Book Club #2 - Vote

RE*AC*TOR

C'mon now, times a waistin' 9 books in 1 book out!
Feel free to discuss your choice, its merits or the lowliness of other books competing with your choice.
All are free to participate, and we're looking forward to a good healthy discussion on the chosen book.

(2 books from last book club dropped due to 10 option limit on poll)

RE*AC*TOR

Dispatches - Michael Herr
East Of Eden - John Steinbeck
Gould's Book Of Fish - Richard Flanagan
Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Star Of The Sea - Joseph O' Connor
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hossieni
Tietam Brown - Mick Foley
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
The Catcher In The Rye - JD Salinger

LoLth

voting for catcher in the rye.. not because I like it (I hate it with a vengence in fact) but because it is a great book for getting an argument going. People either love or hate it and take many different viewpoints on what is meant.

If anything would get a debate going ,I think it's this one

RE*AC*TOR

I'm somewhat torn myself - even though I suggested love in the time of cholera - gould's book of fish looks an interesting read - and Catcher In the Rye is probably a book that would be easy for everyone ot finish - its quite an easy read.

Note to all - if you know any other Boards members that might be interested in this (not only voting but participating) - let them know....

Sleepy

seems to be a fairly even split across the board!

gogo

I'm voting for catcher in the Rye again, I've never read it and as Lolth said - people here really want to read it, or hate it, so i'm looking forward to finding out what it's like.

All in all that's a good list of books, and whatever the outcome i'm looking forward to reading one of them.

RE*AC*TOR

Out of nowhere Catch-22 has taken a surprise lead!

Cactus Col

I've made my choice! ... (but I don't mind if catch 22 wins either ... have a copy of that already)

but as I'm too to make an argument for tietam brown here's the synopsis from amazon ....:

Antietam (Andy) Brown - named for the great-great-grandfather who died on that Civil War battleground - was ten years old when he killed his abusive foster father. Now, after seven years in reform school, he is free to make a new start. But he is immediately thrust into the violent and debased life of his real father (known as Tietam) - an oddly charismatic man who seems addicted to bodybuilding, beer-swilling and 'bareback riding'. Swimming through a morass of crudity and violence, Andy is stunned to find himself pursued by the high school homecoming queen - a born-again Christian. Obsessed with the idea of offering his girlfriend a pure love and driven to find out whether he's descended from a monster or a hero, Andy searches for the truth in the dangerous currents of his father's past and present.--

'Brilliant and disturbing-A novel of immense power and subtlety' Guardian--

'Take JD Salinger, throw in a bit of Dostoevsky, sprinkle with Bret Easton Ellis, and you're getting there' Guardian--

'Foley brilliantly charts the young Andy's emotional deprivation and the adolescent Andy's romantic confusion' Daily Mail--

'Raw, funny and moving stuff. Drop your preconceptions on entry and enjoy a real book by a real writer' Big Issue--'

You'll be gripped by this great read' Daily Mirror

Cactus Col

Those voting for sallinger may want to switch allegiance to Tietam Brown .... just because Catcher is so well read .... and there maybe some hostility from some quarters

LoLth

while catch 22 is a good book (and a very enjoyable read) I dont think it is really debatable material. It doesnt really leave any points for people to discuss or disagree on.

Catcher in the rye makes a alot of (wrong imho) social observations that some people would support fully while others would possibly be offended by.

That tietam brown one looks like a good one too.

RE*AC*TOR

I think Catch 22 has a lot of depth which people could miss on a first read - there are lots of characters, and themes which could be explored at length. Wouldn't mind reading it again to be honest.

Dont be at yourself

Catch-22 has plenty of scope for a debate, I think. I find its narrative style to be quite unusual, there's a very colourful cast of characters to be picked apart, and then there' the anit-war theme of the book, and the whole matter of who was really sane and who was really crazy.

The one thing I'll say against it though, it is a book that many people find hard to get through, considering the long, meandering plot. It takes a considerable investment of time and effort, and so may not be suitable for the book club.

The above said, I'm looking forward to reading any of the books suggested above.

