Reading the Chunksters discussion

Hi! Let's start planning for our first new chunkster of the new year!

Please nominate any contemporary chunkster (500 pages or more), and you may also second one chunkster that you have not nominated. For this nomination process, the 5 nominations with the MOST seconds as of midnight EST on November 15 will make the poll Happy nominating, and happy holidays!

TOP 5 AS OF 11/11 (if there are ties, more than 5 may end up in poll!)

1. Raj Quartet (6)
2. 1Q84 (4)
3. Ducks, Newburyport (4)
4. Jerusalem (2)
5. Luminaries (2)
6. A Place of Greater Safety (2)
7. Lempriere's Dictionary (2)
8. The World According to Garp (2)
9. All the King's Men (2)

What is the cutoff for contemporary?

I think All the King's Men was nominated before, and I would like to nom it this time.

I'm open to persuasion as to alternate interpretations, but I'd say anything post WWII is fair game. So King's Men is in!

I would like to nominate 1Q84

I would like to nominate A Place of Greater Safety

i would like to nominate Jerusalem by Alan Moore

It's so difficult to nominate only one! There are at least five contemporary books I want to nominate and I don't know how to handle this situation ( =D )!
Can I nominate more than one?

I nominate Lemprière's Dictionary by Lawrence Norfolk. Will second A Place of Greater Safety

Nike wrote: "It's so difficult to nominate only one! There are at least five contemporary books I want to nominate and I don't know how to handle this situation ( =D )!
Can I nominate more than one?"

Just one! But you can nominate one and second a different one.

Rachel wrote: "i would like to nominate Jerusalem by Alan Moore"

Hi Rachel, Normally I would disqualify this one since it was on the schedule in the past couple of years but that read crashed and burned early and we didn't finish as a group. So it is fair game if you want to keep it! if you would like to change your nomination that is fine too.

I second Lempriere’s Dictionary.

Ok, I will nominate "The World According to Garp" by John Irving. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...

I second "1Q84" by Haruki Murakami.

Dianne wrote: "Rachel wrote: "i would like to nominate Jerusalem by Alan Moore"

Hi Rachel, Normally I would disqualify this one since it was on the schedule in the past couple of years but that read crashed and ..."
i would like to read this.

I nominate The Raj Quartet. The Jewel in the Crown; the Day of the Scorpion; the Towers of Silence; and a Division of the Spoils by Paul Scott

I nominate The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton and I second 1Q84 by Murakami.

I second The World According to Garp.

I second The Raj Quartet.

Second for IQ84

How about Gaskell: Wives and Daughters?

But that one is written during the nineteenth century. We will read a contemporary novel. Otherwise it would be interesting Lulufrances.

Dianne wrote: "Rachel wrote: "i would like to nominate Jerusalem by Alan Moore"

Hi Rachel, Normally I would disqualify this one since it was on the schedule in the past couple of years but that read crashed and ..."
i would also like to second the Raj Quartet

Tracey the Bookworm wrote: "I nominate The Raj Quartet. The Jewel in the Crown; the Day of the Scorpion; the Towers of Silence; and a Division of the Spoils by Paul Scott"

I have this Quartet right here at home on my "to read" shelf! So, I'll third (or fourth) that: Raj Quartet.
But for something more contemporary I'll also nominate "Ducks, Newburyport". I think it won the Man Booker prize this year. (it's over a thousand pages, so very contemporary and over 500 pages...but one sentence!)

Greg wrote: "But for something more contemporary I'll also nominate "Ducks, Newburyport". I think it won the Man Booker prize this year."

I just finished reading this last week and I loved it. But it's definitely not a book everyone is going to love or even like.

As for the Man Booker, it made the short list, but didn't win.

I'll second the Raj Quartet.

I second Ducks, Newburyport.

I'll nominate The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

I second Jerusalem.

I second (or third) Jerusalem.

Tammy Dayton wrote: "I second Ducks, Newburyport."

