Thoughts … whether we’re dumping or deleting and adding.
Some of books listed by mathmom may be hard to get at your local library. I did not check Amazon etc. as I prefer the library if possible, though I am willing to buy if needed.
I can’t get Prairies of Fever and I can usually get anything/everything. I can get the other titles, I think. Only one copy exists of Wolf Dreams and The Yacoubian Building plus movie. I can find Palace Walk under the title *The Cairo Trilogy/iThe Cairo Trilogy has a handful of copies available so yea! for it.
Personally, I’m willing to read any except Prairies of Fever. However, I hope we can at least keep the duet from our other list plus Fates and Furies plus …
Edit: Amazon has only two copies of Praries of Fever with more on the way. I would buy I guess - if they get it in stock - only 160 pages though, really short.
No problem with Reading Lolita in Tehran - plenty of available copies. Want to pair it with *Persepolis/i?
Ideally, yes. Finding Nouf was written by an American who married into that world, right?
It’s not imperative that we find a book by a Muslim author/about the Muslim community for this round – it’s just something I’d like to keep my eyes open for. I’d rather wait and pick a really good book than settle for something lesser to fill a gap.
The latter. I’m removing and adding titles based on the ongoing conversation. It’s pretty fluid. Given the virtually endless number of books out there, I don’t have an issue with removing a title that someone vetoes or, to quote Bartleby the Scrivener, “would prefer not to.”
So at the moment we have:
Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides
Duet: The Meursault Investigation By Kamel Daoud and The Stranger by Albert Camus
Paradise Sky by Joe R. Lansdale
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris (Maybe? I wasn’t sure if mathmom’s comment was a veto or not.)
The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany
To add to ignatius’ comments in post #140: I eliminated Wolf Dreams, Prairies of Fever or Palace Walk for purely selfish reasons: no kindle version.
Mary - Did you see my suggestion Reading Lolita in Tehran paired with Persepolis? Oh, maybe a graphic novel won’t work on a kindle. I don’t have one so don’t know.
I’m absolutely fine with any book on the list, including “Fates and Furies,” even though I’ve read it. What I especially like about this Book Club is I end up reading books I may not have picked up otherwise!
As you can see, they are there. Either of those selections are strong contenders for me, and I really like the pair you suggested as well. That duo would offer us two things we’ve never had before: non-fiction and a graphic novel. What do you think about voting on the following three choices?
Duet: The Meursault Investigation By Kamel Daoud and The Stranger by Albert Camus
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
Duet: Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
I’m up for all three of those choices. I know there have been grumblings about graphic novels in the past, but I think getting a pair of women’s point of view should be an interesting choice and I’d imagine a good discussion. They both were widely reviewed and praised when they came out. Persepolis isn’t available in Kindle, but is in paperback and I imagine most libraries carry it. Lolitais available in all the formats.
I’ve been busy all morning and was going to try to make my way through all the new suggestions, but it seems like we already have a revised list?
I read part of Reading Lolita in Teheran a few years ago, thought it was great, and have always meant to go back and finish it. The book does make you feel like you should read *Lolita/i, but I never did.
Persepolis is terrific and I’d be more than happy to read it again. Actually, there are two Persepolis books, equally good, and both very quick reads.
Like ignatius, I am happy with any of the choices, but I agree with NJTheatreMOM that the Iranian duet is particularly timely. Therefore, I am going to call it for Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
I’m looking forward to reading the pair, and I hope everyone else is, too! I’ll start a new thread.
I’m happy with the choice too - and I think it will be more fun than rereading Camus! Though I’d love to see if I would appreciate what he was doing better at 59 than I did at 15.
I’ve been out all day but I wrote my revised choices earlier. Glad it’s going to be this duet Thanks for this month’s discussion all.
I’m leaning towards Reading Lolita in Tehran and Persepolis because I think it would provide lots of material for a group discussion. I read Reading Lolita when it was first published and enjoyed it much. I also read Nabokov’s Lolita as a result. I’d be all for reading something else by him at a future date (although not the brilliant but crazy Palefire ).
I’m okay with the other suggestions although I wasn’t a huge fan of the author’s former novel, Arcadia.
Since I’m not familiar with the book/books, I’m a little confused. Are we reading 1 of the Persepolis books, or both? Do both books come in the same volume? PS I haven’t bought any physical books in years!
The first Persopolis book is about the author’s childhood in Iran. Second one tells about the rest of her life - in Europe and then returning to Iran as an adult. I’ll probably end up reading both, but I am assuming it’s the first one. When I suggested it, I’d forgotten she wrote a sequel.
Once you have read the first Persepolis, you will almost undoubtedly want to read the second one. The first one is just that good!!. Both should be readily available in any library.
The first book, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, is the required reading for this assignment, but those of you wishing to boost your GPA may read the second one for extra credit.
I requested Reading Lolita in Tehran and Persepolis from the library yesterday. For Persepolis I chose the volume that contains both Persepolis and its sequel. I can just read on, should I choose.
Actually, I’m pretty sure we have Persepolis on a bookshelf here in one of the kids’ rooms. It would require some looking for it though. We have too many books in this house.
Thanks for this month’s discussion all.