I looked at our past discussions for books we considered and almost picked.
I think Mary nixed The Dutch House on the grounds that quite a few of us had already read it. I have now but, if it’s still under consideration, I’d listen to the audio and join in. I didn’t include some titles where no one seemed all that interested (Malibu Rising, for example) but am more than willing to read it, should others want.
We talked about The Lincoln Highway. I’ve read it and liked it, though wouldn’t really want to reread it. Not saying I wouldn’t but rather I doubt I would, if that makes sense. It’s really just a matter of too many other books I want to read. With that in mind, West with Giraffes was on our past list and sounds somewhat similar …
My two new suggestions:
The Secrets We Kept - Lara Prescott (and then there’s always the movie Doctor Zhivago as sort of a multi-media extra.)
The Anomaly: A Novel - Hervé Le Tellier. Recently translated into English by Adriana Hunter. Disclosure - A friend recommended it to me. I’ll finish it today and can recommend it. Easy reading but some food for thought. It may be hard for some to get.
Would you all consider Peyton Place? I read it recently and thought it was fabulous. There’s a lot of social constraint during the era and a lot of events occur that would be well worth discussing. I genuinely felt it was literature and think a discussion about it could be fascinating.
It was scandalous at its time, although by today’s mores it’s not so much. Note that the movie and the TV show really only used the title of the book – they are very, very loosely based on the book. As a book club, I’m sure we could just focus on the book itself and ignore all the other media.
It’s also a quick read, even though it’s something like 500 pages.
Not suggesting these books, because I haven’t read them, but a friend mentioned them during our walks.
Has anyone read these , have opinion about book discussion selection?
The Book of Longing - Sue Monk Kidd ?
The Henna Artist - Alka Joshi
I’m not too concerned about that (but I bet it’s part of what made it so scandalous back in the 50’s).
I haven’t read them-- I’ll add them to the list, 'cause why not at this stage.
Here’s what we have:
The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott The Anomaly by Herve Le Tellier Peyton Place by Grace Metalious The Book of Longing by Sue Monk Kidd The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan Milkman by Anna Burns Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Well, my vote – not surprisingly – is for Peyton Place. Regardless, I’ll almost always read whatever the group decides. (Middlemarch was an exception – I just couldn’t!)
I’ll veto The Book of Longings. One of my book clubs read and discussed it recently. Few seemed to like it more than a “meh.” (I missed the book and discussion but a couple friends filled me in later, when I thought about reading it.)
If I had to choose it would be The Secrets We Kept because word of mouth here has been positive. I guess Peyton Place would come in second on my list but the Kirkus Review of the 1999 edition is - shall we say - less than enthusiastic. Still, @VeryHappy seems happy (couldn’t resist) with it, so no veto from me there.
Honestly, none of the choices are inspiring a must-read feeling at the moment.
My daughter recently moved back home (grad school) and she is a BOTM member, so I temporarily have a greatly expanded library. There are selections that came out a little while ago, which got a lot of buzz at the time, but I haven’t read, e.g., The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet, A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum, An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, etc.
I mention these as a reminder that there is that in-between category of contemporary books that are neither classics nor new releases, but worthwhile reads that are easy to get at the library.
I’ll add it to the list in place of The Book of Longings:
The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott The Anomaly by Herve Le Tellier Peyton Place by Grace Metalious Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan Milkman by Anna Burns Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
I had read Olga Dies Dreaming when it was recommended a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it - I would not have a problem with it being selected.
Even though Malibu Rising is off the list, I did read that and more by the author - my favorite was Daisy Jones and the Six - my favorite of the four I read.
This is only just coming out, but it might be something to read in the future: Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson. Bonus: Dolly Parton made an album to go with it!
Olga Dies Dreaming looks interesting, so I put it on hold just in case 6 out of 32 copies. (And that doesn’t include audio and large print copies.)