Author Topic: Suggestion Box for Future Book Discussions ~ (Read 283433 times)

JoanP · « **Reply #1120 on:** November 22, 2013, 09:53:14 PM »

Nominations NOW for April Book Club Online

Titles are all linked to reviews or descriptions

Title	Author
*The Invisible Wall*	Harry Bernstein
*Fried green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe*	Fanny Flagg
*Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet*	Jamie Ford
*The Imperfectionists*	Tom Rachman

MARCH BOOK CLUB ONLINE:

William Least-Heat Moon's Blue Highways (Join HERE for our March discussion - March 3)

Contact: JoanP

Frybabe · « **Reply #1121 on:** November 23, 2013, 08:07:10 AM »

Sounds like a plan, JoanP. We seem to have a larger choice than the last few.

ANNIE · « **Reply #1122 on:** November 23, 2013, 05:37:16 PM »

I had the same reaction, Fry. They all look good! I also chose "Blue Highways" as my first choice! It looks most interesting and quite different from our present read.

JoanP · « **Reply #1123 on:** December 02, 2013, 08:27:28 AM »

OK, we have some results... With so many choices, we've narrowed the list, but need to go into a run-off vote. This time, you get ONE choice for January discussion ! To tell the truth, I'd be happy to discuss with any one of these four with you in January. Can't wait to see which one you choose!

Final Vote for January discussion-HERE

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #1124 on:** December 02, 2013, 02:24:33 PM »

OH dear now the field may be smaller but a lot harder to choose. Have to think on this one.

PatH · « **Reply #1125 on:** December 03, 2013, 10:33:12 AM »

The field includes my three previous choices, so it's going to be hard for me too.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1126 on:** December 07, 2013, 03:08:05 PM »

Oh the suspense, the suspense!

JoanP · « **Reply #1127 on:** December 07, 2013, 04:27:56 PM »

You've got that right, Fry! Watch for an announcement tomorrow!

JoanP · « **Reply #1128 on:** December 08, 2013, 01:16:52 PM »

Here you go, Fry. You might have expected this...

SeniorLearn's January Book Club Online selection must be decided this week - by you! Sometimes we need multiple votes when there are so many excellent nominations. We promise to consider these titles for future reads in the new year, but for January we are down to these TWO TITLES.
Please cast your vote HERE without delay! Thanks, everyone!

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #1129 on:** December 08, 2013, 02:32:06 PM »

Hahahaha I am rolling laughing - the two books I finally dithered over after having read excerpts of all four - decided I could not put up with Thackeray's writing style for a whole book and as much as I liked The Virginian I was entranced with Gaskell's writing and it would be a joy to read but then Blue Highways was far deeper a story than I imagined when it was described as a travel book. So here we are with the two I had narrowed it down to - oh me oh my.

PatH · « **Reply #1130 on:** December 09, 2013, 09:35:10 PM »

Barb, I'm with you on Thackeray's writing style. I started Vanity Fair several times before I could finally get into it. But then it caught my interest and I read it straight through.

JoanP · « **Reply #1131 on:** December 10, 2013, 10:21:17 AM »

Even with the Vanity Fair votes excluded, the vote between Blue Highways and Wives and Daughters is neck and neck! Please vote, everyone!

Frybabe · « **Reply #1132 on:** December 10, 2013, 10:51:38 AM »

Not a hard choice for me this time around.

JoanP · « **Reply #1133 on:** December 15, 2013, 08:45:01 PM »

Others had a hard time...we came this close to another tie!
The vote between Elizabeth Gaskell's 19th century novel, Wives & Daughters and William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways published in 1982 was extremely close from the start, with Mrs. Gaskell edging her opposition by very few votes. They couldn't be more different. We've decided to schedule Blue Highways in March - hoping you will all stay with us though both of these winners!

Please drop in the just-opened discussion of Wives - to let us know if you'll be with us on January 2. We're gathering HERE!

JoanP · « **Reply #1134 on:** February 01, 2014, 05:43:49 PM »

We've just reached the half-way point in Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters, the novel selected for the January/February Book Club Online.

