+1

Interesting. Why that and not one of the others you listed?

Yeah, I think many people at least have heard of the Raven or Pit or Usher since they have been used in popular culture at one time or another.

It's a novella. It rides the line between short story and novel. I leaned toward the fact it is most commonly read as a short story, and in comparison to most of Dickens' other works, which were to put it lightly somewhat voluminous, it is short indeed.

Once again, I admit I am pushing the category limits to maximise my choices and have, IMO, a much more profound and compelling list.

It will be the judgment of the voters if I have stretched that credibility too far.

I have now selected arguable category "stretches" for all three of my choices thus far. ;)

Nevermind. I take back what I said.

I went with Cask because it represented a departure from standard crime stories. The narrator is the killer, but there never was an investigation. You have to try and deduce a motive yourself, and the whole time reading the story, you aren't sure if he is insane and if he is actually going to go through with his plan.

I disagree, although I can definitely see where you are coming from. There are far better known works by Poe.

That said, the Cask of Amontillado is, IMO, a personally representative work by Poe. Anyone who has read Poe and knows his life story, you know there was a bit of darkness to his soul and it was reflected in his writing. I'm not going to say he was evil, just very troubled. He saw too clearly the evils of the world around him, had the ability and talent to write about it eloquently and the lack of control to "pull back."

IMO, the Cask of Amontillado contains one of the most heinous individual acts, sealing someone behind a brick wall, like burying them alive. I can think of few more horrifying and long drawn out ways to die. So the Cask, IMO, is amazing.

Poe (if you can't tell) is one of my favorite authors, and I debated all weekend whether I would select the Raven for Poem or The Tell-Tale Heart for Short Story or some of the other selections. I was certain that in making the choices I did, I would end up foregoing Poe. I didn't expect it to be the very next pick, though, cartman.

About the poem part, right? I still nailed it as Short Story? :D

I think Cask is probably my favorite Poe work, esentially for the reasons Cartman argues. The other ones listed all seem a little too popular, although it does seem strange to frame that as a drawback.

Not in a popularity contest.

exactly.

IMO the point of these drafts is to appeal to the masses. If you hit a point where you say screw it, I am in this for myself I think you aren't participating in the true spirt.

Thats not to say you shouldn't pick your own favorites, but when it is so obviously a wrong pick then thats what I am talking about

In that respect, yes, I agree. I have already passed up favorites to go with more well-known selections. For instance, A Christmas Carol is not my favorite Dickens work, and I don't read the Bible every day.

The Masque of the Red Death is my favorite. Of course, the Simpson-ized version of The Raven is sweet :)

Is "Cask" really not that well known? I really thought is was a tossup choosing between the short stories I listed. As I mentioned in my post, I thought about "The Raven", but as a poem I don't think it was that strong a pick. So I went to the short stories.

As I thought about it, Tell-Tale Heart, Fall of the House of Usher, and Pit and Pendulum seemed a little formulaic. They all contained someone going crazy for different reasons. Tell-Tale Heart, the guy is convinced that he hears the still beating heart of the person he dismembered, in Fall the guy dies of his own terror, and in Pit and the Pendulum the guy is terrified of the hole in the middle of room and blade swinging above him, and his brain is mush, more than likely as a result of the torture of the Spanish Inquisition.

But in Cask, the narrator calmly recants the whole story many years later, and seems to be completely rational, even though what he did was clearly the work of a madman. He feels his actions were warranted to right a wrong done to him by (not so) Fortunato. This was the inspiration for other literary madmen, who I won't name in case someone is planning on choosing one of these titles later on. To me, these reasons warranted this pick over the other titles.

I guess we must have cleared out cronin's list.

I'm not sure it's a great fit in the sci-fi category, but getting 1984 this late is a steal.

This draft sucks. It's like everybody is picking punters on the first day.

Not sure I wouldn't have selected Animal Farm instead. Certainly not for scifi, of course (but from amongst Orwell's works).

Are you saying we're picking the bit players when there are star RBs available? :)

FWIW, I considered taking Cask back in Round 2, so I think the pick was a solid one.

I posted cronin's pick?

oh.. he's up again.. give me 1 second

At 3.3 st.cronin takes:

3.3 Dune, Frank Herbert, Series

Of course, this is, like the Foundation series, one of those seminal scifi picks, and on that level, excellent choice.

Still, he placed it in series, which brings the crap in at the back end of the series. Not as impressive.

I honestly would have picked Dune itself and put it in scifi/fantasy, rather than selecting the whole series.

Dune is probably my favorite book, if only the sequels were as nearly as good.

Yeah I think Dune would be an extremely solid pick as a Sci Fi/Fantasy book, but as a series I think it's a poor choice.

I'll also add that I think Cask is a very solid pick for a Poe work. I don't think it's a waste at all.

darn. I was hoping for that as a sci-fi sleeper

that was my plan.

