Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - June CC Book Club Selection

Parent Cafe
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<p>Mary, I agree I’ve learned so much about history through the CC selections,and other books I’ve been reading, especially Geraldine Brooks, someone new to me. Many of you are probably Brooks fans, so I am not making official suggestions just sharing with everyone what I’ve been reading.</p>

<p>Recently, I’ve read and LOVED Brooks -“Year of Wonder” and “People of the Book”.
I didn’t get through “March”, and heard from a friend that her newest book, “Caleb’s Crossing” was tedious, but that was after she read three Brooks in a row.</p>

<p>I read :Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" -. Probably good discussion book. </p>

<p>“Emily Alone”- might be interesting discussion, quick read. Not much to it, but I enjoyed Emily and discovering Stu O Nan.
“Bossy Pants”, for laughs.
and Maeve Binchy-“Minding Frankie”- enjoyable light read. Good uplifting Beach read, as is “The Island”: A Novel Elin Hilderbrand.</p>

<p>For a real history lesson, again WW2, but this time the Pacific front -</p>

<p>“Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” by Laura Hillenbrand------ This has 5 stars on Amazon with 1325 reviews! Not many books have that kind of rating.
It is a powerful, memorable, readable book. I’ll never forget parts of this one and especially about Louie Zamperini. WOW.</p>

<p>With all hubbub about Erik Larsen’s new book, I stumbled across
“Devil in the White City”— about Chicago famous Worlds Fair 1893, learned a lot about architecture, and about America’s first serial killer, which was quite gruesome. This book was amazing.( Disclaimer - my son now lives in Chicago, so perhaps I enjoyed it more than most.)
I, also, stumbled on movie “Expo- The Magic of the White City”, which brought this book alive, and you MUST watch the movie if you read this book, so you can visualize the amazing Worlds Fair.
The movie via Amazon- instant streaming movies - for $2.99 / week for this movie. Expo- The Magic of the White City!!!</p>

<p>Now for something completely unexpected, and suggested by a friend who is in book club, and AVID reader. Said she couldn’t put this one down, and I agree, I couldn’t either, neither could my husband!
“The Hunger Games” – a young adult science fiction novel part of a trilogy.You must be thinking, “what, are you kidding”!! This book just made the Kindle Million Sold club, the sixth book to sell a million via Kindle, so I am not alone.
Just try this book, and see if you end up like me up until 2 AM reading this one :wink: </p>

<p>Ignatius- I haven’t read “The Forgotten Garden”, or “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is on many all- time- favorite- book- lists, so it must be a great book!</p>

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<p>Any thoughts about this one ???</p>

<p>David Amazon Best Books of the Month, June 2011: At first glance, The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris might seem to be foreign territory for David McCullough, whose other books have mostly remained in the Western Hemisphere. But The Greater Journey is still a quintessentially American history. Between 1830 and 1900, hundreds of Americans–many of them future household names like Oliver Wendell Holmes, Mark Twain, Samuel Morse, and Harriet Beecher Stowe–migrated to Paris. McCullough shows first how the City of Light affected each of them in turn, and how they helped shape American art, medicine, writing, science, and politics in profound ways when they came back to the United States. McCullough’s histories have always managed to combine meticulous research with sheer enthusiasm for his subjects, and it’s hard not to come away with a sense that you’ve learned something new and important about whatever he’s tackled. The Greater Journey is, like each of McCullough’s previous histories, a dazzling and kaleidoscopic foray into American history by one of its greatest living chroniclers. --Darryl Campbell</p>

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<p>Has anyone read this one?</p>

<p>"A Visit From The Goon Squad"Jennifer Egan, just won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.</p>

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<p>I must say I love fiction set in an historical setting, especially for book clubs. Some one here suggested Maeve Binchy, and I’m now on my 3rd. Still, her books wouldn’t lend themselves to much discussion in a book club. Surprisingly, last night my club (at the public library) reviewed To Kill a Mockingbird; I think we had at least 30 people come, and I learned so much. Next month we are reading The Invisible Bridge. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/books/review/Ervin-t.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/books/review/Ervin-t.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The Hunger Games sounds interesting. I have fond memories of reading Orson Scott Card books.</p>

<p>Henrietta Lacks was another fav in my BC, probably because the discussion was led by an MD who actually worked in a lab with one of the characters. In 5 minutes, she explained why fast-growing cancer cells are so good for research. She also writes medical mysteries, and I thoroughly enjoyed her latest, but I don’t know if I’m allowed to post her name and book.</p>

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<p>

Oh, I loved this book! I just read it recently – got it as Kindle limited time offer freebie last summer. It was highly recommended over on the “Best Books You’ve Read” thread. About Hungarian Jews during WW II.</p>

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<p>Bookworm-“She also writes medical mysteries, and I thoroughly enjoyed her latest, but I don’t know if I’m allowed to post her name and book”</p>

<p>Live dangerously- —go ahead and post it, this is a book thread, why wouldn’t that be encouraged :)</p>

