Nj mom I think plant mom has confused the nj moms- even though we both like the duo idea- it was your post she quoted -
I’m removing titles as requested above, including Hild–“lukewarm” is closest enough to a veto, especially when we have other equally good choices. I like the non-fiction/fiction pair–good idea, NJTheatreMOM. Also, I think I’ll veto Burr because my sense is that it’s not in anyone’s top five.
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Duet: West with the Night by Beryl Markham and Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
The Unlikely Spy by Daniel Silva
Six titles is a good number for voting. Go ahead and rank your top three!
(P.S. @MommaJ, all opinions are valuable! Sounds like it was the right decision for us to remove My Brilliant Friend and The Buried Giant from consideration.)
- Duet: *West with the Night* by Beryl Markham and *Circling the Sun* by Paula McLain. (MommaJ, *West With the Night* is a classic (I think) and also nonfiction.)
- Either *The House of Mirth* OR *Far from the Madding Crowd* OR *To the Lighthouse*.
- *The Fishermen* by Chigozie Obioma (actually this is my top choice, but I don't think other members are as attracted to the idea of reading it as I am).
Oops, sorry, I did swap the jersey moms. Good suggestion NJTM, and seconding, SJCM 
I think my list of preferences is very close to NJTM’s, minus The House of Mirth only because I’ve read it before and would like to have something new. My list:
- Duet: West with the Night by Beryl Markham and Circling the Sun by Paula McLain.
- Far from the Madding Crowd or To the Lighthouse.
- The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
I vote for NJTM’s top two options:
- Duet: West with the Night by Beryl Markham and Circling the Sun by Paula McLain. I even own a copy of West with the Night, but I've never read it.
- Either The House of Mirth OR Far from the Madding Crowd OR To the Lighthouse.
My other book group has read a couple of Nigeria-focused books lately, so I’d rather vote forThe Fishermen one another time. But it’s not a veto!
I AM glad that Narrow Road to the Deep North was vetoed–I read about 50-60 pages of that one and wasn’t engaged at all. I never got to the POW parts. (This often happens with me and well-reviewed Booker Prize winners/finalists.)
And I haven’t tried My Brilliant Friend, but I started Ferrante’s Days of Abandonment, after someone recommended it to me. I couldn’t get through that one, either!
@SouthJerseyChessMom, I sent you a PM with a book list.
The duet appeals to me the most. I’m also okay reading one of the other choices, if the duet doesn’t get selected.
I think I’m voting for classics
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
I like the finalists and would read any but my top three choices are as follows:
- Duet: West with the Night by Beryl Markham and Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
- Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
- The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
Well, that was pretty easy! It’s a near-unanimous vote for the duet of West with the Night and Circling the Sun. I’m hoping that our outlier, mathmom, will stick with us based on her post #194.
Thanks for the great discussion on Seveneves! I’ll start a new thread for our October selection.
Thanks Mary and all. As usual, it was fun - from choosing Seveneves to reading it and on through discussion. Looking forward to our duet and its discussion in Oct.
Happy reading. :-h
I’ll read it. Maybe I’ll find a less snarky review of the novel - which was written by Alexandra Fuller who wrote *Don’t Let’s go to the Dogs tonight * which I also mentioned in post 194.
Oof, that’s quite a review by Fuller, mathmom.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/books/review/circling-the-sun-by-paula-mclain.html?_r=0
She makes Circling the Sun sound worse than The Paris Wife. I read that one and didn’t think it was too bad. It helped me understand how hard Hemingway worked in his early, unknown years to hone his craft and why having the support of a woman like Hadley was important to him.
Here’s a link to a more positive review:
I think it will be interesting to read Markham’s acclaimed memoir and then see what McLain does with her story. If Circling the Sun includes too much about the love affairs, I’ll just skim those parts.
Many thanks to Mary for her good, thought-provoking guidance in the discussion of Seveneves.
That review certainly is more positive! I’m sure I’ll enjoy it, and maybe I’ll finely even read “Out of Africa” - instead of my usual answer to “Have you read ___?” is “No, but I saw the movie.”
By the way there’s a very short bit about the pacing of Seveneves discussed by the writers at the podcast “Writing Excuses”. One of the participants is the one of the narrators for the audiobook. It’s starts a 9:45 or so and ends at 12:00. http://www.writingexcuses.com/ (Writing Excuses 10.32: How Do I Control the Speed of the Story?)
Out of Africa is sublime, mathmom. Possibly the best book I’ve ever read. When I finally got around to reading it, I couldn’t believe I’d waited so long. It is a treasure.
From the New York Daily News: “‘The Paris Wife’ is good, but ‘Circling the Sun’ is much better.”
The reviewer calls it “bold, absorbing fiction.” http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/theater-arts/paula-mclain-circling-sun-flier-beryl-markha-article-1.2291955
As is often the case, the opinions run the gamut. I think I’ll swear off reviews until after I’ve read the book. Generally, the less I know, the easier it is for me to immerse myself in the story.
(I’ve never read Out of Africa OR seen the movie. Guess I’d better get on that!)
I’m glad we’re reading the pair, then. I hadn’t read the NYT review of Circling the Sun before, but it definitely captures my objections to The Paris Wife, especially after reading twice (and loving) Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. For our pairing, I think I will read Circling first, and then Markham’s own work. I’m looking forward to learning about the incredible Beryl Markham, most of all!
Here’s a link to a school project video I found with Markham’s story. There are some old photos with a scrolled narrative and some creative license on the part of the video creator. Definitely spoilers, lol, but I wanted to get an inkling of what she was like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe_wRc5RBz0
Thanks for taking up Seveneves everyone. I really enjoyed it, and never would have read it but for this group!
Wanted to report that both of my adult sons are currently reading Seveneves. This is definitely a first – for more than one of my family members to read a CC book club selection, albeit awhile after the group finished!!
I got my older son interested in Seveneves by reading the first paragraph of the book aloud to him. Who could resist it? DS #1 generally doesn’t read too many books, and when he does they are mostly fantasy series. He does love space, though.
DS #1 is well into the second, “far future,” section of the book, and has learned that a film of it is being planned, directed by Ron Howard. So now he is following the news about that.
Yesterday, DS #1 convinced DS #2 to read the book as well!
I’m looking forward to the movie. I had so much trouble picturing stuff in the book and would love a visual aid!
DS17 and I read it a couple months after you all did. We really enjoyed the first 2/3 or so but both found the last part quite irritating on many levels. Didn’t seem true to human character to keep the bloodlines “pure” for so long.