June Nominations

[Kell]

The nominations thread will remain open till the evening of Wednesday 14 May, after which a selection will be chosen for the poll.

Let the nominations begin!

A Note on Nominating and Seconding
If a book has already been mentioned here, then it has already been nominated and you need only second it (books with the most seconds get put through to the poll). To second a book, all you have to do is say, "I second {Name of book}"

Nominating is slightly different. If the book you would like to see chosen has not already been mentioned, you can nominate it. Please give the title of the book, the name of the author and a brief synopsis (usually fromthe back of the book) in this case. It can then be seconded by other members.

Please note this is not a voting thread - a poll will be set up after this one closes.

Thank you.

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- Please only make nominations and seconds here, rather than discussing the books nominated or going off-topic.

- Bear in mind that having hundreds of nominations makes it more difficult, so please limit yourself to a maximum of two nominations per person, although you can second as many as you like.

- Please also remember to post a synopsis of the books you nominate as it helps people to know what they're seconding!

- Please make sure the books you nominate are readily available in paperback (as we don't want to make it prohibitively expensive for members to take part in the reading circle).

- If the book you're nominating is part of a series, please make sure it is either the first one or a stand-alone (or the sequel to one already read by the reading circle).
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NOMINATIONS:
1. Anno Dracula by Kim Newman (nominated by Kell)
2. The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe (nominated by Kell / seconded by Lovesreading. Scottishbookworm)
3. Sabbath's Theatre by Philip Roth (nominated by Gyre)
4. Dirt Music by Tim Winton (nominated by Gyre / seconded by HappyAndDandy)
5. The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling (nominated by FishAndChips / seconded by Kell, Lovesreading, Kylie, KB Marsh)
6. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (nominated by Kylie / seconded by FishAndChips, Lovesreading, Supergran)

[Kell]

I'll kick-start things with the following two nominations:

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman:
This brilliant, ambitious novel speculates on Dracula's survival. Set in Victorian England, this chilling tale wonders, "What if Count Dracula didn't die via the stake, but managed to become an adviser to the Queen? And what if Jack the Ripper was in reality none other than Bram Stoker's hero, Jack Seward, killing off vampiric whores?"

The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe:
The Bonfire of the Vanities is a masterpiece, a riotous, exuberant and passionate epic that captures the greed and corruption of eighties New York and examines it under the microscope of Wolfe's famed satiric wit. Sherman McCoy, Wall Street wunderkind, seems to have it all; a salary like a telephone number, a home on Park Avenue, a beautiful wife and child, a mistress, a Mercedes. He is a Master of the Universel But then he gets lost one dark night in the Bronx, and his mercedes hits something. That something turns out to be Henry Lamb, a young black man who is now in a coma; for Sherman meanwhile, everything is about to unravel so fast he will hardly have time to change his thousand dollar suit...

[Gyre]

I would like to nominate:

Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth

Synopsis:

Once a scandalously inventive puppeteer, Micky Sabbath at sixty-four is still defiantly antagonistic and exceedingly libidinous. But after the death of his long-time mistress - an erotic free spirit whose adulterous daring exceeds even his own - Sabbath embarks on a turbulent journey into his past. Bereft and grieving, besieged by the ghosts of those who loved and hated him most, he contrives a succession of farcical disasters that take him to the brink of madness and extinction.

Dirt Music by Tim Winton

Synopsis:

Georgie Jutland has lost her way. Living with a fisherman she doesn't love, feeling alienated from her neighbours, she spends her nights in a blur of vodka and pointless loitering in cyberspace. Until one morning, in the boozy pre-dawn gloom, she looks up from her computer screen to see a shadow on the beach below her. Luther Fox, the local poacher. Jinx. Outcast. So begins an unlikely alliance. Set in the wild landscape of Western Australia, this is a novel about the odds of breaking with the past, a journey across landscapes within and without, and a love story about people stifled by grief, regret and lost dreams.

[FishAndChips]

I'm not sure if a book of short stories is allowed but I would like to nominate:

The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling

From amazon:

Book Description
The Jungle Books can be regarded as classic stories told by an adult to children. But they also constitute a complex literary work of art in which the whole of Kipling's philosophy of life is expressed in miniature. They are best known for the `Mowgli' stories; the tale of a baby abandoned and brought up by wolves, educated in the ways and secrets of the jungle by Kaa the python, Baloo the bear, and Bagheera the black panther. The stories, a mixture of fantasy, myth, and magic, are underpinned by Kipling's abiding preoccupation with the theme of self-discovery, and the nature of the `Law'. --This text refers to the Paperback (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0192835033/sr=1-3/qid=1209117702/ref=dp_proddesc_1?ie=UTF8&n=266239&qid=1209117702&sr=1-3) edition.

Synopsis
Mowgli, the man-cub who is brought up by wolves in the jungles of Central India, is one of the greatest literary myths ever created. As he embarks on a series of thrilling escapades, Mowgli encounters such unforgettable creatures as Bagheera, the graceful black panther, and Shere Khan, the tiger with the blazing eyes. Other animal stories range from the simple heroism found in 'Rikki-tikki-tavi' to the macabre comedy 'The Undertakers'. A rich and complex fable of human life, Kipling's enduring classic dazzles the imagination with its astonishing descriptive powers and lively sense of adventure.

[Kell]

I swithered with the idea of nominating The Jungle Books too, so I'oll second them. I guess great minds think alike! ;)

[lovesreading06]

I would like to second The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe and third The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling

[scottishbookworm]

I'd third the bonfire of the vanities

[Kylie]

I'll go with The Jungle Book as well.

[Kylie]

I'd like to nominate:

The Big Sleep by Ramond Chandler (Summary taken from enotes.com)
The narrator of the novel, private investigator Philip Marlowe, is a world-weary tough guy who nevertheless lives by a chivalric code of honor and retains a sense of professional pride in his work. He negotiates the decadent world of crime-ridden Los Angeles, trying to sort out the details of an increasingly complex scheme to blackmail the Sternwoods, a wealthy family that made its money in oil. The story is as much a character study of a certain male American mindset as it is a "whodunnit" crime story. More than simply a mystery novel, The Big Sleep has become a classic of American literature, with Chandler praised for his deft handling of plot, as well as his terse style and acerbic wit.

It's supposed to be a pretty brilliant novel :mrgreen:

[FishAndChips]

I second The Big Sleep

[lovesreading06]

i would like to third The Big Sleep.

[Freewheeling Andy]

Blimey. A good month this one.

Dirt Music is a really gripping modern novel. Bonfire of the Vanities is absolutely magnificent, although also in a lot of ways very much of its time. It's exciting to read because it drops you straight back into an 80s world of shoulder pads and no mobile phones. And The Big Sleep is brilliant, too.

And I want to read more Philip Roth, too.

[happyanddandy]

I second 'Dirt Music' - I bought it yesterday!

[kb.marsh]

I like the idea of The Jungle Books

[supergran71]

I wil third The Big Sleep. Bonfire of the Vanities I found very hard to read when I picked it up several years ago. I wouldnt go there again.

[Kell]

The poll is now up - HERE (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=5356).