MobileRead August 2011 Book Club Nominations

[dreams]

I have to go check the count to this point. I believe we may have 9 6 fully nominated books at this time.

I'll post when it has been checked. Thanks, again, Tom for helping on this.

Edit: correction of number of fully nominated books. There are now 6 fully nominated books.

As always please let us know of any errors.


Post #13 contains the nominated books and Post #1 will show the fully nominated books.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by The Terminator

I nominate D'artagnan romances volume 2


I just finished the first volume and (As usual) Dumas did a great job

Isn't it a bit odd to nominate a book that is technically in the middle of a series/trilogy?

Do the individual books work as stand-alones?

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by beppe

^Tom
Life of Pi by Yann Marte [VioletVal, WT Sharpe, VioletVal]

is that correct?
If it is not correct I will use the vote you gave me back to third Life of Pi. If Life of Pi has been actually thirded, I will hold my vote for the time being

Dag, it that what I put up there? It should have read, "Life of Pi by Yann Marte [VioletVal, WT Sharpe, jgaiser]." Dreams must have corrected it.

Thanks, beppe. Please continue to to keep an eye out for errors. They're a lot easier to correct when pointed out quickly.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by The Terminator

I nominate D'artagnan romances volume 2


I just finished the first volume and (As usual) Dumas did a great job

Nominating any other book then book one of a series when book one has not been read for the book club is not going to go over very well. I've not read book one and would have to read book one and then read book two.

Maybe enough people have read book one to nominate it for the vote. But then, you do take away from the people who have not read book one.

[JSWolf]

We need just one more nomination for The Help to get to to go to vote. Please help someone. Thanks. That would make us one step closer to the vote.

[sun surfer]

I will nominate Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone by Martin Dugard.


"It is rare when a historical narrative keeps readers up late into the night" -Publishers Weekly

"A superb tale of adventure, heroism, and suffering. Dugard provides essential background information between generous servings of heart-pounding excitement." -Library Journal

"An action-packed recounting of one of the most famous incidents in the history of exploration." -Kirkus Reviews (starred)

Spoiler:

With the utterance of a single line—“Doctor Livingstone, I presume?”—a remote meeting in the heart of Africa was transformed into one of the most famous encounters in exploration history. But the true story behind Dr. David Livingstone and journalist Henry Morton Stanley is one that has escaped telling. Into Africa is an extraordinarily researched account of a thrilling adventure—defined by alarming foolishness, intense courage, and raw human achievement.

In the mid-1860s, exploration had reached a plateau. The seas and continents had been mapped, the globe circumnavigated. Yet one vexing puzzle remained unsolved: what was the source of the mighty Nile river? Aiming to settle the mystery once and for all, Great Britain called upon its legendary explorer, Dr. David Livingstone, who had spent years in Africa as a missionary. In March 1866, Livingstone steered a massive expedition into the heart of Africa. In his path lay nearly impenetrable, uncharted terrain, hostile cannibals, and deadly predators. Within weeks, the explorer had vanished without a trace. Years passed with no word.

While debate raged in England over whether Livingstone could be found—or rescued—from a place as daunting as Africa, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., the brash American newspaper tycoon, hatched a plan to capitalize on the world’s fascination with the missing legend. He would send a young journalist, Henry Morton Stanley, into Africa to search for Livingstone. A drifter with great ambition, but little success to show for it, Stanley undertook his assignment with gusto, filing reports that would one day captivate readers and dominate the front page of the New York Herald.

Tracing the amazing journeys of Livingstone and Stanley in alternating chapters, author Martin Dugard captures with breathtaking immediacy the perils and challenges these men faced. Woven into the narrative, Dugard tells an equally compelling story of the remarkable transformation that occurred over the course of nine years, as Stanley rose in power and prominence and Livingstone found himself alone and in mortal danger. The first book to draw on modern research and to explore the combination of adventure, politics, and larger-than-life personalities involved, Into Africa is a riveting read.

[VioletVal]

I third The Help.

[colinsky]

Originally Posted by issybird

Second Brideshead; that would be a really fun book to discuss.

ETA: One interesting aspect is that different editions are in print in the UK and the USA. Waugh did a major rewrite on the book around 1960; that is the edition that's in print in the UK. In the USA, the (superior, IMO) original edition is in print. The revised edition was never published here.

I'll third that. I like the idea of seeking out divergent editions...

[dreams]

There are now 8 fully nominated books listed in post #1.

Post #13 contains the nominated books and Post #1 will show the fully nominated books.

Thanks to beppe for keeping a watch on this thread and to sun surfer for catching an error.

[caleb72]

I know none of these other than Slaughterhouse Five. Given that I'd planned to read this in August anyway I know what I'll be voting for.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by VioletVal

I third The Help.

Thank you!

[JSWolf]

Now if we could just get a second and a third for The Book of Fate

[JSWolf]

Here is a proper description of Slaughterhouse Five to replace the one we have that's not really a description.

Billy Pilgrim is the son of an American barber. He serves as a chaplain's assistant in World War II, is captured by the Germans, and he survives the largest massacre in European history—the fire bombing of Dresden. After the war Billy makes a great deal of money as an optometrist, and on his wedding night he is kidnapped by a flying saucer from the planet Tralfamadore. So begins a modern classic by a master storyteller.

[Asawi]

I second The Book of Fate

[beppe]

Originally Posted by dreams

Shōgun by James Clavell [bookwormat]
Is this available as an ebook?

Yes it is. Here it is the Inkmesh link.

It is a very fine read. I second it