauma of the Great War and at the beginning of the transformation of Europe's cultural landscape: Braque and Picasso were experimenting with cubist forms; James Joyce, long living in self-imposed exile from his native Dublin, had just completed Ulysses; Gertude Stein held court at 27 rue de Fleurus, and deemed young Ernest a member of rue génération perdue; and T. S. Eliot was a bank clerk in London. It was during these years that the as-of-yet unpublished young writer gathered the material for his first novel, The Sun Also Rises , and the subsequent masterpieces that followed. Among these small, reflective sketches are unforgettable encounters with the members of Hemingway's slightly rag-tag circle of artists and writers, some also fated to achieve fame and glory, others to fall into obscurity. Here, too, is an evocation of the Paris that Hemingway knew as a young man - a map drawn in his distinct prose of the streets and cafés and bookshops that comprised the city in which he, as a young writer, sometimes struggling against the cold and hunger of near poverty, honed the skills of his craft. A Moveable Feast is at once an elegy to the remarkable group of expatriates that gathered in Paris during the twenties and a testament to the risks and rewards of the writerly life. (from eBooks.com)

4) Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott [AnemicOak, Hamlet53, colinsky]
Inkmesh search / Patricia Clark Memorial Library (MobileRead) - mobi (german) by netseeker | mobi by mtravellerh | mobi by Madam Broshkina | ePub & mobi [German] by brucewelch | ePub (german) by netseeker

Spoiler:

As knights battle to the death, the fate of England hangs in the balance.

England is in turmoil--torn by fierce and bitter hatreds between Norman and Saxon. Rival claimants to the throne have plunged into bloody civil war. Price John--taking advantage of Richard's absence while fighting in the Crusades--plots to make himself crowned king. Richard returns and vows to take his revenge on John.

But he will need a courageous and able warrior on his side--a warrior like Wilfred of Ivanhoe.

Disinherited by his father, disowned and dishonored, Wilfred allies himself with Richard. In many adventures he will battle knights in deadly tournaments, scale castle walls, be wounded, captured, and rescued by the infamous Robin Hood, and find true love with the fiery Rowena.

In what has become Sir Walter Scott's most beloved and rousing adventure, Wilfred helps Richard I foil John's plot. More importantly, Wilfred of Ivenhoe reclaims his good name.

5) The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas [RoccoPaco, sun surfer, Ginwen]
Inkmesh search / ePub (D'Artagnan Romances, Vol 1) & Mobi (D'Artagnan Romances, Vol 1) by HarryT | ePub (French/English) & Mobi (French/English) by Doitsu | ePub (French) by Jellby |

Spoiler:

Description: Grade 6 Up-With swelling musical background, the clash of swordplay, and the occasional thump of a head being cut off, the St. Charles Players bring back the feeling of radio theater in their rendition of the classic tale by Alexandre Dumas. The players' voices emit every nuance required to let listeners experience the swashbuckling deeds of the famous heroic threesome and the boy called D'Artagnan who wants to join their ranks. When the young man arrives in Paris with the wish to enlist with the King's Musketeers, he finds himself challenged to three duels in his first afternoon in the city by men who turn out to be Porthos, Aramis, and Athos-the Three Musketeers. Instead of fighting against them, the twists of fate have D'Artagnan battling for them against the evil Cardinal Richelieu's guards. After demonstrating his worth with a sword, D'Artagnan proves more of his mettle by journeying to England to foil a plot to embarrass France's Queen Anne, the former Anne of Austria. D'Artagnan saves his queen but loses the woman he loves, so he seeks vengeance and, in turn, instills himself firmly in the ranks of the Musketeers. The flavor of the original is evident even though this abridged version includes only highlights in its retelling. Joanne K. Hammond, Chambersburg Area Middle School, PA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. A perennial favorite, this work continues to hold appeal for adventure lovers. Full of intrigue, swordplay, and revenge, it is the story of d'Artagnan, a young nobleman who travels to Paris in hopes of joining the Musketeers, a group of swashbuckling adventurers who serve King Louis XIII. His wit and fighting ability make d'Artagnan a welcome addition to their ranks, and together the four young men work to foil the King's evil rival, Cardinal Richelieu. Despite the period setting and constant violence, the story captures and sustains the listener's interest as the Musketeers vanquish the villains. Michael York reads superbly, his rich baritone voice giving each role convincing clarity. The audio format is particularly suited to the tale. The production quality is excellent. Recommended for general collections. - Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. (from Amazon.com)

6) Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout [Asawi, GA Russell, WT Sharpe]
Inkmesh search

Spoiler:

As any herpetologist will tell you, the fer-de-lance is among the most dreaded snakes known to man. When someone makes a present of one to Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin knows he's getting dreadully close to solving the devilishly clever murders of an immigrant and a college president. As for Wolfe, he's playing snake charmer in a case with more twists than an anaconda -- whistling a seductive tune he hopes will catch a killer who's still got poison in his heart. From the Paperback edition. (from Kobo)

7) The Call of the Wild by Jack London [Synamon, odiakkoh, GA Russell]
Inkmesh search | Mobi by Madam Broshkina

Spoiler:

Description: You get the full original text of this book interwoven with a smart, plain-spoken guide to the characters, quotes, themes, symbols, and more from Shmoop.The Call of the Wild was published in 1903 and is author Jack London-s most famous novel. The novel takes place during the Klondike Gold Rush, and our protagonist is a dog named Buck who is pulled from a life of comfort and who is forced to work as a sled dog in the Alaskan and Canadian wilderness. The Call of the Wild is notable for the way in which it presents Buck as though he were a person with real thoughts, ideas, and feelings; the result is an interesting and unique point-of-view. Most importantly, The Call of the Wild centers on the idea of primitivity - or the stuff inside of you that harkens back to the days before iPods, houses, cars, or electricity. Designed exclusively for Kindle readers, Shmoop Classics for Kindle offer the original text of some of the greatest works of literature with a built-in interactive guide to help you dig deep into the characters, symbols, themes, and big questions of the book. For the student and the life-long learner alike, take your classroom on the road and build your brain muscles daily. No need to weigh your backpack down, no need to waste paper, no need to get sleepy in class. Shmoop is here to make you a better lover of literature and to help you discover connections to other works of literature, history, current events, and pop culture. You-ll find thought-provoking character analyses, quotes, summaries, themes, symbols, trivia, and lots of insightful commentary. Key quotes from the original text are linked to deep analysis from Shmoop. Academics from top universities, including Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and Columbia, have written content designed to engage you and to get your brain bubbling. With Shmoop-s fun, conversational, and accessible tone, you-ll feel as though you are chatting with friends over coffee. These interactive study guides will help you discover and rediscover some of the greatest works of all time. For more information, check out http://www.shmoop.com/ballyhoo/kindle-ebooks.html"Best of the Internet" - PC Magazine"Shmoop impresses me because it is intentionally about learning, and the joy of learning, not just about passing courses and jumping through educational hoops." - Paul Hamilton, teacher and education blogger"Shmoop features deep analysis of topics in history and literature, sprinkled with a heavy dose of wry humor." - eSchoolNews (from Amazon.com)

8) Discourse on the Method by René Descartes (parts I-VI) [WT Sharpe, GA Russell, Synamon].
Inkmesh search / Mobi & ePub by WT Sharpe

Spoiler:

Although this philosophical work is short (approximately 120 pages), its impact on Western thought has been immeasurable. Are human beings mere robotic mechanisms with no other option than to respond to imputed data as we have been programmed, or is there a ghost in the machine? How can we even be sure we exist? Is this world the result of blind chance, or is there a Cosmic Intelligence directing its destiny? Nearly 400 years after its first publication, Discourse on the Method is still sparking strong debate among scholars and laypeople alike. Join the conversation!

9) The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway [caleb72, Synamon, fantasyfan]
Inkmesh search / ePub by The Terminator - public domain in life +50 countries

Spoiler:

Description: Here, for a change, is a fish tale that actually does honor to the author. In fact The Old Man and the Sea revived Ernest Hemingway's career, which was foundering under the weight of such postwar stinkers as Across the River and into the Trees . It also led directly to his receipt of the Nobel Prize in 1954 (an award Hemingway gladly accepted, despite his earlier observation that "no son of a bitch that ever won the Nobel Prize ever wrote anything worth reading afterwards"). A half century later, it's still easy to see why. This tale of an aged Cuban fisherman going head-to-head (or hand-to-fin) with a magnificent marlin encapsulates Hemingway's favorite motifs of physical and moral challenge. Yet Santiago is too old and infirm to partake of the gun-toting machismo that disfigured much of the author's later work: "The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks. The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords." Hemingway's style, too, reverts to those superb snapshots of perception that won him his initial fame: Just before it was dark, as they passed a great island of Sargasso weed that heaved and swung in the light sea as though the ocean were making love with something under a yellow blanket, his small line was taken by a dolphin. He saw it first when it jumped in the air, true gold in the last of the sun and bending and flapping wildly in the air. If a younger Hemingway had written this novella, Santiago most likely would have towed the enormous fish back to port and posed for a triumphal photograph--just as the author delighted in doing, circa 1935. Instead his prize gets devoured by a school of sharks. Returning with little more than a skeleton, he takes to his bed and, in the very last line, cements his identification with his creator: "The old man was dreaming about the lions." Perhaps there's some allegory of art and experience floating around in there somewhere--but The Old Man and the Sea was, in any case, the last great catch of Hemingway's career. --James Marcus "'The best story Hemingway has written...No page of this beautiful master-work could have been done better or differently' Sunday Times" (from Amazon.com)

