you know what to do This poll is closed. |
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The Jungle by Upton Sinclair | 12 | 22.64% | |
Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde | 8 | 15.09% | |
You Can't Win by Jack Black | 5 | 9.43% | |
Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić | 10 | 18.87% | |
King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild | 8 | 15.09% | |
October by China Mieville | 10 | 18.87% | |
Total: | 27 votes |
You can vote for more than one book, but please only vote for books you'd actually consider posting about if they got selected. If you have another suggestion, list it in a comment with a note explaining why it's a better pick. 1) The Jungle by Upton Sinclair quote:The Jungle is a 1906 novel by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair (1878–1968).[1] Sinclair wrote the novel to portray the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities. His primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the United States.[2] However, most readers were more concerned with several passages exposing health violations and unsanitary practices in the American meat packing industry during the early 20th century, which greatly contributed to a public outcry which led to reforms including the Meat Inspection Act. Sinclair famously said of the public reaction, "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach." 2) Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde quote:The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile in Berneval-le-Grand, after his release from Reading Gaol (/ˈredɪŋ dʒeɪl/) on 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading after being convicted of homosexual offences in 1895 and sentenced to two years' hard labour in prison. During his imprisonment, on Tuesday, 7 July 1896, a hanging took place. Charles Thomas Wooldridge had been a trooper in the Royal Horse Guards. He was convicted of cutting the throat of his wife, Laura Ellen,[1] earlier that year at Clewer, near Windsor. He was aged 30 when executed.[2][3] 3) You Can't Win by Jack Black quote:You Can't Win is an autobiography by burglar and hobo Jack Black, written in the early to mid-1920s and first published in 1926. It describes Black's life on the road, in prison and his various criminal capers in the American and Canadian west from the late 1880s to early 20th century. The book was a major influence upon William S. Burroughs and other Beat writers. It was made into a film in 2015. .. . 4) Dictionary of the Khazars quote:Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel (Serbian Cyrillic: Хазарски речник, Hazarski rečnik) is the first novel by Serbian writer Milorad Pavić, published in 1984. Originally written in Serbian, the novel has been translated into many languages. It was first published in English by Knopf, New York in 1988.[1] 5) King Leopold's Ghost quote:King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa (1998) is a best-selling popular history book by Adam Hochschild that explores the exploitation of the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium between 1885 and 1908, as well as the large-scale atrocities committed during that period.[1] The book succeeded in increasing public awareness of these Belgian colonial crimes.[2] 6) October by China Mieville quote:In February 1917, in the midst of bloody war, Russia was still an autocratic monarchy: nine months later, it became the first socialist state in world history. How did this unimaginable transformation take place? How was a ravaged and backward country, swept up in a desperately unpopular war, rocked by not one but two revolutions?
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# ? Dec 31, 2019 00:35 |
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# ? Dec 14, 2024 08:18 |
Some last minute challengers, let me know if y'all are interested:quote:
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# ? Dec 31, 2019 17:01 |
A Passage to India was adapted into one of those Merchant and Ivory costume movies from the 80s yes? Not saying I want to read it, just refreshing my memory
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# ? Dec 31, 2019 21:17 |
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Bilirubin posted:A Passage to India was adapted into one of those Merchant and Ivory costume movies from the 80s yes? It was made into a movie, but not by Merchant Ivory (although they adapted a bunch of E. M. Forster's other stuff). Speaking of movie adaptations, I've had an omnibus edition of "Parade's End" sitting around forever -- I picked it up sometime after seeing the Stoppard/Cumberbatch adaptation but never actually cracked it.
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# ? Jan 1, 2020 21:02 |
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New year, I have a goal to participate in a monthly thread and I love historicals, both fiction and non fiction. So October sounds interesting, especially with Mike Duncan working through the Russian Revolution. Edit: I also wouldn't mind rereading The Jungle, especially since I'm much more politically aware and colder on capitalism, so the intended main theme should be more important to me this time. Jack B Nimble fucked around with this message at 16:15 on Jan 2, 2020 |
# ? Jan 2, 2020 16:13 |
Ok, we'll do The Jungle. I'll get a thread up soonish.
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# ? Jan 4, 2020 21:01 |
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drat I missed this. 1, 2, and 3 seem amazing. Probably going to read them.
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# ? Jan 4, 2020 22:02 |
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# ? Dec 14, 2024 08:18 |
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If I recall correctly, then-president Theodore Roosevelt read The Jungle and was so disturbed he sent someone in to work undercover at meat packing plant for a couple weeks and report back. When the man returned Roosevelt asked "Well, is it as as bad as the book says?", to which the agent replied "no, Mr. President, it's worse".
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# ? Jan 5, 2020 01:12 |