Eco has written five, and exactly five, novels. The Name of the Rose is by far the easiest and most straightforward of the books. The others would be terrible choices for the following reasons:
Foucault's Pendulum - very long, requires an extensive understanding of esoteric and occult topics to enjoy, interspersed with a very slow personal storyline. In short: inaccessible.
Baudolino - not very good, particularly because a large part of the story is so ridiculous that it destroys any attempt at suspension of disbelief, even among people who read sci-fi and fantasy. In short: bad.
The Island of the Day Before - too slow, too ponderous, too introspective, and it's an epistolary novel to boot, which is a genre that a lot of people don't enjoy. In short: worse than Baudolino.
The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana - haven't read it, but everyone I know who has read it hated it. The complaints sound similar to those of the title immediately above.
Foucault's Pendulum - very long, requires an extensive understanding of esoteric and occult topics to enjoy, interspersed with a very slow personal storyline. In short: inaccessible.
Baudolino - not very good, particularly because a large part of the story is so ridiculous that it destroys any attempt at suspension of disbelief, even among people who read sci-fi and fantasy. In short: bad.
The Island of the Day Before - too slow, too ponderous, too introspective, and it's an epistolary novel to boot, which is a genre that a lot of people don't enjoy. In short: worse than Baudolino.
The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana - haven't read it, but everyone I know who has read it hated it. The complaints sound similar to those of the title immediately above.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
November Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book Club: submissions ended! ... New new edit on 18/10/2009
08/10/2009 06:56:01 PM
- 1739 Views
Nabokov's The Original of Laura
08/10/2009 08:19:01 PM
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I'd love that.
08/10/2009 08:25:39 PM
- 1247 Views
Well, we could always discuss Nabokov in December.
08/10/2009 11:18:57 PM
- 1080 Views
I'd be up for reading Doctor Zhivago.
08/10/2009 10:08:09 PM
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yeah, me too. only need to find it in a library near me. *NM*
08/10/2009 10:09:32 PM
- 467 Views
Don't be cheap. Buy it.
08/10/2009 11:16:18 PM
- 1119 Views
Well, I would, but I don't like online bookstores.
09/10/2009 01:19:19 AM
- 1168 Views
Well, but you just said you didn't know if you could find it in the library.
09/10/2009 02:07:54 AM
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AS Byatt - Possession.
08/10/2009 10:21:39 PM
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i loved that book!!! she is amazing. just wonderful writing...
*NM*
13/10/2009 08:44:59 PM
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How about a classic novel?
08/10/2009 11:30:31 PM
- 1334 Views
You have a very strange definition of classics... *NM*
09/10/2009 01:20:37 AM
- 500 Views
Replace "strange" with "erroneous" and I'll agree with you.
09/10/2009 02:09:27 AM
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Really?
09/10/2009 03:08:53 AM
- 1571 Views
for classic science fiction, your list contained one I could support...
09/10/2009 11:06:34 AM
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You said "classic novel". Science fiction doesn't generally meet that standard.
09/10/2009 02:52:01 PM
- 1165 Views
I like your list.
09/10/2009 03:02:09 PM
- 1067 Views
I think if you're gonna do Eco, picking another book to start with would be wiser... *NM*
09/10/2009 03:28:50 PM
- 478 Views
And what book would that be???
09/10/2009 03:47:49 PM
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Foucault's Pendulum seems like the obvious one.
09/10/2009 03:58:37 PM
- 1176 Views
Based on past experiences here and elsewhere, it'll be hard to choose the "right" book
09/10/2009 02:46:22 AM
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That Hitchhiker book is as genuine as the "new" Winnie-the-Pooh book
09/10/2009 02:54:23 PM
- 1137 Views
Perhaps, but it's worth remembering that...
09/10/2009 03:45:53 PM
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Adams killed Arthur Dent for a reason
09/10/2009 05:02:23 PM
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The movie was not faithful to the books in any meaningful way. *NM*
09/10/2009 08:58:01 PM
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The movie sucked, yes. Adams had also been dead for four years when it came out. *NM*
10/10/2009 02:19:38 AM
- 475 Views
Right.
10/10/2009 02:37:08 AM
- 1052 Views
One little thing
10/10/2009 02:39:01 AM
- 1138 Views
Perhaps
09/10/2009 06:08:17 PM
- 1164 Views
So on Monday we'll find out if the widow's cash need resulted in a good book.
10/10/2009 04:21:22 AM
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A question for you all.
09/10/2009 03:04:17 PM
- 1086 Views
You didn't mention the rapture! If that happens, will the club still be on? *NM*
11/10/2009 07:51:59 AM
- 641 Views
I'd say yes. Pretty sure the people here will be Left Behind.
*NM*
11/10/2009 12:39:05 PM
- 555 Views

Some will probably even be actively serving the Antichrist.
11/10/2009 04:16:45 PM
- 1250 Views