Literary The MobileRead Literary Book Club August 2011 Vote

sun surfer · 07-25-2011, 06:09 PM

Congratulations to beppe as our first-ever lottery winner, who has been randomly selected from the nominees to choose this month's work.

First, beppe will need to select a work and post it. Then, the work will need TEN confirmation votes to declare it our monthly selection.

beppe may choose any work that beppe considers literature. Anyone else may vote to confirm that the selected work is considered or seems to be literature, whether or not one finds it appealing.

This process will be open for THREE days.

If the winner doesn't post a selection, or if the selection does not receive enough confirmation votes, then we will revert to a second-chance month. The five non-winning selections with the most votes from previous months will be put to a short vote.

What is literature for the purposes of this book club? A well-regarded work. Often (but not always) it is important, challenging, critically acclaimed, has a deeper meaning, makes one think. It may be from ancient times to today; it may be from anywhere in the world; it may be obscure or famous, short or long; it may be a story, a novel, a play, a poem, an essay or another written form.

beppe, the floor is yours!

beppe · 07-25-2011, 07:33 PM

Oh, thank you sun surfer. I am already looking for that work that you are pinpointing

.

beppe · 07-25-2011, 09:23 PM

I got it. I have chosen. I chose it because, although I have read it, it was many years ago and I just remember the fundamental keys. I could have chosen a book by dame Byatt, like the one I am reading now, but that would have been an easy way out, and I want to read something that I do not remember almost at all. I thought of some Italians (there are good ones) but none in ebooks that I like to read or to reread. There is Iliad by Baricco, but I do not think it ideal for our book club. Also Silk by the same guy, but it is too thin, maybe.

Forster makes a very pleasant reading. He stimulates thoughts and interest but he does it lightly, with subtle elegance. He is old fashioned and has sympathy for his characters, which is a nice change.

The lesson is very actual.

E.M. Forster's classic novel "A Passage to India". Available as ebook (f.i. Amazon sells it for mere $ 2.99).

The book presentation
Forster's 1924 masterpiece, A Passage to India, is a novel about preconceptions and misconceptions and the desire to overcome the barrier that divides East and West in colonial India. It shows the limits of liberal tolerance, good intentions, and good will in sorting out the common problems that exist between two very different cultures. Forster's famous phrase, "only connect," stresses the need for human beings to overcome their hesitancy and prejudices and work towards realizing affection and tolerance in their relations with others. But when he turned to colonial India, where the English and the Indians stare at each other across a cultural divide and a history of imbalanced power relations, mutual suspicion, and ill will, Forster wonders whether connection is even possible.
...
Forster's keen eye for social nuance and his capacious sympathy for his characters make A Passage to India not only a balanced investigation of the rift that divides English and Indian but also a convincing and moving work of art. Written in 1924, two years after the publication of Eliot's The Waste Land and Joyce's Ulysses and one year before Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, Forster's masterpiece was produced during one of the most remarkable periods of achievement in English literature since Wordsworth's days.

Hamlet53 · 07-25-2011, 09:58 PM

Don't know if you are planning a poll to tabulate the results. In that case this is premature, but I endorse this selection.

JSWolf · 07-25-2011, 10:02 PM

The original book club already did A Passage to India. It is an awful book. It didn't go over well.

beppe · 07-25-2011, 10:09 PM

BTW
there are 3 days before the deadline (*) and I do not see why you could not make me change my choice. I mean every man has his price ...

There is this nice, enchanting book by José Saramago, Baltasar and Blimunda, that I would have chosen if not for the prose, a bit too turgid for a general liking. But good, oh yes, so good. That is what I will read next, most probably.

Click image for larger version

Name: Screen Shot 2011-07-26 at 2.43.25 .png
Views: 622
Size: 158.6 KB
ID: 74820

(*) ^sun surfer: can you wait a bit before asking the confirmation?
Yes, I am an extrovert.

beppe · 07-25-2011, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The original book club already did A Passage to India. It is an awful book. It didn't go over well.

Thank you JS. Your word is a guarantee. Now I feel quite confident.

JSWolf · 07-25-2011, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beppe

Thank you JS. Your word is a guarantee. Now I feel quite confident.

Isn't the fact that it was already done for the book club enough to change to a different book?

issybird · 07-25-2011, 10:14 PM

I'm on board with Passage to India; I haven't read it since I was an adolescent.

JSWolf · 07-25-2011, 10:15 PM

I do think we should have a ruling by Sun Surfer about this. Is it OK to have a book nominated that was already done by the other book club?

beppe · 07-25-2011, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Isn't the fact that it was already done for the book club enough to change to a different book?

Ah! Let me think ...

I don't think so. Chooser privilege.

JSWolf · 07-25-2011, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beppe

Ah! Let me think ...

I don't think so. Chooser privilege.

Not if Sun Surfer rules otherwise.

beppe · 07-25-2011, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Not if Sun Surfer rules otherwise.

Ubi maior minor cessat
Aquila non capit muscas
De minimis non curat praetor

In any case
utrinque paratus ready for anything Motto of The British Parachute Regiment

sun surfer · 07-26-2011, 01:21 AM

I will also confirm that A Passage To India qualifies as literature.

Quote:

Originally Posted by beppe

sun surfer: can you wait a bit before asking the confirmation?

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. There are three days in which to choose your work and have it confirmed. I would suggest against putting a few choices up to public opinion for a few reasons:

-Those who speak up may not represent the opinions of the many who don't speak up

-There is not so much time to make a choice and have it confirmed (I chose a shorter time period of only three days to keep any debate over a choice being confirmed to a minimum...are you asking for more time?)

