Nominate MobileRead's 10 best fiction books of the 20th Century

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Why would you nominate more than one entry per ten year period? Just choose the only you think is best.

Because sometimes there's not a clear favorite, even in one's own mind. When I think of "best" books, I don't think in terms of the years when they were published.

Anyway, I thought the point of this was to create lists for each decade that could then be voted on. Why should it matter if someone nominates several books from the same decade?

[Lynx-lynx]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Spot on. If you really decide you've chosen incorrectly, you could come back and edit your original post.

Why would you nominate more than one entry per ten year period? Just choose the only you think is best.

Okay thanks Paul. My reasons for asking are that I wasn't sure if, when reading this thread, that some posters had included more than one entry per decade - which is no doubt my confusion.

Also, I find some decades just too close to call (as I'm sure other members do); and, as Cat Lady pointed out, considering that the raison d'etre of this thread seems to be as the 'collection point' for books to include in the vote, that more than one nomination per decade would not prove problematic. (And yes, I realise that then leads to the question: how many entries per person per decade is appropriate ).

Here's a problematic example (of books I've read) that I've got:
1940's:
Antoine St Exupery - Le Petit Prince
Albert Camus - L'Etranger
Somerset Maugham - The Razor's Edge
John Steinback - The Pearl

All these books would probably be considered to be fairly routine to include in a Best of for that period.

[Lynx-lynx]

On another matter, if one were to nominate Proust's À la Recherche du Temps Perdu, what decade would they include it in?

Wiki informs that the various volumes were published between 1913 and 1927 (with the last books published posthumously).

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

that more than one nomination per decade would not prove problematic

You're going to have to vote for one of them in the end. Pick the one you'd vote for and nominate that.

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

On another matter, if one were to nominate Proust's À la Recherche du Temps Perdu, what decade would they include it in?

Wiki informs that the various volumes were published between 1913 and 1927 (with the last books published posthumously).

If it's a single book published in parts over several years, take the first publication date. If it's a series of books, pick the single book you want to nominate, and nominate that for the year it was published.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Because sometimes there's not a clear favorite, even in one's own mind. When I think of "best" books, I don't think in terms of the years when they were published.

Anyway, I thought the point of this was to create lists for each decade that could then be voted on. Why should it matter if someone nominates several books from the same decade?

Because I don't want to end up with a short list that's 100 books long for each decade. Restricting nominations to one per person per decade helps avoid this.

In addition, everyone will only have one vote per decade eventually anyway. You'll have to pick in the end, so it's best to pick now.

[treadlightly]

pdurrant, this idea was a fun one! I'm looking forward to the voting. Will we be able to tackle each decade slowly one at a time? I might like to see if there are early leaders and if I haven't read one of them, attempt to finish the book before the poll closes.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

pdurrant, this idea was a fun one! I'm looking forward to the voting. Will we be able to tackle each decade slowly one at a time? I might like to see if there are early leaders and if I haven't read one of them, attempt to finish the book before the poll closes.

I'm still pondering whether to go for one big voting thread or ten separate ones. Given the number of nominations, I'm moving towards having ten separate threads.

I shall certainly allow some time for votes - at least a month. But I think the threads, although not simultaneous, will have to overlap.

If all goes well, we should have a final list by the end of June, I think.

I must admit I've been pleased by the amount of participation.

[Greg Anos]

I would like to see 10 separate threads. It would allow more focused discussion fo each period...

[HomeInMyShoes]

^I like separate threads for that reason as well.

[Apache]

+3
Apache

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

I would like to see 10 separate threads. It would allow more focused discussion fo each period...

The added benefit is that the hosannas to Lord of the Rings should then be confined to one thread for one decade.

[treadlightly]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I'm still pondering whether to go for one big voting thread or ten separate ones. Given the number of nominations, I'm moving towards having ten separate threads.

I shall certainly allow some time for votes - at least a month. But I think the threads, although not simultaneous, will have to overlap.

If all goes well, we should have a final list by the end of June, I think.

I must admit I've been pleased by the amount of participation.

Thank you, a month is plenty of time.

[Lynx-lynx]

Those still looking (struggling?) to put together their decade nominations may be interested in downloading a preview of this Anthology:
Authors of the Early to mid-20th Century
by Britannica Educational Publishing
The Britannica Guide to Authors

The table of contents lists many authors as the title suggests, and may serve as a memory prompt of authors/books you've read (or new/reminder source of authors to read - both apply to me )

My library has the ebook so your library may also.

If you want the preview then I know that it's available at Kobo, but didn't show up in Amazon for me.

Edit
I'm also quite excited about this exercise, because it's made me shift from the mind set of just reading mystery type books to literature books again. And with the Kobo Refer program still active I've been able to indulge my fancies!

[pynch]

1901-1910 Nostromo (1904) by Joseph Conrad.

1911-1920 A la recherche du temps perdu (1913-1927) by Marcel Proust.

1921-1930 Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften (1930-32) by Robert Musil.
I have tried to avoid previously nominated books, so no Ulysses here.

1931-1940 The Waves (1931) by Virginia Woolf.

1941-1950 Querelle de Brest (1947) by Jean Genet.

1951-1960 En attendant Godot (1952) by Samuel Beckett.
I’m looking forward very much to the constructive discussion comparing the transcendental homelessness of the characters in this one and The Lord of the Rings!

1961-1970 Franny and Zooey (1961) by J.D. Salinger.

1971-1980 Gravity’s Rainbow (1973) by Thomas Pynchon.

1981-1990 White Noise (1985) by Don DeLillo.

1981-1990 No Greater Love (1991) by Danielle Steel.

[Lynx-lynx]

@pynch, you've listed some tremendous literature in your selections, and then for the 1990's you've nominated Danielle Steel. Did you have some sort of conversion in the early 90's?