FOFC Literature Draft - Picks Thread

[cartman]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

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

Correct. NoMyths is 4.5.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

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.

Yeah, we really got rolling last night.

Originally Posted by Izulde

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

Both. I guess this is why people are confused on History. Sorry I wasn't more specific. To me "Sport Related" means both fiction and non-fiction, but "History" is only non fiction. "History Related" would include fiction. However, I can see 100% that I was not clear.

[Warhammer]

On the Hitchhiker's pick, that is the last of the ones I was going to seriously consider for series. My top series were Lord of the Rings, Foundation, Cronicles of Narnia, and Hitchhiker's Guide. After those, I didn't care which one I got.

[st.cronin]

Thanks for making my picks, LS, who's up and when do I pick next?

[larrymcg421]

I don't mind sticking with what I have. I was deciding between that and something else, and now with others knowing the pick, it's better to just stick with it instead of risking losing it before my next pick.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

Thanks for making my picks, LS, who's up and when do I pick next?

NoMyths is up at 4.5

Your next pick is 4.8

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

I don't mind sticking with what I have. I was deciding between that and something else, and now with others knowing the pick, it's better to just stick with it instead of risking losing it before my next pick.

Thanks, Larry. I hope I didn't mess up your strategy too much, particularly since you arrived before a large number of other picks were made.

[lordscarlet]

Oh, and I don't have anyone's lists until 4.10 and 5.9, so I hope everyone is around.

Headed to lunch.

[NoMyths]

Will pick shortly.

[DaddyTorgo]

i'll be picking around 2pm EST, regardless of when nomyths picks

[st.cronin]

I just want to say I'm very bummed to miss out on Walden. I had that as a sleeper pick in the later rounds.

[Lathum]

We need to do these drafts more often. At least one every 2 weeks. They are scary entertaining.

[NoMyths]

Fiction
Single Short Story
Poem: 2.5 - The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri
Fantasy/Science Fiction
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
Non-Fiction: 1.6 - On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
Biography/Autobiography
History

Can't tell you how torn I am on this pick, but in the end my heart is winning out, and I doubt it will be around much longer. The best book written about amateur athletics in my opinion, in part because it encompases so much beyond the field: racial and class politics in a hard-luck Texas town, an examination of the psychology behind fandom, the glory and tragedy of being a superstar player one second and a forgotten name the next. It is epic, eminently readable, and has spawned numerous imitators and versions (including one of the best shows on television).

[Axxon]

Just change the category to fiction then. No need for me to repick.

[timmynausea]

Still anyone's game for my vote. I think for now I favor st. cronin (all solid picks plus Dune bonus points), Warhammer (all solid picks so far) and Chief Rum (strong picks, but a slight docking of points from me as A Christmas Carol is not a short story. Then again, I also think A Christmas Carol was the steal of the draft so far.) Several others are just a hair behind those guys.

There are still some huge names/works up for grabs, though, so I'll be watching to see how it all plays out.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Lathum

We need to do these drafts more often. At least one every 2 weeks. They are scary entertaining.

Agreed. I have wanted to run one for a while, but I didn't want to step on Maple Leaf's toes. I also don't want to dilute it by doing it too often.

I wonder if we should do it like IWS and have the winner create a new one?

[Izulde]

I think this draft is still way too close to call and my hunch is that some late-round picks are really going to shift momentum.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Izulde

I think this draft is still way too close to call and my hunch is that some late-round picks are really going to shift momentum.

The way it typically goes is that people that pick big names in broad categories early start to struggle at the end when they try to fill in the niche categories that they ignored.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Vince

Picked way too early:

--"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

I disagree with this. At absolute best, I could've gotten it at 2.2, as DT, I think it was, said he was planning on taking it for his second round pick, so snagging it at 1.9 was fine in my opinion.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

Agreed. I have wanted to run one for a while, but I didn't want to step on Maple Leaf's toes. I also don't want to dilute it by doing it too often.

I wonder if we should do it like IWS and have the winner create a new one?

Personally, I think that's a freakin' cool idea.

[DaddyTorgo]

okay...i'm up hmm

[DaddyTorgo]

man i'm torn between two...

[st.cronin]

tick tick tick

[DaddyTorgo]

i just can't decide...one's better "literature" than the other, but the other is stronger in the category (arguably)

[Buccaneer]

As some voters have done in previous contests, they basically ignore the category and just voted on the list of picks. I am leaning that way since some of these categories can be interchangeable.

Any list that has Shogun and Sun Tzu will get serious considerations from me, not to mention a few of the earlier picks.

[DaddyTorgo]

awww hell

1. Fiction
2. Single Short Story
3. Poem
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction: 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

[Warhammer]

should've gone with the other...

Not saying its a bad pick, but I'm not sure how it stands out compared to others. Then again, the one I'm going to go with in the category is probably going to get slagged some too.

[DaddyTorgo]

hey...it's a timeless classic. didn't everyone have to read it in high school?

[timmynausea]

I'm probably in the minority, but I really prefer Bradbury's short stories over Fahrenheit 451. I still think it's a quality pick, though.

