MobileRead December 2014 Book Club Nominations

[WT Sharpe]

MobileRead Book Club
December 2014 Nominations

Help us select the book that the MobileRead Book Club will read for December, 2014.

The nominations will run through midnight EST November 30 or until 10 books have made the list. The poll will then be posted and will remain open for five days.

Book selection category for December is:

Short Stories

In order for a book to be included in the poll it needs THREE NOMINATIONS (original nomination, a second and a third).

How Does This Work?
The Mobile Read Book Club (MRBC) is an informal club that requires nothing of you. Each month a book is selected by polling. On the last week of that month a discussion thread is started for the book. If you want to participate feel free. There is no need to "join" or sign up. All are welcome.

How Does a Book Get Selected?
Each book that is nominated will be listed in a poll at the end of the nomination period. The book that polls the most votes will be the official selection.

How Many Nominations Can I Make?
Each participant has 3 nominations. You can nominate a new book for consideration or nominate (second, third) one that has already been nominated by another person.

How Do I Nominate a Book?
Please just post a message with your nomination. If you are the FIRST to nominate a book, please try to provide an abstract to the book so others may consider their level of interest.

How Do I Know What Has Been Nominated?
Just follow the thread. This message will be updated with the status of the nominations as often as I can. If one is missed, please just post a message with a multi-quote of the 3 nominations and it will be added to the list ASAP.

When is the Poll?
The poll thread will open at the end of the nomination period, or once there have been 10 books with 3 nominations each. At that time a link to the initial poll thread will be posted here and this thread will be closed.

The floor is open to nominations. Please comment if you discover a nomination is not available as an ebook in your area.


Official choices with three nominations each:

(1) The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub (Complete Works) / LibriVox (Audiobook) / Project Gutenberg (Various Formats)

Spoiler:

From LibriVox:

The American Minister and his family have bought the English stately home Canterville Chase, complete with the ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville - blood-stains, clanking chains and all. But these modern Americans will have no truck with ghostly goings-on, and set out to beat the spectre at his own game. (Summary by David Barnes)

(2) The Altar of the Dead by Henry James
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub (Complete Works) | Kindle / LibriVox (Audiobook) / Project Gutenberg (Various Formats)

Spoiler:

From Wikipedia

"The Altar of the Dead" is a short story by Henry James, first published in his collection Terminations in 1895. A fable of literally life and death significance, the story explores how the protagonist tries to keep the remembrance of his dead friends, to save them from being forgotten entirely in the rush of everyday events. He meets a woman who shares his ideals, only to find that the past places what seems to be an impassable barrier between them. Although James was not religious in any conventional sense, the story shows a deep spirituality in its treatment of mortality and the transcendent power of unselfish love.

(3) Mistletoe in Manhattan: A Christmas Story by Talli Roland
Amazon Ca / Amazon UK / Amazon US

Spoiler:

Holly may never be able to forget this Christmas . . . even if she wants to.

As Little Missington's first Christmas baby in fifty years and the daughter of Christmas When You Like It party-planners, Holly West has been surrounded by the holiday spirit since birth. Trouble is, she's not exactly filled with festive cheer. In fact, Holly can't wait to ditch the tinsel and Santa suits for champagne and celebs, and become a party-planner to the stars.

When British TV star Dean Layton hires her parents' company to throw his holiday bash in Manhattan, Holly jumps at the chance to help, confident she can handle a little Christmas in exchange for access to Dean's exclusive world.

But New York and Dean's over-the-top demands are more than Holly bargained for. Can Holly deck the halls and make it a party to be proud of, or will this Christmas be one she'll never forget . . . even if she wants to?

(4) The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub | Kindle

Spoiler:

"I have read that this (and not A Christmas Carol) was Dickens' most popular Christmas story during his lifetime."

— GA Russell

The nominations are now closed.

