FOFC Literature Draft - Picks Thread

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

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

Nope, honestly never heard of him.

Yeah, maybe he just isn't popular over here, or maybe it was just amongst my generation. Really not sure.

[DaddyTorgo]

nice pick larry. Was my initial thought for history too before I settled on something else.

i'm not up, am i?

[st.cronin]

I believe NoMyths is up.

[DaddyTorgo]

yeah I posted that and then realized I wasn't up.

[NoMyths]

Fiction
Single Short Story: 8.5 - The Adventure of the Speckled Band, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Poem: 2.5 - The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri
Fantasy/Science Fiction: 7.6 - Neuromancer, William Gibson
Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) 3.6 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
Sport Related: 4.5 - Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger
Children's: 5.6 - Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
Non-Fiction: 1.6 - On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
Biography/Autobiography: 6.5 - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Frederick Douglass
History

I'll take Sherlock Holmes on my team, please. "The Speckled Band" was one of 56 stories by Doyle featuring the most famous detective in history, and was considered by Doyle (and most readers, according to polls) his very best. I'm not sure if there are any aspects of crime literature that are not influenced by Holmes' adventures, and I tend to think everyone here knows of the cat. Glad to see Doyle still on the board -- taking him at this point is elementary, my dear Watson.

[lordscarlet]

Now you're up, DT. I have lists for st.cronin and Chief Rum again, so if cartman is around when I get to work we should be able to blast through some picks again.

[wade moore]

So - I have to defend Izulde for a minute.

In my holier than thou way I asked my fiance at the breakfast table:

"So, you ever heard of a book called 'Little Prince'?"

She says in her "you're such a moron way", "Uh, yeah - it's a Newberry Winner".

So.... I would have to say if it's a Newberry Winner I probably shouldn't discredit it QUITE so quickly as that usually means it is considered good and was at least popular at one time.

[sabotai]

I was wondering if Sherlock Holmes was going to be taken, or something else from Doyle.

There's some really good stuff out there left to be picked. I imagine at the pace this has been going, it'll be done by the time I get back from work. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the draft plays out (and I look forward to getting my life back since I've been obsessed with following this thing since it started. )

[cartman]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

Now you're up, DT. I have lists for st.cronin and Chief Rum again, so if cartman is around when I get to work we should be able to blast through some picks again.

As the Kool-Aid man says, "Oh yeah!!!"

[DaddyTorgo]

i sent lordscarlet my pick via PM last night but he must have missed it. lemme go back and get my last pick so i have the list. coming in a minute

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by sabotai

I was wondering if Sherlock Holmes was going to be taken, or something else from Doyle.

There's some really good stuff out there left to be picked. I imagine at the pace this has been going, it'll be done by the time I get back from work. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the draft plays out (and I look forward to getting my life back since I've been obsessed with following this thing since it started. )

Unfortunately the way I worded "series" it took away some interesting choices like Holmes.

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

i sent lordscarlet my pick via PM last night but he must have missed it. lemme go back and get my last pick so i have the list. coming in a minute

Wow. I'm so sorry. I was a mess last night.

[DaddyTorgo]

1. Fiction: Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong
2. Single Short Story: The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy
3. Poem: 5.5 Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction: 4.6 FARENHEIT 451, RAY BRADBURY
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) 1.5 The Foundation Series, Isaac Asimov
6. Sport Related
7. Children's 3.5 Children's and Household Tales (1857 - 211 stories) by The Brothers Grimm
8. Non-Fiction
9. Biography/Autobiography 2.6 Autobiographical Notes, Albert Einstein
10. History: 8.6 History of the Pelopennisian War by Thucydides

Nothing against Herotodus, but Thucydides is the REAL father of history. Real actual scientific history, and political realism. Herotodus is more pop-history, storytelling-history.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

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

And that was the other History choice. Based on what I said earlier, I'm going to have to give them both top marks. Nicely done.

[lordscarlet]

First post updated and Maple Leafs is up!

[DaddyTorgo]

bah. herotodus is bunk to serious historians. thucydides is where it's at

[Vince]

*Raises one eybrow while looking at his History B.A.*

[Vince]

Not that I think Thucydides is a poor choice, mind you...but are you seriously bashing Herodotus?

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by NoMyths

Single Short Story: 8.5 - The Adventure of the Speckled Band, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Nice job, I was leaning towards making this my next pick.

[Warhammer]

Man, the wait is killing me.