I'm probably one of the least 'well read' people following this thread, and I think your selection w/ Poe was a very solid one, not a waste at all IMO.

I have not read the series (it's on my to-do list), but I was under the impression that the books authored by Frank Herbert were pretty solid, and that the crap ones are the ones other people have written.

the first 2 (maybe 3) books were solid, the rest are distinctly "meh." Even the ones written by Frank.

IMO, the first one is an amazing book and one of my favourites, but even the second book is a major step downwards. I didn't finish the 3rd book, and haven't touched the others.

Ah. I guess in that case it's good that I only have the first 3 sitting on my bookshelf. Unless I really like the 3rd one, I can just stop after that.

Fiction - 1.4 Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
Single Short Story
Poem
Fantasy/Science Fiction - 3.4 War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells
Series
Sport Related
Children's
Non-Fiction
Biography/Autobiography
History - 2.7 The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

nice one maple...that takes care of H.G. Wells just when I was thinking of something there...

I need to take a bit with this pick...

See Axxon, I told you other people would make other "wtf?" picks to balance yours out.

My only issue with the Poe pick is when it was. I was actually considering using that or the Tell-Tale Heart later.

Nah, Dune was going to be my pick this round, but I was going to use it strictly as a Sci-Fi pick.

Actually, I'd like to go on record as echoing some of the recent love for the pick. Cask is my favorite Poe work by quite a stretch. The narrative is so composed, at least on the surface, and so matter-of-fact as the build up and execution of the crime unfold... shudder. I love that Fortunato's supposed insult is never revealed. A horrible story, in a good way!

And re: Dune series, they drop off in quality precipitiously after the original. Dune itself is so good though, and the universe of the books so expansive and well fleshed out, that I got through Children and God Emperor with quite a bit of enjoyment, as I recall (this was many years ago). I attempted the next two and couldn't close the deal, though. Awful.

Erm, I think I mistepped. Children was II, and Messiah III, and God Emperor Iv, right? Anyhoo, at some point it devolved into dreck at the midpoint of book IV, whatever the title was.

I was considering Grimm's Fairy Tales myself. Great selection.

Messiah is 2 and Children is 3. So I guess that's confirmation to just stop after Children. :)

+1

I was thinking one of the fairy tales would be good for Short Story, but I think it actually works better in Children's.

Agree.

YAY for people liking my pick

Since I don't pick again until late 4th round, I didn't think he would still be on the board by then.

It seems my pick is either a love it or hate it pick.

Fiction
Single Short Story
Poem: 2.6 - The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri
Fantasy/Science Fiction
Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) 3.5 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
Sport Related
Children's
Non-Fiction: 1.5 - On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
Biography/Autobiography
History

I can't be alone in thinking this series of books one of the most enjoyable. And after all, it does provide the answer to life, the universe and everything.

From Wiki:
References to the series can be seen on websites, within TV and radio programmes, songs, and in console and computer games. Examples include borrowing Adams's characters' names, or references to the number 42, or other catchphrases, or even reusing "The Hitchhiker's Guide to ..." to title other books and articles (which Adams himself had borrowed from Ken Welsh's Hitch-hiker's Guide to Europe). Hitchhiker's references have also appeared in several series and episodes of another famous British science fiction series with which Adams was once affiliated: Doctor Who. The online Babel Fish translation service was also named in honour of a fictional creature that Adams created for the Hitchhiker's series. The 1980s British Pop band Level 42 attribute their name to the ultimate answer, while the rock group Radiohead named a hit single after Marvin the paranoid android. The instant message program, Trillian, is also named after a lead Hitchhiker's character. Internet search engine Google pays tribute by offering "42" as the answer to the search criteria "What is the answer to life the universe and everything?" In the Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends episode, "Bus the Two of Us," Bloo picks up a hitchhiker holding a sign reading "Magrathea". Adams may have popularized the modern usage of the prefix "mega" to simply mean "great" (which is the meaning of the original Greek). Before Hitchhiker's, which used terms such as "mega-stupid" and "megadonkey", the prefix "mega" was almost exclusively used in the technical SI Metrics sense - meaning 1,000,000 times.(in computing: 1,048,576 times)

You definitely aren't alone - one of my top 3 series.

I might be stupid here, but isn't Hitchihiker's better suited in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category? I thought it was a solo book.

For once, Izulde and I are on the same page. It was a very fun book.

Terrific pick, NM. I like all your picks so far (you bastard ;) ).

There were 5 books released at least.

There's 5 book in that series. The first book is called "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", and people generally use that title to refer to the entire series (it doesn't have an official different name AFAIK).

