<p>I would love to read any of these five books!</p>
<p>I would vote for The Cat’s Table, only because I got it for Christmas! 
I’m happy, though, to read any of the five.</p>
<p>This is for April? Is there a book for March?</p>
<p>Hi alwaysamom, we read a book every other month, so we are choosing the April selection now. The every-other-month schedule gives everyone time to read books that didn’t make the short list for our group discussion. (NJTheatreMOM is probably starting The Fault in Our Stars right now…and I hope she reports back to us about it! :))</p>
<p>Here is the list of our past selections, for reference:</p>
<p>2009:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/722812-cc-june-summer-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/722812-cc-june-summer-book-club-selection.html</a> (The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society)</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/739173-dreamers-day-july-cc-summer-book-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/739173-dreamers-day-july-cc-summer-book-selection.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/756770-sarah-s-key-august-cc-summer-book-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/756770-sarah-s-key-august-cc-summer-book-selection.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/775489-american-wife-october-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/775489-american-wife-october-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/802971-thirteenth-tale-december-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/802971-thirteenth-tale-december-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p>2010:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/839908-help-february-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/839908-help-february-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/874004-shadow-wind-april-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/874004-shadow-wind-april-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/921062-elegance-hedgehog-june-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/921062-elegance-hedgehog-june-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/950434-let-great-world-spin-august-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/950434-let-great-world-spin-august-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/983235-cutting-stone-october-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/983235-cutting-stone-october-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1017662-moonstone-december-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1017662-moonstone-december-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p>2011:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1051496-major-pettigrew-s-last-stand-february-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1051496-major-pettigrew-s-last-stand-february-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1088114-water-elephants-april-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1088114-water-elephants-april-cc-book-club-selection.html</a> </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1128229-hotel-corner-bitter-sweet-june-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1128229-hotel-corner-bitter-sweet-june-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1164259-secret-garden-forgotten-garden-august-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1164259-secret-garden-forgotten-garden-august-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1196045-state-wonder-october-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1196045-state-wonder-october-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1227061-before-i-go-sleep-december-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1227061-before-i-go-sleep-december-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p>2012:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1258379-11-22-63-february-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1258379-11-22-63-february-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p>Mary13, I’d be fine with any of those final five. What are you leaning towards?</p>
<p>I will say that ** The Bridge of San Luis Rey**, Pulitzer Prize winner is my front runner, by a nose.
And, speaking of horses. In case you missed the news, Atlantic City Steel Pier announced a few days ago it is bringing back the “iconic” diving horse this summer by Memorial Day. So I am quickly assisting organizers against this effort. (Even started a CC thread to bring some national attention) It’s a cruel thing to make a horse Dive from 40 ft height.)
If you share my view consider signing this petition, now almost 14,000 -<a href=“Facebook”>https://www.facebook.com/DivingHorseCruelty</a></p>
<p>Now back to regularly scheduled lovely book discussion !</p>
<p>Thanks, Mary. I thought that it was every other month but I wasn’t positive. I’ve participated in some of the discussions and have read many of those books. I have to congratulate you on organizing this group and on the job you do with hosting/piloting the discussion. What an excellent job you do! </p>
<p>SJChessmom, I hesitate to comment again on the Atlantic City horse issue as my comment in your thread was for some unknown reason deleted. But I wanted to let you know that I forwarded the information to many of my NJ friends.</p>
<p>Thanks Alwaysamom for forwarding that. I don’t remember starting a thread, and accidentally started two, one in the ‘college’ parent forum. Perhaps you posted there, and that entire thread was deleted?</p>
<p>Thanks, alwaysamom. I always appreciate it when you join us. The more voices, the more lively the discussion!</p>
<p>SJChessMom, I signed the petition –- the horse diving show sounds awful. 
