Mary13, as a fan of North and South, I’d be interested in your views of this selection, especially because you mentioned reservations about its appeal.
I’m interested in how you would rank the options. Unless, of course, rule 84.3.2 prevents you from weighing in so early 
Two questions/comments here:
I like all the choices but also question the general appeal of North and South. A book club needs a core group for discussion and we’ve got that. However, it also needs others joining in for discussion. I always try to consider that when we choose a book. Station Eleven gave us that and enriched the discussion for everyone - though I am sorry NJTM disliked it so. I’m trying to decide whether to list choices or not. I could and would read any of these but … and that “but” says it all. I hope those who popped in for the discussion pop back in and help narrow down the list.
and then whoa! I mentioned Oleander … because I like mathmom’s duet idea and childhood/old age memoirs seemed to go together … and it had a starred review from Kirkus. However, mathmom may prefer to suggest a different book. Moon Tiger won the Booker Prize but it seems to be about looking back at the end of life - maybe too much of the same. I’m not familiar enough with Lively’s books to pick among them.
I think pairing a novel with the memoir would be my preference. Memory and consequences are big themes in a lot of them especially the later ones. Moon Tiger would work because it’s a lot of the same themes - it’s been a long time since I read it though. Let me skim through my collection and see what strikes me. There are other’s I think I liked better, but might not work as well as a pairing.
I’m only picking two for now. If one of the other books is chosen, I’ll look at it again.
The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing
A Spool of Blue Thread
I agree.
^ Yep, you got it—I’m so glad someone has read the handbook thoroughly!
I will respond to your North and South question, though, because I probably gave a mixed message above—being both negative and glowing at the same time. To expound:
First of all, I think North and South might have limited appeal simply by virtue of the fact that it is Victorian literature. For example, in chapter 3, instead of saying, “Let’s go eat pears in the garden, but be careful of the bees,” the character of Henry Lennox says, “I propose that we adjourn into the garden, and eat them there. Nothing is so delicious as to set one’s teeth into the crisp, juicy fruit, warm and scented by the sun. The worst is, the wasps are impudent enough to dispute it with one, even at the very crisis and summit of enjoyment.”
Personally, I love that and usually begin talking that way around the house by the time I’ve hit chapter 5, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
Secondly, it’s not a straight-up love story or family saga, but also focuses on the battle between early unions and iron-fisted management in 19th century England. Again, I found it very interesting (especially because it was written at that time rather than being a modern revisionist historical novel); however, life in the industrial mills might not fill the bill for someone who is in the mood for escapist fiction.
The pros of the novel pretty much go without saying: memorable characters, complex relationships, and insightful portraits of a smart woman ahead of her time and a good man determined to be a better one. Plus, it’s got love, conflict, and consumption—always a great combination.
^ The above commentary is in no way a sales pitch for North and South—just info for those of you curious about the book. I don’t have a pony in this race—I’ve already read North and South and am equally pleased with the rest of the choices.
I agree with ignatius that a more mainstream novel will bring in more readers, which always enriches our discussion. On the other hand, a more difficult book is sometimes the very thing we want to read together, both as motivation for picking up a work that we might not read otherwise, and for greater understanding of the work itself.
Our previous selections have been all over the place. There is a significant difference, for example, in the complexity level and time commitment required for Before I Go to Sleep vs. The Luminaries. There are pros and cons to whichever way we go, so I’d say everyone should just select according to what they are in the mood for (or have the time for). We know from past experience that we’ll have a good time, whatever the final choice. I have never regretted any of our selections because discussing them with you is always so much fun!
^ Whoops, that was a longer post than I intended–I was on a roll. 
Our current choices:
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob
A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab
Duet: Dancing Fish and Ammonites: A Memoir by Penelope Lively and one of her novels TBD, possibly Moon Tiger.
Thank you, Mary13 and everyone for being so nice about my cavils, both explicitly and tacitly.
I also have doubts about Deeper Shade of Magic, though I didn’t want to veto it outright. Here are my reasons:
– Its subject matter is outside my comfort zone. I would be more than willing to give this sort of book a try if it were the right book. I doubt this one is, though I could be wrong.
– The book has not been published yet, so no reading sample is available on Amazon. I really rely on those.