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<p>bookworm-Some books like The Help, become excellent discussion books, historical, slightly controversial, and personal. </p>

<p>Would you list a few of your all time favorite “book discussion” selections? These are the books which your club may have been loved or hated , but engaged everyone and encouraged discussion.
Now having said that “perhaps the ones loved” would be best.</p>

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<p>Hi All! I was out of town again last week, so I haven’t added much to the discussion, but did enjoy catching up with all your posts. I started looking up some of the above mentioned books and there are good suggestions.</p>

<p>I’ve wanted to read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, so that would work for me, but it seems like others have already read it.</p>

<p>The Paris Wife, The Hunger Games, and Untold Story also all looked interesting to me. I’m pretty much willing to read anything. That’s why I like this book club…it gets me reading. I took Shutter Island on my trip with me this past week. I finished it today. I liked it.</p>

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<p>I just officially joined this site. What a resource!!! Book Discussion Groups rate books, individual members rate books, Weekly list of top books being read by Book Discussion groups around the country!! </p>

<p>[Book</a> Movement](<a href=“http://www.bookmovement.com/app/readingguide/bcbestsellers.php]Book”>http://www.bookmovement.com/app/readingguide/bcbestsellers.php)</p>

<p>Here are top rated books, but be aware of how many reviewers have rated the books. Obviously the more reviews and higher rating more reliability.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.bookmovement.com/app/readingguide/memberRecommendations.php[/url]”>http://www.bookmovement.com/app/readingguide/memberRecommendations.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>OK, book is Devil Wind, … Deborah Shlian, Linda Reid: Its available at Amazon.</p>

<p>Debby and her husband are great members of our BC, leading discussions of medical type books, e.g. Cutting for Stone. </p>

<p>Many local authors ask to have their books read in our group, and we need to be careful. We prefer to ask them, even tho we get rejections. What is fun is to get community members to join our group for specific topics. For example, when we read The 19th Wife, we had 3 “wives” join us to present their point of view. We had the head of the Aspie group come when discussing House Rules. </p>

<p>I appreciate the book suggestions.</p>

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<p>Very Interesting Bookworm, and let me speak for all us and say “we are officially jealous of your book club” ! </p>

<p>Deborah Shlian, MD, MBA practiced medicine in California where she also taught at UCLA. She has published nonfiction articles and books as well as medical mystery/thrillers. Her first two novels, Double Illusion and Wednesday’s Child were paperback originals and were optioned by Hollywood producers for film.</p>

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<p>I loved Henrietta Laks and think it’s great. It’s got both history/non-fiction and medical/non-fiction but reads like a fiction book. I just started 2030 on my Kindle- brand new book on what the world, according to the author, thinks the world will look like. It’s a fictionalized tale, not a textbook type book.
My D loved Bossy Pants for a fun summer book.
Others I’ve liked are Dragon House and This is Where I Leave You</p>

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<p>SouthJerseyChessMom, it’s funny you should mention The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, because right now I am reading Gregor the Overlander, also by Suzanne Collins. The book was put into my hands by my favorite 7th grade critic, who said, “Mommmm, read it. It’s the best book ever.” And I’m enjoying it. Which is a long way of saying I wouldn’t mind trying The Hunger Games. </p>

<p>I was also about to suggest The Invisible Bridge before bookworm beat me to it. I haven’t read The Forgotten Garden either. In both cases, we would be making CBBBlinker re-read, but who can ever hope to keep up with CBBB? Multiple RL book clubs plus independent reading! Impressive!</p>

<p>I would also be up for the classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I read it years ago, but have forgotten almost everything. </p>

<p>So here’s our “serious consideration” list (books that have been nominated and then seconded by one or more posters above):</p>

<p>The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins</p>

<p>The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer</p>

<p>The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton</p>

<p>The Paris Wife by Paula McLain </p>

<p>The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.</p>

<p>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith</p>

<p>Any resounding “yes”’s or resounding “no”’s on any of the above titles?</p>

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<p>Mary-quite the coincidence about Suzanne Collins.
I must say that I don’t think The Hunger Games would be a good choice for discussion.
It’s a quick read, and I think many would enjoy it, but not for book discussion group.
Can anyone else voice an opinion about Hunger Games for book club discussion?</p>

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<p>I am up for any of the ones listed. </p>

<p>I read the Henrietta Lacks book and would not only reread it but look forward to doing so. My daughter - not one for nonfiction - read it for extra credit in one of her classes and passed it to me with the highest recommendations. I sort of wrinkled my nose - another “not one for nonfiction” - and then finished it in three days. I went with my daughter to hear the author Rebecca Skloot speak and answer questions from the audience. Whether or not this book gets chosen as our August book, I highly recommend it. </p>

<p>The Hunger Games trilogy, The Forgotten Garden, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn can be found stuck on various shelves around here, waiting their turn to be read. (Though I have to say The Forgotten Garden might be getting impatient.)</p>

