Group Read: October/November

Well, everyone has probably finished at least one of the two books we chose for the August/September Group Read. I hope you are enjoying them.

It's time we start the process of choosing two books for an October/Novemeber Group Read.

Here are the ground rules:
1)Nominate up to 2 books that you would like to read
2)Second as many books as you like
3) All seconded books will go in to the voting round and you can vote for up to 3 books. If necessary we will have an elimination poll of the books that get the most votes.

Nominations for books will take place for the next week. Nominations will close at midnight September 10.

I'm going to nominate two from my TBR heap.

The Satanic Verses and Go Tell It On The Mountain.

I'm looking forward to some great nominations and some fantastic reading as Autum presses in on us. Have a great Labor Day Weekend!!

This October I'm planning to read Dracula, and I'd love to have some company with that one.

In November I plan to read Birdsong (Faulks) and the Regeneration trilogy by Par Barker, two of which are on the 1001 list (Regeneration and Ghost Road). So I nominated all of those.

I'd go with Regeneration; that was on my TBR list too.
I also want to read J.G. Farrell, Troubles, or Seigfried Lenz, The German Lesson, but these are more obscure works and there might be fewer people interested.

I do have to read Dracula for class, but that's in mid November. I haven't done a group read here before, would the books go through both months or 1 per month? If the former, I will 2nd Dracula and just jump into the conversations a little late.

With school reading, the only books I'll get to are super short books. So I was considering The Island of Dr. Moreau for about that time.

Katelisim, welcome to the group. I (we) have not been directing people which book they "must" read first. I frankly prefer it that way. Therefore, you can read either book in the order you want too. We maintain a Group Comment post for both books throughout the two months of group read for those who want to comment on their reading. When the posts die, they die. I hope this answers your question. Your comment on Dracula will be considered a second to that book. Please feel free to recommend another book in addition to The Island of Dr. Moreau if you would like. Have a good day.

george> Thanks! Answers all.

I would like to nominate The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells and The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster and second The Island of Dr. Moreau, also by H. G. Wells, Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin, and Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.
--BJ

I will second The New York Trilogy, Troubles, and The German Lesson and I will nominate two big ones that have been on my bookshelf, but I need a push to get started...Lord of the Rings and The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen.

Alicia

We have some great books to choose from this time around. Keep in mind this is the last day (until midnight tonight----national zebra time) to nominate and/or second books from the list.

I will try to get the poll set up tomorrow and we will be voting on our two selection next week. Thanks everyone and all y'all have a great weekend!!

Well I have already read Dracula and The New York Trilogy already this year.

So I will 2nd The Satanic Verses and The Lord of the Rings I guess since I do already have this book.

Well I have already read Dracula and The New York Trilogy already this year.

So I will 2nd The Satanic Verses and The Lord of the Rings I guess since I do already have this book.

I say either Lord of the Rings or Dracula (I can wait until November for that one).

annamorphic-I have also noticed (not just here but in other forums) that shorter, more accessible books seem to catalyze better discussions than longer, more complex ones.

In October, I am planning to read both/either Island of Dr. Moreau and/or In a Glass Darkly, but I've already read Dracula twice. Definitely good if you choose that one though.

Other shorter ones that look interesting to me are The Body Artist and Castle Rackrent.

I will second The Good Soldier and Pale View of Hills. Actually, I haven't read any of those, so any would be ok with me. :)
--BJ

I had already suggested Regeneration, so let's consider it seconded!

#s 14, 15, 16 & 17....as much as I hate too ask, please refer to the rules set for this group. Thank you.

Attached is the URL to enter the poll for selecting our next two books. Please keep in mind that you may vote for as many books as you like, however, you may vote only once. Voting will run through Saturday, Sept. 18.

http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/500421

In the event of a tie or near miss, we will have a run-off poll. Thank you.

Oops, I missed the post about the deadline.

A number of folks have cast a vote in the poll already and it is only day two. Be sure to mention to your librarything friends that we have a poll going for our next group read. The more, the merrior!

Thanks so much for putting the poll together and organizing the vote!
--BJ

Grrr ....I accidentally missed voting for one of my books. Can you manually add one vote for Dracula? (I'll be reading it in October whether it's chosen or not).

Nickelini, I would love to help you out there, but I have already voted. Like everyone else, once I vote, I can't get back into the poll to edit it. Sorry.