– Everything the author has written before is YA, and this book is apparently categorized as YA on some lists. This is not necessarily a reason to axe it…I have read YA stuff I’ve like, but still…In addition, I might mention that “House of Silk,” our last selection, was by an author of a lot of YA books, and I didn’t like it much, though most of you did. I think it’s fine if we include a quality book for adults by an author who writes mostly YA occasionally, but maybe not with only one other book in between?
Our group has never chosen a fantasy book before, and if we do, don’t you think it should be one of established excellence? There are some Goodreads reader reviews of this one, but they are not particularly encouraging.
Oh Mary, I had a good laugh over your quote from “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”. My feelings are not hurt over rejection of my suggestions. After all, I buy these books, or check them out from the library, and then wait forever to pick them up to actually read. Deep inside, I know I’m already self-rejecting titles. If only we could inhale the contents of books by their mere presence!
. I too agree with this. I know for myself that reading books on other people’s lists, books I wouldn’t have chosen, has greatly expanded not only my ability to understand what I’m reading, but my enjoyment and appreciation of increasingly more “difficult” works. That said, my order in the above list would probably be a tie for first of North and South and The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing, followed by the Penelope Lively duet. It seems like even those three choices, because of their size or writing style, will require a commitment (at my pace and sometimes distracted, wandering nature) to reading of more than a week before the end of March:)
I’m going through a little Ann Patchett binge right now. I’m listening to Run and reading Truth and Beauty. I’ve read several of her other novels, and the most recent nonfiction book This is the Story of a Happy Marriagebut appreciating her anew her beautiful writing style. My husband and I are also reading on the 15 minute (although it typically takes us closer to 45 minutes) a day plan to get our new/old liberal arts education from the Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf. We’re reading aloud to one another each night (an empty nest activity!). It’s been fun, most of the time, although we struggled with Dante :0. Talk about things we would never have read!
I’ve flipped through the pages - I think Moon Tiger would be a good choice. Since it won the Booker Prize it’s in most libraries and has tons of reviews etc on line. Also with an older character as the main focus and the Egyptian setting lots of interesting things to explore. I think there’d be a good synergy with the two books. I’d really like to re-read it.
Honestly I’d be happy to read any of the choices - I like to check books out of the library so the Victoria Schwab would be trickier for me. And I like it when people post author interviews reviews etc. Of course two months from now maybe that will all be there!
Right now my choices would be:
- Dancing Fish and Moon Tiger (because I think this group would have a great discussion about the pair)
- North and South (surprised I didn’t come across it when I took my Woman’s History class back in college - but my paper was more about the American women philanthropists/settlement house workers as seen through novels.)
- The Sleepwalker’s Guide (not sure about the style, but the subject matter interests me)
- A Spool of Blue Thread (because I love Anne Tyler, but it’s not really stretching me)
Drop A Darker Shade of Magic from consideration. I wanted a fantasy selection on the list and choose at random after no one suggested a title. Well, not totally chosen at random as A Darker Shade of Magic made it on the Library Reads Favorites - the top ten books published this month that librarians across the country love - for the month of February as did A Spool of Blue Thread: http://libraryreads.org/ The March books are up now but obviously not easy to get yet. A Darker Shade of Magic also had starred reviewed from both Publisher’s Weekly and Library Journal. (I don’t want you to think I choose too randomly. 
) Anyway the site is a good source for new books across genres and generally well-reviewed. Enjoy.
PlantMom: I read This is the Story of a Happy Marriage and loved it. I’ve wanted to go on an Ann Patchett binge since but other books keep interfering (darn three book clubs). Maybe I’ll just throw her name out at my next meetings and see what happens.
ignatius, the book looks like fun, so I’m glad you put it out there.
Me too. I peeked at the Amazon sample and thought “hmm” (not “blech”), and we did have a very warm recommendation from someone here.
Perhaps we should spare. Mary13’s family from having her spout Victorian verse during the cold Chicago winter.
Let’s not put her in harms way, North and South would be a better selection in warmer weather when Mary can roam the blooming gardens, out of earshot from her loved ones.
