Big Perm Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 if you were starting a book club, what would you suggest for the first book? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Depends a bit on the folks in the book club, I think. What's the group like? I started one with teachers from my school a few years ago and they were mostly women and myself. I ended up reading some good stuff I never would have and turned them on to an excellent Lou Gehrig biography. One older chick teacher who knows very little about baseball claims it to be one of her favorite reads. We read Cannery Row at my urging another time and most of the people complained that Steinbeck writes like a child and doesn't make for much of a storyteller. Go figure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Perm Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 i'd say a more of a novice group, not that anyone can't read, an ecelectic mix - but low key, easy going. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Somehow Form a Family: Stories That Are Mostly True by Tony Earley Here We Are in Paradise: Stories by Tony Earley Jim the Boy : A Novel by Tony Earley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Perm Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 i really need to read/see those Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 i'd say a more of a novice group, not that anyone can't read, an ecelectic mix - but low key, easy going.My favorite book this past year was Finn, by John Clinch. It kind of picks up where Twain's Huckleberry Finn leaves off and focuses on the abusive and drunken lout of a father, "Pap" Finn. I'd figure that most people have read Huck Finn so most would have something in common from the get-go. It's an easy and fascinating read with rich, time-sensitive language and does a great job of honoring Twain's novel without mutilating plot lines and characters. Here's a quick synopsis/review:http://www.amazon.com/Finn-Novel-Jon-Clinch/dp/1400065917 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenbobblehead Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Fiction:Winters Tale by Mark HelprinSuttree by Cormac McCarthyForever by Pete HamillLife of Pi by Yann MartelThe Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami Non Fiction:Second Nature by Michael PollanGiving Good Weight by John McPheeLet us Now Praise Famous Men: James AgeeA World Lit Only by Fire by William Manchester These are all really accessible books for folks who maybe don't read and analyze a lot of books and maybe are just learning how to verbalise what they like (or not) about books with people they might not know too well. they are entertaining and a few have ended up as oprah books i think (life of pi maybe) but don't let that dissuade you. none of them are particularly timely but generally are great books by great writers . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yermom Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 John McPheeWhat a cool writer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 any non-fiction work by Anthony Bourdain Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EL the Famous Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 i'll just say that the recent 33 1/3 on Tribe Called Quest's 'People's Instinctive Rythms' is absolutely phenomenal. for anyone who only knows rap/hip-hop from what they see/hear today and doesn't understand why some people look at it as one of the most intellectually stimulating/socially conscious genres of music to come along in the past 20 years...this book could just make sense of it all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Fiction:Winters Tale by Mark HelprinSuttree by Cormac McCarthyForever by Pete HamillLife of Pi by Yann MartelThe Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami Non Fiction:Second Nature by Michael PollanGiving Good Weight by John McPheeLet us Now Praise Famous Men: James AgeeA World Lit Only by Fire by William ManchesterThese are all really accessible books for folks who maybe don't read and analyze a lot of books and maybe are just learning how to verbalise what they like (or not) about books with people they might not know too well. they are entertaining and a few have ended up as oprah books i think (life of pi maybe) but don't let that dissuade you. none of them are particularly timely but generally are great books by great writers . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ction Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Raymond Chandler - The Long Goodbye Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Anything by Bill Bryson. Especially Mother Tongue. But anything by him. He's a treat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duck-Billed Catechist Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Peace Like a River by Leif Enger is one of my favorite books. Low key probably fits. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Peace Like a River by Leif Enger is one of my favorite books. Low key probably fits.This is a good call. I love this book. The guy has a way with wording/phrasing his sentences that ropes me in. It's a very image-heavy book for me. I've read it 3-4 times. I wish he'd put out another book. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Raymond Chandler - The Long Goodbye Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyjimmy Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Fiction:Winters Tale by Mark HelprinSuttree by Cormac McCarthyGood calls.I'd add just about anything by Richard Russo, Vonnegut, and Chabon to a fiction list for a book club. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Election - Tom PerrottaMr. Vertigo - Paul Auster Quote Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
austrya Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Fall On Your Knees was good. The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was good too. The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter, but I'd get that one in before people see the movie. I don't think the movie is going to do the book justice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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