I have no objection to The Dig, but the thrill of the hunt is NJTheatreMOM’s favorite part of book club, so we have to have a list!
See anything on NPR’s Best Books of 2015?: http://apps.npr.org/best-books-2015/
LOL, how did When a Scot Ties the Knot make it on the same list as Between the World and Me? It’s quite an eclectic mix.
If we look at When a Scot Ties the Knot, I’d prefer to start with the first in its trilogy. 
I want to read (American Gods and Paradise Sky) but thought I’d wait and suggest them next time around. Spring tends to be busy for so many on this site with graduations, nests refilling, etc. I like that The Dig is less than 300 pages.
So NPR short books? We’ve considered The Meursault Investigation with The Stranger. Both are short enough so yeah.
Last time we also considered Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively - short - so another “yeah.”
Has anybody read Lee Smith? She was interviewed today on the Leonard Lopate show on WNYC. Her most recent work is not fiction, but she has plenty of fiction and I found her quite entertaining. She talked about how her friends from college decided to take a raft trip down the Mississippi which then inspired this novel: http://www.leesmith.com/works/lastgirls_review.php (Of course you might feel obliged to (re)read Huckleberry Finn which is not a short book!
^ looked at the wonderful link, mary13 posted to NPR best books, even looked through the years back to 2008 or so. This year’s list includes so many unfamiliar to me!
@mathmom I read your link and this seemed like a great women’s book club ( we all are women here, I assume) until I checked out Goodreads reviews. Those reviews dampened my enthusiasm a bit.
The Dig- looks excellent.
For list making purposes, has anyone read Eirk Larsons, Dead Wake-The Last crossing of the Lusitania - I loved his Devil in the White City ( your city Mary 13)
Also, NPR reviewer just compared the writing style of HEFT, to one of her favorite Anne Tyler books, Crossing to Caleb. ( curious if anyone has read it- the Anne Tyler book ?)
I’ve been down a rabbit hole, reading series of dementia themed books-( a friend’s husband is battling dementias era the list if anyone knows someone taking this journey-
The Things We Keep- quick read, fairy tale sweetness though
Slow Dancing with a Stranger - intense depiction of the demise
Singing in the Rain- self published story of two women dealing with their spouses, informative
Before. I forget - B Smith’s husband’s account of their journey. Quick read.
A man Called Ove - dementia pops up, but it really is about much more - loved this one.
Have you heard about Hamilton the insanely, exciting popular broadway hit?
Related to this is a book I read on the NPR list, by Sarah Vowell, Lafayette and these somewhat United States- enjoyed this book, laugh out loud funny at times, and her amusing stories are the best way for me to learn about history.
Mary13 should we congratulate you on, your very last, very final college decision??? Hope the college seeking journey has ended for you, and your family.
I have not read Dead Wake, but it’s on my to-be-read list. I’ve read three other of Erik Larsen’s books and have liked all of them – although I did think that there was a bit too much about the murders in Devil in the White City.
My husband read Dead Wake and liked it. Since we just read nonfiction - albeit memoir and graphic novel - I lean toward reading another genre this time.
I’d read A Man Called Ove again. Short and on lots I-want-to-read-this lists.
The dementia related book I read recently (and thought was really wonderful) was Elizabeth is Missing. My mother had we think Lewes Body Dementia (though the original diagnosis was Parkinson’s). She was actually really fascinating to talk to because she had a lot of visual and aural hallucinations, but she was very aware that they weren’t real. She drove us crazy a lot and did many of the things that the protagonist of the novel does with the same kind of reasoning, but at least until the last week she was basically all there. She passed away two months ago and I still miss her. Other Lee Smith books got better reviews I think, that just happens to be one that came up in the interview I was listening to. I’d still like to read the Camus pair.
^sorry to read that your mother endured Parkinson’s/ lewes body or whatever name is given to these horrible Dementias.
My father in law passed of Alzheimer’s / dementia in July.
I have Elizabeth Is Missing on my to read list. Sorry for your loss math mom .
@mathmom, I’m so sorry to hear about your mother.
I would be open to putting Elizabeth is Missing on our list, if you don’t mind discussing a book you’ve already read. As you and @SouthJerseyChessMom pointed out, it’s a topic that many of us are dealing with as our parents age.
It’s definitely on my I-want-to-read list. There were many positive comments about it on the “Best Books” thread. But @SouthJerseyChessMom has already read it, too…not sure how many others?
I agree with you that we should go the fiction route this time.
It’s almost over, although the final commit button hasn’t been pressed yet. From Day 1, we gave our daughter the classic advice: “Love your safety.” I guess she took it to heart, as she has decided to marry her safety, despite getting into her reach. But it’s a great match for her and I’m sure they’ll live happily ever after. :x
So your daughter’s marrying her safety, Mary, LOL!
Mathmom and NJCM, my condolences on the losses in your families.
With regard to A Man Called Ove, I have seen all the raves about it and was curious. Alas, when I tried reading a sample of the book, I was totally turned off. Thumbs down on that one, I’m afraid.
NJCM sorry about your loss too. If others want to read Elizabeth, I’d go along with it, but on the whole I’d rather read something I haven’t read. My younger son was really, really, really tempted by his safety. He graduated from his reach two years ago and I still am not sure he might not have been better off there. Sorry that NJTheatreMOM didn’t like Ove after all the raves, I was thinking I ought to read it, but I have to admit nothing in the NYT’s review of it made me want to read it!
The New York Times reviewed Ove? I looked for a review of the book by them and couldn’t find one.
I thought they did, but I’ve obviouslyconfused it with something else - I wonder what?
This is not a suggestion for us, just something fun to pass along. CC Book Club lifers may remember that we read American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld a few years ago. Sittenfeld’s latest novel, to be released next week, is Eligible, a retelling of Pride and Prejudice: http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/if-pride-and-prejudice-took-place-today-jane-would-have-to-be-40/373874/
It’s part of The Austen Project (whose books have had decidedly mixed reviews, but what the heck, I’d read 'em): http://deborahyaffe.com/blog/4586114521/The-Austen-Fiasco/9633997
Now back to our June plans – Here’s another excellent review of The Dig: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/may/13/fiction.features2
And still another from The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3665018/A-story-to-be-treasured.html
The above reviews are from 2007, but apparently the book is just being released in the U.S. this month. Why is that? Don’t you wonder why books that are (supposedly) such gems never take off? Maybe The Dig is not for the average American reader–one critical blogger called it “tediously English.” ~O) However, since our little group is waaay above average, I’d be happy to to give it a whirl.
Is there anyone who objects to The Dig or should we go with it?
I assume you’re look for a yea or nay. So, yea from me.
Yea, from me, too
A quote from Amazon’s editorial reviews on The Dig
I say yea 
Yea…and yay! I am always on the lookout for books that seem promising from a book club point of view, and this one struck me as perfect.
It sounds fine to me.