Off the top of my head:

1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
2. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
3. Life, the Universe, and Everything
4. So Long, and Thanks for all of the Fish.
5. Mostly Harmless

Yep. And the other books are great too:

[Edit for EF27's list]

The Salmon of Doubt was also released posthumously.

And thanks, Chief :)

Hitchhiker's = teh bomb!!!

Movie suxxors ballz though.

@#$!$%#^#%^!!!!! It seems like this round every pick was something on my board...

Fiction - 3.7 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Single Short Story
Poem - 1.7 The Iliad - Homer
Fantasy/Science Fiction -
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
Children's
Non-Fiction
Biography/Autobiography
History

I'm going out on a limb here, but Catch-22 is a screwball comedy about an aircraft squadron during WWII. There are many colorful characters and you can clearly see that several characters from M*A*S*H are based upon some of the characters here (Klinger is a wringer for Yossarian). It has been hailed as one of the most significant novels of the 20th century. Additionally, the phrase Catch-22 has caught on in language to reflect any no-win situation.

I have no idea how Catch-22 holds up compared to other great works of fiction, but from a popularity contest perspective I love the pick.

Hitchikers is great as well and I think it fits perfectly in the series category, another great one.

Interesting selection.

What fun would a draft be without a little contoversy...

1. Fiction - 1.8 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
2. Single Short Story
3. Poem - 2.3 Paradise Lost, John Milton
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially)
6. Sport Related
7. Children's
8. Non-Fiction
9. Biography/Autobiography - 3.8 Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler
10. History

I've been going after influential and significant books, and this certainly fits the bill on both of those accounts. One of the most notable books ever written.

Very daring pick... I like it :)

I think going for controversial books is fine, although you have to consider it may bite you in the ass during voting.

That said, I looked at Mein Kampf as a potential pick down the road for me.

1. Fiction - 2.2 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
2. Single Short Story
3. Poem - 1.9 "The Waste Land" - T.S. Eliot
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) - 3.9 The Musketeers Saga - The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, The Man in the Iron Mask - Alexandre Dumas
6. Sport Related
7. Children's
8. Non-Fiction
9. Biography/Autobiography
10. History

Dumas is one of my favorite authors of all time and if Lolita would've been taken at some point in the draft, The Count of Monte Cristo would've been my fiction pick.

The Musketeers Saga has the benefit of being a non sci-fi/fantasy series and has two of Dumas's most enjoyable novels as the bookends in Three Musketeers and Man in the Iron Mask, though I have to say, I like Twenty Years After a lot.

1. Fiction
2. Single Short Story
3. Poem
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially)
6. Sport Related
7. Children's
8. Non-Fiction
9. Biography/Autobiography
10. History - 3,10 Shogun - James Clavell

This epic novel gives an exceptional view of ancient Japanese culture and politics. Simply one of my favorite books ever.

1. Fiction
2. Single Short Story
3. Poem
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction - 4,1 - Slaugherhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially)
6. Sport Related
7. Children's
8. Non-Fiction
9. Biography/Autobiography
10. History

I had to get Vonnegut in somewhere and last night I had a discussion about this book and it is a classic in every sense. I need look no further and select this one.

fwiw - larry has the early lead on my board.

I am blown away that The Iliad lasted until pick #7.

That being said, this has been fun to follow, and I look forward to the finished product.

As for my current leaderboard...

1. Maple Leafs
2. NoMyths
3. larrymcg421

My top 3 early on but I'm not 100% sure in what order. looong way to go though.

I have Warhammer just outside, but I'm not totally digging his Catch-22 pick. To put on my critical hat...

Personally, I think that Danse Macabre, while great, is a complete waste of Stephen King. Hard to imagine King lasting past the first couple of rounds...but King screams to me to be in the Fiction niche as one of the top 5 picks there for sure.

Picked way too early:

--Einstein's Autobiography - I like the pick, but this probably could have lasted until round 4 or 5.
--"The Waste Land" - Another pick I really like, but as your 1st rounder? Tons of great things were left on the board with this pick. You're not paying this pick ridiculous first round money...you could have let it slide :)
--The Foundation Series - This one might be a stretch to say "way" too early, but again. This is the first round...for the heavyweights that will really bring you home. Asimov I think is a better pick for Sci-Fi than for Series, anyways.

My favorite pick so far:
--2.5, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Poem
I had this as Poem #2 by a fair margin (Paradise Lost = 3rd), and NoMyths swoops in and steals a bargain as the 4th poem taken. This, to me, was one of about 20 pieces of literature off the top of my head that could be viewed as "no brainer" picks for the first round, as well. For it to last to the middle of the second...man.

Sounds like I'm crucifying DaddyTorgo, but I really like the Brother's Grimm pick, and there's lots of drafting left. I think that I've overlooked cartman so far. The Cask of Amontillado is a brilliant pick, and his three round drafting of Tolkein, Carrol and Poe is pretty solid.

