Fellowship Point - December CC Book Club Selection

I haven’t read Persuasion and back to A Town Like Alice … interesting. I know nothing about it other than those who’ve read it seem to love it.

1 Like

I read a lot of Neville Chute when we were in Germany once my German got good enough to not feel guilty about wanting to read something other than gloomy German classics! The library had mostly fat Victorian novels - I read a lot of Trollope, Henry James and some Dickens. Chute was a big relief after that! My best friend had been a big fan of his pre Australia books. (Poignant stories about RAF flyers as I recall.) He’s got one about an American who considers living in Australia, but is too prejudiced to be comfortable. (It’s uncomfortable reading because in reality the Australians were only marginally better behaved in that regard.)

Me too (for Alice). My copy is so very well-loved.

1 Like

So many great choices! @VeryHappy – classic, yes – and as @jerseysouthmomchess said, we’re leaning toward romance for the Valentine’s Day month. That said, a liberal definition of “romance” makes for a pretty wide category.

Keep the suggestions coming! I’ll compile them and post the list, then cut them down twice – once for general vetoing and a second time (if necessary) to about five choices for ranked choice voting.

I’ve heard great things about The Boys in the Boat and I want to read Wellness (we had an excellent discussion for Hill’s The Nix), but let’s set those aside for the April list, as we want to tackle a classic this round.

1 Like

I was kinda hoping for Elmer Gantry (I’m a big Sinclair Lewis fan) but I don’t recall if it’s romantic at all.

https://www.amazon.com/Elmer-Gantry-Sinclair-Lewis-ebook/dp/B09WB1R1QX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3MMIO7GKH6VEF&keywords=elmer+gantry+book&qid=1702230769&sprefix=elmer+gantry%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-1

Oooh! Back to the Point for a moment, and speaking of names.

Did anyone know that the illustrator of the New York Times’ Metropolitan Diary (Sunday feature of reader stories about NYC) is named AGNES LEE? I sure did not until today. I wonder if our author did.

3 Likes

I have not only read and reread Wuthering Heights, but I wrote a grad school paper on it! Just found an old copy … “Locked Out, Locked In, Locked Up: Doors and Power in Wuthering Heights.”

So if we pick it, I will have to restrain myself from waxing eloquent … :rofl: :rofl:

4 Likes

You :nerd_face: may be just who we need. Insight should never be ignored.

1 Like

I’ve been pondering The Princess Bride since your post. I just looked up discussion questions to see if it meets @Mary13’s guideline:

a feel-good comfort read (with enough substance to maintain discussion).

And, yes, it does.

3 Likes

So we have:

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Shogun by James Clavell
The Princess Bride by Willam Goldman
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw (this is a play)
A Call to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (because it’s a classic romance and accidentally the book I thought of when I saw Arms and the Man)
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Fun list! If there is a title above that you will definitely not read, bring on the veto.

Don’t vote yet. I’ll set up the RCV site once the list is pared down.

2 Likes

^^^^ :joy::joy:
A Call to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (because it’s a classic romance and accidentally the book I thought of when I saw Arms and the Man )”

Just so many book titles in that brain of yours -mary13

If we pick it you have to share the paper!

1 Like

Okay, I’m going to be mean and veto a few.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - fun but I don’t really think it’s got enough for a discussion
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough - loved it at the time, I’m pretty sure, but in retrospect I think that relationship is pretty troubling. Don’t want to reread it.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - a book I don’t need to reread.
The Princess Bride by Willam Goldman - I really disliked the book. Too cutesy Sorry!
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery - don’t need to reread.

2 Likes

Not a veto per se, but Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a novella, less than 200 pages. So, not a good choice … On the flip side, Shogun is 1100+ pages and is the first in a series of seven books: The Asian Saga. It boggles my mind.

I don’t want to read a play so Arms and the Man gets an official veto.

Elmer Gantry: Sorry @VeryHappy. I am vetoing this one, as I don’t think it works as “a feel-good comfort read” and I doubt it leans toward romance even in the most liberal of senses.

I found nothing on a Call to Arms but rather A Farewell to Arms. So … title correction.

Yikes, I’ve almost been cancelled!

Shogun works fine as a stand alone.

For a Valentine classic romance, I’m not interested in reading a long/serious/hefty/Great Books type of book so would veto:

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
A Call to Arms by Ernest Hemingway - if this is A Farewell to Arms

I can take or leave Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis.

If we’re looking at plays, could we add Much Ado About Nothing?

Won’t read Outlander again, won’t read Shogun at that length. That is me, though, not vetoing for the group, as I’m just as likely to be a lurker in any discussion.

While not an official veto, I just gave an unofficial one to your suggestions of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Shogun - both due to length.

And I am of the persuasion that plays are meant to be watched rather than read. I annoyed the librarian at her particular book club when I listened to a performance of A Raisin in the Sun rather than read the play, despite the fact the audio won the Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance (2012).

Well, @Mary13, you wanted vetoes. Looks like you got them which isn’t a bad thing actually. I’m sure it helps.

All of my suggestions have been vetoed :cry:.

Edit - any interest in a Georgette Heyer? Plenty of options!

1 Like

I’m ok with these books. Rebecca isn’t a book I look forward to rereading but I’ll read it if we pick it.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Princess Bride by Willam Goldman
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Persuasion by Jane Austen
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Vetos

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Shogun by James Clavell
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis

ETA: Just saw @Marilyn post. I’ll read Heyer anytime!