BookTalk.org

It's time to start thinking about what book of fiction we would like to discuss during the months of September and October.

Please add your fiction book suggestions here and remember to add a link to the book you are recommending. Feel free to add whether or not you have already read the book you are suggesting, and why you feel it would make for a good discussion. Comments on the books suggested are crucial to deciding which books will go into the official poll. Please leave feedback on the suggested novels, without feedback, it is impossible to determine which books will generate the best discussions.

Members who are eligible to nominate books are those members who have made a minimum of 25 posts. The goal for our fiction discussion is to attract active members who will participate in the discussion of the book of fiction that is ultimately selected.

Also, if there is a particular genre of novel that appeals to you, please mention this as well. A new approach to selecting our non fiction books in now in effect. This new approach is to select a topic first, and then suggest books within that topic. This approach may be helpful in selecting our fiction books. For instance, if the majority of fiction readers prefer “historical” fiction, we can use this information to efficiently choose a book that will produce a successful discussion.

However, this process of nominating and selecting books of fiction gives readers a good opportunity to explore genres and authors that are new. But the goal cannot be forgotten, we are looking for the best selection that will attract active participants and result in a satisfying discussion.

"The Tin Drum"
Gunter Grass

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/produc ... 55&s=books

"When Günter Grass published The Tin Drum in 1959, it was as if German literature had been granted a new beginning after decades of linguistic and moral destruction. Within the pages of this, his first novel, Grass re-created the lost world from which his creativity sprang: Danzig, his home town, as he remembered it from the years of his infancy before the catastrophe of war. Here he comes to grips with the enormous task of reviewing contemporary history by recalling the disavowed and the forgotten: the victims, losers, and lies that people wanted to forget because they had once believed in them. The unforgettable Oskar Matzerath is an intellectual whose critical approach is childishness, a one-man carnival, dadaism in action in everyday German provincial life just when this small world becomes involved in the sanity of the great world surrounding it. It is not too audacious to assume that The Tin Drum will become one of the enduring literary works of the twentieth century."-- The Swedish Academy, awarding Günter Grass the Nobel Prize for Literature, 1999

The Tin Drum uses savage comedy and a stiff dose of magical realism to capture not only the madness of war, but also the black cancer at the heart of humanity that allows such degradations to occur. Grass wields his humor like a knife--yes, he'll make you laugh, but he'll make you bleed, as well. There have been many novels written about World War II, but only a handful can truly be called great; The Tin Drum, without a doubt, is one. --Alix Wilber

Before I start thinking about books, I will state generally that I like reading science fiction, but generally the kind of science fiction that is also accepted into the canon of "literature," and generally do not like books that are in a series, although this is not a blanket statement. I also adore magical realism, which is especially apparent in a lot of Latin American literature, as well as stories about war, and dystopian futures in general. Someday I would like to tackle Les Miserables, but this is still not that time.

I do actually have a book in mind, now that I think about it, but I'll post it a little later. I'm also curious to see what others have to say.

bleachededen wrote:I also adore magical realism, which is especially apparent in a lot of Latin American literature, as well as stories about war, and dystopian futures in general.

Maybe you will adore, "The Tin Drum"? Magical realisim about war!

I am in agreement, I would also like to read something in the genre of magical realism.

I like science fiction as well - to be more specific, post-apocalyptic (which I think is sort of a genre on its own, but it could be loosely interpreted as sci fi) and space opera (think Mass Effect, Star Wars). The only magical realism I've read is Jose Saramago's works... Actually, I think my suggestion or whatever will be one of his novels.

(I also like historical fiction, especially ones that take place in the 1900's, and I like some fantasy... pretty much everything, really. I'm even attempting to branch out into romance novels, although its hard to find one that isn't cheesy!)

Blindness by Jose Saramago

Amazon page


Personally my all-time favorite novel. Saramago, a Nobel prize-winning author, has a unique writing style, but it's easy to pick up and I find it actually helps build tension and suspense in the book. Blindness is the story of a city in which an epidemic with no apparent cause or cure occurs - an epidemic of....you guessed it, blindness. Only instead of seeing total blackness, they see nothing but white. The people are quarantined in an old mental asylum, and are herded and treated like animals. The story revolves around a group of people, all unnamed (instead, they have titles such as 'the doctor' or 'the woman with dark glasses') as they try to survive. One woman in the group, however, is not blind; she only pretended so that she could join her husband. Her site gives them an advantage as they escape the quarantine and return to the city. At its core, it would fall under the genre of magical realism, but also contains elements of post-apocalyptic (indeed, it is under many peoples' post-apocalyptic novels lists). There is also a movie based on the book, which is currently available on DVD.

"This is an important book, one that is unafraid to face all of the horrors of the century." - The Washington Post

....Aaaand that's my schpeel (did I spell that right?).

I haven't read a post-apocalyptic book in a while, I've seen a couple movies... I would definitely sit in on that. If I ever write a book it will probably be either that or planet colonization.

Alright, here's my choices:

Pride and Prejudice
The Jungle
Hunchback of Notre Dame
Grapes of Wrath
East of Eden
Beowulf
Madame Bovary
Animal House
Fahrenheit 451
Brave New World

Pres., what do you think of the books already sugessted?

"Animal House" is a book, like the movie "Animal House"? Or do you mean "Animal Farm"?

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
Maybe, I haven't read this and have always wanted to.

Blindness by Jose Saramago
This sounds interesting, it is certainly out of my comfort zone, but I would try it. Great sugesstion Wilde!

lol Animal Farm... sorry

President Camacho wrote:Alright, here's my choices:

Pride and Prejudice
The Jungle
Hunchback of Notre Dame
Grapes of Wrath
East of Eden
Beowulf
Madame Bovary
Animal House
Fahrenheit 451
Brave New World

There is a thread about Fahrenheit 451. It would be good to read.