I’m in! I’d like to be pushed to read some P.G. Wodehouse sometime.
Thanks for the info! I will download them. So when will we decide? I nominate you Captain, at least for this month, if that’s ok, otherwise without someone to make the final executive decision on these things they never get anywhere. Your responsibilites as such include making the final decision on which book we read, what the deadline is to choose a book, and to post the thread. Next month, when we get back together, you pick a new captain, who will do the same, and they can pick their selection of four books, pick a deadline, etc., and then pick a new captain.
How does that sound? That way we stay on top of it and someone has command so the club keeps moving.
I’ve read them all, and enjoyed*** The Woman in White ***more than any of them.
If you’re considerin Thomas HArdy, I preferred The Mayor of Casterbridge.
Worth noting: two of the choices on the list are highly entertaining but NOT regarded as great literature.
The Woman in White*** and ***The Scarlet Pimpernel ***are wonderful adventure yarns, and I think most people who read them have a lot of fun. But they aren’t heady, cerebral reading, IF that’s what you’re looking for.
I really like this idea of a book club, I said it upthread too - I know I sound like a broken record. I’ve been in many book clubs before, most of them fail and yield little of interest discussion-wise. I think the key is to choose a book that strikes at the heart of the mores, values and perceptions of a group. I think SDMB is heavily middle aged, middle class, fairly educated/intellectual white people, and the attitudes on the board reflect that (FTR I’m in that category just mentioned its not a criticism, just an observation).
So, I guess I look at the situation and say what literature challenges the world views prominent in SDMB culture? I think that would lead to lively discussion; just choosing books that are “fun” or even “interesting” leads to book clubs that descend into people quickly talking about tangential issues having little to do with the book itself and then rapid book club collapse. The only book I can think of at the moment that does this is Brother Karamazov, but that is way to long and dense for book club purposes.
Sounds good!
I’m in! And I don’t really care so much which book y’all fancy. Though I voted for The Woman in White. While I’ve never read it, I hear good things about it! 
I’d be up for The Woman In White, yes - mainly because I’ve never heard of it before!
I don’t usually join book clubs, because I’m picky about what I want to read next, but The Woman in White has been on my list for a while. If the group happens to pick that one, I’m in.
The Woman in White has some great characters, including one of the top villains in literature (Count Fosco) and one of the best female characters of the 19th century (Marion Halcombe). As for critical appeal, it was considered one by one British newspaper as one of the top 25 British novels of all time.
It’s also a fun and fascinating read.
I’m very interested, but I’m wondering if it has to be British lit (as all four of the options are)? I’ve read them all, and agree with comments so far (Thomas Hardy is a slog at the best of times, Dorian Gray is not very deep, the other two are not really litt’ra’chuh per se). Not that I’m a snob about it – I think Frankenstein is a great choice, for example, and it’s one I’ve never read. But I wouldn’t mind some American or even translated classics. There are a ton of choices out there.
Perhaps for future books you could do one of those threads asking for suggestions by interested parties, and then do another poll based on those suggestions? That could be used to determine the next several selections.
Nine volumes. The middle of which December were you thinking we could discuss it? I’m thinking 2018. 
I probably won’t get involved because I avoid some of those authors like the plague, but I’d like to suggest that all of the books be available on Project Gutenberg so everybody can be reading the same edition for free.
A “volume” here means something like sixty or seventy pages. My Penguin Classics edition of the book is some six-hundred pages, excluding appendix and notes. Not a brisk read, perhaps, but not an insurmountable task, either. – Having said that, though, I’m all for The Woman In White.
I think Anaamika is right: pbbth should make the final decision, pick a deadline, and get us all moving. Huzzah!
Oh, there is no need to be pushed into reading Wodehouse. You’ll find that after the first paragraph of any of his works, you’ll fall right in. 
But if you don’t, there is no shame in stopping there. He writes light and fluffy entertainments that are meant to be enjoyed on an immediate level, so if you don’t jibe with them at the get-go, there’s no sense in forcing yourself to continue.
E: I voted for the Woman in White. I’ve already read the Scarlet Pimpernel and Dorian Gray, and you’d have to pay me to read Tess. 
You can change my vote from Other to The Woman in White. It’s been years and I’d love to reread it.
Okay folks, here’s what we will do. Dorian Grey and Woman in White are tied for the most votes, but the comments about Dorian Grey have been, “Oh, I liked that book!” where the comments about Woman in White have been much more emphatic about the amazingness of the story so I’m choosing The Woman in White for our first official book club selection. The thread will start on December 15th so that we have a bit more than a month to read the book since the holidays are such a busy time.
Please continue to post potential books for next month in this thread and when we put together the options for the December book choice we can come back here and choose several for the poll. Double bonus points for recommending books that are free on the kindle!
The Woman in White! Awesome, I have never read it. I will look through the frew books on Kindle this weekend to recommend some more. Thank you!
Here’s a link to the free Kindle edition: The Woman in White.
Don’t get fooled into paying for this!
I’ll try to join in. I’ve downloaded The Woman in White.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a book I’ve adored for decades, but I’ll agree with others that it’s not really what you would call “literature.” Such a great story, though.