MobileRead September 2015 Book Club Nominations

[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by issybird

I didn't...

The tone of some of your comments about adults reading YA sound rather disparaging to me. There's been other disparaging remarks about YA in the club in the past as well and I'm not sure if others have said things as well or if the comments have always been from you but regardless considering all the YA nominations this month and your comments in this thread I thought it was as good a time as any to offer as robust a defence as I could muster.

...I'm also currently reading a YA book, Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome, the second of his wonderful Swallows and Amazons series, which book I unaccountably missed out when I read the rest as a kid, no doubt because my library didn't have it...

That reminds me of how much harder it was when I was young to read things in proper order considering availability. I remember reading The Chronicles of Narnia - except I only had a few available. So I read the first book, something from the middle that I can't even remember which and the last book which was therefore pretty confusing.

Originally Posted by issybird

Perks of Being a Wallflower - Not good, written to be "relevant" and it sinks under the weight of all that relevance. I read it at the behest of my then 13-year old niece, who thought it was wonderful and I can see why a kid of that age would find a lot of depth in it.

I respectfully disagree with your assessment (as might be expected, considering my earlier praise of the book). I thought it was wonderful and it's a favourite of mine, which is all the more surprising considering its origins from MTV Books and a first-time novelist. I think a person of any age can find depth in it, even if not you.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by issybird

However, I can't imagine anyone would want it to be chosen, so I think the nomination is best left to seek oblivion on its own.

Yes, I can't imagine us selecting it. I'm NOT in favour of "banning" it from this thread, just in favour of ignoring it.

Since I think I've probably implied my reactions anyway:

Golden Compass - Very good, rather dark and probably could be discussed with interest.

Harry Potter - Light entertainment, no real substance

Perks of Being a Wallflower - Not good, written to be "relevant" and it sinks under the weight of all that relevance. I read it at the behest of my then 13-year old niece, who thought it was wonderful and I can see why a kid of that age would find a lot of depth in it.

Agreed on Golden Compass, completely, and I'm rather hoping we choose this one. Especially since there are both good eBook and good audio book versions available at a reasonable price, and it's WhisperSync enabled.

On Harry Potter, I suspect we could discuss it, but more for the phenomenon than the actual content of the book. A pleasure to read, but not serious. (Though some of the latter books in the series are rather darker.)

I have no familiarity with Perks, but no particular interest in it either.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Please, no books that are cult classics or cult favorites as we already have Dhalgren that fits this and it's awful. So please, any books that are cult anything, please remove them from consideration.

So, we shouldn't consider books like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dune, The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harry Potter, etc. for the book club since those have been labeled as "cult classics" by someone?

Somehow I don't think that is going to be a useful criteria.

[Nyssa]

The issue with the Potter books is that it can not be fully appriciated by reading just the first one. The series was written to grow with its audience, which is exactly what it did. So, by the 7th book the main protagonists were 17+ while their support system, which had grown exponentially in size, included all age ranges.

Its very sad that such a great series is marginalized by ageism.

[sun surfer]

I'll use my last vote to second The Castle.

[Dazrin]

I will third The Castle.

[caleb72]

I'm happy to give a nod to Mein Kampf to help it get it over the line and to start the vote. It's an odd thing for me to vote for as I don't particularly like non-fiction. However, I could possibly make an exception for this.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

The tone of some of your comments about adults reading YA sound rather disparaging to me. There's been other disparaging remarks about YA in the club in the past as well and I'm not sure if others have said things as well or if the comments have always been from you

I'm sorry that "[t]he tone of some of [my] comments about adults reading YA sound [sic] rather disparaging to [you]." They weren't meant to be and I tried to qualify them so they didn't sound that way. For my own amusement, I want to parse them a bit. I've quoted the comments I made about the genre before your post below.

Originally Posted by issybird

Frankly, I don't see what a discussion of a YA book offers an adult, but I do understand that's just my opinion. I'll even make an exception for The Golden Compass, but for the reason that it's not light.

Originally Posted by issybird

Just to be clear, I'm not saying that adults shouldn't or can't read YA with enjoyment. But I don't think it offers much to discuss except in the context of what the book says to children, which doesn't seem that interesting to me for a book group.

