MobileRead September 2017 Book Club Nominations

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I read King Solomon's Mines and I really didn't like it. The racism was too much and it detracted from the story. We have enough racism going on in the world without agreeing to read it. No thanks.

I don't mind racism in the context of its times; I find it illuminating. However, even though I like period fiction, I'd rather not follow up one month of period fiction with another. And let's face it, She is a classic because it created a genre, not because it's a towering work of literature.

I read Jane Eyre to death when I was a girl, but I suppose it wouldn't kill me to read it again. That's not a third, though, at least not yet.

[bfisher]

I'll second A High Wind in Jamaica

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

I don't mind racism in the context of its times; I find it illuminating. However, even though I like period fiction, I'd rather not follow up one month of period fiction with another. And let's face it, She is a classic because it created a genre, not because it's a towering work of literature.

I read Jane Eyre to death when I was a girl, but I suppose it wouldn't kill me to read it again. That's not a third, though, at least not yet.

But when the racism detracts from the story, then it's too much (IMHO).

As for Jane Eyre, it's not for me.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

. . . As for Jane Eyre, it's not for me.

I recently read Jane Eyre for the first time as an audiobook and fell in love with it. I expected a Pride and Prejudice type Victorian romance, but the depth of the characters and the unexpected and bold twists and turns taken by the plot caught me completely off guard. Even if you don't vote for it, you do yourself a disservice not to read it as some point. It's rich, satisfying, and full-bodied entertainment.

[issybird]

I am very fond of nineteenth century novels in general and Victorian novels in particular, but I realize that many find them turgid and we've already got a stellar nomination from that genre. So I've decided to go back a century and ahead a century with two nominations.

The first is Evelina by Frances Burney, published in 1778, a precursor to Pride and Prejudice.. From Amazon:

Frances Burney's first and most enduringly popular novel is a vivid, satirical, and seductive account of the pleasures and dangers of fashionable life in late eighteenth-century London. As she describes her heroine's entry into society, womanhood and, inevitably, love, Burney exposes the vulnerability of female innocence in an image-conscious and often cruel world where social snobbery and sexual aggression are played out in the public arenas of pleasure-gardens, theatre visits, and balls. But Evelina's innocence also makes her a shrewd commentator on the excesses and absurdities of manners and social ambitions - as well as attracting the attention of the eminently eligible Lord Orville. Evelina, comic and shrewd, is at once a guide to fashionable London, a satirical attack on the new consumerism, an investigation of women's position in the late eighteenth century, and a love story.

HarryT has uploaded a Kindle edition here at MR.

All formats are available at Girlebooks.

[JSWolf]

IMHO, given that we just read a period piece that wasn't all that good, I would like to stay away from period pieces. Two period pieces in a row is not doing the book club any favors. The problem (as I see it) is that some of the books we get nominated that are about a period or a place don't work. Lets take the last book and the book we had for mysteries that was about Africa and both failed big time. They weren't abount what they should have been about. There were very wishy washy.

So let's try to get a book that's about what it should be about and not say it's about XYZ and we get ABC instead.

[issybird]

Next is Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley, published in 1921 and thus public domain in the US. From Goodreads:

Denis Stone, a naive young poet, is invited to stay at Crome, a country house renowned for its gatherings of 'bright young things'. Crome's hosts, the world-weary Henry Wimbush and his exotic wife Priscilla are joined by a party of colourful guests whose intrigues and opinions ensure Denis's stay is a memorable one. <SNIP> First published in 1921, Crome Yellow was Aldous Huxley's much-acclaimed debut novel. With the evident relish of the true satirist, he mocked the fads, foibles and spirit of his time with an unsurpassed wit and brilliance.

All formats are available at Manybooks.net

Librivox

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

IMHO, given that we just read a period piece that wasn't all that good, I would like to stay away from period pieces. Two period pieces in a row is not doing the book club any favors.

There's a difference between period fiction (lighter and less literary) and period piece (anything old). Honestly, Jon, a classic is a book that has stood the test of time! There has to be an element of period about it.

And I found Mr. Moto delightful.

[CRussel]

OK, you want a classic? I'll give you a classic, and one that's a delightful read as well, with a superb audio version for those who prefer audio books. Dorothy L. Sayers very first Lord Peter Wimsey novel, Whose Body.