[WT Sharpe]

Wondering if a particular book is available in your country? The following spoiler contains a list of bookstores outside the United States you can search. If you don't see a bookstore on this list for your country, find one that is, send me the link via PM, and I'll add it to the list.

Spoiler:

Australian
Angus Robertson
Booktopia
Borders
Dymocks
Fishpond
Google

Canada
Amazon. Make sure you are logged out. Then go to the Kindle Store. Search for a book. After the search results come up, in the upper right corner of the screen, change the country to Canada and search away.
Google
Sony eBookstore (Upper right corner switch to/from US/CA)

UK
BooksOnBoard (In the upper right corner is a way to switch to the UK store)
Amazon
Foyle's
Google
Penguin
Random House
Waterstones
WH Smith

* Zen by Jerome Bixby [crich70]
Amazon US / Kobo

Spoiler:

Looking for a treatise on finding nirvana? You're in the wrong place. Jerome Bixby's "Zen" is a thought-provoking tale about a lone outer-space creature that believes it is the last one of its kind and, as a result, no longer wishes to survive. Will the scientist who discovered the creature comply with its wish to extinguish itself -- or does he have some shocking news to deliver?

** Manna: Two Visions of Humanity's Future by Marshall Brain [WillAdams, Dazrin]
Amazon US / Marshall Brain

Spoiler:

Near-future science fiction short about the development of A.I. and the resultant changes in the job market.

* Tomorrow is Waiting by Holli Mintzer [Dazrin]
Strange Horizons

Spoiler:

Blurb from The Verge (as well as a couple more AI themed stories):

Jim Henson's Muppets have been an integral part of pop culture since 1955, when they first debuted on television, making appearances in everything from the Emmy Awards to Late Night. The Muppets, as lifelike as they seem on screen, are puppets — given voice and motion by human puppeteers.

But, what if they weren't?

Holli Mintzer's Tomorrow is Waiting is a taut, hopeful exploration of what it means to be alive. It begins with a programmer named Anjali who is tasked with creating an A.I. for her finals. She decides to model her project on Kermit the Frog, concluding the abundance of available footage would make her labor a breeze. From there, events take a turn for the unusual. Anjali's Kermit acquires a body courtesy of Anjali's friend Brian, and then a sense of genial autonomy that both bewilders and enchants his creator. When Anjali claims to be tone-deaf, he warmly replies:

"Aw, I wouldn't say tone-deaf, Anji," Kermit said. "I've heard you humming along a few times. Tone-confused, maybe, but I bet with a little practice you could get better."

Though Mintzer doesn't waste words on long descriptions, the story is nonetheless festooned with charm and a surprising amount of heart. Its greatest triumph, perhaps, is that it is a refreshingly uplifting read about artificial intelligence, a rarity in this time of dystopian universes and post-apocalyptic mayhem.

* Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam [ccowie]
No links provided.

Spoiler:

From Goodreads:

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures welcomes readers into a world where the most mundane events can quickly become life or death. By following four young medical students and physicians – Ming, Fitz, Sri and Chen – this debut collection from 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Vincent Lam is a riveting, eye-opening account of what it means to be a doctor. Deftly navigating his way through 12 interwoven short stories, the author explores the characters’ relationships with each other, their patients, and their careers. Lam draws on his own experience as an emergency room physician and shares an insider’s perspective on the fears, frustrations, and responsibilities linked with one of society’s most highly regarded occupations.

“I wanted to write about the way in which a person changes as they become a physician — how their world view shifts, and how they become a slightly different version of themselves in the process of becoming a doctor,” Lam explains. “I wanted to write about the reality that doing good and trying to help others is not simple. It is ethically complicated and sometimes involves a reality that can only be expressed by telling a story.”

