21st Century Literature discussion

After waiting to see which sort of books would be selected in the open polls, we mods had a huddle about which sort of book would prove a good counterpoint to the titles chosen by the group.

I'll admit that we were hoping for some obscure gems to be favoured in the polls. What ended up being selected, however, was to a large degree books with a marketing juggernaut behind them. While I'm sure we'll have fun reading these genre poll winners, we ended up deciding that the best counterpoint to such popular books was something a little more obscure, and possessed of some scare factor that seemed oddly absent from the group selections.

With the best hopes that it lives up to its reputation as a literary horror, and that it works as the perfect counterpoint to our group selections, the moderators have chosen The Devil All the Time as the October Moderator Pick. Hopefully you'll be intrigued enough to pick up a copy for yourself and join the discussion.

I think that there were so many books nominated from each catagory that it would have been hard for something obscure to make it to the top.

There is always a bias in favour of the current in the sense that it is very much on people's minds so we get a new Atwood out that leads to votes for the first in the series. There is also an issue in that some of the best works within a genre are sometimes subverting it on its fringes. There are books I have read that muddy the line between horror, thriller, fantasy, SF and mainstream.

I know in making nominations myself i went for works that I thought were interesting, would be reasonably accessible to non genre readers, could bring about interesting discussion and had I felt a chance of being picked. I did feel that the nomination process did highlight a range of interesting works, some of which I hope to check out and I might not have heard of but for the nomination process.

The mod pick is interesting enough that I will at least start it and see how I find it (the joy of free samples).

Hadn't heard of it - but will pick it up and participate!

Ben: You're absolutely right, and our expectations were likely unrealistic. Still, one can always hope... :)

And yes, we had a boatload of fantastic nominations, some of which I too have added to my reading list. There's a good chance that we didn't pick the best of the bunch, or that the poll winners will prove better reads. Our intention was to pick a short-ish novel that had some Halloween appeal. Hopefully our gut instincts won't betray us.

For anyone looking for the free sample that Ben mentioned, you can find the prologue at Scribd (http://www.scribd.com/doc/55183303/Th...) and the beginning of the first chapter - along with some pretty interesting interviews - at NPR (http://www.npr.org/books/titles/13860...).

This seemed like a great choice, with it's horror theme, literary classification and nomination by a member.

Looking at the reviews and press I anticipate a lively discussion and polarizing reactions.

I'm hoping we get a good turn out. I'm not the discussion leader some of the other mods are, so I hope you guys will give me a hand with this.

Ben wrote: "...There is always a bias in favour of the current in the sense that it is very much on people's minds so we get a new Atwood out that leads to votes for the first in the series. ..."

I'm confused, Ben. Surely you aren't referring to Oryx and Crake , which was published in 2003? Or are you suggesting MaddAddam has drawn attention to it?

In the context of the Atwood - I am suggesting that buzz around MaddAddam will have contributed to people considering Oryx either directly or indirectly. I also make the broader point that stuff that has been recently published (Ocean and the Pessl for example) are going to be fresher in people's minds than the slightly older nominations and potential nominations.

Ben wrote: "In the context of the Atwood - I am suggesting that buzz around MaddAddam will have contributed to people considering Oryx either directly or indirectly. I also make the broader point that stuff t..."

Or perhaps more people have already read some of the older publications.

Ben wrote: "In the context of the Atwood - I am suggesting that buzz around MaddAddam will have contributed to people considering Oryx either directly or indirectly. I also make the broader point that stuff t..."

Thx for the clarification, Ben.

I didn't vote, I missed the window. :-( It is especially hard to posit people's strategies when there were so many choices for a single month. I could well imagine voting for a mixture of want-to-reads and having-already-reads if there is a desire to participate in the discussions. I appreciate the thought the moderators put into their selection.

After reading the chapter at the link provided by Daniel and with some trepidation, I bought a copy on Abebooks. Luckily, I've read 4 of the 5 we voted for in October and enjoyed them all. I have the one I have not read -- Night Film -- in hand. I think all should provide for good discussion. The year I read Reading Lolita in Tehran, I was so moved by it that I gave it as a Christmas gift to most of those on my Christmas list.

I'm up to part 2. So far I think we made the right choice.

I'm looking forward to reading the mod choice, just picked up a copy from the library. I have a couple of books to get through first, but soon!

Good! I was afraid of reading alone!

Got my copy yesterday - a $1 first edition withdrawn from the Duke University Library that is in excellent condition!

To keep? That's awesome.

Linda wrote: "Got my copy yesterday - a $1 first edition withdrawn from the Duke University Library that is in excellent condition!"

Lucky you!!!

Daniel wrote: "Linda wrote: "Got my copy yesterday - a $1 first edition withdrawn from the Duke University Library that is in excellent condition!"

Lucky you!!!"

Of the fourteen copies of The Devil All the Time in my library system (one NJ county +), none are currently checked out. Not sure I'm going to be one who does, either. Sorry, Deborah.

P.S. For 33 copies of Night Film , 31 are out and 26 are wait-listed. (Some libraries restrict distribution, especially for new books.)

I just received my copy today and am hoping to make a start on it next week.