It is the most wonderful time of year - CBBC time!
According to my non-existent editorial calendar, we're doing another round of Cool Bloggers Book Club (CBBC) next month! I have winnowed down the book selection to three books and now you, my friends, are going to vote on what you think is the best option. How did I choose these books? Magic. It was by magic.
You do not have to be cool or a blogger to participate, although I'd argue you're cool just by being here.
My criteria for adding a book to the vote is that it is written by a woman, someone has expressed interest in reading it for this purpose, and I want to read it. I have a list of books people have recommended to me, so if you have a request for future books, please don't hesitate to put it in the comments or drop me an email.
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Option #1
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin - Classic coming of age story where we follow Rebecca and her two spinster aunts. I suspect this book would fit in well with our CBBC readership. (184 pages, 1903)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin - Classic coming of age story where we follow Rebecca and her two spinster aunts. I suspect this book would fit in well with our CBBC readership. (184 pages, 1903)
Option #2
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit - Let's stay in that era. Kids and a fairy that grants wishes. What could be more fun? (237 pages, 1902)
Option #3
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - Nance suggested I read Wharton this year and who am I to deny Nance? She's an ENGLISH teacher. This is the winner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize if that would sway you. New York society during the Golden Age. Who wants in? (293 pages, 1921)
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Those are the options. You can try to lobby fellow readers to your favorites in the comments, but your vote will be cast at this Google form. I am asking for you to rank order your choices from your most preferred to least preferred book. You do not actually need to be a blogger to participate in CBBC, but you should probably at least occasionally read this blog. I'll leave the form up until Wednesday, January 21 and then I'll tabulate the votes and post the schedule soon thereafter.
I've already read The Age of Innocence and loved it! I am going to be away though for some of Feb so I'm not sure if I'll be able to fully participate.
ReplyDeleteHow exciting!!! I'm torn, so I'm going to wait a few days to vote. I read The Age of Innocence a long time and and IT'S SO GOOD. I would love to read it again. On the other hand, I've never read the other two (and would be leaning towards Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm). This is a tough one.
ReplyDeleteHere is my open ballot:
ReplyDelete1. Age of Innocence. Yes, who are we to deny Nance? I want to read this b/c I've love The Gilded Age TV show so much, people keep telling me to read Wharton, which I have but it was a long time ago and I don't remember it, and because I most likely won't get off the stick and read it on my own.
2. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, b/c it's a well known book that I either have never read or don't remember.
3. Five Children and It b/c it sounds fun!
I haven't read any of these. I'm most excited to read The Age of Innocence (I love The Gilded Age series) with Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm a close second.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of these books and have only heard of the Wharton one! I'm encouraged by the comments from others saying they loved it because often times classics don't work well for me. So I'm inclined to vote for that one, but it's a tough call between #1 and #3. Good thing you use ranked voting!
ReplyDeleteI mean, if Nance says we should read Edith Wharton, I want to read Edith Wharton.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, Edith Wharton is on my Big List of Authors to Read anyway, so I would love an excuse to "have to" read Age of Innocence.
I don't know either of the other options! Thanks so much for hosting again, Engie! I'm excited.
I've not read any of these, so I'm game. Gonna vote now!! Thanks for hosting.
ReplyDeleteOH MAN THE PRESSURE
ReplyDeleteIf you love The Gilded Age series, you're already into the whole ambiance and society of this book. If you love a tortured hero/heroine romance, you'll like this book. If you like to read about characters who need to be smacked because they are so infuriatingly clueless or rigid or afraid to buck the unwritten rules of society, you will like this book. Edith Wharton is also very, very aware of just how insane so much of it all is, and she definitely lets you know.
There is a movie version, btw, directed by the lion of American cinema, Martin Scorsese. It was filmed in 1993, and stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, and Michele Pfeiffer. Here is a trailer, but fair warning--it does reveal major plot points of the book. It's an absolutely gorgeous film.
I guess you know what I'll be voting for.
I vote for Age of Innocence, followed by a movie watch party!
ReplyDeleteI voted, but I lied and said I had only read one Wharton novel. My blog tells me I have read two (Ethan Frome and The House of Mirth, both in 2007). Both were excellent, though I would not suggest Ethan Frome in the midst of winter. You know, in case anyone is reading this comment and says, “Hey, I want to get a head start on the Wharton wagon!”
I haven't read any of these, and they all sound wonderful! I will happily read whatever is chosen. But, I voted for Recebba of Sunnybrook Farm as #1.
ReplyDeleteI loved The Age of Innocence movie and I LOVE The Gilded Age, and I am quite partial to Nance. I also loved Five Children and It when I was young (and Enid Blyton, omg, Enid Blyton - she made me think kids drank BEER). I don't think I've ever read Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
ReplyDeleteI’ve never read Five Children and It or Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Or maybe I did read Rebecca of Sunnybrook Fram when I was little. Or maybe that was Pollyanna?. I did read Age of Innocence years ago and thought it was quite good.
ReplyDeleteCodex: Hello.
ReplyDeleteAge of innocence is a book that should be read. It's also very melodramatic. I'm not familiar with the others so I'm biased.
I'm feeling fairly neutral and don't really know much about any of the books except for Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm which I am pretty sure I did read as a kiddo and I definitely saw the Shirley Temple movie at some point in my childhood. I will let other people who have Real Feelings on this vote because I'm just excited you host this.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I will probably be an intermittent participant as we leave in early March, I'm hosting the FIG Collective in February, and LIFE IS CHAOTIC RIGHT NOW, Engie!