In the book’s first story, “How to Get into Medical School, Part 1,” students Ming and Fitz wrestle with their opposing personalities and study techniques, while coming to terms with a growing emotional connection that elicits disapproval from Ming’s traditional Chinese-Canadian parents. Lam’s exceptional talent for describing scenarios with great precision is showcased in “Take All of Murphy,” when Ming, Chen, and Sri find themselves at a moral crossroads while dissecting a cadaver. Throughout the book, readers are treated to the physicians’ internal thoughts and the mental drama involved with treating patients, including Fitz’s struggle with self-doubt in “Code Clock” and Chen’s boredom and exhaustion in “Before Light.”

From delivering babies to evacuating patients and dealing with deadly viruses, the four primary characters in Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures are made thoroughly human by Lam’s insightful detail, realistic dialogue, and expert storytelling. The medical world is naturally filled with drama, but it’s the author’s ability to give equal weight to the smaller moments that really brings this book to life.

*** Mistletoe in Manhattan: A Christmas Story by Talli Roland [WT Sharpe, Dazrin, GA Russell]
Amazon Ca / Amazon UK / Amazon US

Spoiler:

Holly may never be able to forget this Christmas . . . even if she wants to.

As Little Missington's first Christmas baby in fifty years and the daughter of Christmas When You Like It party-planners, Holly West has been surrounded by the holiday spirit since birth. Trouble is, she's not exactly filled with festive cheer. In fact, Holly can't wait to ditch the tinsel and Santa suits for champagne and celebs, and become a party-planner to the stars.

When British TV star Dean Layton hires her parents' company to throw his holiday bash in Manhattan, Holly jumps at the chance to help, confident she can handle a little Christmas in exchange for access to Dean's exclusive world.

But New York and Dean's over-the-top demands are more than Holly bargained for. Can Holly deck the halls and make it a party to be proud of, or will this Christmas be one she'll never forget . . . even if she wants to?

*** The Altar of the Dead by Henry James [WT Sharpe, sun surfer, bfisher]
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub (Complete Works) | Kindle / LibriVox (Audiobook) / Project Gutenberg (Various Formats)

Spoiler:

From Wikipedia

"The Altar of the Dead" is a short story by Henry James, first published in his collection Terminations in 1895. A fable of literally life and death significance, the story explores how the protagonist tries to keep the remembrance of his dead friends, to save them from being forgotten entirely in the rush of everyday events. He meets a woman who shares his ideals, only to find that the past places what seems to be an impassable barrier between them. Although James was not religious in any conventional sense, the story shows a deep spirituality in its treatment of mortality and the transcendent power of unselfish love.

* Side Jobs by Jim Butcher [JSWolf]
No links provided.

Spoiler:

It's a collection of most of his Dresden Files short stories.

*** The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde [WT Sharpe, sun surfer, bfisher]
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub (Complete Works) / LibriVox (Audiobook) / Project Gutenberg (Various Formats)

Spoiler:

From LibriVox:

The American Minister and his family have bought the English stately home Canterville Chase, complete with the ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville - blood-stains, clanking chains and all. But these modern Americans will have no truck with ghostly goings-on, and set out to beat the spectre at his own game. (Summary by David Barnes)

*** The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens [GA Russell, bfisher, issybird]
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub | Kindle

Spoiler:

"I have read that this (and not A Christmas Carol) was Dickens' most popular Christmas story during his lifetime."

— GA Russell

* This is not Your City by Caitlin Horrocks [HomeInMyShoes]
Goodreads

Spoiler:

From GoodReads:

Eleven women confront dramas both everyday and outlandish in Caitlin Horrocks' This Is Not Your City. In stories as darkly comic as they are unflinching, people isolated by geography, emotion, or circumstance cut imperfect paths to peace—they have no other choice. A Russian mail-order bride in Finland is rendered silent by her dislocation and loss of language, the mother of a severely disabled boy writes him postcards he'll never read on a cruise ship held hostage by pirates, and an Iowa actuary wanders among the reincarnations of those she's known in her 127 lives. Horrocks' women find no simple escapes, and their acts of faith and acts of imagination in making do are as shrewd as they are surprising.

