Oh, and

Isn't the Point of Computers to Replace Books?

I like, "Isn't the Point of Computers to Replace Books?"

I'll throw "Geez, crack a book sometime" in there...although has that been used already for another thread?

Was it a literary once, or did it get voted down? And, Cindy, bwah, but it is not my book. I am a rather devoted Simon's Bitch, though, if that just wouldn't bring up such negative associations in a crime reporter.

Would it be helpful for those of us who nominated books to come back with a condensed version of our recommendation? Here's mine:

The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams

Part autobiography, part cynical observation of politics and progress. An insightful and at times darkly humorous exploration of both a remarkable man and the tumultuous age in which he lived.

Eventually I'm going to start pimping for Gospel by Wilton Barnhardt and The Gastronomical Me by M.F.K. Fisher, but for this round, I'd like to throw a few more "classics" into the mix.

Hard Times by Charles Dickens

In our discussions in Literary, a number of people said they'd like to read Dickens, either because they never had or because they'd only read Great Expectations in high school, which is a good way to learn to loathe Dickens. (It's a great book, but perhaps not something to tackle in the 9th grade.) Hard Times is a relatively short work that explores Dickens' social concerns and the affects of an abusive system on both the abused and the people who profit from their work.

A Pairing:

Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Each book includes a mystery, an exploration of the effects of race and racism, and a courtroom drama. Together I think they could provoke an interesting discussion on the effects of racism and culture, plus they're both wonderful books. Pudd'nhead Wilson is Twain at his most savage and his most funny; To Kill a Mockingbird features one of the more engaging children in literature and one of the better portraits of quiet heroism.

What about calling the thread "809". dewey decimal for literary criticism.

Buffista Book Club: It Should Be Smelly

I'm changing my vote for thread title to this because it makes me smile.

This thread is a focussed discussion group. Please refer to [link] for the current topic, and upcoming book discussions.

I thought the nattering line in the description was Stompy approved. Also "focussed" discussion group may have been a bit of a Freudian slip - let's go with focused.

I'm partial to smelly (and Giles titles in general).

Wolfram, is your profile addy good?

Trudy - yep. Just checked it.

Isn't the Point of Computers to Replace Books?

Casting my vote for the above for the quotey thing.