My darkhorse at the moment has to be Chief Rum. Walden is a fantastic Autobiography pick, and while I'm not a huge fan of The Bible (it's like picking A-Rod first in fantasy baseball. You just do it, it doesn't mean you're crazy good at drafting or something), his next two picks have been very solid.

I've now analyzed this WAY too much. Hooray head colds and insomnia.

Historical fiction, no?

History needs to be non-fiction, remember.

FWIW I have my next pick figured out, I just wanted to give Axxon the chance to change his 3.10 pick.

I'd go ahead and make it, Izulde -- no sense holding up the draft for something that we've already hashed out. If a decision is made to allow another repick, there's no reason it can't happen later as opposed to waiting around now.

damm. i was considering using that for non-fiction (also considered it for autobiography)

you are. you're crucifying me. besides, my strategy was to get the categories out of the way early where i felt i had the least chance of picking one that would make someone go "WHOA" and save those for later. to whit, none of the poems, short stories, history, or fiction books on the tops of my list have gone yet. well i would have liked some that went, but i have more than adequete replacements.

Axxon has won. :)

Since LS is here, I'll wait to get his ruling first, just to be on the safe side.

Yes, the History category is meant to be non-fiction. If you would like to change your pick, you may, but this is the last historical fiction change I'm allowing. :) We've now had it twice, you guys should know better! But everyone else should continue to pick. Axxon can change his pick, but only with something that has not been taken since his original pick.

LS, did you want me to go ahead and pick, or should we wait for Axxon to change it?

Edit: N/M. Sorry, read the beginning and end and missed the middle part at first.

1. Fiction - 2.2 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
2. Single Short Story
3. Poem - 1.9 "The Waste Land" - T.S. Eliot
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) - 3.9 The Musketeers Saga - The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, The Man in the Iron Mask - Alexandre Dumas
6. Sport Related
7. Children's
8. Non-Fiction - 4.2 The Art of War - Sun Tzu
9. Biography/Autobiography
10. History

Is there any more greater book on the methods of warfare? Entertaining, informative, famed for its relevancy even today in all areas, including the business sector, Sun Tzu's masterpiece is a work that has more than stood the test of time.

I've been waiting for this one. I think it is a steal at 3.9

dola: For whoever asked about history and non-fiction being the same thing, The Art of War is a great example of a non-fiction book that is not a history book.

For the record, please read my mind and do not select the book I was going to use with my next pick...

Thank you.

It's an even bigger one at 4.2 :D

Yeah I was honestly surprised that it fell this far... When I looked over my boards again and realized it was still sitting there, I just had to grab it, because I figured it and my #2 choice for non-fiction would be off the board by my next pick. Granted, my #3 option still likely would've been available and I daresay it would've been a good one, but I'm much happier having my top choice in the category. :)

I had debated it taking it in the third round, maybe I should have, but I have a ton more non-fiction works than I do fictional works in my bag of tricks.

Wow. I did not get enough sleep last night. :)

dola: I have put a grid of the selections on google spreadsheets: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?k...IZ_JSHdymhobZw

I have a list from larry, but it was sent early yesterday morning. His most recent pick seems to be inline with his list, so I guess I will make his next selection, particularly since Warhammer is online. I hope the list is still accurate!

larrymcg421 selects:

4.3 Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx [Non-Fiction]

This may upset people, but if larry wanted to change that pick because it was old, that's OK with me. I don't want my rushing of the draft to screw his strategy if that was not what he wanted to pick next. (With the obvious usage of the rule that anything selected in the mean time is off limits)

Fiction - 3.7 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Single Short Story
Poem - 1.7 The Iliad - Homer
Fantasy/Science Fiction -
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
History

Just as the Iliad and the Cronciles of Narnia impacted other works in their genres and thus afected everything that came after them, Ball Four not only affected all the sports books that came after it, but also changed how sports were covered by the media. Prior to Ball Four we really didn't know the players or their pursuits and vices outside the game. After Ball Four, we knew everything about them. Not only is Ball Four a great book, but it paved the way for the sports books that came after it.

darn. i was hoping to use this. well actually das kapital. but i have many other delicious non-fiction choices

that was high on my nonfiction list too. but i have many other good choices for non-fiction so i'm okay

Wow, I missed a lot of picks.

Hitchhiker's Guide is an absolutely fantastic pick in this sort of draft. It's not a reach, it fits a category, and it will earn some people's vote on its own.

I'm afraid he doesn't want both Mein Kampf and the Manifesto, but we shall see. I wanted to make sure the draft kept moving.

i'm 4.6 not 4.5 right? i'll have to wait till lunch to make my pick

LS: Question on the Sports category. Is that fiction, non-fiction, or both?

I know it is LS's call, but I'd vote for either/or.