<p>I think the South African romance was The Fever Tree</p>
<p>We mentioned The Snow Child last time. </p>
<p>I mentioned The Rosie Project last time but now veto. I’m about 1/3 through with it and like it, but it’s a “slight” read - just for fun. I can’t see it sustaining discussion for long.</p>
<p>Our winter book needs to be a long one - a “sit inside” under blankets type of book. (I’m such a baby - it’s in the 40s here and I refuse to go out unless necessary.) Past January books - The Help, 11/22/63, and Possession come to mind.</p>
<p>My mind’s blank but here’s something that might generate ideas (with plenty of genres from which to choose):</p>
<p>Suggestions, anyone? I see *The Goldfinch<a href=“fiction,%20771%20pages,%20and%20mentioned%20on%20the%20Best%20Books%20thread”>/I</a> and *Night Film<a href=“mystery/thriller,%20624%20pages,%20and%20an%20Amazon%20Book%20of%20the%20Month%20August%202013”>/I</a></p>
<p>Hoping you have an uneventful Friday 13, psychmom</p>
<p>If anybody wants to read a good, long book, I’d recommend the Booker Prize-winning The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. I’m about halfway through it and am really enjoying it.</p>
<p>I agree that short stories turned out to be a great format for discussion, but I don’t think I want to do a set back-to-back. Love Sherman Alexie though. My husband is currently reading The Toughest Indian in the World. From what he tells me, the stories might be a little raw for this group.</p>
<p>I’m interested in all the other books that have been mentioned, except The Fever Tree. I’ve read it and so has SouthJerseyChessMom. She told me before I started it that she didn’t think it had enough depth to sustain a discussion and she was right. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but it’s more of a palate cleanser, to be read quickly between better books.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Texans. (shakes head)</p>
<p>2 degrees here today and I’m reading The Count of Monte Cristo,1243 pages. Come on out to the Midwest, we’ll show you how it’s done. ;)</p>
<p>I found the last 4 stories in “Dear Life” somewhat more interesting because they are autobiographical, but still had a like/dislike reaction to them – not unlike my feelings about the book as a whole. I do like Munro’s “way with words,” but it may be a while before I read more of her work. (So many books, so little time …)</p>
<p>As always, I’m open to reading anything. For January my RL club is reading “The Art of Hearing Heartbeats” by Jan-Philip Sendker. Don’t know much about it, so can’t comment. 4 1/2 stars on Amazon, but only 336 pages.</p>
<p>H is flying today – hadn’t paid attention to the date until it was brought up here … :)</p>
<p>I’d be willing to tackle The Goldfinch, but it is long and I just started a huge Brandon Sanderson fantasy. (Almost 700 pages.) I loved Donna Tartt’s first book, but haven’t read anything else of hers.</p>
<p>Despite what shellz wrote, I am interested in The Goldfinch. I really liked Tartt’s The Secret History, and The Goldfinch has gotten good reviews.</p>
<p>I choose Book Club Ideas and Rather Long and Mystery/Thriller. Hmm … I like *Night Film *better than The Cuckoo’s Calling … maybe … but I’d reread either. Book Club + Historical Fiction … hmm, I’ve seen a lot about The Good Lord Bird … but I had to remove the Rather Long to get the better selection. (Hey, this is fun.)</p>
<p>I have been away for a few days. I think the short story format ended up being a good one for discussion. I wasn’t crazy about the book, but really enjoyed reading the discussion. I wonder if I would have liked some of Munro’s other books more than I liked this book? Maybe this one was just too much of her own life and personality for me. I’m not sure I like her. </p>
<p>I recently bought The Goldfinch as a special through BookBub, so I would love to read it with this CC group.</p>
<p>NJTM - Sorry for the loss of your CC friend. Very sad.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The Luminaries (reading it for my other book club, to discuss early Feb.)</p></li>
<li><p>The Goldfinch (just finished it)</p></li>
<li><p>Night Film</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The other two don’t appeal too much but I would probably read either just to follow the great discussion here!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.</p></li>
<li><p>The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.</p></li>
<li><p>The Luminaries. Reading it now. I think it would be a fun book to discuss, and cool if Tiredofsnow were discussing it here and also in her other group at the same time!</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>The Luminaries sounds like it would have a lot to discuss. (Like Possession did.)</p></li>
<li><p>The Good Lord Bird, I remember reading a review and wanting to read it.</p></li>
<li><p>The Signature of all Things seems well liked and no red flags.</p></li>
<li><p>Night Film sounds like a bit of a gimmick, but could be fun for discussion.</p></li>
<li><p>Uh oh, reviewers are comparing the main character of Goldfinch to Holden Caufield, which sinks it to the bottom of any list of mine. Say it aint’ so! Because otherwise I’d move it up! (I’m fine with prep school kids, loved A Separate Peace, Prep and was a prep school kid myself, but I can’t deal with whiny Holden types.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Aw, mathmom, I didn’t like Catcher in the Rye when I read it in high school, but I re-read it a couple of years ago and it struck me as a whole different book! This time around, I understood Holden to be having an emotional breakdown over the death of his brother, and I felt really sorry for him.</p>
<p>Anyway, at least one reviewer doesn’t feel that the protagonist of *
Goldfinch* is too Holden-ish:</p>
<p>NJTM: I’m so sorry to hear about your CC friend–my condolences.</p>
<p>My votes:
Good Lord Bird
Luminaries (though the length seems daunting)
Any of the others</p>
<p>I’m really glad I had this group to discuss Dear Life; it wouldn’t have engaged me otherwise. I just didn’t have much reaction to most of it (though I’m still upset about Jasper unilaterally redesigning his sister’s funeral!) so I was happy to follow along with the rest of you. We have much more interesting discussions than my other book groups :)</p>
<ol>
<li>The Goldfinch - This book has good reviews on CC and on Amazon…plus, I already own it… :)</li>
<li>The Signature of All Things</li>
<li>The Luminaries</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>The Luminaries</li>
<li>The Signature of All Things</li>
<li>The Goldfinch</li>
</ol>
<p>
Agree! I enjoy my RL Book Clubs a lot for the social interaction and camaraderie, but sometimes the discussion aspect is pretty light. Plus, some of you here have such different/deep/interesting viewpoints that I’ve never thought of! (Makes me feel a little dense at times, but it definitely expands my thinking - which is a good thing!)</p>
<p>Interesting…because I felt the same way about Pip in Great Expectations that mathmom and NJTheatreMOM felt about Holden Caulfied – that is, on the first reading, I couldn’t stand him; but with the passing years and subsequent re-reads, he has come to be one of my favorite literary characters.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>CBBBlinker, we were glad to have you back among us for this round! I love the different viewpoints, too, and the balance they bring to the discussion. It keeps me grounded because I think I have a tendency to take the text and let my imagination run wild. Occasionally, I have to remind myself that “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” </p>
<ol>
<li> The Goldfinch</li>
<li> The Luminaries</li>
<li> The Good Lord Bird</li>
</ol>
<p>…but really, I would read any of the five choices. They are all appealing.</p>
</p>