O, For Pete's Sake discussion

Dear all,

I am willing to lead the next selection, and now that I've posted my review of "The Picture of Dorian Gray", I thought it would be a good idea to select our next book.

The original impetus for this group was a rabbit room post in which Susan Wise Bauer's "The Well-Educated Mind" was referenced. Bauer recommends readers start at the beginning of a genre, and then read forward to understand how the form evolved. Therefore, for the next selection, I'm gonna pitch out 5 titles that will stretch us to go back in time.

the first two, Arabian Nights and The Prince are examples of myth/ legend and political thought respectively.

The last 3, Don Quixote, Pamela and Tom Jones are considered the early works in the form of the novel. I personally would prefer Don Quixote, but i am open to your ideas.

Arabian Nights (900; 1,049 pages)
The Prince, Machiavelli (1532, 146 pages)
Don Quixote, Cervantes (1615; 1,072 pages)
Pamela or: Virtue Rewarded, Richardson 1740; 592 pages)
Tom Jones, Fielding (1749; 1,024 pages)

As for timing, given the length of these works (with the exception of "The Prince), I think we should allow some time for readers to digest "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and to get the next book, so I was thinking we start mid-feb with a goal of finishing March 15th.

What are the thoughts of everyone else?

I'm willing to try "Don Quioxte", but it will be my 5th attempt. I never been able to finish that book for some reason.

"Pamela" is my personal choice. I recently listened to a lecture series on the English novel, and it piqued my interest in this one.

Whatever the group wants to do is fine. I'm all for the March 15th deadline, as I'm still working my way through "Little Dorrit".

Hi all,

I apologize for my extreme absence from the group. This semester picked up much more quickly than I expected it to, so I find myself spending most of my free moments bent over pharmacology notes. Anyway, Don Quixote gets my vote. I was planning to read that next anyway, as I'm trying to follow Ms. Wise-Bauer's methodology as well.

I'm for any of these except _The Prince._ Thematically, I think it might be a little too close to DG.

I'm up for Don Quixote, though I read it in high school. It's hysterical and worth reading again.
I am interested in reading Arabian Nights as well, but really I just like reading so I'll go with the group.

thanks, Libby.
i will wait for one more comment and if it is Don Quixote, we'll go with it. if not, we'll see what else shakes out of the tree. But i'd like to have a book selected by Sun... so i'll make the call then if need be.

okay all,
it's don quixote!
i'm assuming the timing was good for everyone.
so, you have just under two weeks to wash that man (Dorian Gray) out of ur hair... And get a copy of Don Quixote. Official discussion of don quixote will begin @ Mar 15th, though I may post as as-u-r reading thread to encorage you!
onward!