* Mayfly by Heather Lindsley [fantasyfan]
Strange Horizons

Spoiler:

It is a remarkable story, very imaginative with a distinctly lateral quality.

[crich70]

I'd like to nominate Zen by Jerome Bixby. It's a free short story available at Amazon. Amazon US

Spoiler:

Looking for a treatise on finding nirvana? You're in the wrong place. Jerome Bixby's "Zen" is a thought-provoking tale about a lone outer-space creature that believes it is the last one of its kind and, as a result, no longer wishes to survive. Will the scientist who discovered the creature comply with its wish to extinguish itself -- or does he have some shocking news to deliver?.

It's also available (thought not free) at Kobo. Kobo US

[WillAdams]

I'd like to nominate Marshall Brain's _Manna_ which is freely available on-line here: http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm

Near-future science fiction short about the development of A.I. and the resultant changes in the job market.

Also available for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Manna-Visions-.../dp/B007HQH67U

[Dazrin]

I started compiling some short stories for this about a week ago, but wasn't able to decide on anything.

First I though maybe some classics (Sound of Thunder or Last Night of the World - Ray Bradbury, Feeling of Power - Isaac Asimov, Meat - Terry Bisson, The Star - Arthur C. Clarke) or maybe a new favorite (Wool - Hugh Howey). These are all available free online too, including the first portion of Wool which is all I was going to nominate.

Until I have time to think of a better "themed" selection of 3-4 shorts, how about something that goes with the AI theme from WillAdams. I nominate Tomorrow is Waiting by Holli Mintzer (coincidentally published 3 years ago today.) Available at Strange Horizons.

Tomorrow is Waiting by Holli Mintzer
Strange Horizons
Blurb from The Verge (as well as a couple more AI themed stories):

Spoiler:

Jim Henson's Muppets have been an integral part of pop culture since 1955, when they first debuted on television, making appearances in everything from the Emmy Awards to Late Night. The Muppets, as lifelike as they seem on screen, are puppets — given voice and motion by human puppeteers.

But, what if they weren't?

Holli Mintzer's Tomorrow is Waiting is a taut, hopeful exploration of what it means to be alive. It begins with a programmer named Anjali who is tasked with creating an A.I. for her finals. She decides to model her project on Kermit the Frog, concluding the abundance of available footage would make her labor a breeze. From there, events take a turn for the unusual. Anjali's Kermit acquires a body courtesy of Anjali's friend Brian, and then a sense of genial autonomy that both bewilders and enchants his creator. When Anjali claims to be tone-deaf, he warmly replies:

"Aw, I wouldn't say tone-deaf, Anji," Kermit said. "I've heard you humming along a few times. Tone-confused, maybe, but I bet with a little practice you could get better."

Though Mintzer doesn't waste words on long descriptions, the story is nonetheless festooned with charm and a surprising amount of heart. Its greatest triumph, perhaps, is that it is a refreshingly uplifting read about artificial intelligence, a rarity in this time of dystopian universes and post-apocalyptic mayhem.

[ccowie]

I'd like to nominate Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam. I loved this book when I first read it about 8 years ago and have been interested in reading it again. The book consists of distinct, stand alone stories that are connected by the characters.

From Goodreads:
Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures welcomes readers into a world where the most mundane events can quickly become life or death. By following four young medical students and physicians – Ming, Fitz, Sri and Chen – this debut collection from 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Vincent Lam is a riveting, eye-opening account of what it means to be a doctor. Deftly navigating his way through 12 interwoven short stories, the author explores the characters’ relationships with each other, their patients, and their careers. Lam draws on his own experience as an emergency room physician and shares an insider’s perspective on the fears, frustrations, and responsibilities linked with one of society’s most highly regarded occupations.

“I wanted to write about the way in which a person changes as they become a physician — how their world view shifts, and how they become a slightly different version of themselves in the process of becoming a doctor,” Lam explains. “I wanted to write about the reality that doing good and trying to help others is not simple. It is ethically complicated and sometimes involves a reality that can only be expressed by telling a story.”