Originally Posted by Amazon.com

Wimseys mother, the Dowager Duchess of Denver, rings her son with news of such a quaint thing. She has heard through a friend that Mr. Thipps, a respectable Battersea architect, found a dead man in his bathwearing nothing but a gold pince-nez. Lord Wimsey makes his way straight over to Mr. Thipps, and a good look at the body raises a number of interesting questions. Why would such an apparently well groomed man have filthy black toenails, flea bites and the scent of carbolic soap lingering on his corpse? Then comes the disappearance of oil millionaire Sir Reuben Levy, last seen on the Battersea Park Road. With his beard shaved he would look very similar to the man found in the bath, but is Sir Levy really dead?

Originally Posted by Goodreads.com

The stark naked body was lying in the tub. Not unusual for a proper bath, but highly irregular for murder -- especially with a pair of gold pince-nez deliberately perched before the sightless eyes. What's more, the face appeared to have been shaved after death. The police assumed that the victim was a prominent financier, but Lord Peter Wimsey, who dabbled in mystery detection as a hobby, knew better. In this, his first murder case, Lord Peter untangles the ghastly mystery of the corpse in the bath.

Originally Posted by FadedPage.com

"Whose Body" is something of an apprentice work. Lord Peter is here more a bundle of characteristics than a character: a collector of rare books and incunabula, facile with quotations, fluent in French and probably in Latin, a skillful and sensitive pianist who never needs to practise, slightly built but possessed of "curious" strength and speed which he maintains without exercise. Over subsequent books, this caricature smooths and deepens into one of the most interesting and attractive detectives in fiction.
In spite of its awkwardness, Whose Body is worth reading. The plot is clever, the villain is believable and sadistic, and most of the supporting characters are a delight. Some of these characters are further developed in later novels: Bunter, Parker, the Dowager Duchess, Freddy Arbuthnot. Others fortunately are not. Sayers is much better with people she might recognise as "like us" then with people from other social groups.

Amazon.com -- $0.99
Audible.com -- $7.99 (WhisperSync) or 1 credit (read by the Nadia May, aka Wanda McCaddon!)
Canadian Public Domain -- Life+50 countries ONLY, please.
AmazonUK -- £1.99
AudibleUK - WhisperSync -- £6.20
Goodreads

Really, any of Dorothy Sayers' Wimsey books would qualify as Classics, and all can be read standalone. But let's go with the very first, since I know Jon prefers we read in order. (And yes, we did read a Sayers way back in 2009. Murder Must Advertise)

This book is short (170 pages), and inexpensive, so both of those boxes are ticked. Plus, it's a good read, and I'm way overdue to re-read it. The only disappointment is that this was never dramatized with Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter. But with the superb narration by Nadia May for the audio book, that's less of a consideration.

[CRussel]

I'll third Jane Eyre, since there's a Wanda McCaddon Audible version. And while I'm sure I must have read it in my youth, it's been at LEAST 50 years, so I suspect it will all be new.

[CRussel]

And, while I'm on a roll, here's another classic that should lighten our reading for the month, and is certainly a 'period piece'. I'll nominate Georgette Heyer's The Toll-Gate. This delightful romp is a classic Georgette Heyer novel, and one of my favourites.

Originally Posted by Amazon.com

His exploits were legendary...

Captain John Staple, back from the battlefront, is already bored with his quiet civilian life in the country. When he stumbles upon a mystery involving a disappearing toll-gate keeper, nothing could keep the adventure-loving captain from investigating.

But winning her will be his greatest yet...

The plot thickens when John encounters the enigmatic Lady Nell Stornaway and soon learns that rescuing her from her unsavory relatives makes even the most ferocious cavalry charge look like a particularly tame hand of loo. Between hiding his true identity from Nell and the arrival in the neighborhood of some distinctly shady characters, Captain Staple finds himself embarked on the adventure-and romance-of a lifetime.

Originally Posted by Goodreads.com

Captain John Staple's exploits in the Peninsula had earned him the sobriquet 'Crazy' Jack amongst his fellows in the Dragoon Guards. Now home from Waterloo, life in peacetime is rather dull for the boisterous, adventure-loving Captain. But when he finds himself lost and benighted at an unmanned toll-house in the Pennines, his soldiering days suddenly pale away besides an adventure - and romance - of a lifetime.

