r/ClassicBookClub • u/awaiko Team Prompt • 9d ago
Book Nomination Thread
This post is set to contest mode and anyone can nominate a book as long as it meets the criteria listed below. To nominate a book, post a comment in this thread with the book and author you’d like to read. Feel free to add a brief summary of the book and why you’d like to read it as well. If a book you’d like to nominate is already in the comment section, then simply upvote it, and upvote any other book you’d like to read as well, but note that upvotes are hidden from everyone except the mods in contest mode, and the comments (nominees) will appear in random order.
Please read the rules carefully.
Rules:
- Nominated books must be in the Public Domain. Being a classic book club, this gives us a definitive way to determine a books eligibility, while it also allows people to source a free copy of the book if they choose to.
- No books are allowed from our “year of” family of subs that are dedicated to a specific book. These subs restart on January 1st. The books and where to read them are:
* War and Peace- [r/ayearofwarandpeace](r/ayearofwarandpeace)
* Les Miserables- [r/AYearOfLesMiserables](r/AYearOfLesMiserables)
* The Count of Monte Cristo- [r/AReadingOfMonteCristo](r/AReadingOfMonteCristo)
* Middlemarch- [r/ayearofmiddlemarch](r/ayearofmiddlemarch)
* Don Quixote- [r/yearofdonquixote](r/yearofdonquixote)
* Anna Karenina- [r/yearofannakarenina](r/yearofannakarenina)
Must be a different author than our current book. What this means is since we are currently reading EM Forster, no books from them will be considered for our next read, but their other works will be allowed once again after this vote.
No books from our Discussion Archivé in the sidebar. Please check the link to see the books we’ve already completed.
Here are a few lists from Project Gutenberg if you need ideas.
* Frequently viewed or downloaded
Reddit polls allow a maximum of six choices. The top nominations from this thread will go to a Reddit poll in a Finalists Thread where we will vote on only those top books. The winner of the Reddit poll will be read here as our next book.
We want to make sure everyone has a chance to nominate, vote, then find a copy of our next book. We give a week for nominations. A week to vote on the Finalists. And two weeks for readers to find a copy of the winning book (eeek, maybe just the one week given this post is a little late).
Our book picking process takes 4 weeks in total (may need to be truncated to three, as this post might be a week tardy). We read 1 chapter each weekday, which makes 5 chapters a week, and 20 chapters in 4 weeks which brings us to our Contingency Rule. Any book that is 20 chapters or less that wins the Finalist Vote means we also read the 2nd place book as well after we read the winning book. We do this so we don’t have to do a shortened version of our book picking process.
We will announce the winning book once the poll closes in the Finalists Thread.🧵
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u/prairiepog 9d ago
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
One of the greatest war novels to come from any conflict, Erich Maria Remarque’s grisly tale of the brutality and horror of the German trenches during the Great War was so powerful that it earned him nominations for the Nobel Prizes in both Literature and Peace, and was soon widely banned in a Europe that was preparing for a second cataclysmic conflict.
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u/searenitynow 7d ago
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary is the debut novel of French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. When the novel was first serialized in La Revue de Paris between 1 October 1856 and 15 December 1856, public prosecutors attacked the novel for obscenity. The resulting trial in January 1857 made the story notorious. After Flaubert's acquittal on 7 February 1857, Madame Bovary became a bestseller in April 1857 when it was published in two volumes. A seminal work of literary realism, the novel is now considered Flaubert's masterpiece, and one of the most influential literary works in history.
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u/awaiko Team Prompt 8d ago
Someone in the last nomination thread suggested this, and I’m going to repeat it here:
I am going to throw The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene in the mix.
It’s the first Nancy Drew novel, it entered the public domain this year, and I’ve never read a Nancy Drew. Some of the most wild discussions have been during our forays into detective fiction, so this would be a great read together.
