The Bookish Girl

Emergency Post ~ 2005-02-08

Posted in General by Bookish Wendy at 3:47 pm.
9

Okay – so my bookclub has its monthly meeting this evening at 7 pm EST. It’s my turn to bring three selections to the table. We will vote for these selections and the majority winner will be our next read.

I’m usually fanatical about choosing these titles. It requires a lot of thought. However, I’ve dropped the ball and I haven’t done a lick of research.

What should I bring? Three titles. I’m thinking a “classic”, as we haven’t read too many of those. I’m not married to this idea, so other suggestions would be great! Please help! These ladies are relatively liberal and open to all kinds of genres.

Now, I know I should bate you with something fun and prize worthy. I’m at a loss.

How about this…whoever responds with a title that gets chosen will receive a Valentine’s Day card from me. A true homemade in the postal service mail valentine – Sealed with a Kiss! (lame,but I’m desperate here…don’t hold it against me.)

Okay – remember…the meeting is at 7 pm EST. All submissions should be in by 6:30 EST.

Go Team Bookish!

Related posts:

  1. Random Post #1
  2. Best Of…
  3. Eyre of your ways.

9 Comments

  1. melanie says:

    I know I’ve mentioned this one before, but I can’t help it. It’s amazing. It’s not a classic but only because it’s so new. If I Told You Once by Judy Budnitz. She has a new book just released today called Nice Big American Baby (short stories).

    Classics? I love Crime and Punishment, but that’s kind of heavy duty.

    Comment - February 8, 2005 : 4:42 pm

  2. um says:

    hmm, i would recommend any thomas hardy novel (particulary tess of the d’urbervilles) just b/c i love him so :) i also really like dodie smith’s i capture the castle (which was recently made into a movie, i think). i also love anita shreve novels, too, particularly fortune’s rocks. yesterday was dickens’s birthday, maybe one of his novels?

    can you do short stories? hawthorne has some great ones, like rappaccini’s daughter and young goodman brown. or maybe some by guy de maupassant, the master of twist/surprise endings (like the necklace).
    if you ask my dh, he’d chuckle and recommend thomas pynchon’s gravity’s rainbow, just for the gross parts (and by gross i mean fecal consumption).

    i guess you got more than you bargained for in that answer – sorry! i hope this helps, and good luck!

    Comment - February 8, 2005 : 4:50 pm

  3. Anonymous says:

    So Long, See You Tomorrow is a masterpiece of gigantuan proportions, even though its only about 140 pages. Written by William Maxwell, a master if there every was one (he was Fiction Editor at the New Yorker for 40 years – during its peak, to be sure), you can’t go wrong with this tale of love and betrayal.

    Brick Lane by Monica Ali was a great book group read and a very interesting book. Ambitious to be sure – lots to talk about.

    Libra by Don Delillo is an awesome ride – it’s about the Kennedy Assasination. Even though you know the ending, man, you can’t put it down.

    Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – beats the pants off of Wurthering Heights if you ask me. And if everyone’s read it already, then Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. A pre-quel to Jane Eyre, if you will.

    I’ll be back with more if I come up with anything good.
    Cara
    http://www.januaryone.com

    PS – You can always suggest The Curious Mind of the Dog in the Night-Time if you feel like reading only one book this month! Or Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norell – it looks like that one will win for March. ;-)

    Comment - February 8, 2005 : 4:57 pm

  4. Lauren says:

    I agree with the Thomas Hardy suggestion. For more modern: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (Chabon), Independence Day (Ford).

    Comment - February 8, 2005 : 5:03 pm

  5. Stitchy McYarnpants says:

    I’m going to throw in “Confederacy of Dunces” by John Kennedy Toole. It is one of my personal favorites. It’s not an old-timey classic, but it did win a Pulitzer Prize. It’s hilarious and puts across such amazing, although often uncomfortable, atmosphere. You really can feel this book. And the story of its publication is really interesting as well. (The author committed suicide in 1969 and his mother finally got it published in 1987, with thanks to Walker Percy). Every time I read it, I like it even more.

    Comment - February 8, 2005 : 5:36 pm

  6. Heidi says:

    Exciting!

    Sometimes a book of short stories is a nice alternative to Ye Olde Novel for the book group. How about this one:

    “Drown” by Junot Diaz.

    They are all “of a piece” as some people might say, about the experiences of Dominican immigrants in New York City. Very very good.

    I can’t wait until this guy writes another book already!!

    Whatever you choose, have fun at the bk groop
    :) Heidi

    Comment - February 8, 2005 : 5:41 pm

  7. Anonymous says:

    The best book (it’s actually the beginning of a series) I have read recently was _The_Eyre_Affair_ by Jasper Fforde. This is especially fun for anyone who has read the classics as there are all kinds of blatant and hidden literary references. Definitely not going to become a classic, but very fun.
    (And possible to read while knitting!)
    Laura A.

    Comment - February 8, 2005 : 6:17 pm

  8. Shelley says:

    I’ll put in a recommendation for Anthony Trollope’s Barchester Towers. Set in Victorian England, the story revolves around the endless victorian fascination with upperclas young men and women trying to find mates, but it also has side interests of religious controversy, and political and social power struggles. It is also very funny throughout. It has one of the best endings of any of the contemporaneous novels, as all of the characters and all of the intertwining subplots come together at a party in a manor house. Trollope is good with strong, independent female characters, at least in terms of Victorian England. It might be a nice Spring read!

    Comment - February 9, 2005 : 11:00 am

  9. Linda says:

    For good books which will have great discussions…try:

    Anna Karenina – a great classic which provides a lot of “food for thought” and great discussion.

    The DaVinci Code – Dan Brown – a lot of thought provoking topics included in this book.

    Chocolat – Joanne Harris – a short but interesting read. Provides for good discussion.

    for a really fun and down right funny read try :
    One For the Money – Janet Evanovich – a hilarious and entertaining mystery that will have everyone talking and laughing.

    I used to work at the library in town here and these were among the most common used books for book clubs as they provided great discussions.

    Comment - February 9, 2005 : 4:22 pm

Sorry, the comment are closed.

«
»