Being curious, I looked at the best-selling children's books of all time (paperbook and hardcover) and not counting Potter, 8 of the top 10 in both categories are still available. Seuss would have been my pick if I were playing but my second choice is available. When I think of children's book, I think of books that a young child can relate to in a memorable way (much like Seuss and some of the Grimm stories had when I was a child). This would rule out quasi-children's literature that are more suited for adults (including Potter).

I'll have to look at that list - especially now that I know (via PM since neither of us is playing) that Lathum and I have the same book in mind.

DON'T BE THAT GUY!!!!

OK. Seriously. What part of "Poem" is so hard to understand?

Fiction or non-fiction?

Sorry - I'm clean now, right?

You don't know how close you were.

:D

Yeah - in hindsight I agree, that's why I deleted it ;).

I might have had to jump in my car, drive out there and administer a beat down. Knowing my luck, it would end up with LS wondering why he got bum-rushed.

:D

and yet you're hating on my Grimm pick?

So... I know I've been harsh on Axxon, but.. from wiki:


So outside of even the collection vs. poem thing - according to this, part if it isn't even a poem?

Are you refering to The Canterbury Tales? Because if The Illiad, The Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost, etc. all are considered one poem....

In Canada, virtually every kid has to read that book for school.

In french.

So... kiss the Canadian vote goodbye.

I don't recall that I did.

Ugh, I'm -really- regretting the pick now.... especially since I had a lot of other really good ones in reserve. :(

I agree, The Canterbury Tales actually ARE one poem. The title doesn't refer to multiple poems, but to the subject OF the poem - the tales the travelers tell.

Man, the stupid Children's pick I made probably just cost me any chance I had at winning.

And I had a freaking long list of other quality titles! It was one of my deepest categories! :(

Cowboy up.

Yeah I know... it just... it seriously depresses me. The George R.R. Martin criticism doesn't bother me, because I was running really low in that category.

But the Children's Lit one... I've got at least 5 or 6 other titles that I think about it more, I both enjoyed more and would've received a lot better reception.

I hosed my own draft strategy and should've just gone with what I was originally going to take for Children's picks

fair nuff

Getting ready to pick...

Yes, I'm referring to the Canterbury Tales and Torgo's picks.. Canterbury, as I've always understood it, is a collection of stories. Some of which are poems, some of which are not. I have always been taught that the others are one story.

Oh, and I may not get to updating the main list until the morning.. I'm working on a paper for class.. I can take the occasional break to be a jerk in here, but I'm not up to updating the lists right now. This thing has me in a bad mood. :)

I narrowed my pick down to one poem within the book. I don't see an issue with letting me do that...not like I changed books.

The Canterbury Tales are also one poem, according to me.

I also consider The Canterbury Tales to be one poem.

Not really. It's not just a bunch of poems. The charaters interrupt the tales, they talk to each other between the tales, etc. and it's told from the first person (Chaucer himself is travelling with the pilgrims) I definitely wouldn't describe it as just a "collection of stories".

But I guess it wouldn't technically be an epic poem either, because one tale he tells in prose (because one of the characters compared Chaucer's ability to rhyme to a turd) and the last tale told by the Parson is a sermon.

Sorry, at first you did not, despite the specific label of the category. :)




I stand corrected.

I will do as Izulde did last night and blame it on a bad mood. :)

So, you guys think I have any shot at winning this still, or am I sunk?

1. Fiction - 1.8 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
2. Single Short Story - 5.8 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving
3. Poem - 2.3 Paradise Lost, John Milton
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction - 7.8 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) -
6. Sport Related
7. Children's - 6.3 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L Frank Baum
8. Non-Fiction - 4.3 Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx
9. Biography/Autobiography - 3.8 Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler
10. History - 8.3 The Histories of Herodotus, Herodotus

Just like you can't do sci-fi without Jules Verne, you just can't do History without Herodotus. He started it all, and is often referred to as the father of history. Without him, we would know alot less about the world.

From wiki:

I think you have at least as good a chance as me.

Damn! That was going to be my History pick.

That puts larry on top of 2 of the 3 non-fiction catagories (for now...)

Herodotus might be the one who started writing histories, but Gibbon wrote the first modern history. With his magnus opus, he not only touched on a subject that is still debated to this day. His work in researching the subject is still widely used as a secondary source for subsequent works on the subject. If you do a search on "Rise and Fall of" and "The Decline and Fall of" you will see a large number of works that all echo Gibbon's historic work. His work has even touched sci-fi as Asimov was "cribbin' from Gibbon" when he wrote his famous Foundation series.

My pick for history is The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.

Fiction - 3.7 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Single Short Story - 5.7 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Poem - 1.7 The Iliad - Homer
Fantasy/Science Fiction - 7.7 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) - 2.4 The Cronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Sport Related 4.4 Ball Four by Jim Bouton
Children's
Non-Fiction
Biography/Autobiography - 6.4 Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy
History - 8.4 The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

That didn't last long. Warhammer leads in History now.

I was looking at it, but there are so many other top notch history books that I put the category off. I actually like my pick a bit more because people still actually read mine. :D

Woot!

In response to sab's post.

And that was my backup pick. *sigh* I'm going to get killed in this category, I think.

I'm going to have to come with a real balla short story to have any hope, I suspect.

I can give you some of my backups in history.

Hey! I read Herodotus....

Wow, History just got completely blown up. Great picks guys.

Now that my top 2 History picks are taken, it'll be tough to crack. You still lead my Non-Fiction, have a top Series, so you aren't sunk yet. A solid History and a homerun in Short Story will give you a really good shot.

That'd be tampering, unfort. :) I do have one last option on my board that may or may not be around the next time I pick.

Thanks :)

I think I can get the solid History pick if the one I'm eyeing falls to me. Short story's going to be a lot tougher to find a homerun on that'll have broad appeal, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.

OK, so you're in the same category as me then... :D

Major, major points for snagging this so late IMO. I don't think there's anyway to top Dr Seuss but getting this in the 8th round is a massive steal.

The only problem with children's books is that I think many of our votes are going to be based upon what we read as children. Don't get me wrong, I love the Shel Silverstein pick, but I think there are plenty of other great choices out there.

It is the only children's book I own. I have read it as an adult and it holds up. I never actually owned it as a child, but whenever it was read in school I thought it was fantasitc. (Hm. My house has 1 children's book. My brother's has hundreds. We have 0 children between us. Gotta balance things out somehow. )

I've never heard of Shel Silverstein or Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Is hti sa joke because of the Izulde pick? Or is it because it isn't popular in Australia?