[Maple Leafs]

Fiction - 1.4 Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
Single Short Story
Band, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Poem - 4.7 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Fantasy/Science Fiction - 3.4 War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells
Series
Sport Related - Paper Lion, by George Plimpton
Children's - 5.4 The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss
Non-Fiction - 6.7 Analects, Confucius
Biography/Autobiography - 8.7 The Confessions of St. Augustine
History - 2.7 The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Vince

Not that I think Thucydides is a poor choice, mind you...but are you seriously bashing Herodotus?

*raising the other eyebrow looking at HIS History B.A.*

yep

[DaddyTorgo]

Thucydides is much more...reputable history than Herodotus. much more "hard" history and less heresay. and the father of political realism.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Fiction - 1.4 Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
Single Short Story
Band, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Poem - 4.7 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Fantasy/Science Fiction - 3.4 War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells
Series
Sport Related - Paper Lion, by George Plimpton
Children's - 5.4 The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss
Non-Fiction - 6.7 Analects, Confucius
Biography/Autobiography - 8.7 The Confessions of St. Augustine
History - 2.7 The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

This would've been my autobio pick if Night had been off the board.

[cartman]

I'm ready whenever st.cronin or lordscarlet make an appearance

[JAG]

Not to get off-topic here but...

Originally Posted by Vince

I'd be curious to pull back that old "All Time NFL Players" Draft. That's the only one I've actually participated in, and I think that I actually had a decent team there.

After a good bit of searching:

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...light=football

I really enjoyed the draft. I don't think we ever made a voting thread though, alas. It probably hurt that the guy doing the draft disappeared during the middle of it never to reappear on FOFC again.

Your team:

1.10 Dick Butkus, LB
2.3 Johnny Unitas, QB
3.10 Eric Dickerson, RB
4.3 Merlin Olsen, DT
5.10 Chuck Bednarik, C/LB
6.3 Herb Adderly, CB
7.10 Larry Little, G
8.3 Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, WR
9.10 Darrell Green, CB
10.3 Warren Sapp, DT
11.10 Lynn Swann, WR
12.3 John Madden, Head Coach

[lordscarlet]

Sorry guys, unexpected meeting..

st.cronin: Light in August, William Faulkner

off to lunch

[cartman]

Ok, time to get those slap hands ready...

[cartman]

I'm next going to address the Children's category. I had quite a few "expected" titles that popped into my mind, but none of them really stood out as picks. Safe, yes, but tough to set apart when viewing a list of titles. I went outside the box a bit on this one. This title appeals to young and old. The base humor is there for kids to get, and the more mature you become, deeper meaning is easily obtained from the stories in this book. This book also serves as a gateway to more meaty literature, as the hero in this book and his friend go on adventures that parallel many great stories. Since it contains tons of small stories, it is always changing and keeps kids interested. My pick is:

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson

cartman's list

1. Fiction - 4.9 Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
2. Single Short Story - 3.2 The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe
3. Poem - 5.2 Paul Revere's Ride, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction - 2.9 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) - 1.2: The Lord of The Rings Trilogy (Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King), J.R.R. Tolkein
6. Sport Related - 6.9: Casey At The Bat, Ernest Thayer
7. Children's - 8.9: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson
8. Non-Fiction - 7.2 Kama Sutra, Mallanaga Vatsyayana
9. Biography/Autobiography
10. History

[chesapeake]

Hobbes.

This draft is very entertaining to follow.

A few comments on recent picks. I love the Canterbury Tales as a pick, but still question whether it qualifies as a poem because it has two tales in prose.

The Little Prince is a great pick, Izulde. Don't let these cretins get you down

The "series" category strikes me as the most hit-or-miss right now. I'm pretty sure some of those selections don't even qualify as literature.

The race is still very wide open for my vote. I only count one person out as of now.

[cartman]

Thanks, fixed the name

[Maple Leafs]

I figured someone would find a way to add either Calvin or Hobbes or Farside. Definitely a high-risk, high-reward pick.

[lordscarlet]

I'm here.. give me one sec. Sorry for the busy day, I'm killing our speedy draft.

[lordscarlet]

For Chief Rum:

8.10 Sweet Science, A.J. Liebling [Sports]
9.1 Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy by Isaac Newton [Non-Fiction]

I would just like to say that I'm glad people figured out that Non-Fiction does not have to be a history book.

[cartman]

alright, let me look over which of my final two I want to announce next...

