Poll: OCUK Book Club - First book choice!

Which book first for book club?

  • Arthur C Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey

    Votes: 42 42.9%

  • Herman Melville - Moby Dick

    Votes: 10 10.2%

  • Charles Dickens - Our Mutual Friend

    Votes: 7 7.1%

  • Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle

    Votes: 8 8.2%

  • Joseph Heller - Catch 22

    Votes: 49 50.0%
  • Total voters
    98
Take this how you will, but it seems to me that out of those options "A space Odyssey" is clearly the obvious first choice for launcing a book club on a PC forum. Although personally I would rather opt for something by the creator of the genre; Jules Verne. (Translated, of course).
 
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I'm really pleased with this new section.

A book club is a great idea too.

However, I wouldn't ever re-read any of the books in the poll but Moby Dick got my vote out of those choices.

I'd say that the 'classics' in that section are not classic enough.
The Iliad or The Aenead would get my vote for a first true classic read. Once you've read the ancient masters it's then time to progress to the medieval writers.

Recommending:

Chanson de Roland, Roman de la Rose, Anything by Chaucer and Le Morte D'Arthur for the prelim medieval reads.

Then it has to be Some of Montaigne's essays and Utopia by Sir Thomas More. Not going to recommend The Prince or other Machiavelli for fear of being labelled as a name dropper.

Now go for some Cervantes, His Exemplary Stories are fabulous (Novelas Ejemplares, if you want to read it in Spanish) Don Quijote is a must. Lazarillo de Tormes (anon) is delicious and a fine example of the picaresque genre (in its true meaning!)

Many of you, like myself will be theatre fans, so I would suggest King Lear as the first choice if and when that idea comes around to the new club. If that is too 'heavy' then perhaps one of the History plays would be a good one for the patriot among us. Also putting in a shout for Tirso de Molina and Lope de Vega.

The best bit now, with apologies to big 18th century lit fans:
the 19th century. This is where the classics are to be found. 1st book suggestions:

First Love by Ivan Turgenev
The Kreutzer Sonata by Tolstoy
Eugene Onegin by Pushkin.

I'd love to keep going but what with the flaming I got when I was trying to be helpful on prog rock I'll stop.

My first choice for a first book club read would be a short story by either of, Tolstoy, Turgenev or Chekov.

I'll go for the Kreutzer Sonata as my suggestion. And if this post rubs you up the wrong way then apologies for being passionate about literature.
 
Surfer said:
no fantasy books on the list?
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It's hard to please everyone with every genre - I picked five books from different genres, I will be mixing them up month to month, you can't please everyone else we would have a poll with 100 books and 1 vote each!

Rich
 
I think the Dickensian choice wasn't the best (yes my opinion, and no it wont change a thing) but the others seem to be fair enough when trying to appeal to everyone. Your comment tichard is absolutely spot on!
May I suggest for the next one:
One US novel from any period of time.
One 20th century short story.
One European 19th century choice.
One very recent choice (last 5 years or so)
One old classic (pre 19th century)

that way all possible genres can be represented including the much beloved fantasy. Also it will give a larger spectrum for variety within genres. I really think short stories would be a great addition as most people can easily read one on a rainy or snowy day so that participation can be universal. For example if Moby Dick was selected I really doubt everyone would be able to finish it on time and enjoy it.

Thanks
 
Maybe some selection process, based on a random number for example, to decide who picks the book choices would be a better bet than one person picking the books everytime. This is simply for variety purposes more than anything else because, try as they might, one person will always follow the same trends, in my opinion anyways.

This "lottery" could simply be decided by the current months book chooser, picking a number between, say 1 and 50 and then everyone else involved in the book club guessing the number. First person to guess correctly gets to pick the books. Obviously a set time would have to be determined to make things fairer so that people at least know when the next lottery would begin.

Just an idea.
 
Antar Bolaeisk said:
Maybe some selection process, based on a random number for example, to decide who picks the book choices would be a better bet than one person picking the books everytime. This is simply for variety purposes more than anything else because, try as they might, one person will always follow the same trends, in my opinion anyways.

