Paradise Sky - April CC Book Club Selection

Parent Cafe
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Our April selection is Paradise Sky by Joe Lansdale, a novel that imagines the life of Nat Love, aka Deadwood Dick, a former slave who became one of the most famous cowboys of the Old West.

Joe Lansdale is a prolific writer, having published over 30 novels and numerous short story collections. He writes across genres, from humor to history to horror—and sometimes a combination thereof. (The New York Times called his novel Edge of Dark Water “as funny and frightening as anything that could have been dreamed up by the Brothers Grimm — or Mark Twain.”)

Paradise Sky explores one of Lansdale’s favorite subjects:

Discussion begins April 1st. Please join us!

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Hm, I predict I’m going to want to read the autobiography as well. :slight_smile:

Sounds like a fascinating selection!

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@NJTheatreMOM, here you go: http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/natlove/natlove.html

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I picked up my copy of Paradise Sky today. Looking forward to reading it.

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I now have used tree book copies of both Paradise Sky and the autobiography. Neither is very long, so I am going to wait and read them when discussion time draws closer.

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I balked at the kindle price and picked up a used hardcover for next-to-nothing. I won’t start it for a week or so. Right now, I’m reading Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller.

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Ooh, that’s by the author of Swimming Lessons, the book that my friend (who teaches writing) likes so much. How is it?

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^ Kinda creepy, but I think that’s the point.

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^^^

Yeah but I saw “survivalist father” who takes his daughter into the wilderness and then “claims that the world has ended and that her mother, along with every other human on Earth, has died.” And I thought it must be time for @Mary13 to reach out for another end-of-the-world novel. I swear I want to be near you if it looks like the end is near - surely you’ve absorbed some helpful survival hints.

For anyone skimming this thread note that my post has nothing to do with Paradise Sky, our discussion choice but rather mention of another book.

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^ I’ll delegate. Somebody else is going to have to skin the squirrels.

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OK, I have to jump in here – if the end is near, I volunteer for fire building. As a lifelong Girl Scout I can still build a 1 match fire in the rain. But, yes, someone else can deal with critter skinning …

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What’s the name of the autobiography of Nat Love? I’m about a third of the way into the novel and enjoying it very much.

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^The Life and Adventures of Nat Love.

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@VeryHappy, there is a link to the online copy of the autobiography in post #2 above.

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Oh my gosh, that looks fantastic.

I’m about halfway through and I’m really enjoying this book.

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Audio version has a good narrator!

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For those who wonder if they can finish the book if they haven’t yet started it, the answer is yes. The narrative just flows.

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Discussion begins in just under two weeks – still plenty of time to read Paradise Sky, if you’re so inclined. It moves quickly and the author definitely has a way with words!

Because this isn’t a traditional book club choice, there are no ready-made discussion questions available online. If you’ve already composed a few in your head, or just have general ideas regarding what you’d like to talk about, feel free to PM me and I will put together a list.

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On the eve of discussion, and I’m still about 100 pages from the end. Argh, poor planning on my part. I’ll join you a bit late!

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I hope I remember enough of the book to be able to participate.