Reading 1001 discussion

Voting can begin. You get to vote for 4 books. The winners will be the top 3 vote getters. The 4th book will be chosen by randomizer from all the books that received at least one vote, excluding previous books that have been read twice previously. Winners will be announced on December 1st. Votes are weighted so be sure to post from most desired to the least.

Here are the books that were nominated. You can place your votes in this thread. We will not do a secret ballot for this voting. Voting from 11/24 through 11/30/2025, Winner announced 12/1/2025.
A Prayer for Owen Meany - Irving
The Betrothed (Manzoni)
Finnegans Wake (Joyce)
Gravity's Rainbow (Pynchon)
Melmoth the Wanderer (Maturin)
Sometimes a Great Notion
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Oliver Twist
Middlemarch
Crime and Punishment
Anna Karenina
Americanah
The Name of the Rose
Magic Mountain
The Making of Americans - Stein (926 pgs)
Devils - Dostoevsky (769 pgs)
Ben Hur - Lew Wallace (620 pgs)
Underworld
Celestial Harmonies

My votes:
1. The Making of Americans - Gertrude Stein
2. Devils by Fyodor Dostoevsky
3. The Betrothed
4. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ


From most desired to least.

I vote for:
1. Celestial Harmoniees
2. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
3. Devils
4. Finnegans Wake

My votes are:

1. Sometimes a Great Notion - Ken Kesey
2. Celestial Harmonies - Peter Esterhazy
3. The Making of Americans - Gertrude Stein

(only three)

My votes are
1. Melmoth the Wanderer
2. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
3. Underworld
4. The Name of the Rose

1. Gravity's Rainbow
2. The Betrothed
3. Melmoth the Wanderer
4. Sometimes a Great Notion

Look everyone, I know you're probably like, JANE is voting for a Pynchon!?! And I know we've done two Pynchon quarterlies in a row. But here's the deal: V., Crying of Lot 49, and Gravity's Rainbow are all linked. So if we just suck it up and get through Crying (which is short), and Gravity in 2026, we're almost done with Pynchon on the list, and we do it in a way where we can get the most out of it.

My choices are:

1st: Sometimes a Great Notion
2nd: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
3rd: Oliver Twist
4th: Crime and Punishment

Note to Jane: I am a fan of Pynchon (gasp!) and I've read Gravity's Rainbow - so I'm sorry not to be able to help you!

My votes are

1. Devils
2. Underworld
3. Gravity’s Rainbow
4. Ben-Hur

Jane wrote: "1. Gravity's Rainbow
2. The Betrothed
3. Melmoth the Wanderer
4. Sometimes a Great Notion

Look everyone, I know you're probably like, JANE is voting for a Pynchon!?! And I know we've done two Pync..."
I would love it if Gravity's Rainbow is one of our Quarterlies. I also like Pynchon.

1. A Prayer for Owen Meany - Irving
2. Oliver Twist - Dickens
3. Middlemarch - Eliot
4. Crime and Punishment - Dostoevsky

Thanks anyway Valerie. I'm actually liking V. a lot more than Mason + Dixon. Maybe started with the wrong book with him.

Valerie wrote: "My choices are:

1st: Sometimes a Great Notion
2nd: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
3rd: Oliver Twist
4th: Crime and Punishment

Note to Jane: I am a ..."

1) Wind-up Bird Chronicle
2) Anna Karenina
3) Sometimes a Great Notion
4) Magic Mountain

I'll stick to my guns, hoping that I will finally remove the 10-year coat of dust on the Manzoni book:

1. The Betrothed (Manzoni)
2. Gravity's Rainbow (Pynchon)
3. Melmoth the Wanderer (Maturin)
4. Finnegans Wake (Joyce)

Progressive scoreboard:

1. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (13 points)
2. Sometimes a Great Notion (11 points)
equal 3. The Devils (9 points)
equal 3. The Betrothed (9 points)
equal 3. Gravity's Rainbow (9 points)

It ain't over yet: over the years, I have seen many late charges which upended this scoreboard. And I know there are still a few people who haven't voted yet!

1) Gravity's Rainbow
2) The Betrothed
3) Middlemarch
4) Oliver Twist

1. The name of the rose
2. Crime and punishment
3. Anna Karenina
4. Americanah

🥁 2026 Quarterly reads are:
1st quarter: The Betrothed
2nd quarter: Melmoth the wanderer
3rd quarter: Wind-up Bird Chronicles
4th Quarter: Gravity's Rainbow

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Gravity's Rainbow collected 13 points, while The Betrothed amassed 12 points.

The randomizer selected Melmoth the Wanderer among the 16 other titles nominated.