This "lottery" could simply be decided by the current months book chooser, picking a number between, say 1 and 50 and then everyone else involved in the book club guessing the number. First person to guess correctly gets to pick the books. Obviously a set time would have to be determined to make things fairer so that people at least know when the next lottery would begin.

Just an idea.
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Sounds like a good idea to me, we might try it on the next book selection - as this one is under way.

I know it would probably go down trends (as I would be the one picking them) but I tried to be as neutral as possible, but then one person cannot know every other or genre, so books are going to be missed.

Rich
 
Voltar said:
I think the Dickensian choice wasn't the best (yes my opinion, and no it wont change a thing) but the others seem to be fair enough when trying to appeal to everyone. Your comment tichard is absolutely spot on!
May I suggest for the next one:
One US novel from any period of time.
One 20th century short story.
One European 19th century choice.
One very recent choice (last 5 years or so)
One old classic (pre 19th century)

that way all possible genres can be represented including the much beloved fantasy. Also it will give a larger spectrum for variety within genres. I really think short stories would be a great addition as most people can easily read one on a rainy or snowy day so that participation can be universal. For example if Moby Dick was selected I really doubt everyone would be able to finish it on time and enjoy it.

Thanks
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I do agree - but so many books and so many tastes are hard to cater for, a the post above me suggested some kind of lottery, we will have to look at that for next time - maybe get everyone to suggest five books in a thread and then pick them at random on an excel spreadsheet or something.

I picked the Dickens novel as I didn't really want to go down the usual route of dickens.

Rich
 
A lottery might work yes, if everyone involved signs up before and is assigned a number which is then picked at random. Winner chooses book.
Fair play on the Dickens front.
Definately wouldn't see everyone suggesting five books as the way forward though mate as that could just get really messy and complex.
Keep it simple I guess, but the equal representation thing is definately something which more people are going to have to talk about.
Perhaps when this choice is done make a poll of say 10 genres and have the 5 genres with the most votes put forward and then the lottery winner chooses a pertinent book out of said genres?

Thanks
 
Hey - Seems like we have got most of the votes that we are getting, and I have not checked up on the thread as I have been back home at my parents for Easter.

Still looks like Catch 22 is winning - Sorry Gilly ;)

Rich
 
Seems like it is still going to be Catch 22, but it is a close call between that and 2001:ASO.

Last few days to vote guys before this poll is closed on Friday!

Rich
 
Recommendations from me for another time:

Fiction:
Geoffrey Chaucer - Canterbury Tales
Alice Walker - The Color Purple
Michael Marshall Smith - Only Forward
Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash
Mark Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Samuel Richardson - Clarissa
Thomas Hardy - Jude the Obscure
Richard Matheson - I am Legend
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude

Non-Fiction:
Christopher Hibbert - The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici
Antonia Fraser - Cromwell: Our Chief of Men
Piers Bizony / Jamie Doran - Starman: Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin

As for timing I think this suggestion was best:
jackthezipper said:
An alternative would be to have two books in a month so if people want to read two they can or if people are slow they can pick one of them and still participate.
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I'm a fast reader but often do not have much free time to read. I do browse the forums a fair bit but that is becuase you can do a multitude of other things while dipping in and out of the forum. If you want to have a good read then you need a bit of time free to do that. More than one book a month keeps the fast readers with time to do it happy and means the slow readers or those without as much time can still participate.

I have a feeling I won't be participating this time round purely as I have read the top two already and they aren't books I would read again. Thats not going to stop me keeping an eye on the book club though I think it's a really good idea. Hopefully it will encourage people to try books or genres they haven't tried before :)
 
Muban: Excellent suggestions imo. Especially Chaucer. Don't know why people are so afraid of his genius.... maybe school exams have something to do with it :p
 
I've been recommended any book by the Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Anyone know a good book of his to add to the list?
 
RIGHT!

It is the last day of the poll (And catch 22 is the winner at the moment!)

Last votes are needed before tonight!

Rich
 
Voltar said:
Muban: Excellent suggestions imo. Especially Chaucer. Don't know why people are so afraid of his genius.... maybe school exams have something to do with it :p
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Chaucer rules. Once you get into it, there's so much to read into a single line of his text - much more than you could with Shakespeare.
 
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