Deliverance? Who the hell chose that? Really weird as I just started reading it about an hour ago completely unrelated to this thread. *Twilight Zone theme* Nee-nee-nee-nu, nee-nee-nee-nu.
Ok guys, I volunteered to help run the book club, so let's see how long this thing can last. I'll let the votes run for a couple of days and whichever book is leading when I make the new thread on 1 October will be our book of the month. FYI, I'll put the thread up on 1 October my time, so any Americans will probably need to get their votes in by 30 September. Any books suggested since this poll went up will be rolled into the poll for the next month. Let me know if that sounds alright.
Ok guys I'm unlocking this thread to open nominations for the November book. I'll be rolling over the nominations of Starship Troopers and Gone Girl from last time, because they both got such high votes. So far the nominations for November are: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - John LeCarre Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn Star Ship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlen Put your nominations below if you want to add to the list.
Fiend by Peter Stenson. It's a zombie apocalypse book, except the only people that survived are Meth addicts. It's a crazy, raw read and very good.
Just letting everyone know I'll close up nominations and put up the poll on the 23rd so everyone can have around a week to vote for the November book.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. It's set in Florida in the early 20th century and follows the development of an all black community, but the story is centered on the protagonist and her experiences. It is a romance novel, but not in a cheap or sappy way. It was initially panned because the book largely ignores the racial issues of the era, but as the book got mainstream it took off and now the critics say it's a master piece. Go figure. It's one the tibettes would probably like, every woman I know who's read it loved it. It's one of the best all American novels every written. My one caveat is that it will take you 30 or so pages before you get used to reading the slang. It's only in the dialogue, but it can be a bit off putting to some at first.
Marching Powder - Rusty Young I haven't actually read it, but the premise seems really interesting. There's talk Don Cheadle will be playing the lead in the movie adaptation. I've just taken a summary of the book from elsewhere:
Let's try for Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller again. It's a good winter book. Semi-autobiographical tale about Miller in the Parisian ex-pat community. Part sex, part philosophy, part hedonism, part literature analysis. Originally published in 1934 it was banned in the US until a landmark free speech case in 1962. One of the few books that earned its reputation. It is quite filthy and frank, even by today's standards, especially since it is written as high literature. An excerpt:
My nomination for the month will be Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Here is a brief synopsis : For those who are ready to think about what their spiritual journey can be, Siddhartha will be a revelation. Donald Mitchell The book is short and simple, but very profoundly and poetically written. Hans Most Helpful Customer Reviews 78 of 79 people found the following review helpful Masterpiece of western literature By Kedar Deshpande on January 2, 2008 Format: Paperback Siddhartha is both a western and eastern tale. Though it was written by a westerner, it has the soul and power of an ancient eastern myth. It is at once a timeless story and one that the reader will wish to continually revisit at different phases in his or her life. Hesse does a remarkable job in capturing the tone, cadence and moral complexity of ancient Indian religious stories. His "revisionist" take on the life of Buddha is at once fresh and familiar to anyone who has read the sermons of the Buddha or who has studied ancient Hinduism and Buddhism. The themes of self-doubt, denial, asceticism and spiritual rejuvenation are both profoundly and cleverly handled in Hesse's superb narrative. In many ways, this is a book that serves as a summation, and improvement on, all of the religious texts one has read. The fictional aspect allows Hesse to interweave common literary devices, such as heroic journeys and coming-of-age revelations, to make the text, as a whole, much stronger and more impacting than a dry sermon. Siddhartha's narrative works as a cycle, with each chapter offering commentary on the vices and victories of mankind and the ultimate futility of the material world. Like the river that Siddhartha comes to love, the book flows, and never missteps or hesitates in reaching remarkable insights into the nature and philosophy of humanity. This is a book that will stay with the reader for a lifetime. Its simple structure belies a greater complexity; be sure that this book leaves the reader with no easy answers, but it is sure to inspire thought and joy.
It's a very good book, but it's kind of a slap in the face to people who don't care about religion. Personally I don't care what we do, but let's not do another book about dating and relationships since we just did two in a row. I'll toss Blood Meridian out there. I always wanted to do a discussion on it since it's so hard to find decent academic opinions about the book. It's the best novel ever written about violence, so it has that going for it.
December book options are up. With only 3 nominations, I've changed it so you can only vote for one option. It's not a big pool, but they're all pretty solid books.
Just going to post here to encourage people to nominate books for the next month. It seems like a core group of 8-10 or so members has formed who read the books, but only 2-3 members who reliably nominate books. I'm going to nominate A River Runs Through It by Norman Mclean. It's a deeply moving story of brotherhood and loss set to the background of fly fishing. It also has one of my favourite final passages in any book.
I nominate Inherent Vice by Tom Pynchon. This his his most fun read, easier to follow compared to his more dense works (but not as brilliant) with a unique crack-up for a narrator. It's also (I cannot believe this) Been made into a movie-- a movie that Pynchon himself has applauded. Paul T. anderson directed it and I cannot wait. But the movie isn't inportant here, check out this book it is a lot of fun.
I nominate 'Dubliners' by James Joyce. It's a book of short stories, and in my opinion is probably Joyce's best work.
I'll also throw in (if Im allowed to nominate another) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, of the funniest, craziest and all-around greatest American novels ever written. It's lots of fun to read.