MobileRead October 2014 Book Club Vote

[WT Sharpe]

October 2014 MobileRead Book Club Vote

Help us choose a book as the October 2014 eBook for the MobileRead Book Club. The poll will be open for 5 days. There will be no runoff vote unless the voting results a tie, in which case there will be a 3 day run-off poll. This is a visible poll: others can see how you voted. It is You may cast a vote for each book that appeals to you.

We will start the discussion thread for this book on October 20th. Select from the following Official Choices with three nominations each:

• Raffles Omnibus by E. W. Hornung
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle

Spoiler:

No synopsis given.

• The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle

Spoiler:

With his face swaddled in bandages, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses and his hands covered even indoors, Griffin – the new guest at The Coach and Horses – is at first assumed to be a shy accident-victim. But the true reason for his disguise is far more chilling...

• Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctow
No links provided

Spoiler:

From Goodreads:
Jules is a young man barely a century old. He's lived long enough to see the cure for death and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three symphonies...and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World.

Disney World! The greatest artistic achievement of the long-ago twentieth century. Now in the keeping of a network of "ad-hocs" who keep the classic attractions running as they always have, enhanced with only the smallest high-tech touches.

Now, though, the "ad hocs" are under attack. A new group has taken over the Hall of the Presidents, and is replacing its venerable audioanimatronics with new, immersive direct-to-brain interfaces that give guests the illusion of being Washington, Lincoln, and all the others. For Jules, this is an attack on the artistic purity of Disney World itself.

Worse: it appears this new group has had Jules killed. This upsets him. (It's only his fourth death and revival, after all.) Now it's war....

• The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: EPub

Spoiler:

No synopsis given.

• The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: Epub

Spoiler:

The Robe is a 1942 historical novel about the Crucifixion of Jesus written by Lloyd C. Douglas. The book was one of the best-selling titles of the 1940s. It entered the New York Times Best Seller list in October 1942, and four weeks later rose to No. 1. It held the position for nearly a year. The Robe remained on the list for another two years, returning several other times over the next several years including when the movie version was released in 1953.

• The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle

Spoiler:

The Law, as quoted, lays down a fair conduct of life, and one not easy to follow. I have been fellow to a beggar again and again under circumstances which prevented either of us finding out whether the other was worthy. I have still to be brother to a Prince, though I once came near to kinship with what might have been a veritable King and was promised the reversion of a Kingdom— army, law-courts, revenue and policy all complete. But, to-day, I greatly fear that my King is dead, and if I want a crown I must go and hunt it for myself.

• The Winning of Barbara Worth by Harold Bell Wright
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub

Spoiler:

The eastern plains of Colorado hold many secrets, including the origin of an orphaned four-year-old girl found near her dead mother by five weary travelers. One of the five, financier Jefferson Worth, decides to adopt the girl, who calls herself "Barba," and his life will never be the same. The fates of Barbara and the plains are inextricably linked, and in turn, they profoundly alter the destinies of all the men, especially that of Jefferson Worth. The once cold and calculating businessman sees himself through the eyes of his adopted daughter--and has an epiphany in which he realizes his position and obligations in life. Originally published in 1911, with a first printing of 175,000 copies, this moral fable of the ministry of capital remains extremely relevant.

• Red Shadows by Robert E. Howard
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub (Omnibus)

Spoiler:

... First published in Weird Tales, August 1928, alternatively titled "Solomon Kane". This was the first Solomon Kane story ever published. In France, Kane finds a girl attacked by a gang of brigands led by a villain known as Le Loup. As she dies in his arms, Kane determines to avenge her death, and the trail leads from France to Africa, ending with Kane's first meeting with N'Longa. ...

• Lilith by George MacDonald
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub | Kindle

Spoiler:

Amazon.com Review:
"Lilith is equal if not superior to the best of Poe," the great 20th-century poet W.H. Auden said of this novel, but the comparison only begins to touch on the richness, density, and wonder of this late 19th-century adult fantasy novel. First published in 1895 (inhabiting a universe with the early Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, and Oscar Wilde--not to mention Thomas Hardy), this is the story of the aptly named Mr. Vane, his magical house, and the journeys into another world into which it leads him

Meeting up with one mystery after another, including Adam and Eve themselves, he slowly but surely explores the mystery of the human fall from grace, and of our redemption. Instructed into the ways of seeing the deeper realities of this world--seeing, in a sense, by the light of the spirit--the reader and Mr. Vane both sense that MacDonald writes from his own deep experience of radiance, from a bliss so profound that death's darkness itself is utterly eclipsed in its light. --Doug Thorpe --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

About the Author (also from Amazon):
George MacDonald(1824-1905) The great nineteenth-century innovator of modern fantasy, whose works influenced C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams. "I do not write for children," MacDonald once said, "but for the childlike, whether of five, or fifty, or seventy-five."

• The Book of Snobs by William Makepeace Thackeray
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub | Kindle

Spoiler:

PREFATORY REMARKS

The necessity of a work on Snobs, demonstrated from History, and proved by felicitous illustrations:—I am the individual destined to write that work—My vocation is announced in terms of great eloquence—I show that the world has been gradually preparing itself for the WORK and the MAN—Snobs are to be studied like other objects of Natural Science, and are a part of the Beautiful (with a large B). They pervade all classes….

[Dazrin]

Looks like some of the links from the nomination thread are missing. I wonder if the list here was copied from an older version?

I know I provided links for some of them here and they show up in the first post of the nomination thread.

Edit: Also, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom should be by Cory Doctorow, which I didn't see last time.

[Dazrin]

Nice. I was wondering if when Jon would add his vote to make it a 4-way tie.

[GA Russell]

My thanks to everyone who voted for the books I nominated!

[crich70]

Guess we'll all be learning how to Kipple this next month.

[WT Sharpe]

I am surprised to see that The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling came from behind to win. Well, at least few people should complain that they don't have the time for this one. At 40 pages in length, this one could be read on bathroom breaks.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I am surprised to see that The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling came from behind to win. Well, at least few people should complain that they don't have the time for this one. At 40 pages in length, this one could be read on bathroom breaks.

I didn't realize it was so short. I saw part of the movie version with Sean Connery and Michael Caine yrs ago.

[WT Sharpe]

Actually works out pretty well for me as I'm really pressed for time right now.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Actually works out pretty well for me as I'm really pressed for time right now.

I imagine it might be a good introduction to Mr. Kipling's style of writing for anyone who hasn't read him before as well. I have read his "Captain's Courageous" several times in the past.

[bfisher]

It's short but not trivial. I read it last night. I'm now rereading it for the nuances. The short length lends itself to that. I wouldn't be willing to do that with a 400 pager.