Suggest a Book for the dissensus book club!

IdleRich

IdleRich
Well.....personally I reckon it would be better to vote although it might be difficult to suggest a system. Simplest way to my mind would be for everyone who wants to to suggest one and then everyone involved votes. I'm happy to organise the voting if need be.

To recap.

In so far: You, Mr Tea, Crackerjack, Jenks, Octopus, Petergunn, Ripley, Mixed_Biscuits

Expressed interest : Zhao, Nomadologist, D84, H-Crimm, STN

Most of the authors suggested: Bataille, Pynchon, Dostoevsky, Chekov, Nabokov, Conrad, James, Heinrich Boll, Atwood, Pat Barker, Pauline Melville, Camara Laye, Steinbeck, Vonnegut, Mayakovsky, Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Proust, Thomas Mann, Sebald, Yates, Pamuk, Rushdie

Authors totally rejected: Joyce
 
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john eden

male pale and stale
Can we get a "sticky" and leave it up for a few days for people to sign up? How do we do that? Then after a few days we'll know who is in and we can all vote on the book.

Sorry, just seen this. For future reference, drop a moderator a PM.

Great idea!

(But not really my thing).
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Yeah, was going to but it was quite tentative at that point. I reckon we could do with one now though so do I need to formalise it by pm-ing you or can you just do it?
Cheers.
 

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
To recap.

In so far: You, Mr Tea, Crackerjack, Jenks, Octopus, Petergunn, Ripley, Mixed_Biscuits

Expressed interest : Zhao, Nomadologist, D84, H-Crimm, STN
I'd like to give it a go. Although time is a little scarce at the moment, so I can't promise.
Most of the authors suggested: Bataille, Pynchon, Dostoevsky, Chekov, Nabokov, Conrad, James, Heinrich Boll, Atwood, Pat Barker, Pauline Melville, Camara Laye, Steinbeck, Vonnegut, Mayakovsky, Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Proust, Thomas Mann, Sebald, Yates, Pamuk, Rushdie

Authors totally rejected: Joyce
That all looks interesting. I'd love to read Gravity's Rainbow again with a support group and see if I can actually understand more than 10% of it. Mann, Rushdie or any of the Russians would also be great.

Frankenstein might throw up some interesting discussion?

One thing that might be fun would be to do something totally counter to the Dissensus stereotype - some Austen or Dumas or Wordsworth's Prelude or something.
 

jenks

thread death
I was just trying to express my recent enjoyment of mid twentieth century stuff. And my interest in reading more and talking about it with people, something that i don't have much opportunity to do. Rather than show off...

It wasn't a pop at you, or anyone else that has contributed to this thread. I suppose i am wary, also, of the academic 'been there read that' tendency which can occur. I put the names forward cos i thought they would all fit your early 20th C Euro, non hetero suggestions.

I would be more than happy to read any of them - frankly i'll read whatever anyone chooses - after all this has been the liveliest thread on Lit for years round these parts

I certainly don't want to start a row before we have even started to read a book!!
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Cool, another one joins.
This is what I think - anyone who is interested pm me with the name of one book by (let's say) next Tuesday evening. I'll compile them as a list and then ask everyone who is interested to cast a vote by the end of that week (with nobody allowed to vote for their own choice to prevent them all getting one vote) and the one that gets the most votes we read over the next couple of weeks or so with a thread for people to talk about it.
When we finish and if we think it's been worthwhile we'll do another one.
Oh yeah, you don't have to suggest a book if you don't want to.
Anyone see any problems with that?
 

John Doe

Well-known member
As a habitual reader I'd like to be in too (though I've got less and less computer access these days so don't make it to the board v often). However, could I just argue in favour of a contemporary novel? Maybe I've spent a little too much time in the lit crit departments studying 19th and early 20th century novels but I can't really be bothered reading old classics. In other words I'm less interested in the H James, J Conrad's, F Dosteyovsky's etc than writers who make the contemporary an issue (and so no present day writers who re-imagine past historical epochs, either). Nominating a writer whose fiction is situated in the present also has the advantage of opening up their work to more readers who can bring their own experience/imagination to bear on the text as well as their critical analysis.

Novel's that have popped into my head in the past two minutes that might be suitable could be Mao II by Don DeLillo (as it attempts to tackle the issue of terrorism);
Leviathan by Paul Auster, (or Moon Palace, or The Book of Illusions etc)
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson - fashion, marketing, commodification etc
Anything by WG Sebald (because I do love him so)...
Maybe Rushdie (although I think the shorter the novel the better for a purpose such as this)...
If Pynchon is a choice then the Crying of Lot 49 might be best as it's lovely and nice and short (unlike everything else he's published...)

However, these are my tastes and one of the pleasures of engaging in an exercise like this is to be recommended a novel as yet unread, so I'm happy to be challenged on the narrowness of my own parameters and get to grips with a novel that is much loved by other contributors to the board.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Maybe give people two votes - otherwise you''ll probably wind up with a 3-way tie, each scoring two points.
I don't really see what difference that makes but could do if that's what people prefer. I mean, we could give everyone ten points to allocate as they saw fit or three votes of one, two and three points for third, second and first choice respectively or any number of ways but I just suggested the old one-man one-vote thing in the name of simplicity.

