Sure doesn't stop me from telling YOU what YOUR book club should read next, though!
Here are some books I've read that I would have loved discussing when I finished them:
Unless, by Carol Shields
Reta Winters -- contented mother, wife, writer, translator -- finds herself thrown for a loop when her daughter drops out of college to beg on a Toronto street corner with a sign reading "goodness." I think it's because Reta and I must be close to the same age and when I first read the book, my children were about the age as hers in the novel, but I cannot get enough of this book. I've purchased other Carol Shields books, but I haven't read them yet. I'm just not done with Unless. The structure, the mix of tragedy and comedy, the language -- there is so much in this slim volume.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot
An unusual selection from me as I don't read a lot of non-fiction, but I'm trying to be inclusive here. This was on all the best seller lists a couple years ago. Did you read it then? Do you know the story? Henrietta Lacks was a black woman in Baltimore who developed cervical cancer. A researcher trying to grow human cells for research took a sample of hers and they grew unlike any collected before. Okay, interesting questions of patient rights arise, but it doesn't stop there. Her story intersects with the polio vaccine and the Tuskegee Institute, among other mid-century focal points. Skloot did a great job of representing all the voices in this fascinating, and controversial, history.
An unusual selection from me as I don't read a lot of non-fiction, but I'm trying to be inclusive here. This was on all the best seller lists a couple years ago. Did you read it then? Do you know the story? Henrietta Lacks was a black woman in Baltimore who developed cervical cancer. A researcher trying to grow human cells for research took a sample of hers and they grew unlike any collected before. Okay, interesting questions of patient rights arise, but it doesn't stop there. Her story intersects with the polio vaccine and the Tuskegee Institute, among other mid-century focal points. Skloot did a great job of representing all the voices in this fascinating, and controversial, history.
Gemini, by Carol Cassella
Another medicine-based story, this is a well-written novel by a local doctor/writer. I loved all the main characters, even as they infuriated me. The writing and language are good. The plot twists are surprising, yet realistic. Two different stories unfold in alternating chapters -- a contemporary drama and a kids' friendship about 20 years earlier. It makes for a good structure for the story arc as a whole.
Another medicine-based story, this is a well-written novel by a local doctor/writer. I loved all the main characters, even as they infuriated me. The writing and language are good. The plot twists are surprising, yet realistic. Two different stories unfold in alternating chapters -- a contemporary drama and a kids' friendship about 20 years earlier. It makes for a good structure for the story arc as a whole.
The Spare Room, by Helen Garner
This novel from Down Under gives you a medical drama without the financial concerns. I know, right? That's not something you get with American novels. Narrator Helen offers an old friend a place to stay while she is in treatment for stage 4 cancer. It turns out that Nicola is in total denial and her specialist is a quack. Fascinating, funny, horrifying, the reader reels from the disconnect of seeing Nicola in her self-absorbed dysfunctional state while hearing what a wonderful, generous, creative friend she was. We only get glimpses of the true Nicola -- she has been possessed by a desperation so fierce that she is lost to her friends and to herself.
An Untamed State, by Roxane Gay
"Once upon a time, in a far-off land, I was kidnapped by a gang of fearless yet terrified young men with so much impossible hope beating inside their bodies it burned their very skin and strengthened their will right through their bones." So begins Mireille's story of imprisonment, torture, surrender, betrayal, and the nearly impossible climb back to life. It's a hard read, but Gay is a generous author; she gives us hope and love and prose so beautiful you will weep.
This novel from Down Under gives you a medical drama without the financial concerns. I know, right? That's not something you get with American novels. Narrator Helen offers an old friend a place to stay while she is in treatment for stage 4 cancer. It turns out that Nicola is in total denial and her specialist is a quack. Fascinating, funny, horrifying, the reader reels from the disconnect of seeing Nicola in her self-absorbed dysfunctional state while hearing what a wonderful, generous, creative friend she was. We only get glimpses of the true Nicola -- she has been possessed by a desperation so fierce that she is lost to her friends and to herself.
An Untamed State, by Roxane Gay
"Once upon a time, in a far-off land, I was kidnapped by a gang of fearless yet terrified young men with so much impossible hope beating inside their bodies it burned their very skin and strengthened their will right through their bones." So begins Mireille's story of imprisonment, torture, surrender, betrayal, and the nearly impossible climb back to life. It's a hard read, but Gay is a generous author; she gives us hope and love and prose so beautiful you will weep.
Middlemarch, by George Eliot
Is your group in the mood for a classic? This fits the bill, plus gives you passion, feminism, hypocrisy, greed, vanity, love, snark and glorious writing. It's oh so meaty and many, many writers owe Eliot their careers.
I'd love to hear what you think of this list! What's on yours?
Is your group in the mood for a classic? This fits the bill, plus gives you passion, feminism, hypocrisy, greed, vanity, love, snark and glorious writing. It's oh so meaty and many, many writers owe Eliot their careers.
I'd love to hear what you think of this list! What's on yours?
2 comments:
Hmmmm, but two of these boos were suggestions from virtual boookclubs, i.e. Toast. I guess that doesn't really count, since you don't have the pressure to see and discuss the books "live". I will always take YOUR reading suggestions and just looked up "The Spare Room" to add to my own list. The trouble is finding time to read all the good suggestions from others. That is why I just go to my own bookclub for the food!
True, Yvette. The Toast hosted book clubs for both Middlemarch and An Untamed State (although I discovered the latter too late to participate). And actually, The Spare Room is a recommendation from The Toast as well. Maybe I should just cut to the chase and link to those folks!
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