[lordscarlet]

fuckfuckfuck I screwed up Cronin's pick.

[lordscarlet]

..There's only one more pick up in the category he told me to pick in round 8, so I'm just going to hope his stays open rather than take something off now that you guys have seen it.

EDIT: Actually, it's impossible that it will be taken unless the author is taken. I think I'm in the clear. (or it is taken in an odd category)

[Warhammer]

Uh... Is it something that someone else picked?

[cartman]

Ok, next category I'll make a pick for is Biography. I'm going in the way back machine for this one:

The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius

Now before you say "WHO??? WHAT???" realize that this book is considered the definitive biography for the Caesars covered, as well as a solid glimpse into the Roman way of life during this time. If not for this book, there would have been no inspiration for Shakespears' "Julius Caesar", nothing would have been documented about the depravity of Caligula, or just about any story you've heard or seen about the Roman Empire. Almost any book or story that has been written about this time period bases its information off of this book. Suetonius' method for research and data collection set the standard for hundreds of years for future biographies.

cartman's list

1. Fiction - 4.9 Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
2. Single Short Story - 3.2 The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe
3. Poem - 5.2 Paul Revere's Ride, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction - 2.9 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) - 1.2: The Lord of The Rings Trilogy (Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King), J.R.R. Tolkein
6. Sport Related - 6.9: Casey At The Bat, Ernest Thayer
7. Children's - 8.9: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson
8. Non-Fiction - 7.2 Kama Sutra, Mallanaga Vatsyayana
9. Biography/Autobiography - 9.2 The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius
10. History

[KWhit]

I just opened this thread for the first time today. Am I to understand that Axxon picked Danse Macabre by King in Round One?

(I'm sure this has been beaten to death in the thread, but ???????)

[sabotai]

Wrong pick. Cronin is the last person to pick a poem. I'd say it's safe to change his pick.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by cartman

Ok, next category I'll make a pick for is Biography. I'm going in the way back machine for this one:

The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius

Now before you say "WHO??? WHAT???" realize that this book is considered the definitive biography for the Caesars covered, as well as a solid glimpse into the Roman way of life during this time. If not for this book, there would have been no inspiration for Shakespears' "Julius Caesar", nothing would have been documented about the depravity of Caligula, or just about any story you've heard or seen about the Roman Empire. Almost any book or story that has been written about this time period bases its information off of this book. Suetonius' method for research and data collection set the standard for hundreds of years for future biographies.

This is overstating things quite a bit. Great work yes, but there are other records around detailing the reigns besides Suetonius.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by KWhit

I just opened this thread for the first time today. Am I to understand that Axxon picked Danse Macabre by King in Round One?

(I'm sure this has been beaten to death in the thread, but ???????)

You are correct. Allthough I think he still deserves some more beatings over it

And I love Cartman's kid pick.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by sabotai

After cronin, there's only one more person left to pick for Children's. Could be safe to change it.

Cronin picks before me in the 9th round, so the pick can be made then.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

This is overstating things quite a bit. Great work yes, but there are other records around detailing the reigns besides Suetonius.

True, but they were for the most part one-offs. As a coherent collection, his works are verified by the one-offs, not the other way around.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

Uh... Is it something that someone else picked?

Originally Posted by sabotai

Wrong pick. Cronin is the last person to pick a poem. I'd say it's safe to change his pick.

Yeah, I picked his 9th rounder in the 8th and I was worried someone might snag his 8th rounder when he clearly strategized the likelihood of being blocked. However, I am saved by luck and no one blocked his 8th rounder so I will take it in the 9th (in 2 seconds)

Originally Posted by KWhit

I just opened this thread for the first time today. Am I to understand that Axxon picked Danse Macabre by King in Round One?

(I'm sure this has been beaten to death in the thread, but ???????)

Yes.

[lordscarlet]

st.cronin's pick below!!! We are in the home stretch, boyzz!@ (is that the right number of "Z"s?

9.3 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl

[Warhammer]

Son of a @#$!@$#!!!!

[lordscarlet]

HAHAHAHAHA

[oliegirl]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

st.cronin's pick below!!! We are in the home stretch, boyzz!@ (is that the right number of "Z"s?

9.3 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl

I was wondering when this was going to get picked! Great great pick this late in the draft IMO.

[larrymcg421]

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a very close 2nd for me when I picked wonderful Wizard of Oz.