Looking for Non-Supernatural Recommendations
I just agreed to host my book club at the end of the month. But we were behind a week meeting because of Ike, so we have less time than normal to read the book. And I have a crazy busy week planned and don't know when I'll get to go peruse a book store to make my pick. So I'd love to hear any suggestions y'all have on what we should try next.
Pretty much anything goes. We don't read a lot of nonfiction, but we usually have a couple scattered throughout the year. We don't read it if it's not in paperback yet, though, so that it's not too expensive.
To give you an idea of what sort of things we tend toward, this month we read The Last Report on Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich (liked a lot). Before that, there was What is the What by Dave Eggers (mixed reviews, but very good for discussion); Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (mixed reviews -- I didn't like it); My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki (weird but good); 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult (a lot more pop lit than we usually choose -- very gimmicky); Libra by Don DeLillo (way, *way* over my head); The Girls by Lori Lansens (about conjoined twins and (surprisingly) very good and sweet); and one other that I missed because I was on a trip for work and can't remember.
I was thinking about The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian. I've been eyeing it for awhile. Has anyone else read it? I'm not a huge Great Gatsby fan -- would that take away from it? And if I don't remember a lot of the Great Gatsby details, should I reread it first?
I've also read recently and would like others to read (because I adored them) Garden Spells or Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen, or Child of My Heart by Alice McDermott. But I'm not sure if they'd be good for discussion. Anyone else read any of those and have an opinion?
I'm really liking book club (and, yes, I laughed really hard at the witches' book club last season). I've been a member for about two years now, but the club just passed its 10th anniversary. And this month was their 100th book to read. Since I've joined, my favorite books that they've read have been The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch (called a "young adult" book, but really, *really* good); Gonzalez & Daughter Trucking Company by Maria Escandon (loved the twisted way this story is told -- I actually thought of trying to see if I could copy the story telling method for a Supernatural story; plus it's just good fun); and The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell (OK, this was one of my choices and is one of my favorite books of all time -- cannot recommend it highly enough).
I've also gone back and read a few that were on their list before I joined. This Much I Know is True by Wally Lamb was one, and it was another instant all-time favorite. I *loved* that book so much. I had to leave a restaurant where I was reading it while I ate, because I was crying so hard. And they've read a lot that I'd already read -- Memoirs of a Geisha, The Lovely Bones, Bel Canto, Cold Mountain (all of which I liked). And were able to steer me away from others. (They each and every one hated The Mambo King Sings Songs of Love -- which I might have read, because I really liked Empress of the Splendid Season, by the same author.)
Anyway. I don't have a lot in common with the group -- they're all older than me, different sorts of jobs, a wide range of religions and all but one has kids. But that's good for me, to talk to people I probably wouldn't otherwise socialize with at all and find common ground. And I've read and liked a lot of books I would never have otherwise picked up. (And a few that I wish I never had.)
Plus, the one hardfast rule of book club is that there is always dessert. So even if you don't like the book, it's totally worth it.
Pretty much anything goes. We don't read a lot of nonfiction, but we usually have a couple scattered throughout the year. We don't read it if it's not in paperback yet, though, so that it's not too expensive.
To give you an idea of what sort of things we tend toward, this month we read The Last Report on Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich (liked a lot). Before that, there was What is the What by Dave Eggers (mixed reviews, but very good for discussion); Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (mixed reviews -- I didn't like it); My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki (weird but good); 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult (a lot more pop lit than we usually choose -- very gimmicky); Libra by Don DeLillo (way, *way* over my head); The Girls by Lori Lansens (about conjoined twins and (surprisingly) very good and sweet); and one other that I missed because I was on a trip for work and can't remember.
I was thinking about The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian. I've been eyeing it for awhile. Has anyone else read it? I'm not a huge Great Gatsby fan -- would that take away from it? And if I don't remember a lot of the Great Gatsby details, should I reread it first?
I've also read recently and would like others to read (because I adored them) Garden Spells or Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen, or Child of My Heart by Alice McDermott. But I'm not sure if they'd be good for discussion. Anyone else read any of those and have an opinion?
I'm really liking book club (and, yes, I laughed really hard at the witches' book club last season). I've been a member for about two years now, but the club just passed its 10th anniversary. And this month was their 100th book to read. Since I've joined, my favorite books that they've read have been The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch (called a "young adult" book, but really, *really* good); Gonzalez & Daughter Trucking Company by Maria Escandon (loved the twisted way this story is told -- I actually thought of trying to see if I could copy the story telling method for a Supernatural story; plus it's just good fun); and The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell (OK, this was one of my choices and is one of my favorite books of all time -- cannot recommend it highly enough).
I've also gone back and read a few that were on their list before I joined. This Much I Know is True by Wally Lamb was one, and it was another instant all-time favorite. I *loved* that book so much. I had to leave a restaurant where I was reading it while I ate, because I was crying so hard. And they've read a lot that I'd already read -- Memoirs of a Geisha, The Lovely Bones, Bel Canto, Cold Mountain (all of which I liked). And were able to steer me away from others. (They each and every one hated The Mambo King Sings Songs of Love -- which I might have read, because I really liked Empress of the Splendid Season, by the same author.)
Anyway. I don't have a lot in common with the group -- they're all older than me, different sorts of jobs, a wide range of religions and all but one has kids. But that's good for me, to talk to people I probably wouldn't otherwise socialize with at all and find common ground. And I've read and liked a lot of books I would never have otherwise picked up. (And a few that I wish I never had.)
Plus, the one hardfast rule of book club is that there is always dessert. So even if you don't like the book, it's totally worth it.