10) Middlemarch by George Eliot [sun surfer, issybird, Mims]
Inkmesh search / Mobi by HarryT

Spoiler:

Descriptions from Amazon:

It was George Eliot's ambition to create a world and portray a whole community--tradespeople, middle classes, country gentry--in the rising fictional provincial town of Middlemarch, circa 1830. Vast and crowded, rich in narrative irony and suspense, Middlemarch is richer still in character and in its sense of how individual destinies are shaped by and shape the community.

---

This panoramic work--considered the finest novel in English by many critics--offers a complex look at English provincial life at a crucial historical moment, and, at the same time, dramatizes and explores some of the most potent myths of Victorian literature. The text of this edition comes from the Clarendon Middlemarch, the first critical edition of the novel.

---

Set in the fictitious Midlands town of Middlemarch during the years 1830-32, George Eliot's "Middlemarch" is a work of epic scope filled with numerous characters, which explores a plethora of themes including the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism and self-interest, religion and hypocrisy, political reform, and education. Considered one of the great works of the English language, George Eliot's "Middlemarch" was immensely popular upon original publication and remains one of the finest examples of the author's prolific and accomplished literary career.

The fine print:
*Should the first vote produce a 3-way or more tie for first place, or 2-way or more tie for second, the second poll will have more than two choices.

[caleb72]

I think I'll be a wuss and wait until I see a trend. I know, I know. But there's a few here I'm equally interested in reading. I actually have Call of the Wild, Old Man and the Sea and The War of the Worlds all on my TBR pile at the moment.

[orlok]

Having read The Count of Monte Cristo last year, I'm quite keen on trying The Three Musketeers.

[JSWolf]

Having read War of the Worlds, I'm voting on it for a reread. After it wins, I'll read it and then check out the Tom Cruise movie.

By the way, where are the links for the various editions of War of the Worlds being hosted by MR (for FREE)?

[fantasyfan]

There's an H.G.Wells Omnibus which includes War of the Worlds available here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=128580

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

By the way, where are the links for the various editions of War of the Worlds being hosted by MR (for FREE)?

Huh? They all appear in the inkmesh link.

[sun surfer]

Middlemarch for me!

[drofgnal]

I went with Ivanhoe. I like historical fiction alot, and I'm suprised I haven't read this yet.

[John F]

Great selection. I'll wait to vote, there are a couple I'm not to keen on.

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

... The vote this month will not be hidden ...

Fixed that for you.

[JSWolf]

There is a rather nice looking edition in ePub that I have just put up. It should convert well to KF8 using Calibre for those who have a Kindle Fire.

ePub: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=178922

Mobi: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13751

LRF: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10979

KF8/AZW3: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=178925

Those are all the different formats I have created. Enjoy!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by fantasyfan

There's an H.G.Wells Omnibus which includes War of the Worlds available here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=128580

In that thread, someone reported that there are errors in the omnibus and that it crashed his 505. I downloaded it, ran it through FlightCrew and yes, there are a number of errors. So it might not work properly.

[fantasyfan]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There is a rather nice looking edition in ePub that I have just put up. It should convert well to KF8 using Calibre for those who have a Kindle Fire.

ePub: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=178922

Mobi: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13751

LRF: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10979

Those are all the different formats I have created. Enjoy!

Thank You.

[JSWolf]

Just added a KF8/AZW3 version of War of the Worlds.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=178925

[RoccoPaco]

There are a number that I am also partial too.... Persuasion and The Three Musketeers... But I am feeling like a good adventure novel so The Three Musketeers it is!

[VioletVal]

I'm also trying to decide between Persuasion and The Three Musketeers. Jane Austen is my favorite author and I wouldn't mind rereading Persuasion, but I'm also interested in The Three Musketeers and haven't read it yet.