Yeah, we should definitely keep it on the list for the future. Looks interesting!
Not sure I understand this, @mathmom. I just checked Amazon, and it’s available for Kindle. Or did you mean something else entirely?
I’m in for almost any book. Read and enjoyed “Fates and Furies” for my RL Book Club.
Going back to “The Fireman” – all the comments about the Pop Culture references made me realize I didn’t get a few of them. For example, I had no idea Martha Quinn was a real person … The “Mary Poppins” references made me think of our D, who had a BIG thing for the Disney movie when she was young.
^ I wonder if “Mary Poppins” is why Hill gave John Rookwood a British accent. He’s Harper’s “Bert.” (And there’s also the British Harry Potter angle, which ignatius pointed out.)
@NerdMom88, I am thoroughly in favor of seeing The Physician on the list for a later round – especially because I just bought the trilogy a couple of weeks ago on a BookBub special. 
(We have found February is often a good month for long books.)
Here’s what we have so far (after above vetoes of Barkskins and The Underground Railroad):
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith.
Duo: The Stranger by Albert Camus and The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase
The Water Museum: Stories by Luis Alberto Urrea
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
Any vetoes or additions?
Perhaps something on this link to NPR database of books will remind someone of a great book to discuss.
http://apps.npr.org/best-books-2015/#/_
I’ve read a few of these and don’t think there would be much to discuss but I enjoyed reading them-
Ie " the M train" ( I know it’s Patti Smith, but surprisingly enjoyable read" again I wouldn’t suggest for book club
Girl Waits with Gun- very quick, light read - fluff
Books I’ve read recently- and, I don’t think they have enough bite for this book discussion group.
A Man Called Ove ( don’t think there’s much to discuss)
The Ice Princess - Swedish author, enjoyable ( but not suggesting for discussion)
Boys In the Boat- read in two days,uplifting story! Will see the movie
Georgia- a book about Georgia O Keefe- by Dawn Tripp- I like books about artists, and the proposed " The Last painting of Sara de vos" looks enticing.
So I’m. Looking at book lists, and trying to add something to the list. ( wish I knew more about these books)
We have great momentum now with so many new participants,
I hope we can select a book which engages most (like The Fireman did )
Has anyone read something from this list ???
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/9-must-read-books-for-the-final-dog-days-of-summer_us_57a4a699e4b021fd98784eb3
@ignatius I assumed Old Filth ( was about old money)
What a nice surprise to read this on goodreads - it means** "failed in London trying Hong Kong)
I didn’t really mean to veto The Underground Railroad. Since it seems to be a book that “everyone” is going to be reading, it would probably tempt many to participate.
While it gives me a slightly sinking feeling to contemplate it (kind of like mathmom with Barkskins, lol), I’d actually be more than willing to read it. Who knows? I might even end up liking it.
From what I’ve read about The Underground Railroad, it is said to have literary merit. Therefore, I would like to read it much, much, much more than, say, The Physician, which is apparently rife with historical inaccuracies and even cultural stereotypes that some have found offensive. The Physician is a book about the East written by a westerner, something that always tends if be iffy. On the other hand, The Underground Railroad is a book about African Americans written by a black man.
Wow, there are so many books on that NPR list that SJCM posted the link to! One of them that I’d like to read and that might be good for this group is Anthony’s Marra’s The Tsar of Love and Techno. I read Marra’s previous book, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and thought was excellent.
Throwing out another title (new): Underground Airlines. Thought it might be fun - and somewhat confusing - to choose between The Underground Railroad and Underground Airlines. I have heard good things about Underground Airlines.
I’m heading out for the day. I will happily read any of the books suggested so far and don’t want to try to list my top three/four/five. I’ll leave it to you guys to whittle it down and then I may - or may not - chime in. Have fun - I’m looking forward to seeing a shorter list or even a final choice.
The free excerpt is in the paper version of the NYT, not their online version. I’m sure the book is available in all versions, and maybe even with some excerpts. They had some illustrations in the NYT paper version that I do not believe are part of the book.
I would like to read an Annie Proulx book in the future, just not this one! I thought Brokeback Mountain was gorgeously written. Every sentence was perfect.
The Huffington Post list includes When Breath Becomes Air, which is another one I’ve had on my mental list. I’ll have to take some time to look at reviews for books on the NPR list later.
Also, I thought I’d throw out there that, until three years ago, I was a youth librarian serving birth through age 18 for over a decade. Most of my reading was (is) in the YA category. If people ever want to veer into that category, I do have a couple of recommendations for good but fast reads. Maybe during a busy time of year?
Historical inaccuracies and cultural stereotypes can make for very interesting discussion, so that doesn’t bother me. I draw the line at bodice rippers and slasher novels, but beyond that, I’m pretty easy.
Okay – The Underground Railroad is back on, along with Underground Airlines by Ben Winters. Heck, maybe while @ignatius is away, we should add Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky and The Underground City by Jules Verne. 
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith.
Duo: The Stranger by Albert Camus and The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase
The Water Museum: Stories by Luis Alberto Urrea
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Underground Airlines by Ben Winters
The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Vetoes? Additions? Swaps?
*Edited to add one more book!
(@NerdMom88, I’d be very interested in your YA recommendations.)
If we had all the time in the world, The Underground Railroad and Underground Airlines would make a good duo. Both fantasy-infused, both about slavery, one written by a black man and one written by a white man but apparently very well done. Both extremely well-reviewed. But no.
Since the list is now a (lucky!) 13, let’s review the titles we have and pare down. Vetoes?
I already read Cloudstreet, and while it is very good and I recommend it, it is hard for me to muster a lot of enthusiasm for reading it again.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a book that a lot of people have probably already read. Something newer might be better.
So maybe those two could be taken off?
- *The Last Painting of Sara de Vos* by Dominic Smith.
- Either *The Underground Railroad* OR *Underground Airlines/i.
- ANY of the other books except for *Fates and Furies*, which I would never think of vetoing but which really doesn't sound all that good to me.
1)The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith.
In no particular order ;
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
Underground Airlines by Ben Winters
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi ( does it come with Costco size box of tissues?)
- Last Painting of Sara de Vos
- Underground Railroad
- The Tsar of Love and Techno
- Black Rabbit Hall (which I know nothing about. Reviews compare it to Daphne du Maurier and Dodie Smith, which can be a good thing in the dog days of summer, but is hard to pull off. @ignatius, I'd love to know how you discovered it; did someone recommend it?)
- The Mersault duo (though it is not really feeling like vacation reading to me. Doesn't feel like an August duo but maybe I'll be more in the mood in September!)
Any of the others are fine, too. Lots of very good choices! I’ve already read Henrietta Lacks and have discussed it in two different book clubs, so I’d prefer something else but I wouldn’t veto it.
I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction lately (just read Concussion, currently reading The Big Short, Morgue and Becoming Nicole are up next), so I will just sit back and let others more up on newer fiction make the selection.
(I did read Henrietta Lacks a few years ago and highly recommend it; would not mind reading it again even though I gave my copy away!)
- *The Last Painting of Sara de Vos*
- *East of Eden*
- *Underground Airlines*