Friday, September 25, 2015

Book Choices: January-June 2016

Here are our themes and some possible book choices for the next 6 month period.  We hope to decide on books at our NOVEMBER meeting so come prepared!

This is simply our list from 2015 (minus the books we actually read)... if you have an additional suggestion, please add it.  If you remember that we discussed one of these books and definitely decided that we were not interested, please add a comment about which one and why and I will remove it from the list to save us time on decision making.  Thanks!!

  • January - Change Your World... an inspirational book that could be a biography or autobiography (hostess: Karen)
         - some options include:
    • The Quiet Room by Lori Schiller & Amanda Bennett (Danielle's recommendation; about a young woman's journey with mental illness)
    • Between Gods by Alison Pick... one woman's discovery that she is really Jewish and how she struggles to make sense of her heritage, faith and family in the midst of depression
    • Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng (the true story of one woman's sufferings during the Cultural Revolution in China... see review in July 2010) 
    • Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (about building schools to educate women in Afganistan)... this book is also interesting in that it has been widely discredited
    • Night by Elie Wiesel (a classic memoir about one teen's struggle to come to terms with guilt and God after surviving the death camps in WWII)
    • I Hate to Leave this Beautiful Place by Howard Norman (a memoir)
    • Queen of the Air by Dean N Jensen (a biography that may inspire a new fitness routine for 2014?!)
    • An Invisible Thread (reminds me of Same Kind of Different As Me)
    • Some Assembly Required (a true story of a woman's first grandson and how he changes her life)
         
  • February - Be My Valentine...  In Feb 2012-2015, we had a couples book club meeting on a Friday in mid-February and picked something that we felt quite sure that the guys would enjoy too -along with a full meal - appetizers, dinner and dessert- and this went over really well.  (hostess: Lindsey)
        - some options include:
    • The Orenda by Joseph Boyden.. Canadian history, big adventure, amazing author
    • A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout (for the girls) and The Price of Life by Nigel Brennan (for the guys)... his and hers versions of their experience of being kidnapped in Somalia
    • The Martian by Andy Weir... on a mission to Mars, one man is left behind - presumed dead - but he isn't.  How will he survive alone until the next Martian mission can rescue him?  (Jon and I read this on holidays this summer - enough survival action and tech talk to keep the guys hooked, but a real portrait-of-a -survivor character study that kept me hooked too.  The language is iffy at times,but an engaging read that is sure to spark lots of conversation!) 
    • here are a few manly book club lists to appeal to our guys: for men,top 100 for men,   popular men's books 
    • Do you or your hubby love Duck Dynasty?  How about this one?
    • The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (the story of the brothers of flight and the pivotal role of their sister in bring the dream of flight to life)
            
    • March - Reader's Choice... we usually give the hostess first dibs here, although anyone with a favorite that they are itching to read with us could step up here. (hostess: Marian)
              - here a master list of favorite book club picks to inspire us!  Maybe a library book 
                club kit?
            
    • April - The Lastest Buzz ... one the most talked about novels of the year; any genre or age level as long as there is some buzz around the book lately (hostess: Melissa)
             - here's the NYT best-seller list to get us started
             - some options include:

      • And the Mountains Echoed by Kahled Hosseini (a multigenerational story from the author of A Thousand Splendid Suns)
      • Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (remember Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird?  She'll all grown up and this is her story)
      • The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (a murder mystery; a psychological thriller; a heart-pounding, can't put it down read - so the reviews all say)
      • Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel (a theatre troupe is trying to keep spirits alive after a devastating flu pandemic in this post-apocalypse tale)
      • The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood - brand new title!

    • May - Forgotten Favorites... a classic children's novel; sometimes we push the boundaries on "classic" and read the hottest new book for Middle Graders instead. (hostess: Shelagh)
             - some options include:
      • The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame... another classic with a subtext about the wonder of reading and writing books
      • The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.. a classic, a laugh-a-minute, clever story
      • 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher... a modern classic for teens dealing with the after math of a suicide
      • The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate... a Newbery Medal winner; written as a gorilla's journey.  So well written!
      • Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool... a Newbery Medal Winner; Abeline discovers secrets that change her view of her father and herself; and she changes the town she's visiting too

    • June - Celebrate Canada... a Canadian author writing a story that takes place in Canada - past or present (hostess: Sherrie)
             - some options include:

    9 comments:

    1. How about "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand about Olympian Louis Zamperinni and his Japanese war camp experience? Could fit into January, February or April. I haven't read it, but Arie thought it was incredible. (Also a movie)

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    2. Ahh! We read a Laura Hillenbrand book (about horse racing/betting; I forget the title) one year and it was so bad that no one finished the book and we ended up cancelling the (June) meeting! Maybe this one's better?!

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    3. Unbroken is a very good book!! I loved it! Last night we tentatively made the decision to do it for February's month!

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    4. For June Canadian author Lawrence Hill has a new book 'The Illegal'. Also Joseph boy den has a short stories collection called 'Born with A Tooth'.
      Would love to do 'Whistling past the Graveyard' or 'The Flying Circus' by Susan Crandall. Not sure what month these could fit into though!
      Saw 'The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommended' at Costco, the back of the book says "Warning once you let books into your life, the most unexpected things can happen...." Looks like a fun read!

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    5. I just noticed I am on the schedule to host January and May :-). Another endorsement for "Unbroken" from me, it took me a long time to get going, and its probably not a book you can sit and read for hours, but well worth the time!

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    6. Humans of New York looks like a great read too!!

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    7. Don't know where it would fit in, but 'The 19th Wife' by David Ebershoff is really good, would make for great discussion. About polygamy in the Mormon church. The edition I read had questions in it too.

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    8. Hi Ladies,
      I'm not able to make the meeting tonight, so I thought I'd post my suggestions here, if you do pick books tonight.
      January - The Quiet Room (my MIL thought it was well written too!)
      February - Dustin and I have a better chance of making it if the book has a movie that can be watched ;) I could potentially get him to read something from Duck Dynasty, though.
      March - Apparently there are a lot of ppl disappointed with Go Set a Watchmen. I noticed that Lisa Genova has a new book at Costco - Inside the O'Briens - looks good??
      April - I'd love to read The Girl on the Train!
      May - any of the options listed are fine with me. Don't really have a preference
      June - I'm interested in The Birth House by Ami McKay, but I have a feeling a few of you have read it already

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    9. The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks (novel about King David)

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    Tell us what you think!