In the book’s first story, “How to Get into Medical School, Part 1,” students Ming and Fitz wrestle with their opposing personalities and study techniques, while coming to terms with a growing emotional connection that elicits disapproval from Ming’s traditional Chinese-Canadian parents. Lam’s exceptional talent for describing scenarios with great precision is showcased in “Take All of Murphy,” when Ming, Chen, and Sri find themselves at a moral crossroads while dissecting a cadaver. Throughout the book, readers are treated to the physicians’ internal thoughts and the mental drama involved with treating patients, including Fitz’s struggle with self-doubt in “Code Clock” and Chen’s boredom and exhaustion in “Before Light.”

From delivering babies to evacuating patients and dealing with deadly viruses, the four primary characters in Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures are made thoroughly human by Lam’s insightful detail, realistic dialogue, and expert storytelling. The medical world is naturally filled with drama, but it’s the author’s ability to give equal weight to the smaller moments that really brings this book to life.

[WT Sharpe]

Oh, a Christmas story. Why the hell not?

* Mistletoe in Manhattan: A Christmas Story by Talli Roland [WT Sharpe]
Amazon Ca / Amazon UK / Amazon US

Spoiler:

Holly may never be able to forget this Christmas . . . even if she wants to.

As Little Missington's first Christmas baby in fifty years and the daughter of Christmas When You Like It party-planners, Holly West has been surrounded by the holiday spirit since birth. Trouble is, she's not exactly filled with festive cheer. In fact, Holly can't wait to ditch the tinsel and Santa suits for champagne and celebs, and become a party-planner to the stars.

When British TV star Dean Layton hires her parents' company to throw his holiday bash in Manhattan, Holly jumps at the chance to help, confident she can handle a little Christmas in exchange for access to Dean's exclusive world.

But New York and Dean's over-the-top demands are more than Holly bargained for. Can Holly deck the halls and make it a party to be proud of, or will this Christmas be one she'll never forget . . . even if she wants to?

[WT Sharpe]

Nothing says holidays like a story whose main characters dwell on death. I nominate "The Altar of the Dead" by Henry James (1843 - 1916). Back in a few with some links.

The Altar of the Dead by Henry James
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: Kindle / Project Gutenberg (Various Formats)

From Wikipedia

"The Altar of the Dead" is a short story by Henry James, first published in his collection Terminations in 1895. A fable of literally life and death significance, the story explores how the protagonist tries to keep the remembrance of his dead friends, to save them from being forgotten entirely in the rush of everyday events. He meets a woman who shares his ideals, only to find that the past places what seems to be an impassable barrier between them. Although James was not religious in any conventional sense, the story shows a deep spirituality in its treatment of mortality and the transcendent power of unselfish love.

[JSWolf]

I'd like to nominate Side Jobs by Jim Butcher. It's a collection of most of his Dresden Files short stories.

P.S Links forthcoming

[WT Sharpe]

With my third and last nomination, I nominate The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
LibriVox (audiobook) / Project Gutenberg (various formats)

From LibriVox:

The American Minister and his family have bought the English stately home Canterville Chase, complete with the ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville—blood-stains, clanking chains and all. But these modern Americans will have no truck with ghostly goings-on, and set out to beat the spectre at his own game. (Summary by David Barnes)

[pynch]

Some epub links from the Patricia Clark Memorial Library:

Henry James

Oscar Wilde

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by pynch

Some epub links from the Patricia Clark Memorial Library:

Henry James

Oscar Wilde

Thanks, pynch. As those are "Complete Works", I missed them when I was looking for ePub versions of the stories. I'll add them now.

[sun surfer]

I'll second Henry James and Oscar Wilde.

[bfisher]

I third Oscar Wilde - The Canterville Ghost

[bfisher]

I third The Altar of the Dead by Henry James