<p>Looking forward to the final choice.</p>

<p>SJCM: I read and liked Devil in the White City. I also read and liked Larson’s first book Isaac’s Storm. I plan to read his latest at some point - also plan to read Unbroken. My husband read Unbroken and also the Henrietta Lacks book and recommends both. He’s our nonfiction reader - and occasionally our reading paths cross. (My New Year’s resolution last year and again this year was/is to read books from 10 different genres by the end of the year. I discovered some really good books. :))</p>

<p>**CBBBlinker: **I’m about half-way through with Dreams of Joy, the sequel to Shanghai Girls. The author Lisa See speaks at a local university Monday night, and I’m thinking I’ll go.</p>

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<p>Ignatius- here is bookmovement page for The Forgotten Garden FYI
[The</a> Forgotten Garden: A Novel by Kate Morton Book Club Discussion Guide from BookMovement --Book Clubs, Book Reviews, Discussion Questions, Book Lists](<a href=“Invalid record”>http://www.bookmovement.com/app/readingguide/view.php?readingGuideID=9929)</p>

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<p>I’ve read The Hunger Games and A Visit From the Goon Squad. IMHO - Hunger Games doesn’t quite seem to have the depth to carry on a discussion. It seems like a quick entertainment read that doesn’t seem challenging.</p>

<p>Not that it’s not a good book - I loved it! - but I think judging by from the high quality of these discussions we’ve been having in recent months, we are ready for more challenging reads especially as it is summer :)</p>

<p>A Visit From the Goon Squad is a book I enjoyed. The problem I have about it though, is that it reads very much like a collection of short stories moreso than a continuous novel. This may or may not be ideal for a book club discussion?</p>

<p>Ignatius suggested The Postmistress a while back. I think many may have already read this one? I haven’t, and will probably be planning on reading it over the summer anyways, so I would welcome that.</p>

<p>As for new releases, I think they are a good idea because they are likely books we all will be reading for the first time. Some I am looking at right now are:</p>

<p>BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by S.J. Watson
IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS by Erik Larson
THE TIGER’S WiFE by Tea Obrecht
THE ILLUMINATION by Kevin Brockmeier
TOWNIE by Andre Dubus
THE EVOLUTION OF BRUNO LITTLEMORE by Benjamin Hale</p>

<p>But - as all our books this year has been recent releases from the last 2 to 3 years, I’m also not opposed to going with a classic book. I understand that a lot of people may have read the book already if it is an old one - but one idea is to perhaps go with a famous author, but not one of his magnum opii but a lesser known one. For example, instead of FSF’s Gatsby, pick This Side of Paradise; instead of Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse5 pick Cat’s Cradle; instead of Bronte’s Jane Eyre, pick The Professor, etc etc. just a thought.</p>

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<p>Thanks - Looks good … :)</p>

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<p>I’m just providing some info ----not trying to influence </p>

<p>Amazon rating for To Kill a Mockingbird more than 2000 reviews, 4 1/2 stars …</p>

<p>[Amazon.com:</a> To Kill a Mockingbird (slipcased edition) (9780061205699): Harper Lee: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Kill-Mockingbird-slipcased-Harper-Lee/dp/0061205699/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308331919&sr=8-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Kill-Mockingbird-slipcased-Harper-Lee/dp/0061205699/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308331919&sr=8-1)</p>

<p>Amazon- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- 620 reviews- 4 1/2 stars…
<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Tree-Grows-Brooklyn-P-S/dp/0061120073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308332054&sr=8-1[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Tree-Grows-Brooklyn-P-S/dp/0061120073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308332054&sr=8-1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The Paris Wife 173 review - another 4 1/2 stars
<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Wife-Novel-Paula-McLain/dp/0345521307/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308332177&sr=8-1[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Wife-Novel-Paula-McLain/dp/0345521307/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308332177&sr=8-1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The Invisible Bridge 148 reviews - again 4 1/2 stars
<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Bridge-Vintage-Contemporaries/dp/140003437X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308332298&sr=8-1[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Bridge-Vintage-Contemporaries/dp/140003437X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308332298&sr=8-1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>newccuser, thank you! Those are some great recommendations. I like the “alternative classic” idea.</p>

<p>The new releases are so new that most of them aren’t available in paperback yet (the hardcover of The Illumination is $38.50—ouch), so maybe we should keep them on the back burner for another couple of months.</p>

<p>I agree with your comments (and SJCM;s) re The Hunger Games, so I removed that title. I added The Postmistress and a couple of your classic suggestions.</p>

<p>Here is the revised list:</p>

<p>The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer</p>

<p>The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton</p>

<p>The Paris Wife by Paula McLain </p>

<p>The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot</p>

<p>The Postmistress by Sarah Blake</p>

<p>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith</p>

<p>The Professor by Charlotte Bronte</p>

<p>Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut</p>

<p>How about if everyone (lurkers included!) lists their top three choices? That would give us an idea of the direction to go in. If several titles don’t make anyone’s top three, then it will be easy to pare down the list.</p>