It's time to talk about our March discussion selection. Are those of you who voted for William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways
still interested?

Another Non Fiction suggestion for March has come to our attention - Robert Klara's The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence. Does it appeal to you?

If you had to choose, which would you prefer? Blue Highways? Hidden White House? (We could do both)

Frybabe · « **Reply #1135 on:** February 01, 2014, 05:52:56 PM »

Blue Highways, please.

salan · « **Reply #1136 on:** February 01, 2014, 06:53:55 PM »

Blue Highways for me, too.
Sally

marcie · « **Reply #1137 on:** February 02, 2014, 01:00:03 AM »

The Hidden White House sounds good to me.

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #1138 on:** February 04, 2014, 10:39:11 AM »

When was the last time you took a tour of the White House? I bet things have changed since!!!

Well, think of what people thought after Harry Truman was elected and he decided to gut the White House and spend _____________dollars doing it? It was just after WWII and Harry had had it after a piano fell through a floor.

I think the book would be fun to discuss, all our memories of the house, who lived in it, etc.

The Washington Post Review:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-hidden-white-house-harry-truman-and-the-reconstruction-of-americas-most-famous-residence-by-robert-klara/2014/01/10/8dee00ee-7701-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_story.html

And the Internet is full of pictures of it and all its rooms, etc.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #1139 on:** February 05, 2014, 03:37:48 PM »

I've just looked that Blue Highways book up on Amazon and it looks fascinating. I think I might get it for my son and possibly my husband. Son loved Stephen Fry's TV series about his trip across the US. I remember reading 'Travels with Charley' at his age and absolutely loving it.

You do have some bizarre place names over there! But I suppose we do too, we're just used to them

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #1140 on:** February 07, 2014, 02:24:26 PM »

Although I agree Blue Highway looks like a good read let me throw another in this pile - maybe later on this one - I read the first chapter and it is fascinating. George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved America

This is the quote from Amazon.

Quote

Among the pantheon of heroes of the American Revolution, six names are missing. First and foremost, Robert Townsend, an unassuming and respected businessman from Long Island, who spearheaded the spy ring that covertly brought down the British…before they, or anyone else, could discover their names.

Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger finally give Townsend and his fellow spies their proper due, telling the fascinating story of how they passed information to George Washington that turned the tide of the war. Using a network of citizen operatives that included a longshoreman, bartender, newspaper editor, housewife, tailor, and femme fatale, and employing a series of complex codes, the so-called Culper Spy Ring used sophisticated tactics to subvert the British.

Based on previously unpublished research, George Washington’s Secret Six is a gripping history of these amazing, anonymous Patriots who risked their lives for our freedom.

ANNIE · « **Reply #1141 on:** February 15, 2014, 02:51:38 PM »

Here's another title which we might enjoy. "The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford. Our f2f group is reading it now. I liked it when I read it 5 years ago.

Published in 2009. Here's book blurb:
" In the opening pages, Henry Lee comes to a crowd out at the site of the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War 11. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.[/b]

ANNIE · « **Reply #1142 on:** February 15, 2014, 03:04:15 PM »

rosemarykaye,
There are also Peter Jenkins' books that are very good and lots of fun. "A Walk Across America", "The Walk West" (which is actually book 2 of the first one) and "Across China". All are very interesting and worth the time to read.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1143 on:** February 15, 2014, 04:34:55 PM »

You are ahead of my Adoannie. I still have The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet in my TBR pile.

JoanP · « **Reply #1144 on:** February 21, 2014, 05:39:43 PM »

You may have noticed we've just opened the Blue Highways Prediscussion - already it looks like a fun discussion. We'll use William Least Heat-Moon's best selling novel as a jumping off point to share our own travel experiences on the back roads, the blue highways of America. Even if you don't have the book, please come share your road trips... We're looking for what Ginny calls, a vicarious travel experience. Looking for YOU!

JoanP · « **Reply #1145 on:** February 21, 2014, 06:10:20 PM »

Now that we've got a start on March, we need to begin to consider April...just around the corner, really!