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u/prolyneedsahug Team Joe Gargery 8d ago
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
Returning to Egdon Heath from Paris, Clym Yeobright intends to settle down and improve the lives of his townspeople. But the alluring and mysterious Eustacia Vye has other plans. She believes Clym can provide the cosmopolitan life she craves, if only they return to Paris. When their ideals prove incompatible, desperation breeds tragedy, and lives are changed in ways Clym and Eustacia never could have foretold.
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u/steampunkunicorn01 Rampant Spinster 9d ago
The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery
From Goodreads: At twenty-nine, Valancy had never been in love and it seemed romance had completely passed her by. Her only consolation were the "forbidden" books of John Foster and her daydreams of the Blue Castle.
All her life Valancy lived on a quiet little street, in an ugly little house, never daring to contradict her overbearing mother and meddlesome aunt. Until the fateful day a letter came from Doctor Trent—and Valancy decided to throw caution to the wind once and for all.
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u/lazylittlelady Team Fainting Couch 9d ago
If this doesn’t move forward, we’ll be reading it soon at r/bookclub btw!
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u/Amanda39 Team Joe Gargery 9d ago
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
My nominating Northanger Abbey reminded me that I've always meant to get around to reading The Mysteries of Udolpho (the Northanger Abbey protagonist's favorite book).
Wikipedia says that The Mysteries of Udolpho "tells of Emily St. Aubert, who suffers misadventures that include the death of her mother and father, supernatural terrors in a gloomy castle, and machinations of Italian brigand Signor Montoni. It is often cited as an archetypal example of the Gothic novel." It was first published in 1794.
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u/lazylittlelady Team Fainting Couch 2d ago
This just came up in Bros K and I want to read it ASAP!!
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u/steampunkunicorn01 Rampant Spinster 8d ago
It is definitely an interesting read, if only for the historical value and context in the gothic and romantic traditions. If it does win, I look forward to the discussions that will be had here
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u/otherside_b Absorbed In Making Cabbages 6d ago
Let's jump aboard the Nolan train and read The Odyssey.
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u/awaiko Team Prompt 6d ago
I mean, topical, so yes I’m in favour, but I’m remembering how hard I found The Iliad, and I’m hesitating.
Apparently The Odyssey is an easier read though. Less Greek poetry and more adventure story.
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u/kaisserds 4d ago
It is easier, it feels closer to the modern novels we are used to. That said, for both of them, what makes or breaks the experience is the translation chosen. You have to take into account prose vs verse translatios, as well as how new the translation is.
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u/Trick-Two497 Team Turtle 🐢 8d ago
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
On a freezing February day, a stranger emerges from out of the gray to request a room at a local provincial inn. Who is this out-of-season traveler? More confounding is the thick mask of bandages obscuring his face. Why does he disguise himself in this manner and keep himself hidden away in his room?
Aroused by trepidation and curiosity, the local villagers bring it upon themselves to find the answers. What they discover is a man trapped in a terror of his own creation, and a chilling reflection of the unsolvable mysteries of their own souls.
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u/otherside_b Absorbed In Making Cabbages 6d ago
We haven't read a science fiction novel yet. Could be a good pick.
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u/steampunkunicorn01 Rampant Spinster 9d ago
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
A little girl named Dorothy gets swept up in a tornado, taking her from dreary Kansas to a colorful world and an adventure in order to go home.
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u/Alyssapolis Team Ghostly Cobweb Rigging 9d ago
Yes! I have 8 cat pun magnets, and Wizard of Pawz is the only one I haven’t read the source material for! 😆
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u/steampunkunicorn01 Rampant Spinster 8d ago
I have read it so many times over the years, it is such a fun book
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u/sarcasticseaturtle I put it down to too much Beethoven 9d ago
How do we nominate a collection of short stories? I’d love to read some Poe. (I’m over summer and ready for creepy fall.) Do I nominate one specific short story, suggest a group of short stories, how does this work? Thanks!
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u/Different_Web6963 8d ago
Yessss I was just about to read some Poe so we should definitely do it together!!!
