<p>I read "People of the Book, and “Year of Wonder”- enjoyed them. "Calebs Crossing is her newest book, and probably why I mentioned it.</p>
<p>I will add that a friend who read three of Brook’s books in a row, did not enjoy Caleb’s Crossing, and didn’t recommend it. So I steered clear, we have similar tastes in books.
Perhaps she had overdosed on Geraldine Brooks, and that effected her opinion?</p>
<p>It may not be the best method, but I read the first page of Caleb’s Crossing and the first page of The Cat’s Table via Amazon’s “look inside” feature.</p>
<p>(Reading first pages has served me well when I have been trying to decide what to read in the past.)</p>
<p>I challenge anybody to do the same with these two books and find Caleb’s Crossing more appealing!</p>
<p>You never know, though…tastes vary.</p>
<p>My most memorable use of this way of choosing was with Rohinton Mistry’s “A Fine Balance”…an utterly breathtaking novel, though very sad.</p>
<p>^^^ NJTM – agree re: “A Fine Balance.” I read it several years ago and still find myself thinking about it every so often.</p>
<p>NJCM – interesting reaction re: “Caleb’s Crossing” from your friend. I do find that happens with some authors – he/she will have a few great books, and then it’s like the momentum is gone and the next book just isn’t as good.</p>
<p>A Fine Balance isn’t available for the kindle. :(</p>
<p>Michael Ondaatje is hit-or-miss for me. I really liked The English Patient, but didn’t care for Anil’s Ghost. </p>
<p>I liked Year of Wonder and haven’t read any of Brooks’ other books.</p>
<p>I also haven’t read any of the potential book club choices mentioned above except Olive Kitteredge, so I’m up for anything</p>
<p>Here’s a working list:</p>
<p>Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks</p>
<p>The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson</p>
<p>The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern</p>
<p>The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje</p>
<p>The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer</p>
<p>The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh</p>
<p>Do we want to add any other titles before ranking preferences?</p>
<p>I just looked at the reviews for the above list. Caleb’s Crossing, The Family Fang, and The Night Circus are the three that initially appeal to me. The Language of Flowers is a close fourth. I don’t have any others to suggest. I was going to suggest Sarah’s Key because I recently downloaded it, but I see it was already discussed before I joined the group.</p>
<p>I looked up the titles on bookmovement.com. Both Caleb’s Crossing and The Invisible Bridge have sparse (7) but positive reviews. The Night Circus only has one review (5 star) but seems a popular book club choice at the moment (top 100) - ditto for The Language of Flowers with 7 outstanding reviews. The Cat’s Table and The Family Fang have no book club “buzz” at the moment, probably too new.</p>
<p>I’m heading to the library this afternoon. I know one of the librarians read Caleb’s Crossing and one read The Night Circus … maybe another title or two. I’ll see if they have anything to share.</p>
<p>I do hope other suggestions and comments come in.</p>
<p>BUandBC1982: Mary et al discussed Sarah’s Key before I even lurked. I have gone back and read a couple of the first books discussed but not Dreamers of the Day or Sarah’s Key … yet. Which Sarah Addison Allen books did you end up reading? ;)</p>
<p>ignatius - I read all of them and loved all of them!</p>
<p>Has anybody read “The Crimson Petal and the White” by Michel Faber? It’s a novel I have been intending to read.</p>
<p>^ I haven’t read it, but good lord woman, it’s 900 pages! 
Could we handle that length going into the busy holiday season?</p>
<p>LOL, I knew it was long but I didn’t realize it was that long. One of my favorite novels is “A Suitable Boy.” Now that one did take a while to read, at something like 1400 pages. It’s so wonderful, though, and it has hardly any slow bits to get through!</p>
<p>A short novel that I read recently and liked was “Tinkers” by Paul Harding. Won a Pulitzer Prize; 192 pages.</p>
<p>^^^ </p>
<p>I haven’t read it but it sure the heck sounds good … but wait, 900 pages … iffy as a book club choice, in my opinion. The Invisible Bridge has almost 600 pages and I wondered if that would be a stretch this time of year.</p>
<p>I just returned from the library (best library ever :)) where I accomplished little. The librarian who read Caleb’s Crossing and the librarian who read The Night Circus both have the day off. The head librarian who keeps up with such things said that Librarian #1 liked Caleb’s Crossing but neglected to mention how it compares to Geraldine Brooks’ other books. Librarian #2 liked The Night Circus. It seems that none have read the other choices under consideration (oops, forgot to ask about The Invisible Bridge) … yet.</p>
<p>and what did I pick up at the library today: The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb and The Weird Sisters. When I’ll get to them … I don’t know. Right now I need to finish The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane for my real life book club. (I like it, in case anyone wants to know. ;))</p>
<p>** Mary13** * I haven’t read it, but good lord woman, it’s ** 900 pages!** Could we handle that length going into the busy holiday season? *</p>
<p>LOL, wait, I have an 8 ball by my side, let me shake it and see what it says …
" outlook not so good " … :)</p>
<p>**Ignatius **-and what did I pick up at the library today: The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb and The Weird Sisters. When I’ll get to them … I don’t know. Right now I need to finish The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane for my real life book club. (I like it, in case anyone wants to know. )</p>
<p>Interesting pattern going on with those books… 
…from the NPR interview I heard, I think that Family Fang would fit in just fine !</p>
<p>^^^ </p>
<p>Sometimes I even surprise myself. </p>
