One Book, One Twitter: Let the Voting Begin!

Want to spend the summer following John Joseph Yossarian trying to survive World War II, or with Holden Caulfield on his misadventures through New York City? Maybe you'd rather endure the bombing of Dresden with Kurt Vonnegut's protagonist, Billy Pilgrim. Now's your chance to decide as we officially open the voting for One Book, One Twitter. We'll keep the polls open for the next two weeks, at which point the winner will be clear to everyone. At that point we'll start reading. (Miss that link above? Then go here to vote.)

For anyone just joining us, One Book, One Twitter (#1b1t) is an effort to get everyone on Twitter to read the same book this summer. Usually such "Big Read" programs are organized around geography. Seattle started the trend for collective reading in 1998 when zillions of Seattlites all read Russell Banks’ book, Sweet Hereafter. Chicago followed suit with To Kill a Mockingbird a few years later. This Big Read is organized around Twitter, and says to hell with physical limitations. Over the last few weeks thousands of people from around the world nominated six books to include on the list of finalists. 

As long time listeners will notice, we've added four more books to the mix: 100 Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger; God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy; and Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison. These titles were chosen by the One Book, One Twitter board. Here's our reasoning—the crowd picked six wonderful books, but they're all written by white men with, well, a healthy disregard for reality. That's not a dis—hell, Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse Five are two of my all-time favorite novels. But it's bound to appeal to a limited constituency. And besides each one of the additional four is a masterpiece in its own right, so who can complain?

As always follow @crowdsourcing and #1b1t for updates. Comments and complaints should be filed to me at the crowdsourcing blog. The rules around the voting have changed slightly. Each person is allowed one up and down vote for each title, but we are not—obviously—taking further nominations. Good luck to all our contestants, and may the best book win.

The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy. 352 pps.
Mangos are pickled, and hope is too, in Roy’s quirky, brutal, Booker-award-winning novel about two young twins, a lonely mother, and an untouchable with beautiful hands.

Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison. 337 pps.
Macon "Milkman" Dead III has been known as a momma’s boy ever since he was a kid. Now he has to figure out who he really is while avoiding the two people who want him dead. Nobel Prize winner, 1993.

Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut. 288 pps.
Extraterrestrial adventures on the planet Tralfamadore meet the WWII fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany, in this cult classic about an optometrist who becomes “unstuck in time.”

1984, by George Orwell. 326 pps.
George Orwell’s nightmarish vision of a totalitarian state. Prescient, controversial, brilliant, 1984 invented both “doublethink” and “Big Brother.”
 
Brave New World, by Aldus Huxley. 288 pps.
Come for the drugs (Mmmmm … Soma), stay for the “feelies”—movies that touch all the senses. The Modern Library ranked Huxley’s 1932 novel fifth in its list of the 100 best novels of the 20th Century.

100 Years of Solitude, by Gabriel García Márquez. 432 pps.
Published in 1967 and translated into over 100 languages, Marquez’s magnum opus was not only lauded as a crowning achievement in magical realism by critics, but also became the best selling Spanish language book in modern history, after Don Quixote.

American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. 480 pps.
Don’t call it science fiction. Gaiman’s Hugo- and Nebula-award winning novel is “a scary, strange, and hallucinogenic road trip wrapped around a deep examination of the American spirit.”

Catch-22, by Joseph Heller. 453 pps.
Published in 1961, Catch-22 was the original indictment of the absurdism of war, and the army, and bureaucracy in general. 

Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. 276 pps.
Without Holden Caulfield, angst would just be another German word for anguish.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. 201 pps.
Tired of all those dystopias? Try this dystopia! Bradbury envisions “a hedonistic anti-intellectual America that has completely abandoned self-control,” in which “firemen” extinguish any flicker of an intellectual life.

Comments

[Don]

So...not really crowdsourced then.

[renaissance costumes]

May the most deserving win.. :)

[twitter.com/ChrisKubica]

so where do we vote?

[Marcela Valdes]

Here's the link for voting:

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/04/one-book-one-twitter-let-the-voting-begin/

[Dude]

why would anyone intelligent want to read a book at the same time as the rest of the world? will they hold your hand too? this is madness, are we not independent thinkers at all, is there no one left? are you all letting these books come true -- idiots -- make your own society, you don't have to accept any of this.

[book publishers]

I'd say Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five has it by a mile, his work is so sophisticated imho.

[6thmega]

Love this idea. Was just talking to someone about how a yogi is working to get everyone to start doing yoga like they floss their teeth - everyday. Imagine the change.

My vote:

100 Heartbeats: The Race to Save Earth’s Most Endangered Species
http://www.amazon.com/100-Heartbeats-Earths-Endangered-Species/dp/1605298476

[Whisler]

Heck, I'm just going to read--or re-read all of these. It's a good summer reading list

[Jeff Howe]

Not a bad idea, @whisler. The point is just to give people with nothing in common, something in common. Any one of these books is a wonderful read, in any season actually. Thanks for comments all.

[what makes a girl beautiful]

It’s really great post. I would like to appreciate your work and would like to tell to my friends.

[sesli]

Thank you very much...

[air force 1 shoes]

Thank you for these articles published, both for me to learn more knowledge

[Jordan Retro 8]

Your blog are so nice that I can't forget forever. The beneficial article will make people learn a lot of knowledge, well done.

[sesli chat]

I'd say Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five has it by a mile, his work is so sophisticated imho

[nike air force 1]

this is madness, are we not independent thinkers at all, is there no one left

[coach handbags]

In your blog I feel your enthusiasm for life. Thank you for sharing ! I learned a lot! May the joy and happiness around you today and always.By the way，Do you like coach handbags？ It will make your life different!

[Scarpe Nike]

Elegant writing!!! Exquisite remarks above!!!

[Nike Shox Rivalry]

Wonderful!!! Exquisite remarks above!!!

[buy viagra]

For many thousands of years there has been the question, if we are alone in the universe. I think that there is enough evidence to probe that in fact even before our recorded history beings walked in this earth, many evidence show artifacts going back millions of years BC.

[Prada Handbags]

you could adjust the map so it's scaled according to population rather than geography, you could cancel out the effects of population sparseness. Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Atlanta are by far the largest cities in their areas, so it's no surprise they seem to dominate their geographic regions
Our store offers you all kinds of favourite products like Prada Handbags and Prada Handbags 2010 , Mens Prada Sunglasses with high quality, fashion style and competitive price.

[cheap timberland boots]

Your post is the best. I like it,because I learn a lot of useful from your blog,thanks.

[ativan online]

Voted successfuly.

[Children Sandals]

Very happy to see your article, I very much to like and agree with your point of view. Thank you for sharing. At the same time,i love Children Sandals very much .Welcome to look at my website and blog articles.Hope we can become good friends, and exchange and to help each other! Thanks!!

[Deca Durabolin]

It is really great post. I would like to appreciate your work and would like to tell to my friends.

[Deca Durabolin]

why would anyone intelligent want to read a book at the same time as the rest of the world? will they hold your hand too? this is madness, are we not independent thinkers at all, is there no one left? are you all letting these books come true -- idiots -- make your own society, you don't have to accept any of this.