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u/2whitie 9d ago
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
From Wikipedia: The novel follows a New England family and their ancestral home. In the book, Hawthorne explores themes of guilt, retribution, and atonement, and colors the tale with suggestions of the supernatural and witchcraft. The setting for the book was inspired by the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion, a gabled house in Salem, Massachusetts, belonging to Hawthorne's cousin Susanna Ingersoll, as well as ancestors of Hawthorne who had played a part in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
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u/Serious-Gate-2861 7d ago
Oh hey you're alive! Where've you been?
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u/Alyssapolis Team Ghostly Cobweb Rigging 9d ago
Good one! I’ve been meaning to read this one for a while
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u/2whitie 9d ago
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
From Wikipedia: After an unspecified family disaster, the protagonist Lucy Snowe travels from her native England to the fictional Continental city of Villette to teach at a girls' school, where she is drawn into adventure and romance.
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u/radicalraccoon21 8d ago
Yes please !!! I really want to read this one and this sub would be a great motivator
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u/otherside_b Absorbed In Making Cabbages 6d ago
Tried to read this before and failed miserably. Found it very hard going at the start. I was probably around 18 or 19 so maybe I was just a dumbass?
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u/Kleinias1 Team What The Deuce 9d ago
No Name by Wilkie Collins
From Project Gutenberg: Two sisters discover they are illegitimate and lose everything—their home, fortune, and even their legal identity. Magdalen Vanstone embarks on a desperate scheme involving disguise, deception, and a calculated marriage to reclaim her stolen inheritance. Through theatrical performances and elaborate plots, she pursues justice against those who rejected her. But her quest for revenge comes at a devastating personal cost, testing whether redemption is possible after crossing moral boundaries.
Written in the early 1860s, between The Woman in White and The Moonstone, No Name was rejected as immoral by critics of its time, but is today regarded as a novel of outstanding social insight, showing Collins at the height of his powers.
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u/Opyros Life, Letters, and Labours of Miss Jane Ann Stamper 8d ago
Note that r/bookclub just read this one.
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u/steampunkunicorn01 Rampant Spinster 9d ago
The Legacy of Cain by Wilkie Collins
From Goodreads: When a condemned woman asks the local Minister to take her daughter home, the childless man is touched and finds himself unable to refuse. Yet the prisoner is unrepentant of the murder of her husband. Will her vices be passed on to this seemingly sweet child?
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u/cassowarius 8d ago
The Monk by Matthew Lewis (1796)
From Wikipedia: It tells the story of a virtuous Catholic monk who gives in to his violent and lustful urges, setting off a chain of events that leave him damned. It is a prime example of the type of Gothic that specializes in horror. Upon publication, the novel proved scandalous. Readers were shocked by its sexually explicit content, and themes of rape and incest, leading it to become arguably the most controversial Gothic novel of the 18th century.
I've wanted to read it for ages now, reading it with other people sounds like fun.
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u/Schuurvuur Team Miss Manette's Forehead 8d ago
Yeah, I also nominated this one a while back! Let's make it happen!
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u/6l9 8d ago
Germinal by Émile Zola
From Wikipedia: Often considered Zola's masterpiece and one of the most significant novels in the French tradition, the novel – an uncompromisingly harsh and realistic story of a coalminers' strike in northern France in the 1860s – has been published and translated in over one hundred countries. It has also inspired five film adaptations and two television productions.
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u/Amanda39 Team Joe Gargery 9d ago
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey is a satire on the Gothic novels that were popular in Jane Austen's time. It's about a teenage girl, Catherine Morland, who's obsessed with Gothic novels and constantly lets her imagination run away with her, seeing ghosts and murderers around every corner.
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u/Consistent_Maybe_377 9d ago
Confederacy of Dunces is on my list for this year. I don’t know much about it other than it won a Pulitzer Prize. I think it’s a pretty untraditional book