<p>Elaine Newton’s summer reading list (you supplied the link) included The Weird Sisters. Onward let us know not to use it for a book club discussion, so I thought I’d give it a shot sans book club. </p>
<p>Melanie Benjamin (Alice I Have Been) wrote the fictional The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb - good reviews, so thought “yeah, maybe.”</p>
<p>Considering we just discussed a book in which a 73-year-old character has a child - fertility helped along by gnawing on bark in the Amazon, The Family Fang may come across as staid, prosaic.</p>
<p>Okay my rankings for choice of books from the ones listed so far:</p>
<h1>1 - Caleb’s Crossing I’ve wanted to read a book by Geraldine Brooks ever since SJCM touted her books. I gather it may not be her best but it seems that many felt that way about Patchett’s State of Wonder yet the discussion flourished. So, 1600s … Native Americans … settlers … read over Thanksgiving … need I say more?</h1>
<h1>2 - The Night Circus We never dipped into fantasy. My concern - maybe we’ve never dipped into fantasy for good reasons. Still, the book looks to be a hit … and I can always pass it on to my avid fantasy readers as they return home for the holidays. ;)</h1>
<h1>3 - The Cat’s Table</h1>
<h1>4 - The Invisible Bridge I want to read and discuss this with you guys but 600 pages at a busy time of year … I don’t know.</h1>
<h1>5 - The Family Fang I can’t decide if reading about another family’s dysfunction will make me feel better or worse as mine reconvenes in Nov and Dec. Truthfully could go either way. Might be better to wait. LOL</h1>
<h1>6 - The Language of Flowers Sounds like a spring/summer read - or maybe still too close in time to The Forgotten Garden/The Secret Garden book discussion.</h1>
<p>Mostly I hope the final choice turns into something that many others want to read, whether they then post or lurk.</p>
<p>I retain the right to re-chose. :)</p>
<p>Ignatius- * The Family Fang I can’t decide if reading about another family’s dysfunction will make me feel better or worse as mine reconvenes in Nov and Dec*.</p>
<p>LOL, too funny. I actually read Amy Sedaris’s **Hospitality Under the Influence ** for the same reason noted above. It actually didn’t work, because it was such an annoying book, but the title caught my eye just weeks before holiday time.</p>
<p>Ignatius, I really want you to like Brooks!
Am a bit concerned about Caleb’s Crossing, only because a friend said it was “boring”, too slow moving, as I recall ?
** People of the Book , was my first book by Brooks, followed immediately with ** Year of Wonder… they were both great, but People Of the Book my favorite. </p>
<p>Perhaps someone who has read Caleb’s Crossing could offer an opinion???</p>
<p>Not recommending this , just putting this out there,
an AVID- book- reading- friend wrote to me about the book she recently finished. She wrote "if the house was on fire she wouldn’t go out of the house without the book she was reading at the time ** Before I Go to Sleep **,( Watson ). Apparently, it’s a real page turner!</p>
<p>^^Before I Go to Sleep looks interesting. I would add it to my preferred list. So many choices…</p>
<p>Before I Go to Sleep sounds like loads of fun. And we’ve never read a thriller, have we? (Unless you count The Moonstone :))</p>
<p>I’m a little concerned that this type of page-turner won’t have enough “meat” for discussion, but if there were ever a time of year for a shorter discussion, it would be December, so maybe that would work. </p>
<p>And although I know it’s not very helpful to throw something else into the mix, I read a good review this morning of The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.
[Book</a> review: A review of the book The Marriage Plot - Chicago Tribune](<a href=“'Marriage Plot' gives new twist to old tale”>'Marriage Plot' gives new twist to old tale)</p>
<p>As BUandBC82 said, so many choices…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Ditto all Mary said … and adding that Book Movement currently lists Before I Go to Sleep at #18 with positive reviews.</p>
<p>I took a good look at The Marriage Plot yesterday. I’d suggested enough titles already 
so I just filed The Marriage Plot away for future reference. But yeah! Here it is.</p>
<p>[Book</a> Reviews - The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides](<a href=“http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/marriage_plot/]Book”>http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/marriage_plot/)</p>
<p>I’ll keep an eye out for Mary’s final list. I want to read most everything suggested - even the 900 page The Crimson Petal and the White though I agree its length prohibits it for the here and now.</p>
<p>I’ll read almost anything, so am fine with whatever the consensus is. I have “The Marriage Plot” on my “To Be Read” list.</p>
<p>Okay, I’m paring down the list and my reasons are arbitrary, but I’ve got to start somewhere. If I had the actual books in front of me, I’d probably make the decision based on cover art.</p>
<p>We’ll eliminate–for now:</p>
<p>*The Invisible Bridge<a href=“600%20pages,%20plus%20CBBBlinker%20has%20already%20read%20it”>/i</a><br>
*The Crimson Petal and the White<a href=“length”>/i</a><br>
*The Language of Flowers<a href=“save%20as%20a%20possibility%20for%20spring”>/i</a>
*The Night Circus<a href=“It’s%20a%20circus%20story%20written%20in%20the%20present%20tense.%20%20%5Bi%5DWater%20for%20Elephants%5B/i%5D%20was%20a%20circus%20story%20written%20in%20the%20%20present%20tense.%20‘Nuff%20said.%20%20%5BI%20TOLD%20you%20my%20reasons%20were%20arbitrary.%5D”>/i</a> </p>
<p>That leaves us with:</p>
<p>Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks</p>
<p>The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson</p>
<p>The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje</p>
<p>The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides</p>
<p>Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson</p>
<p>Please rank or re-rank the above –- it seems to work best if you give your top three choices, in order if possible. Also, speak up if you are opposed to any of the books – that makes it easy to trim the list.</p>