</p>
<p>Re our book choices: I am leaning slightly toward The Bridge of San Luis Rey, partly because I’m ready for a classic and partly because of the review that ignatius posted (which maybe just means I should read more articles by Danny Heitman).</p>
<p>I don’t think I’ll ask people to rank because it’s pretty evident that the one book that will be on everybody’s list (even if not in the #1 slot) will be The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Everyone okay with that as our April selection?</p>
<p>Sounds great!</p>
<p>I’m in. Only one problem…it’s not available for Kindle. :(</p>
<p>^ I noticed that. At least it’s a slim volume of only 120 pages. If it were the size of 11/22/63 and not available for the Kindle, I would have had to exercise my veto power during our selection process! :)</p>
<p>The Bridge of San Luis Rey should be readily available at any library, and you can get a used copy for seventy-five cents + shipping from Amazon. Hooray for the older classics!</p>
<p>Good choice, I’m happy.</p>
<p>I’m in! should be interesting.</p>
<p>Count me in! </p>
<p>As always … thanks to Mary!</p>
<p>I know I’m late to the party here, but I did read 11/22/63. Our lives where somewhat out of control during January (both of H’s parents died) so it took me longer to finish the book.</p>
<p>I’ve skimmed through everyone’s comments – and have now probably forgotten many! Anyway, overall I enjoyed the book – and this is the first King novel I’ve read. Great writing? Not really. Attention-grabbing story line? Yes indeed. I do agree, however, with those who said the story dragged in a few places. Several times I put down the Kindle and said," Just get on with it, already!" After all that, though, the ending seemed rushed and slapped together. The apocalypse-like scenario Jake finds when he goes back to 2011 was over the top, IMO, but perhaps that was intended. (As an aside, someone mentioned “The Road” – I HATED that book.) And thanks to King’s son for suggesting the ending that was actually used in the book – I didn’t like the original version at all.</p>
<p>Part of the reason I liked the book so much is because the whole concept of time travel is so intriguing. I loved the “Time Traveler’s Wife,” and am currently on the 2nd “Outlander” book. (Again, enjoying the story line but can’t endorse the “literary” value.)</p>
<p>Looking forward to the next selection – even if it’s not on Kindle! (Hm-m-m, this will give me a reason to check out the local bookstore in our new neighborhood.) And I’d just like to add I’m particularly enjoying this online Book Club since I haven’t found a RL one in our new location. Thanks Mary.</p>
<p>I thought the only parts of “11/22/63” that dragged were the parts about the surveillance of Oswald. I guess King sort of had no choice but to include them, and he couldn’t “spice them up” too much because they were about real people.</p>
<p>January sound like it was indeed a very rough month for your family, CBBBlinker…my condolences.</p>
<p>I am really late for this but I put off reading the book until I was on vacation. I enjoyed this book and I enjoyed all the posts about it. I love the way King brings small details to life and can always picture his scenes in my head. I feel like I have taken a small trip myself back to my childhood. My favorite King books are The Stand, The Dead Zone, Firestarter and the Dark Tower series. He has a new Dark Tower book coming out in April.</p>
<p>Now on to the Bridge!</p>
<p>I may try to read the new book with y’all. I just finished 11/22/63 and really enjoyed it. I like long books a lot, so I thought it was the right length. I really hate it when books end too soon. I like for a book to take at least a week to get thru it and I find that I finish anything under 500 pgs too quickly. </p>
<p>I felt some of the reason King built the Dallas hate into the book was to try to convey the atmosphere of racism during the time. I was a toddler then, but going to a rural school in North La., I didn’t see blacks at all (other than in my parents store, but they came to the back door, sadly) until after court ordered desegregation in 1969-1970, which goes along with what some others here said. I realize the actual order was before then, but small southern districts took longer. I was unhappy with the apocalyptic 2011, but I did feel that the bizareness was sort of necessary to make it totally impossible to consider not undoing what Jake did. Because of the strings, the earthquakes made a little sense to me.</p>
<p>I don’t much care for symbolism and typically don’t like to look for it in books. I like to be entertained…call me shallow or whatever you like for that. LOL!! But I did think that Harry being in a wheel chair and Sadie ending up exactly the same kind of said…“the past is what is it and no matter what you do, it will still be the same.”</p>
<p>About the Jimla…I had a different take than any of you. I felt it was a nonsense word created by King to give you the shivers, etc., but I felt in the end, that Jake was “the Jimla”. Rosette was having bad dreams of “The Jimla” and I felt that in the end Jake realized he had become the Jimla monster who destroyed the world. </p>
<p>I hadn’t read any Stephen King in a long time. I read many of his early books, Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Stand, and I stopped at Cujo because I was so disturbed by the “monster”. No way could I have read Pet Cemetery. The Stand is one of my all time favorite books and I have re-read it several times, but when I did, I haunted my dreams. I may have to try the “Dome” book or the Dark Tower series.</p>
<p>Like someone else here, I love the Outlander series. I’ve heard several people say they hated The Road, so I’ll stay away from it. I’ve been on an apocalyptic bent lately and need to get away from it. In a row, I read Atlas Shrugged, The Hunger Games books (loved them, much better than the concept sounds), Divergent, 11/22/63, and I’m currently reading One Second After. I need to find something fun and happy. LOL!!!</p>
<p>I’m glad to find an online reading club that seems to stick around and read. I live in Houston, TX/Lafayette, La and have a college sophomore daughter. Look forward to reading with y’all!!!</p>
<p>TXDivermom–welcome! I like your analysis. And thanks for the post-Apocalyptic suggestions…I sometimes like to read about survival in such times, probably cause I’d actually be a wimp if it happened to me. I think the 1st such book I read was in 7th grade–Farnham’s Freehold–and it was an eye-opener!</p>
<p>And your edit made me smile. :)</p>
<p>I was thinking back to this book last night. I had DVR’d the new series Awake and finally caught up with all episodes. The premise of the show reminded me of 11/22/63. A police detective and his family are involved in a car accident. A member of his family is killed and he lives alternating and parallel lives, one where his wife has died and one where the victim is his teenage son. Now that there have been a few episodes and the premise has been explained and established, the parallel lives are a part of the story in the cases he is investigating at work, as well as the stories in his private home life. I wasn’t sure that I was going to like the show after the first episode but it is becoming more and more interesting and the cast is excellent. Just thought I’d add this to the discussion to see if any of the rest of you have seen the show.</p>
<p>Thanks alwaysamom! I am always looking for something different to watch on Hulu and I will check out Awake.</p>
<p>Taxidivermom, glad you are joining us. I hope The Bridge Over San Luis Rey doesn’t disappoint you as it is a short book :)</p>