-The choice should really be yours

However, that's only my suggestion and you're free to do as you like as long as you get confirmation in time. If I didn't understand your question correctly, then please clarify for me.

sun surfer · 07-26-2011, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Is it OK to have a book nominated that was already done by the other book club?

This is a good question.

I searched to find out when it was the other book club's selection. It was all the way back in November 2008. I think that that's more than enough time - almost three years - between selections, and not even the same book club, so A Passage To India is fine as our selection for August.

So the matter is closed for this month. However, I would like to move the discussion on the question for future months and what rules on this we should have, if any, to this thread: The MobileRead Literary Book Club Begins

07-25-2011, 06:09 PM	#1
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44667380 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	The MobileRead Literary Book Club August 2011 Vote Congratulations to beppe as our first-ever lottery winner, who has been randomly selected from the nominees to choose this month's work. First, beppe will need to select a work and post it. Then, the work will need TEN confirmation votes to declare it our monthly selection. beppe may choose any work that beppe considers literature. Anyone else may vote to confirm that the selected work is considered or seems to be literature, whether or not one finds it appealing. This process will be open for THREE days. If the winner doesn't post a selection, or if the selection does not receive enough confirmation votes, then we will revert to a second-chance month. The five non-winning selections with the most votes from previous months will be put to a short vote. What is literature for the purposes of this book club? A well-regarded work. Often (but not always) it is important, challenging, critically acclaimed, has a deeper meaning, makes one think. It may be from ancient times to today; it may be from anywhere in the world; it may be obscure or famous, short or long; it may be a story, a novel, a play, a poem, an essay or another written form. beppe, the floor is yours!

07-25-2011, 10:09 PM	#6
beppe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,161 Karma: 81026524 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Italy Device: Kindle3, Ipod4, IPad2	BTW there are 3 days before the deadline () and I do not see why you could not make me change my choice. I mean every man has his price ... There is this nice, enchanting book by José Saramago, Baltasar and Blimunda, that I would have chosen if not for the prose, a bit too turgid for a general liking. But good, oh yes, so good. That is what I will read next, most probably. () ^sun surfer: can you wait a bit before asking the confirmation? Yes, I am an extrovert.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Literary The MobileRead Literary Book Club August 2011 Nominations	sun surfer	Book Clubs	15	07-25-2011 05:33 PM
Literary The MobileRead Literary Book Club July 2011 Vote	sun surfer	Book Clubs	56	07-19-2011 06:11 PM
Literary The MobileRead Literary Book Club July 2011 Nominations	sun surfer	Book Clubs	85	06-28-2011 12:38 PM
Literary The MobileRead Literary Book Club June 2011 Run-Off Vote	sun surfer	Book Clubs	91	06-23-2011 02:04 AM
Literary The MobileRead Literary Book Club June 2011 Vote	sun surfer	Book Clubs	54	05-31-2011 02:18 AM

07-25-2011, 07:33 PM	#2
beppe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,161 Karma: 81026524 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Italy Device: Kindle3, Ipod4, IPad2	Oh, thank you sun surfer. I am already looking for that work that you are pinpointing .

07-25-2011, 09:23 PM	#3
beppe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,161 Karma: 81026524 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Italy Device: Kindle3, Ipod4, IPad2	I got it. I have chosen. I chose it because, although I have read it, it was many years ago and I just remember the fundamental keys. I could have chosen a book by dame Byatt, like the one I am reading now, but that would have been an easy way out, and I want to read something that I do not remember almost at all. I thought of some Italians (there are good ones) but none in ebooks that I like to read or to reread. There is Iliad by Baricco, but I do not think it ideal for our book club. Also Silk by the same guy, but it is too thin, maybe. Forster makes a very pleasant reading. He stimulates thoughts and interest but he does it lightly, with subtle elegance. He is old fashioned and has sympathy for his characters, which is a nice change. The lesson is very actual. E.M. Forster's classic novel "A Passage to India". Available as ebook (f.i. Amazon sells it for mere $ 2.99). The book presentation Forster's 1924 masterpiece, A Passage to India, is a novel about preconceptions and misconceptions and the desire to overcome the barrier that divides East and West in colonial India. It shows the limits of liberal tolerance, good intentions, and good will in sorting out the common problems that exist between two very different cultures. Forster's famous phrase, "only connect," stresses the need for human beings to overcome their hesitancy and prejudices and work towards realizing affection and tolerance in their relations with others. But when he turned to colonial India, where the English and the Indians stare at each other across a cultural divide and a history of imbalanced power relations, mutual suspicion, and ill will, Forster wonders whether connection is even possible. ... Forster's keen eye for social nuance and his capacious sympathy for his characters make A Passage to India not only a balanced investigation of the rift that divides English and Indian but also a convincing and moving work of art. Written in 1924, two years after the publication of Eliot's The Waste Land and Joyce's Ulysses and one year before Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, Forster's masterpiece was produced during one of the most remarkable periods of achievement in English literature since Wordsworth's days.

07-25-2011, 09:58 PM	#4
Hamlet53 Nameless Being	Don't know if you are planning a poll to tabulate the results. In that case this is premature, but I endorse this selection.

07-25-2011, 10:02 PM	#5
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 76,444 Karma: 136564696 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	The original book club already did A Passage to India. It is an awful book. It didn't go over well.

07-25-2011, 10:14 PM	#9
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,664 Karma: 225870683 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	I'm on board with Passage to India; I haven't read it since I was an adolescent.

07-25-2011, 10:15 PM	#10
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 76,444 Karma: 136564696 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I do think we should have a ruling by Sun Surfer about this. Is it OK to have a book nominated that was already done by the other book club?

Advert

Advert