DapperGent

Gould's Book of Fish, an extraordinary work of fact-based fiction by Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan (Death of a River Guide) is a journey through the fringe madness of Down Under colonialism. Set during the 1830s in a hellish island prison colony off the Tasmanian coast, the novel plucks a real-life thief and prisoner, English forger William Buelow Gould, from the pages of history to act as protagonist-narrator. Through Gould's unique capacity to blend hyperbole, hyperrealism, and self-effacing honesty, the reader acquires a shockingly clear picture of daily torment on the island. Yet more remarkable is Gould's portrait of bizarre ambitions among prison authorities to further principles of art and science amidst so much misery. Key to such plans is Gould's talent as a painter and illustrator. The compound's surgeon, nursing hopes of publishing a definitive guide to the island's fish, leans heavily on Gould's ability to record the taxonomy of various species. Though Gould accommodates his masters, the manuscript, in his hands, becomes testimony to their perverse dreams of civilization and his own quick-witted survival instincts. Throughout, Flanagan never loses the well-imagined voice of Gould's candor or the character's dense descriptive powers, talents that translate into a thrilling text that reads like a blend of Melville and Burgess. --Tom Keogh

Even if it doesn't get voted in you should all give it a look. I loved that book. Any excuse to reread it.

RE*AC*TOR

f*ck me - there was a lot of overnight voting for Catcher in the Rye!

LoLth

that's be my other accounts /jk

RE*AC*TOR

I think we should have a tribumal to look into the shakey dealings going on around here.

gogo

I'm offering 2/1 on catcher in the rye, but am placing an outside bet of 20/1 on east of eden, any takers....

RE*AC*TOR

20/1? so if i took that bet and "mysteriously" East Of Eden got 10 votes from new members.........
:ninja:

OY

I voted for East of Eden and i am a newbie!!!

But that book was awesome. Cathie was a bitch! Loved it.
Not sure what is with all of the Rye votes. Maybe i should reread it and try to understand but not one of my favs!

RE*AC*TOR

nevernev wrote:

I voted for East of Eden and i am a newbie!!!

But that book was awesome. Cathie was a bitch! Loved it.
Not sure what is with all of the Rye votes. Maybe i should reread it and try to understand but not one of my favs!

Ditto here - but I plan to go nuts underlining everything while reading it.

So lolth - how long will we keep this going - hasn't been many new votes past couple o' days.
Shall we call it in favour of Catcher?

gogo

East of eden is indeed a great book, in fact it has made me lover of all things John steinbeck. It makes you really want to travel to salinas valley on top of everthing else.
Also it would be a great book for dicussion, especially the idea of 'Timshel'. I'm presuming the poll will be left up over the long weekend so you never know.

OY

My favourite Steinbeck: Sweet Thursday.
Man i loved that book. It was so vivid and so strange to read.

in fact it has made me lover of all things John steinbeck.

Good for you! I will join you there!

LoLth

Well, it's a tie between catcher and catch22...

I reckon we should leave the poll up until one of them wins... say end of the week at the latest then we can settle it some other way (pistols at dawn I was thinking)

John

and Catch 22 has pulled into the lead

RE*AC*TOR

that's 20 votes - I wonder how many will contribute to the discussion?

DapperGent

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

that's 20 votes - I wonder how many will contribute to the discussion?

As many as feel like it I suppose.

RE*AC*TOR

"a rhetorical question is one asked solely to produce an effect (especially to make an assertion) rather than to elicit a reply"

RE*AC*TOR

ok - shalll we all start reading Catch 22? We could set a date for beginning of discussion etc.?

OY

I am in.... set the date already!

Paddy20

Anything written by Steinbeck, gets my vote.

John

Yeah I'm up for this, I'm just finished the book I'm currently reading, I'll get a copy of Catch 22 tomorrow

DapperGent

Just started Catch 22. Enjoying it muchly.

RE*AC*TOR

how long should we give for people to read it?
how's about 3 weeks (too long?) ? So if we were to start the discussion on a monday - that would be monday the 30th??

John

That sounds good, that way it gives people time to read it and take it in and then have a think about it

LoLth

3 weeks gives everyone time to read it. Some can only get time to read a few pages a night etc. Also, some people may have difficulty getting to a bookshop that carries it.

Schedule the discussion thread for the 1st September?

Reactor: if you want to throw up a discussion thread with the rules of conduct etc. I'll sticky and close it until sept. 1st. gotta go, have stupid people to educate about them dar commie-pooter and that enterweb..... :rolleyes:

LoLth

forgot to say. I'll lock this thread to preserve the poll.