Classics and the Western Canon discussion

Here are the nominees for our next poll as determined by the Notorious Random Book Generator™ and, as promised, a couple of recent popular runner-ups. Please feel free to campaign for your favorite. Positive campaigning preferred, after all, they are all books.

1. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne
2. Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
3. Tusculan Disputations by Marcus Tullius Cicero
4. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
5. History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides
6. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Upcoming Schedule:
Oct 9 - Oct 15 Don Quixote Week 14 & Member discussion of next read
Oct 16 - Oct 22 Don Quixote Week 15 & Next read Poll
Oct 23 - Oct 29 Don Quixote Week 16 & Next read run-off if needed.
Oct 30 - Nov 5 Interim Read
Nov 6 - Nov 12 Interim Read
Nov 13 - Nov 19 4rth Read 2019 Week 1

A feast of the book.

I can, of course, write why I want to read any of this (well, except Turgenev), but just say I stay with Tristram (for my surprise).

Turgenev is a great writer, and the novel is great, and I like him more than most of the Russian contemporaries, and I like Fathers and Sons but reading it was not enjoyable in the true sense of the word, so I have still got no desire to reread it.

I've not ready any, so I'd be happy with any.

I am curious to find out if Tristram Shandy, a strong runner-up from our last poll, will win this this time or not.

I was just about to reread Thucydides anyway. He gets my vote.

Nice choices! I’ve read all of these but the Sterne and the Cicero. I would like to read Tristram Shandy for some comic relief, but OTOH I’ve been meaning to reread Thucydides and even bought a spiffy new Landmark edition with lots of maps. Then there’s Fathers and Sons and Cry the Beloved Country, both wonderful novels and a bit shorter than the other choices IIRC. I’m not familiar with the Cicero selection. Since I last read Return of the Native in high school many moons back, I don’t remember much about it, but Hardy would probably make for good discussions about man and fate, etc. So I don’t know if I’ll stick with Tristram; my vote is pretty much up for grabs ;).

Susan wrote: "Nice choices! I’ve read all of these but the Sterne and the Cicero. I would like to read Tristram Shandy for some comic relief, but OTOH I’ve been meaning to reread Thucydides and even bought a spi..."

The Landmark editions make it almost an entirely different experience. I've read the Herodotus and the Xenophon and parts of Thucydides. I treated myself earlier in the year for the Caesar, but I haven't got to it yet

Bryan "goes on a bit too long" wrote: "The Landmark editions make it almost an entirely different experience.” They are certainly beautiful books and very reader-friendly!

Bryan wrote: "Susan wrote: "Nice choices! I’ve read all of these but the Sterne and the Cicero. I would like to read Tristram Shandy for some comic relief, but OTOH I’ve been meaning to reread Thucydides and eve..."

I have read Herodotus and Thucydides in other editions first then reread it in the Landmark edition and it made reading both histories expand its dimension, like moving from time to a time-space dimension. I am really bad at geography, so it was a substantial help for me. However, with all its rich information, it might drown you out on the first reading. Also, it's a pretty hefty and expensive book, so there are the downsides.

I've been planning to read Sterne after Cervantes at the last poll, so I'll be staying with Sterne. Sterne was influenced by Cervantes and I think it may be a nice follow-up.

The poll has been created and will be open soon:
Polling opens Oct. 16 00:01 AM Eastern Time (GMT -4)
Polling Ends Oct. 22 at 23:59 PM Eastern Time (GMT-4)
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...

In my list more than three, but I have got a bad feeling.

Alexey wrote: "In my list more than three, but I have got a bad feeling."

Why the bad feeling?

Not to put words in Alexey's mouth, but I think he's afraid Turgenev might win.

Yes, I am. You know, my choices have always lost the polls... we shall see.

You know, Egon Friedel said the difference between English classics and German classics is that English classics are the books everyone reads, and German classics are the books no one reads.

Christopher wrote: "You know, Egon Friedel said the difference between English classics and German classics is that English classics are the books everyone reads, and German classics are the books no one reads."

Except...if you're native language is German :-)

And yes, sadly enough very few German (language) authors are read outside of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Of late I've read some Adalbert Stifter, Johanna Spyri, Otfried Preußler among others. Keeps my language ability nimble. I am having a blast reading Don Quixote in German - the descriptions and word combinations are a delight.

This would be like, do people read Chaucer? Yes.

Do people read Hartnann von Aue? Ach, nein.

Der arme Heinrich

Well this is embarrassing. I messed up converting the polling dates a little bit, but the poll itself has been and is correct.

You have until Oct 22, 2019 at 08:59PM PDT to vote for your favorite. PDT is pacific daylight time which is UTC -7.

If you are in the Eastern time zone like I am, that is Tuesday October 22, 2019 at 11:59 PM EDT is UTC -4.

Tristram Shandy is our clear winner. Here are the weighted results:

R	W	W%	Book
9	18	43.9%	Tristram Shandy
4	8	19.5%	The Return of the Native
2	6	14.6%	Cry, the Beloved Country
4	5	12.2%	History of the Peloponnesian War
1	3	7.3%	Tusculan Disputations
1	1	2.4%	Fathers and Sons
21	41

The discussion will start Nov. 13th.