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October 2008 Book group suggestions

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Wow, I just looked up some more info on Howard Dully's story and I am enthralled... I definitely will be reading that book if I can get my hands on it.
 
Tender Is the Night

I'd like to start participating in this monthly group and would definately like to read and discuss Tender Is The Night. It has been on my to be read list for ages.
 
Peder said:
Actually, Gone with the Wind has been on my TBR list for ages too.:D
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As you probably guessed, Gone With The Wind is a favorite of mine. It's not that I think Mitchell was such a great writer (though she did a good job with GWTW) but I really relate Southern and the novel sheds light on the viewpoint of many of the Southern "persuasion:. Do read it. I think it is a very good book. :flowers:
 
gonewiththewind said:
As you probably guessed, Gone With The Wind is a favorite of mine. It's not that I think Mitchell was such a great writer (though she did a good job with GWTW) but I really relate Southern and the novel sheds light on the viewpoint of many of the Southern "persuasion:. Do read it. I think it is a very good book. :flowers:
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I wouldn't at all mind reading it for one of our monthly BOTM selections. :)
 
I wouldn't mind reading GWTW gains. I'm sure it would make for some interesting discussion.

I am wondering if the 1000+ pages might be a little long for some of our members.
 
Peder said:
I wouldn't at all mind reading it for one of our monthly BOTM selections. :)
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I reread it for the [probably] 6th or 7th time recently, and really since it had been a good 20 years since I'd read it, I had a whole new perspective on the characters.

I first read it when I was about I guess.....15 or so, and a 15 y.o.'s perspective to late 50's is really, really different! Natch, it would be, but still it surprises me in a way, particularly since I'd read it in-between so many times.

Oh, meant to add, it is not a difficult read, it goes very fast, so I don't think it'd be a huge problem for even slower readers.
 
Sounds like shorter books it will be then. I'll re-scan the shelves with that in mind.
 
I re-read "The Great Gatsby" about 3 months ago, so in staying with the 20th Century suggestions:

- Catch 22
- Grapes of Wrath
- To Kill a Mockingbird

or for a change of pace...

- Great Expectations
- Huckleberry Finn
- Don Quixote


-Larry
 
Robert said:
I think 400 pages is fine with most people. Do we need to discuss a page limit?
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I think a consensus might be a good idea, if we could arrive at one, since some preferences have already been expressed. 400 pages might be an outside limit? 300 more comfortable? Dunno. :confused:
 
I still think that once a number of selections have been posited a poll should be used to winnow the selections. If enough people want to read a book with 1,000 pages, why should we deny them the opportunity? Democracy beats arbitrary rules, even if democracy results in a book I am not likely to read.
 
It's safe to assume that not every reader is going to read every BOTM. That's not my concern.

My concern is that we don't want to put people off by suggesting a lot of titles that they might not have suffiicient reading time to complete.

I would like to get a feel for what others feel they can handle. I don't think anybody would be put off if we had a GWTW length novel every now and then, I just want to make sure we give everybody as many opportunities as possible to join in.
 
Another approach to very long books would be to split any book over 300-400 pages into two months. In a live (face-to-face) book club that works fairly well. I'm not sure we could sustain it online.

I like the suggestion of Tender is the Night.
Or how about Twain's Life on the Mississippi.
Or Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
 
Wuthering Heights has about 450 pages , I finished it in about 15 days.The story was very good and I would not put it down.

GWTW would be alot for me personally. I agree to a vote with all the suggestions and if it is picked, I would not back down from reading it I think.

Tender is the Night and Zelda Fitzgerald's book sounds interesting. Would they have to be read in a particular order to be understood better?
 
SeoulMan said:
My suggestions, in no particular order:

The Mirror by Lynn Freed
Ironweed by William Kennedy
Last Orders by Graham Swift
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
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Well, I won't pretend to be disappointed that you guys haven't mentioned how thrilled you were with my nominees. :sad:

However, I would like to point out that Lynn Freed is one of the most underrated authors of our time; William Kennedy's Ironweed won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; Graham Swift's Last Orders won the 1996 Booker; and Louise Erdrich's highly acclaimed Love Medicine won the 1984 National Book Critics Circle Award.

Most importantly, these books are not long.
 
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