But here's a possible positive for you. Even if Dracula does not win, it is a pretty short book and a very quick read because it is action packed as you might imagine. It is scary, however, so you may only be comfortable reading it in the daytime. ;)=

My two nominations would have to be To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron. Both made me cry (but that's actually not that hard to do). Those are the two books I always tell people they have to read.

It appears that we have two clear winners for our next group read starting in October--Regeneration and The Island of Dr. Moreau. We had 19 voters, which is more than we had for the last group read. Thanks to everyone who participated.

Unless someone beats me to it, I will put up a topic feed for each book sometime the early part of October. That way, you can begin by reading either book that strikes your fancy. Or, if you don't have a fancy, maybe it will just strike you! Have a great day!!

Yay! Looking forward to joining in on this one...

And what edition of the list is Regeneration on?

Thanks so much for organizing these reads!
--BJ

#27 - I follow the 2010 list and Regeneration is on that one.

It figures that I just finished both Regeneration and The Island of Doctor Moreau last month! I will stay tuned for November/December reads. :)

oops...

Regeneration is also on the original list.

I'm doing a WWI themed read throughout November, so I'll read it then (along with two other 1001 books--Ghost Road and Birdsong).

There is an excellent movie version of Regeneration that was released in North America under the title Behind the Lines. It stars the wonderful Jonathan Pryce.

Ah, thanks. I didn't see it on my spreadsheet, so I thought it was from a later edition. I must have missed it.

Regeneration is part of a series then? About war? I can't say I know anything about this one. But, then, war is my least favorite genre. I tried Catch-22 and didn't make it through that one. Haven't tried another yet. Maybe it's time.

Regeneration is the first of a trilogy. The second is the Eye in the Door and the final is Ghost Road. The author, Pat Barker, is a woman. The last book won the Booker Prize and was also nominated for the Orange Prize, which celebrates women writers. I expect them to be war books with a difference!

I couldn't make it through Catch-22 either (maybe one day--I did like the movie, after all). But Catch-22 is a unique book, even among war books, I think. And talking about 1001 war books, All Quiet on the Western Front is a must-read.

Oh, and from the Regeneration trilogy, only two of the books are on 1001. The other one is Ghost Road. (I'm still going to read the Eye in the Door)

Nickelini-Thanks for the info. Knowing that Pat Barker is a woman makes it more appealing somehow.

So the 2nd book isn't on the list. Funny. It's a quirky list.

All Quiet on the Western Front has been staring at me from my bookshelf for years. I know I'll have to read it eventually.

I don't have a military bone in my body, so war is my one of my least favourite genres too. But I have to admit I've read some excellent war books. I like the ones that focus on the human aspects of war.

If Regeneration is anything like the movie, it focuses on the effects of war on the mind (shell-shock, etc.).

I just finished the trilogy and loved Regeneration, hated The Eye in the Door and liked Ghost Road (if that helps). They are very different in terms of the usual type of war books. I loved the psychological twist to them. The first one focused more on that which is why I liked it better than the others.

If anyone wants them, I can mooch you the lot.

Nickelini, I, too, am military boneless :), and am quite the pacifist in philosophy, but for some reason I have read quite a few war books. One I read recently and loved - and is on the 1001 list - is The Things They Carried. I don't know if there is a connection between the two, but it reminded me of the movie the Deer Hunter. Sad and haunting.

In any case, I will be reading Regeneration along with the group.

Oh, I have a copy of Regeneration to read, I might join in! (I read The Island of Doctor Moreau just last year, so will leave that one to the rest of you.)

When I bought my copy of Regeneration, the bookseller told me that it's a book he re-reads every year or so. I consider that a high recommendation!

I too do not read many war books, although I have read The Things They Carried and All Quiet on the Western Front because of this "1001" list, and I thought they were quite magnificent. (Which is why I like the "1001" list, every now and then it introduces me to something brilliant that I otherwise may never have read.)

bucketyell-If you don't have any other takers I would love to mooch from you. :)

wookiebender-Yes, I feel the exact same way about the list. It's like having an older, well-read friend with eclectic literary tastes giving you suggestions.

They are all yours perlle. They are all gently used copies in good condition.

Are you the same id on bookmooch?

No, my bookmooch id is: loupea

Thanks so much for offering the books!

I just reserved them for you perlle. Or at least, I reserved the first two - since it costs me about the same to mail them to you in the US as it would to mail them in Canada (sad but true), if you mooch those two, I will include the third one as well.

I think I forgot condition notes on the second (and it's taking too long to check), but they are all used trade but in good condition. Enjoy!

Thanks, I found them there. :)