This thread is for book nominations for the month of November. For anyone unfamiliar with the process, each person suggests two or three books to read, and after we have enough nominations, we take a vote to see which book we'll be reading and discussing. As usual, the book can be of any genre, and people can suggest novels, short story collections, or poetry collections. The only thing to keep in mind is the length of the book. I know several people have jobs, school, etc. so please don't nominate a very long book. The goal is to have a book picked by the first week of October. That way, everyone has enough time to get a copy. Also, if one of the mods could sticky this, that would be great. Thanks.
Since nobody has made any suggestions so far, here are some of the suggestions from last time to get things started. The City and the Stars by Arthur Clarke Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearne The Hobbit by Tolkien Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee
Under Milk Wood - Dylan Thomas Walking On Glass - Iain Banks Half Of A Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Brighton Rock - Graham Greene
I'd take American Gods if it becomes a viable contender, but would naturally prefer one of my suggestions.
Must have missed that one. Just done a search here and indeed American Gods won a poll as "October's Book of the Month" (I'm guessing last year), but I don't see a thread following on from that discussing it. I do see one or two threads of individal members discussing the book before this time however. Perhaps the Book of the Month thread disappeared in one of the unfortunate purges? Either way, if it has been done before as a recognised Book of the Month we perhaps oughtn't do it again. Maybe it was chosen, but never studied?
I remember choosing American Gods, but I don't think we ever started a discussion on it for the book club. The only problem with choosing American Gods is that it's almost 500 pages, which may be hard for some people to finish in a month.
Here's my three favourite novella-length novels that I strongly reccommend you guys try, because they've made a huge imprint on my life: 1) The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks (The life of a very, very strange boy. Mega twist at the end) 2) The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker (Hellraiser - very original genre fiction) 3) I'm Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti (Italian novella through the eyes of a child. Sinister and very engaging) A couple of novels I've read in the last couple weeks, which I loved, but are probably a bit long. I'll name them anyway: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (slow paced and literary, great social comments about aristocracy in the 40s, in paranormal circumstances) Memoirs Of A Geisha by Arthur Golden (World fiction about the life of a fictional Japanese Geisha; compelling, absorbing, and simply filled with Japanese culture. Literary and creative in style) I would strongly suggest you guys read one of the novellas; they changed my life in their own ways.
Yes, the book is called room. It's told by the five year old son of a woman who has spent years locked away in a kidnappers garden shed. The point of view of the child and the whole concept would make for an interesting conversation.
It looks like American Gods and The City and the Stars have the most votes so far. I would like to have a book chosen by this weekend, so if you want to participate and haven't already voted, then please do so.
Either of those sounds good to me. And so that I don't forget by the time the vote for December rolls around, I would recommend Little Bee by Chris Cleave. It's a fairly quick read, but it's also very...profound, for lack of a better word.
American Gods has the most votes, so if no one has any objections, that will be our book of the month for November.
When writing the last post, I forgot that American Gods is quite a long novel. So given the length of the novel how many people would still be willing to read it?
I've recently read American Gods and it's still fresh in my mind, so I vote for it as well. One really can't go wrong when it comes to Neil Gaiman.
