Isa
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Post by Isa on Feb 8, 2009 9:48:14 GMT -5
Which contemporary novel would you like to read and discuss next?
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Michelle
First novel published
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Post by Michelle on Feb 8, 2009 9:58:52 GMT -5
I don't really like being the first to make suggestions. It's too overwhelming - I need a smaller list to choose from.
But, I would like to suggest that if we read big chunks like we did for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn that we have more than a week to read them. That discussion sort of ran out of steam and I know I had trouble keeping up. I only finished on time because I literally sat and read all day one day.
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Post by neveralone on Feb 8, 2009 11:11:30 GMT -5
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd The Shack by William Young Dreams From my Father by Barack Obama The Host by Stephenie Meyer
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Post by Lucky on Feb 8, 2009 13:22:55 GMT -5
From neveralone list, I'd like to read The Host right now . But I would like to read also: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck East of Eden by Steinbeck Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
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Post by bookaddict on Feb 8, 2009 14:14:13 GMT -5
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini A View From the Castle by Alice Monro The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Poisonwood Bible
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Post by Hanna on Feb 8, 2009 14:18:01 GMT -5
I think both the Grapes of Wrath and A Thousand Splendid Suns sound good. That might be because I already have both of them though;)
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Feb 8, 2009 16:33:27 GMT -5
But, I would like to suggest that if we read big chunks like we did for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn that we have more than a week to read them. That discussion sort of ran out of steam and I know I had trouble keeping up. I only finished on time because I literally sat and read all day one day. We've never had much success with long novels on the book club, no matter how we break it up. If we space it out more, then the discussion seems to go on forever and people lose interest... so I'd suggest going with books that are about 300 pages long, that seems to work the best I would also like to do "The View From Castle Rock" by Alice Munro, it'd be nice to do a Canadian author "The Poisonwood Bible" would also be interesting... Some of my previous suggestions were "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss, "Bel Canto" by Ann Patchett, and "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards.
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Post by Hazy on Feb 8, 2009 17:52:51 GMT -5
I'm not sure if this counts as contemporary but I think Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) might be fun, it's by Jean Rhys and it's a prequel to Jane Eyre, telling the story of the "woman in the attic" and her marriage to Rochester. Also. it is a very manageable length
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Michelle
First novel published
Posts: 2,563
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Post by Michelle on Feb 8, 2009 18:35:05 GMT -5
But, I would like to suggest that if we read big chunks like we did for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn that we have more than a week to read them. That discussion sort of ran out of steam and I know I had trouble keeping up. I only finished on time because I literally sat and read all day one day. We've never had much success with long novels on the book club, no matter how we break it up. If we space it out more, then the discussion seems to go on forever and people lose interest... so I'd suggest going with books that are about 300 pages long, that seems to work the best I think that's a good idea. And keeping the sections to less than 100 pages. So far, I like: - The View From Castle Rock
- A Thousand Splendid Suns
- Poisonwood Bible (but is that one long?)
- The History of Love
- The Memory Keeper's Daughter
- Wide Sargasso Sea
So pretty much all of your suggestions.
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Post by Dominique on Feb 8, 2009 19:33:01 GMT -5
Wide Sargasso Sea is my favourite suggestion so far. I haven't read it before but I think it would be good to discuss as we would discuss parts of Jane Eyre as well. The View From Castle Rock sounds good too.
Some stuff from my tbr list: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (not sure if this would be a classic or contemporary) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. The House of Spirits by Isabelle Allende.
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Halie
Collection of short stories published by an independent editor
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Post by Halie on Feb 8, 2009 20:33:22 GMT -5
I'd kind of prefer not to read Wide Sargasso Sea as I've never read Jane Eyre (believe me... I've tried.) I don't know. It just kind of seems like picking New Moon or Harry Potter 4. If we want to read something Jane Eyre-related, why not wait until we read a classic, then nominate the original?
already suggested that sound good: The History of Love I Capture the Castle (I've been wanting to read this for sooo long) Revolutionary Road
others that I think sound good (in no particular order): The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery Silk by Alessandro Baricco White Oleander by Janet Fitch Prague: A Novel by Arthur Phillips Divided Kingdom by Rupert Thomson Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
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annak
Collection of short stories published by an independent editor
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Post by annak on Feb 9, 2009 1:59:20 GMT -5
Love the suggestion for The House of Spirits by Isabelle Allende
I tried reading Wide Sargasso Sea on my own years ago and it REALLY didn't work out, haha. But I might be inspired to give it another go by the discussion.
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bookworm
Collection of short stories published by an independent editor
"Everything you can imagine is real" - Pablo Picasso
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Post by bookworm on Feb 9, 2009 4:10:11 GMT -5
Some stuff from my tbr list: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (not sure if this would be a classic or contemporary) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. The House of Spirits by Isabelle Allende. I'd like to read The Remains of the Day or I Capture the Castle, I've had them on my tbr list for a while...
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Post by neveralone on Feb 9, 2009 12:10:36 GMT -5
maybe this time we can give everyone the month to read the book at their own pace and have a discussion at the end of it? Lost of books clubs in "real life" only meet after everyone finishes the book, so trying that format could be worthwile.
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Post by bookaddict on Feb 9, 2009 16:49:55 GMT -5
maybe this time we can give everyone the month to read the book at their own pace and have a discussion at the end of it? Lost of books clubs in "real life" only meet after everyone finishes the book, so trying that format could be worthwile. I think that's a good suggestion.
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