Originally Posted by issybird

I think its own merits are inextricably tied to its function as a children's book. I admit, however, YA is uninteresting to me as a topic of discussion unless I read it with a child of the appropriate age. I know that's very much a MMV situation.

There were three comments, so I don't know if by some of my comments you meant two of them or all of them. But when I read them, I see that only one mentions adults reading YA and I said, pretty much in so many words, that I didn't have an issue with it, and indeed, why would I? People read what they like and I had said earlier that I already had read three of the YA nominations, so obviously I'm a fellow offender. I also would hope it's clear that the point of this post was to diffentiate between adults reading YA and adults discussing YA in a book group.

All three comments did cite my real point, that I don't think YA makes for a good discussion in an adult book group. I'm sticking to it. However, I was careful each time to qualify it as my opinion only and one that I knew wasn't shared. Really, I don't see why I can't say that.

Finally, I have no memory of having said anything disparaging about YA in the past, but it's not impossible that I said something which I phrased poorly or which was misconstrued. I do think you'll have to look for another villain here, though. My full apologies if I'm wrong. No one should have to defend what they like. A book club nomination is another matter, however.

[fantasyfan]

Post deleted.

[WT Sharpe]

The nominations are now closed.

I'll be back shortly with the poll.

[WT Sharpe]

The poll has been posted.

[CRussel]

Can Such Things Be? Amazon US (KU) Amazon UK (KU) Patricia Clark Memorial Library

Candide Patricia Clark Memorial Library (by Patricia herself!) Amazon US WhisperSync Audible

Beloved Amazon US __ WhisperSync Audible __ Amazon UK

I didn't bother with links to Harry Potter, but I'm sure folks can find them. A hint if you want to get the audio books in GB English (with Stephen Fry as the narrator), you need to take a temporary trip to a UK IP address.

Originally Posted by Nyssa

The issue with the Potter books is that it can not be fully appriciated by reading just the first one. The series was written to grow with its audience, which is exactly what it did. So, by the 7th book the main protagonists were 17+ while their support system, which had grown exponentially in size, included all age ranges.

Its very sad that such a great series is marginalized by ageism.

As one who could be judged guilty of 'ageism' I presume with respect to my comments about Harry Potter (the first book in the series) being a good choice for discussion let me clarify and defend myself. I did comment that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was the only book of the series that I have read. To be fair to myself and others who either have not read any of the series or only this one book it is that book that is a potential selection. Discussion of subsequent books in the series would to my mind not be within the scope of this discussion. That's a problem with any book series, even if the book in question is the first in the series as here. That said I guess that I am an ageist in that having read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone it does seem to me that there is not much to talk about there. However, that's just my opinion, and my motivation in casting my vote. Let everyone vote for what they would like to win and whatever wins let it be so I say.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Can Such Things Be? Amazon US (KU) Amazon UK (KU) Patricia Clark Memorial Library

Candide Patricia Clark Memorial Library (by Patricia herself!) Amazon US WhisperSync Audible

Beloved Amazon US __ WhisperSync Audible __ Amazon UK

I didn't bother with links to Harry Potter, but I'm sure folks can find them. A hint if you want to get the audio books in GB English (with Stephen Fry as the narrator), you need to take a temporary trip to a UK IP address.

Thanks for the legwork, Charlie!

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Hamlet53

As one who could be judged guilty of 'ageism' I presume with respect to my comments about Harry Potter (the first book in the series) being a good choice for discussion let me clarify and defend myself. I did comment that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was the only book of the series that I have read. To be fair to myself and others who either have not read any of the series or only this one book it is that book that is a potential selection. Discussion of subsequent books in the series would to my mind not be within the scope of this discussion. That's a problem with any book series, even if the book in question is the first in the series as here. That said I guess that I am an ageist in that having read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone it does seem to me that there is not much to talk about there. However, that's just my opinion, and my motivation in casting my vote. Let everyone vote for what they would like to win and whatever wins let it be so I say.

While I seem to have hit a nerve, at no point do I single you out, nor was it my intention. I would have responded to you directly (via quotation) were that the case.
I was responding to what I felt was the overall "mood of the room" as well as other comments I'd heard in general about the Potter series by those who have not read it. It is the reason I stated "The Issue with the Potter books..." as in, I recognize it as a known issue by those of us who have read the entire series!!