[st.cronin]

I think that category, more than any other, lends itself to esoteric choices. Ask 100 people for the top sci-fi/fantasy works, and you'll have very little consensus.

[DaddyTorgo]

don't write me off either. the rest of my picks will be doozies (at least in my mind)

[st.cronin]

Are we allowed to change the category for our picks?

[Maple Leafs]

Fiction - 1.4 Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
Single Short Story
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
Children's
Non-Fiction
Biography/Autobiography
History - 2.7 The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

Are we allowed to change the category for our picks?

It's usually not allowed unless it's immediately after a pick. In a draft where categorization is important, it makes it much easier if you can shift things around as you see what's still out there.

[st.cronin]

MOTHERF*&%ING MAPLE LEAFS

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Fiction - 1.4 Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
Single Short Story
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
Children's
Non-Fiction
Biography/Autobiography
History - 2.7 The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

nice. that was at least on my radar if not on my list

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

MOTHERF*&%ING MAPLE LEAFS

You do a good impression of me.

[st.cronin]

Fiction
Single Short Story - 1.3, The Dead, James Joyce
Poem
Fantasy/Science Fiction - 2.8, 1984, George Orwell
Series - 3.3, Dune, Frank Herbert
Sport Related - 4.8, Rabbit, Run, John Updike
Children's
Non-Fiction
Biography/Autobiography
History

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

hey...it's a timeless classic. didn't everyone have to read it in high school?

That's exactly what would push me away from voting for that pick.

Originally Posted by st.cronin

Are we allowed to change the category for our picks?

No. With the exception of the two that picked Historical Fiction based on my poor specifications.

[cartman]

Wow, I'm very happy that my next pick was still available. I was sure that her work would have been picked by now. It is one of the great novels of the 20th century, leading people to rethink many ideas about economics, religion, liberty, and personal freedoms. My pick is:

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

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
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
7. Children's
8. Non-Fiction
9. Biography/Autobiography
10. History

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by cartman

Wow, I'm very happy that my next pick was still available. I was sure that her work would have been picked by now. It is one of the great novels of the 20th century, leading people to rethink many ideas about economics, religion, liberty, and personal freedoms. My pick is:

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

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
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
7. Children's
8. Non-Fiction
9. Biography/Autobiography
10. History

nice pick!

[st.cronin]

I'm guessing Chief Rum didn't send lord scarlet a list.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

I'm guessing Chief Rum didn't send lord scarlet a list.

He did. I just suck and didn't notice he was up.

Give me a moment.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

nice pick!

Thanks! I was hoping that neither you nor st.c would take it.

Originally Posted by st.cronin

I'm guessing Chief Rum didn't send lord scarlet a list.

I PMed him to let him know he was up, in case he didn't send in a list. I also told him not to pick one of titles I was considering for the pick after his two.

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by cartman

Wow, I'm very happy that my next pick was still available. I was sure that her work would have been picked by now. It is one of the great novels of the 20th century, leading people to rethink many ideas about economics, religion, liberty, and personal freedoms. My pick is:

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

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
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
7. Children's
8. Non-Fiction
9. Biography/Autobiography
10. History

Good pick. Also, add me to the list who think "Cask" was a fine pick for Poe.

I'm looking forward to putting together a "best of the rest" list at the end of this draft.

[lordscarlet]

Chief Rum's selections are:

4.10 The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost (Poem)
5.1 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (Children's)

cartman is on the board!

[wade moore]

I have a pick for Poetry that if someone makes I may just give them the "W" regardless of the rest of their picks.

We'll see if anyone hits the jackpot.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

hey...it's a timeless classic. didn't everyone have to read it in high school?

Yes, and that's why I fucking hate it!

Other thoughts: Shogun is a great pick. One of my all-time favorite novels. I don't even recognize any of the sports picks, except Friday Night Lights which I never read. I don't read much sports related fiction.

The Coleridge pick was good, but I would have picked Kubla Khan instead. There's still two poems out there that I'm a bit surprised have not gone yet.

[cartman]

Well, I am pleasantly surprised to be able to make my pick again. I thought maybe CR would have had this choice as his Poem entry, based on some of his other picks. This choice has ties to a couple of other already selected entries. He was the first American to translate Dante's "Divine Comedy", and he also had a lifelong feud with Poe after an unflattering review Poe gave one of his works.

Although far from historically accurate, it did increase the renown of the subject. Just about everyone can complete the first stanza of this poem after hearing the first line, which not many other lyrical works can claim:

"Listen my children and you shall hear..."

Paul Revere's Ride, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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
7. Children's
8. Non-Fiction
9. Biography/Autobiography
10. History

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Yes, and that's why I fucking hate it!

Other thoughts: Shogun is a great pick. One of my all-time favorite novels. I don't even recognize any of the sports picks, except Friday Night Lights which I never read. I don't read much sports related fiction.

The Coleridge pick was good, but I would have picked Kubla Khan instead. There's still two poems out there that I'm a bit surprised have not gone yet.

You never heard of Ball Four?