Yet again Georgette Heyer shows the qualities that made her one of the most successful and best-loved romantic novelists of her age, and why her popularity endures to this day.

AmazonUS -- $2.99
AudibleUS -- 1 Credit or $7.49 WhisperSync

Goodreads

Again, inexpensive, but a bit longer, 321 pages. Still, not too long to read in the time available, and it is a quick read. Truly, if you've never read a Georgette Heyer, you're missing some fun. They're witty, funny, and so delightful. (And, full disclosure -- I generally do NOT like "romances", but I love these books.)

[issybird]

Originally Posted by CRussel

The only disappointment is that this was never dramatized with Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter.

I know the reason. The producers thought Whose Body? was too weak and decided to start with the second book, Clouds of Witness, instead. CoW is one of the better books in the canon, IMO, so I think it was a good decision. Why they did Five Red Herrings, the worst book of all, is beyond me.

I liked Edward Petherbridge, too, but I thought Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane was awful.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by issybird

I know the reason. The producers thought Whose Body? was too weak and decided to start with the second book, Clouds of Witness, instead. CoW is one of the better books in the canon, IMO, so I think it was a good decision. Why they did Five Red Herrings, the worst book of all, is beyond me.

I liked Edward Petherbridge, too, but I thought Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane was awful.

I liked both Petherbridge and Carmichael, and if one were to suggest we read Clouds of Witness instead, I'd be fine with that. But even if it is a less stellar book in the series, it is the start, so has some virtue for that. But if you want to suggest CoW, instead, I'll pull my nomination and second CoW. But it's been too long since we read a Sayers!

[issybird]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I liked both Petherbridge and Carmichael, and if one were to suggest we read Clouds of Witness instead, I'd be fine with that. But even if it is a less stellar book in the series, it is the start, so has some virtue for that. But if you want to suggest CoW, instead, I'll pull my nomination and second CoW. But it's been too long since we read a Sayers!

Oh, no, it makes no nevermind to me; I just thought I'd pop in with the reasoning. And we have to think of Jon.

More seriously, we've already had four mystery-ish titles this year and a fifth might send me screaming into the marsh (handily located behind my house). I just don't like mysteries that much anymore.

I'd like our classic to be a classic and not just a classic of its genre!

[CRussel]

If we want to switch to Clouds of Witness, I offer the following:

Originally Posted by Goodreads.com

Rustic old Riddlesdale Lodge was a Wimsey family retreat filled with country pleasures and the thrill of the hunt -- until the game turned up human and quite dead. He lay among the chrysanthemums, wore slippers and a dinner jacket and was Lord Peter's brother-in-law-to-be. His accused murderer was Wimsey's own brother, and if murder set all in the family wasn't enough to boggle the unflappable Lord Wimsey, perhaps a few twists of fate would be -- a mysterious vanishing midnight letter from Egypt...a grieving fiancee with suitcase in hand...and a bullet destined for one very special Wimsey.

Originally Posted by FadedPage.com

Dorothy Sayers' second Lord Peter Wimsey novel comes in on a more serious note. Wimsey, just returned from a long rest in Corsica, finds himself embroiled in a murder far closer to home. While staying at a hunting lodge with friends Peter's brother Gerald has gotten tangled up in a murder, and has become the chief suspect. To make matters more complicated, the victim is their sister Mary's ex-fiancée. Very recently ex, as a matter of fact. The murder was done shortly after Gerald has thrown him out of the house as a card cheat.
When an alibi is demanded, Gerald refuses to give one, and so is charged with the crime. As he is the Duke of Denver, Gerald's case will not be heard in court, but before the House of Lords. Lord Peter is confronted with a case in which the accused seems bound and determined to get himself hung. Gerald offers no help to his brother, the police, or even Impey Biggs, his barrister. Peter and his long time friend Inspector Parker, are left with only faint clues.

Canadian Public Domain -- Life+50 only, please
AudibleUS -- 1Credit, narrated by Ian Carmichael
AmazonUS
Amazon DVD -- $24.73, Prime

Pages: 185