BABBLING BOOKS

sirg1006 · Last edited by sirg1006 on Fri Sep 08, 2006 4:37 pm; edited 2 times in total

To let everyone eventually have a say in a book they'd like to read, we asked 5 members in order of their membership for a suggestion. These are put to vote and the one with the most votes will be the second book choice.

I've added number of pages and Amazon UK price because these can be factors in deciding for some.

If you chose a book, please don't mention which one - fairer if it is kept a secret. These are all quite different so if there is one you'd like to read, please vote for it!

----------------------

1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - 324 pages, £3.99 Amazon
The Kite Runner of Khaled Hosseini's deeply moving fiction debut is an illiterate Afghan boy with an uncanny instinct for predicting exactly where a downed kite will land. Growing up in the city of Kabul in the early 1970s, Hassan was narrator Amir's closest friend even though the loyal 11-year-old with "a face like a Chinese doll" was the son of Amir's father's servant and a member of Afghanistan's despised Hazara minority. But in 1975, on the day of Kabul's annual kite-fighting tournament, something unspeakable happened between the two boys.
Narrated by Amir, a 40-year-old novelist living in California, The Kite Runner tells the gripping story of a boyhood friendship destroyed by jealousy, fear, and the kind of ruthless evil that transcends mere politics. Running parallel to this personal narrative of loss and redemption is the story of modern Afghanistan and of Amir's equally guilt-ridden relationship with the war-torn city of his birth.

2. The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks - 608 pages, £3.99 Amazon
In this stunningly suspenseful first novel, reminiscent of George Orwell and Philip Pullman, John Twelve Hawks has created a vividly imagined world that runs parallel to our own. Moving at lightening speed from the back alleys of Prague to the underworld of Los Angeles to a guarded research facility in New York, THE TRAVELLER goes beneath the surface to give us new insights on history and our own lives.

3. Margrave Of The Marshes by John Peel - 400 pages, £3.99 Amazon
The first half of the book, written by John, describes with characteristic humour his early life, from child to man, including his school days and National Service. You can hear the unique Peel voice in every sentence - rarely, if ever, before has a voice been so successfully transferred to paper. The second section, written by Peel's wife and soulmate of many years, Sheila Ravenscroft, gives us an intimate portrait of the man and his music, and the highs and the lows of everyday life at Peel Acres. The completion of this book has been a labour of love for John's family and their passion has paid off. It's every bit as extraordinary as the man himself and a fitting tribute to a bona fide legend.

4. Animal Farm by George Orwell - 112 pages, £5.59 Amazon
Having got rid of their human master, the animals of Manor Farm look forward to a life of freedom and plenty. But as a clever, ruthless elite among them takes control, the other animals find themselves hopelessly ensnared in the old ways.

5. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - 276 pages, £3.99 Amazon
In one of the most acclaimed and strange novels of recent years, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines the lives of a group of students growing up in a darkly skewered version of contemporary England. Narrated by Kathy, now 31, "Never Let Me Go" hauntingly dramatises her attempts to come to terms with her childhood at the seemingly idyllic Hailsham School, and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends in the wider world. A story of love, friendship and memory, "Never Let Me Go" is charged throughout with a sense of the fragility of life.

_________________
I'm an auntie! Kelvin

miranda · Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:00 pm Post subject:

Do the people who nominated vote? Or am I just being a bit dim

_________________
Currently reading: The Human Stain by Philip Roth
'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.'

sirg1006 · Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:32 pm Post subject:

Yeah you can vote

Just don't say which

D

_________________
I'm an auntie! Kelvin

Saucy · Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 6:33 pm Post subject:

Just voted and I have not even started reading the Bell Jar yet - forgive me!
_________________

Tigerlily · Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:00 am Post subject:

Don't worry Saucy, I've only just started The Bell Jar!

_________________
Reading: Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
Reading Challenge 2009: 8
2008: 4
2007: 10

lovely treez · Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:05 am Post subject:

So, are we who did not nominate not allowed to say who we voted for either? I suppose it doesn't matter although I ended up voting for one I'd bought the other day!

miranda · Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 9:45 pm Post subject: Please...

Will someone else please vote and break this deadlock

The suspense is killing me!!! When is the decision going to be made?
_________________
Currently reading: The Human Stain by Philip Roth
'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.'

sirg1006 · Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:07 pm Post subject:

Voting ends on Wednesday 16th August!

D

_________________
I'm an auntie! Kelvin

Tigerlily · Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:18 am Post subject:

Ooh this poll closes today! Looks like it's going to be an interesting choice.

_________________
Reading: Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
Reading Challenge 2009: 8
2008: 4
2007: 10

sirg1006 · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 12:46 pm Post subject:

VOTING CLOSED! The next book to be read is:

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro as chosen by Zanthewitch.

D

_________________
I'm an auntie! Kelvin

Welcome to Babbling Books, Guest. We Hope You Enjoy Your Stay and Wish You a Merry Christmas!