I do understand it's a bit divisive, but doesn't that make for good discussions?
How about "Catholic School"?
At some point (cause I know we are looking for contemporary today): Let's just get it over with and read the longest book (word count) ever: "Cyrus the Great" by Scudery: 2,100,100 words at 13,095 pages.
Fun facts for my next cocktail party:
- "Joseph and His Brothers" comes in at #8 with only 975,000 words in those 1,492 pages.
- Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" (or "Remembrance of Things Past", or "Lots of Stuff I Sorta Remember As I'm Dying with Asthma in my Cork-Lined Room to Reduce Sound from S&M orgies", or whatever) comes in 2nd at 1,267,069 words in 3,031 pages. (Yes, there are leather/whip orgies.)
- Finally, "Man without Qualities" by Musil comes in 4th at 1,150,000 words in 1774 pages and might have been the longest but it was never finished. I think this group read that one.
-3rd (might as well throw it out at my now empty cocktail party): L. Ron Hubbard's "Mission Earth" at 1,200,000 words! Anyone think Tom Cruise has read it? (P.S., no one showed up anyway at my party, no surprise there.)

Nidhi wrote: "I nominate The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton and I second 1Q84 by Murakami."

"Luminairies" also right here on my 'to read' shelf. I'll second that.

NEXT year, let's read:
"My Most Brilliant 1,000,000 Tweets and every comment about everyone of them by my 100 Billion Followers." Author to be announced.

Just under 10 days to nominate a book or second a nomination.

Guys, I believe we read both 1Q84 and The Luminaries already.

The luminaries was a lively discussion but I believe 1q84 died on the vine.

I would like to nominate Life After Life

Mekki wrote: "Guys, I believe we read both 1Q84 and The Luminaries already.

The luminaries was a lively discussion, but I believe 1q84 died on the vine."

There was a Murakami (Wind-Up Bird) read in this group four or five years ago, but not IQ84 (which was nominated by the moderator of the group).

Second the raj quartet

Dan wrote: "Mekki wrote: "Guys, I believe we read both 1Q84 and The Luminaries already.

The luminaries was a lively discussion, but I believe 1q84 died on the vine."

There was..."
we read 1Q84 in 2013
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I’m not concerned about re-reads from
5+ years ago - doubt we have much of the same audience. I think 1Q84 and luminaries can stay in.

Greg wrote: "Fun facts for my next cocktail party:
- "Joseph and His Brothers" comes in at #8 with only 975,000 words in those 1,492 pages. ..."

Speaking of Joseph and His Brothers, I intend to start re-reading it in January - I've read the first three books, but held out on the fourth because I didn't want it to end... and now it's been long enough I just want to start over and read it all again.

Can I nominate it for January?

Nominations ok for any contemporary (post WW II) novel.

many are very close so we may have a ton in the poll!

I'll second Ducks.

Hi all!
I have Raj Quartet here at home. Marikama is one of my favorite authors, that's fine, IQ84 sounds good. I am on hold at library for Ducks, Neburyport.
Here's a big one, globally: Knausgaurd's Volume Six, "My Struggle". I think it's on part with Proust's "Time." (Again, on hold for Volume 6, My Struggle."
I have "Joseph and His Brothers" here at home. the first -2-3 books came out in 1930s, and then I think Mann moved to California and wrote the fourth part in the 40s, something like that. So he finished it all up almost at the end of ww2.

Janice (JG) wrote: "Greg wrote: "Fun facts for my next cocktail party:
- "Joseph and His Brothers" comes in at #8 with only 975,000 words in those 1,492 pages. ..."

Speaking of Joseph and His Brothers, I..."

I second "Joseph" as it was finished just on the cutting line at the end of ww2.

A BIT off topic but it has to do with Mann's "Magic Mountain". I read that the book had been published in 1924 and then Mann nominated for Nobel Prize in 1929. But the prize committee's 'big-shot" didn't like liberal ideas in "Magic Mountain" and insisted the Nobel had gone to Mann's Buddenbrooks! If you're on the Nobel Prize committee, and you only like books that conform to the way you feel the world should be, you shouldn't be on the Nobel committee, or be any judge of any art.

As a reader I believe that we must read banned books also . Art and literature are responsible for changes that develop society, how can we develop if we prohibit new or different ideas. And what is the significance of being human if we can’t decide what is wrong or right.

Dianne wrote: "Hi! Let's start planning for our first new chunkster of the new year!

Please nominate any contemporary chunkster (500 pages or more), and you may also second one chunkster that you have not nomin..."
looking forward to the poll

I'm seconding Ducks, Newburyport

I'll second all the king's men!

Jazzy wrote: "I'll second all the king's men!"

Thanks. There seemed to be more interest in it the last time, but maybe I'm mis-remembering things.

I second (third or fourth etc) 1Q84 and Luminaries. 1Q84 has been on my list to read this year but alas yet another book I haven't had time to get to!