(Also, we will have heard back from TheaterMom, about North And South as a book club discussion selection. )
So with the hopes these books appeal to wider audience. This list is based on amazon and goodreads review
- Dancing Fish and Moon Tiger-
2.The Sleepwalker’s Guide
3.A Spool of Blue Thread (because I love Anne Tyler)
Ignatius, thanks for the “library reads” link above. I signed up for their newsletter. I see a new Erik Larson book is out.
Weighing in for Penelope Livey’s memoir. I heard an interview that she did on NPR when the book first came out.
Here’s the link: http://www.npr.org/2014/03/17/290855933/author-penelope-lively-shares-the-view-from-old-age
Also, my RL book club read one of her books–The Photograph a few years ago. It’s a good book, easy ready and lends itself to much discussion. I haven’t followed all of the posts on the new selection for April, but I believe that someone mentioned combining her memoir with one of her books. I’d suggest The Photograph–published in 2003. It’s probably available in paperback.
I’m new to the group so I’m not sure of the protocol for who gets to make suggestions/vote–hope this is OK.
As Ignatius stated above, All Suggestions welcome, and Everyone votes, too !
Broomfield- have you read Moon Tiger ?
LOL! My family thanks you from the bottom of their collective hearts.
That leaves us with three:
The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob
Duet: Dancing Fish and Ammonites: A Memoir and Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
With everyone having helped to narrow down our choices so well, voting again doesn’t present any great benefit, so I am going to select The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob. I am basing this decision on both cartera45’s recommendation and the fact that it appears on almost everyone’s list (when provided): Caraid, PlantMom, NJTheatreMOM, SouthJerseyChessMom, and mathmom.
@ignatius insists she is happy with any of the choices and I believe her.
@Bromfield2, the Penelope Lively duet was a close contender and I suggest we keep it in mind for a future selection. Also, I hope you are okay with the choice of Sleepwalker’s Guide and will join us in April! As for protocol, there is none; that is, everyone—regulars, drop-ins, lurkers—gets to make suggestions and vote (usually by listing their top three). Generally, there is a clear winner, but sometimes (like now), we whittle down the choices to two or three and then I select one in order to put us out of our misery. 
I don’t think anyone has to worry about the length of Sleepwalker’s Guide: Although 512 pages, a peek inside suggests that it is dialogue-heavy, which usually means a fast-paced read.
Thanks to all for a great discussion of the wonderful Station Eleven! I’ll start a new thread for The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing.
Thanks for the Lively interview link, Bromfield. Chosen or not, I think I’d like to read some of her work.
Mary Cross-posting by am too lazy to delete. Thanks for deciding the book. As you can see below, I truly had no preference.
Yea! Bromfield! Everyone is supposed to chime in with suggestions/voting. This is one of the fun parts of the book club. I hope others make their preferences known too.
So I’ve decided: I would happily read any of the books. So … no 1, 2, 3 from me. I’m intrigued by the Lively duet. We’ve never done a memoir combined with the author’s novel. (We do keep trying to poke our noses into authors’ lives when we read a novel. Maybe this duet can legitimize our compulsion. Remember poor Simon Mawer: he did not fare well when we read The Glass Room.) I love Victorian Literature and the thought of North and South makes me happy. I’d like to read The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing and I’d like to read A Spool of Blue Thread. Add in the fact that I’d discuss the back of cereal box with you guys and you can see my dilemma. So I abstain.
SJCM: I like the Library Reads site. If you look over the past books chosen, you’ll see many that show up here and on the Best Books thread and on best-books-of-the-year sites. If I see a book of interest, I can request it from the library before the wait list grows unwieldy. I read All the Light We Cannot See within days of it reaching the library; the hold list has been in the 200s since then. Anyway, I figure librarians have a grasp on the good books … often getting advance copies. Of course, I may be biased as I have a daughter getting a degree in library science.
And acknowledging the curse of typos, the number of them in my post #349 can be attributed to hurry and a headache. Hopefully I’ve done better this time though my hurry still applies.
Haven’t read Lively’s Moon Tiger–so I’d be fine with reading it along with the memoir. I’d make Lively my first vote, followed by Jacob, and then Anne Tyler.
Thanks all for informing me of the voting/selection protocol!
^ All right then, we’ll stick with The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing as it officially appears somewhere on everyone’s list! Thanks all–see you on April 1st!