Cool you're in John and good points I think. I reckon it's best to put it to the vote but I guess that everyone is free to set out their points like that to try and influence the vote in a direction that they would like. Whether it will work who knows.....
 

John Doe

Well-known member
. I reckon it's best to put it to the vote but I guess that everyone is free to set out their points like that to try and influence the vote in a direction that they would like. Whether it will work who knows.....

Yeah, absolutely. Maybe those who are in can argue their case for a text before it's put to the vote (that's what I was trying to do, really).
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
One thing that might be fun would be to do something totally counter to the Dissensus stereotype - some Austen or Dumas or Wordsworth's Prelude or something.

If Jane Austen ends up on the list I'm going to find out where Dissensus' servers are located and firebomb the buidling.

(Only joking. I'd probably just commit ritual seppuku.)
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Had to read Mansfield Park for Eng Lit A-level and it was the most tedious, long-winded and thoroughly boring book I've ever read a quarter of. Maybe all her other novels are a whirling phantasmagoria of sex, war, political intrigue, spiritual anguish and giant robots destroying Neo-Tokyo, but somehow I doubt it.
 

jenks

thread death
I am seriously tempted to stick Austen on the list!

Idle, thanks for getting this together, whilst i moaned you actually took the bull by the horns, top work!

I've spent the last half an hour thinking of books and then rejecting my choices - what a burden you have placed upon us.
 

Octopus?

Well-known member
As a habitual reader I'd like to be in too (though I've got less and less computer access these days so don't make it to the board v often). However, could I just argue in favour of a contemporary novel?

In the case of contemporary novels, I'd echo a Delilo suggestion (as I've been meaning to read something by him for aeons) along with some other suggestions I've been meaning to check out:

Uzodinma Iweala "Beasts Of No Nation"
Andrzej Stasiuk "White Raven"
Roberto Bolano "The Savage Detectives"
Stefan Zweig "Chess Story" or "Beware Of Pity"

Also, I'm unfamiliar with the work of Jose Saramago, but have both "The Double" and "Blindness" sitting at home. Also be into reading some Knut Hamsun as mentioned above. However, this is in danger of turning into a lengthy list of books with no resolution in sight, so the PM/compiling idea is an excellent one.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Idle, thanks for getting this together, whilst i moaned you actually took the bull by the horns, top work!
I think it was You (not you) really who identified the problem that people were always reading different books at different times and also opened a thread for a book club-type thing. I hope I'm not taking it over too much, think I'm acting in the spirit intended but let me know if I'm being too bossy.
Anyway, I'm happy to compile the list and count votes if everyone pms me - shouldn't be too much work really to be honest. Then fingers crossed for some good discussion.

However, this is in danger of turning into a lengthy list of books with no resolution in sight, so the PM/compiling idea is an excellent one.
That's just what I was thinking really. I reckon we should try and get it off the ground when we've got the momentum, do it once recognising that it won't be perfect and suggest any improvements for next time round. Everyone who wants to, pm me ONE book and we'll close the thing for entries on Tuesday and open the voting on Wednesday. I think that's about as quick as we can possibly do it and it will still be over a week before we've got a book suggested.
 

John Doe

Well-known member
In the case of contemporary novels, I'd echo a Delilo suggestion (as I've been meaning to read something by him for aeons) along with some other suggestions I've been meaning to check out:

Uzodinma Iweala "Beasts Of No Nation"
Andrzej Stasiuk "White Raven"
Roberto Bolano "The Savage Detectives"
Stefan Zweig "Chess Story" or "Beware Of Pity"

Also, I'm unfamiliar with the work of Jose Saramago, but have both "The Double" and "Blindness" sitting at home. Also be into reading some Knut Hamsun as mentioned above. However, this is in danger of turning into a lengthy list of books with no resolution in sight, so the PM/compiling idea is an excellent one.

I'm happy to admit I'm unfamiliar with any of the novels and writers you've listed there Octopus (and so would be delighted to go with one of those). Hamsun's a good suggestion too (although obviously it breaks my ban on 19th Century writers I argued earlier).
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
OK, two people have already pm-d me with their selection. Keep 'em coming (although you have got until Tuesday so no panic if you can't decide).
 

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
Had to read Mansfield Park for Eng Lit A-level and it was the most tedious, long-winded and thoroughly boring book I've ever read a quarter of. Maybe all her other novels are a whirling phantasmagoria of sex, war, political intrigue, spiritual anguish and giant robots destroying Neo-Tokyo, but somehow I doubt it.
MP is the Austen book even a lot of Austen fans don't like. There aren't any giant robots, but her other heroines at least tend to have rather more balls...

Actually, I thought Mansfield Park would have worked rather well without the heroine - you'd be left with a Saki-esque black comedy with a load of vapid young things going to hell in a handcart. Which would be ace. It's just sticking in a moralistic wet cabbage of a heroine by way of contrast that spoils it.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Yeah, that makes sense. Although, even so, I'm not sure I'd actively like it - the archetypal "vapid young things going to hell in a handbasket" novel has to be The Great Gatsby, and I really didn't like that either. (Another school book, although I did at last manage to finish it.)


On an unrelated note, this is probably the funniest book I've ever read.
 
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