Book Club Book Selection Thread

I'll toss The Corrections out there. It got a lot of very positive reviews on the old board. It follows the story of an upper middle class family focusing mainly on the three kids and their transitioning into being middle aged. Sounds boring, but it's downright hilarious at times, and for my money the best American satire out there. It has a lot of interesting social commentary and jabs without being over the top and ridiculous (like say, American Beauty). I think it was runner up to win the Pulitzer the year it came out so it's pretty well regarded in the critics' circles as well as audiences. It's a bit longer than the books we've done so far, but it's one of those books you fly through pretty quickly.

I love this book and will defend its status as the funniest book ever written until the day I die, but I really have no idea what we're supposed to discuss other than saying such and such character was hysterical.

 

Ok guys, the new options are up for the January book.

Just an FYI, I'm going to trial a new nomination system. All the books that don't win this poll will rollover into the next month's poll. That way I won't need to keep calling for new nominations each month. Then we'll just a have a list of books we can work through. You can still nominate new books, which I'll just include in the following month's poll when I rollover all the previous ones. Obviously if some books consistently get zero votes I'll remove them over time.

If people have feedback/suggestions on the new system then let me know. I'll be particularly interested in the opinions of regular book club contributors.

 

I think that system is best. Perhaps if one book hasn't got any or few votes after being available for 3-4 months, you could decide to cut it from the list? That way come mid-2015 and onwards we don't have an extremely long list going.

 

I would also like to put up for vote Sailing Alone Around the World by
Joshua Slocum.

Joshua Slocum’s autobiographical account of his solo trip around the world is one of the most remarkable – and entertaining – travel narratives of all time. Setting off alone from Boston aboard the thirty-six-foot wooden sloop Spray in April 1895, Captain Slocum went on to join the ranks of the world’s great circumnavigators – Magellan, Drake, and Cook. But by circling the globe without crew or consorts, Slocum would outdo them all: his three-year solo voyage of more than 46,000 miles remains unmatched in maritime history for its courage, skill, and determination.

Sailing Alone around the World recounts Slocum’s wonderful adventures: hair-raising encounters with pirates off Gibraltar and savage Indians in Tierra del Fuego; raging tempests and treacherous coral reefs; flying fish for breakfast in the Pacific; and a hilarious visit with fellow explorer Henry Stanley in South Africa. A century later, Slocum’s incomparable book endures as one of the greatest narratives of adventure ever written.

 

Sorry for the delay, I got caught up over the New Year period and didn't get a chance to update the book club. With a long deadlock between Inherent Vice and Blood Meridian, I decided that we'll do one of those two in January and the other in February. I flipped a coin and Inherent Vice is the January book. I won't open up voting for the March book until February, so feel free to keep sending in nominations.

Edit: the list as it currently stands is:

Sailing Alone Around the World - Joshua Slocum
Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
A River Runs Through It - Norman Mclean
'Dubliners' - James Joyce
American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Corrections – Johnathan Franzen

 

I'll nominate "Under The Volcano" by Malcolm Lowry.

 

Alright guys, sorry for the long delay, but the options are up for the next book.

I started a new job in February and can't access the site while at work anymore and I'm doing pretty long hours. At this stage, I'd say it's unlikely I can continue to run the club in a reliable and timely manner. If someone else wants to volunteer to take up the job, then I'll happily hand it over. I'm really only running it, because I'm the only one who volunteered.

If no one else volunteers to do it then I'll keep running it, but I'll be delayed and reasonably unreliable at it. Seems like a small, but committed group of people is reading each book and I'd hate to see it lose momentum and die just because I can't run it properly anymore.

 

The current list is decent, but I'm fine with whatever as long as it keeps my nose in a decent book.

 

Just to remind everyone of the selection thread. Hoping for a last minute rush as 3 votes for the top book is hardly justification for a thread.

 

I realize these threads are really losing steam, but are we going to try one for May?

Edit: And if everyone else is really too lazy to run this I can do it. It's not like it's a huge chore...

 

It's a longer read, but I'm going to stick The Corrections. Great novel, and probably the best American satire I've ever read.

 

I think a Robert Heilein novel would get widespread appeal on here, maybe Starship Troopers or Stranger In A Strange Land. We shall grok over either books well.

 

That's a great call, and if people want to do a shorter book Starship Troopers would be perfect. Plus, it's perfect for creating a lot of discussion.

 

I hope we get a little more discussion for this month's book, but in the meantime go ahead and post any nominations for next month.

 

I'll submit "The Martian" by Andy Weir, because that's what I'm reading right now anyway.

I'm only about 1/4 way in, but so far I find it enjoyable. Seems well thought out, though the scientific explanations for everything require a little suspension of belief if you actually think about it deeper than taking it at face value.

 

Poll is up for July. Have at it folks.

I started this a little late as I was hoping for more nominations, but this is what we got. I'll leave it open for five days and then start the July thread. Everything voting wise and whatnot is the same as before.