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What FICTION book should we discuss in November, December & January?

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2018 11:53 pm
by Chris OConnor
What FICTION book should we discuss in November, December & January?

Let's hear some great suggestions for our next FICTION book discussion. What would you like us to read and talk about next?

As always please only suggest books if you are an active BookTalk.org member AND actually plan to participate in the next fiction discussion.

Authors can suggest their own books but please be honest and state that you are the author and let us know that you will participate if your book wins and is selected as our next fiction book.

Please provide a link to your suggested book and it wouldn't hurt to tell us why you're suggesting the book.

Ideally we should have our next FICTION book selected about a week before the end of this month. We want to give people enough time to order and receive their copy.

It is VERY valuable to have this thread an actual discussion. Please comment on the books you see people suggesting.

(The list below is just a fun image of fiction books and is not meant to be a list of options. Suggest any fiction books you like.)

Re: What FICTION book should we discuss in November, December & January?

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 3:40 pm
by Litwitlou
PBS is currently running The Great American Read.

They list 100 novels and you vote for your favorites. You can vote for as many books as you wish, but only one vote per book per day.
Might be interesting to look through that list. https://www.thirteen.org/blog-post/vote ... ican-read/

Re: What FICTION book should we discuss in November, December & January?

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 10:54 pm
by Chris OConnor
If we don't get a bunch of quality suggestions flowing into this thread soon I'll simply research and find 3 highly-rated fiction books and create a poll. No matter what we need a fiction book on the menu starting Nov. 1st. :bananadance2:

Re: What FICTION book should we discuss in November, December & January?

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 8:03 am
by Cattleman
I just finished reading "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman. Fantasy, but still interesting. Not sure if I would recommend it, but there it is.

Re: What FICTION book should we discuss in November, December & January?

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 9:12 am
by Litwitlou
.
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A fiction book. Tough to winnow the field. Since Cattleman suggested a fantasy I'll run a few of the best up the flagpole and see if anyone kneels in protest. All are stand alone novels.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Mark Twain

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Susanna Clarke

The Last Unicorn
Peter S. Beagle

Glory Road
Robert A. Heinlein

Watership Down
Richard Adams

The Once and Future King
T. H. White

Or Neil Gaiman is fine.

Re: What FICTION book should we discuss in November, December & January?

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:14 am
by clp1tx
Running from Safety by Richard Bach

Re: What FICTION book should we discuss in November, December & January?

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:17 am
by Chris OConnor
Thanks for that suggestion! Richard Bach also wrote two books I thoroughly enjoyed. As an aviation enthusiast his A Gift of Wings and Biplane were absolutely wonderful at capturing his/my passion for flying.

Re: What FICTION book should we discuss in November, December & January?

Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 12:25 pm
by Cattleman
Just read the introduction to "Running from Safety." Intriguing. I read "Jonathon Livingston Seagull" years ago, can't remember if I liked it or not.. But I do remember it had a lot of philosophy in it , as this book no doubt does. I would definitely consider it for a Fictin Book discussion.

Re: What FICTION book should we discuss in November, December & January?

Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 11:38 am
by Harry Marks
I enjoyed "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" (like I have enjoyed all the Neil Gaiman I have read) and would enjoy discussing it. I fear there is not a lot of meat on the bones, as Gaiman is better at surprise twists and intriguing juxtaposition than at convincing ideas, but it is a good read and moving in some parts.

This is the top review for "Less," currently the leading humorous book on the bestseller list and a bit long at 270 pages:
amazon.com/Unknown-Less/dp/B0714BGV1V/r ... sean+greer
After I started reading Less I immediately thought “So, why did this win the Pulitzer?” Then, about half way through, I began to understand. By the time we get to Morocco with Arthur Less, I was mentally comparing Less to Lolita, though the characters are nothing alike. While you hate the protagonist Humbert in Lolita, there is no denying the power of the novel. And where you will love the protagonist Arthur Less, it is the writing that shines here, not the sweep of the story or the depth of the characters. Is there a literary genre called Profound Humorous Romps? That’s where this book belongs. This is not a “gay” book, but Arthur is gay. This is not a story about middle age, but Arthur is confronting his own aging. This is a story about how humans are constantly swimming upstream against life.
And this for "The Other Child" by Pyrkko Rytkonen, which gets only 4 star ratings but takes only 200 pages.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077CVFZDZ/re ... l_2?psc=1
I loved this book! I thought it was going to be the typical picture perfect family with a dark side, but that was not the case. Emma, the main character, has it all: the perfect husband, darling daughter, and is in line for a promotion at her job. What more could she ask for? And this my friends, is where the story begins. Little by little the facade that Emma has put up for most of her life is beginning to crack. Work is stressful, there is tension at home, and a piece of her past shows up on her doorstep. How will Emma be able to navigate through one crisis after another all the while keeping a smile plastered on her face and her “perfect life” intact?
I'm not especially sold on either one, but I'm not sold on Richard Bach either, so I thought I would throw out some of the not-too-long alternatives I found. Would love to read a thriller.

The original Joe Leaphorn book by Tony Hillerman is just 304 pages
amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10VQ/ref=se ... s_rw_dp_sw It is not much in the way of literature but the series and author won a lot of action/mystery awards.

Louis L'Amour's beloved "Riders of the Dawn" is only 155 pages.
amazon.com/Riders-Dawn-Western-Louis-LA ... oks+kindle

Re: What FICTION book should we discuss in November, December & January?

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:05 am
by Cattleman
I have long been a fan of both Tony Hillerman and Louis L'Amour. I read "The Blesing Way" the book Harry refers to, and found it fascinating - his descriptions of the modern Southwest blended with Native American history and culture.

While I have read many of L'Amour's books, sadly "Riders to the Dawn" is not one of them.

I would recommend either book.