Two titles have been suggested recently - Robert Edsel's Monuments Men and Anna Quindlen's Still Life with Bread Crumbs. Both of these are HOT! Both are best sellers. Library hold lists are long. Does this influence your choice?

Several other titles have also been mentioned here that you have enjoyed reading lately. If you think they would be meaty enough for group reading as the top two seem to be, will you nominate them for April - and we'll get a list started - and then vote!

Frybabe · « **Reply #1146 on:** February 21, 2014, 10:39:58 PM »

Someone suggested The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein a while back. I'd still like to consider that for discussion.

JoanP · « **Reply #1147 on:** February 22, 2014, 11:44:20 AM »

OK...first title on the list of nominations. What attracts you to this book, Fry?

Frybabe · « **Reply #1148 on:** February 22, 2014, 05:21:05 PM »

I think the name of the book first attracted me and the notion of an invisible wall running done the middle of the street. More than that though, it is one man's personal chronicle of life and attitudes pre-WWI. Also, he undertook this enterprise to write three memoirs of pretty much his entire life at age 96. He actually wrote four; the last book was published posthumously. It doesn't hurt that it got excellent reviews from readers.

JoanP · « **Reply #1149 on:** February 23, 2014, 01:37:14 PM »

Thanks, Fry. That helps!

ANNIE · « **Reply #1150 on:** February 23, 2014, 11:07:58 PM »

I,too, was enticed by this author and his stories. Should be another interesting book plus its non-fiction. Time to read something true!

JoanP · « **Reply #1151 on:** February 24, 2014, 10:31:56 PM »

Quote

Here's another title which we might enjoy. "The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford. Our f2f group is reading it now. I liked it when I read it 5 years ago.

Annie, shall we add this one to the slate of nominations for April?

ANNIE · « **Reply #1152 on:** February 24, 2014, 11:35:00 PM »

Why not? I re-read it and truly liked it again!

JoanP · « **Reply #1153 on:** February 28, 2014, 08:31:16 AM »

Hotel on Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Jamie Ford

bellamarie · « **Reply #1154 on:** March 09, 2014, 01:43:29 PM »

I know I suggested this a few months back, but I still think it would be an interesting read, a good for discussion.

http://bestsellers.about.com/od/fictionreviews/gr/The-Imperfectionists-By-Tom-Rachman-Book-Review.htm

JoanP · « **Reply #1155 on:** March 09, 2014, 02:55:03 PM »

Thank you, Bellamarie just in time. Dont't remember when or where you suggested it before.

There are a few more to add from other sites, and then we should ready to roll...anyone else? We sure have a range from which to choose..

marcie · « **Reply #1156 on:** March 11, 2014, 10:02:02 PM »

I'd like to nominate DUNE. There are a lot of sequels/prequels to the original book but it stands on its own. There is an interesting review at http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/07/dune-endures.html

The review gives some reasons for reading or re-reading DUNE and why it is relevant today. The author, Frank Herbert, creates a whole, extraordinary world in vivid detail with a culture that derives from its stark desert environment and economics and politics based on its resources.

marcie · « **Reply #1157 on:** March 12, 2014, 01:40:42 AM »

I'm looking for other books that sound interesting to me and could support a discussion.

Have any of you read THREE MEN IN A BOAT? It is on some lists of the greatest novels. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Men_in_a_Boat I don't know whether or not it is a book that we could discuss for a month. It's supposed to be very funny.

Have we discussed ALICE IN WONDERLAND? Lots of footnotes in the annotated version. I'd like to read it carefully and talk about it with people here.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1158 on:** March 12, 2014, 08:30:43 AM »

Oh by, Marcie! Another two books on my TBR. Three Men in a Boat is on my Kindle waiting for me, and Alice in Wonderland (the Annotated version) is on my Amazon wish list.

I've read Dune, and seen both the movie and the TV mini series. Worth discussing.

The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is another on my TBR pile.

It looks like another difficult decision.

salan · « **Reply #1159 on:** March 12, 2014, 09:06:57 AM »

I read 3 Men in a Boat. I didn't care for it at all. I guess it was just not my kind of humor.
Sally

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Author Topic: Suggestion Box for Future Book Discussions ~ (Read 283433 times)