I’m excited about all the choices except Catch 22 and (truth be told) Bone Gap. I’d put Waterland, Imagine Me Gone and Old Filth first, with the rest tied for a close second. Actually, they are all tied for first.
Eta: oops didn’t see Mary’s post.
- Camus Duo
- Old Filth
- The Nix if it's on the list
- The Gloaming (always happy to read about East Africa having spent a good part of my childhood there)
@nottelling and @NJTM are not going to be happy with me but I’m vetoing
Imagine Me Gone: The BookList review starts: “What does it take to unravel a family?” I unravel enough during the holiday season (with two birthdays included - one on Christmas Day itself) without reading/discussing anything pushing me further along that path. The reviews are great but still … (Of course, it might be an interesting experiment to see if I can unravel more.)
Waterland: The Kirkus review sums its review:
So no … it might be the mention of “Dear-Reader preciousness” or the caution of “intermittently absorbing” but whatever - veto.
If @mathmom wants to un-duo (I like that word) The Underground Railroad and Underground Airlines I’m good with that also. We talked about reading them together once upon a time but it’s not set in stone.
The Nix and Fates and Furies were suggested but weren’t on the list. Okay with me; lukewarm on both. 
Mathmom, I thought you would like the sound of The Gloaming. Your comments about Africa have been so interesting when the subject has come up.
- *The Water Museum*
- Duo: *The Stranger* and *The Meursault Investigation*
- *The Nix* or *Old Filth* or *East of Eden* or *Can You Forgive Her?/i
- *Custom of the Country*
- *The Gloaming*
Umm, curious: What happened to The Nix by Nathan Hale? Too long? I’ll slip it in the number three slot with my others if it hasn’t been vetoed. Going back a page or two to see what I missed.
- I'm back and don't see the veto so adding it to my above post.
- Back again - having seen other mention of *The Nix*. Anyway ...
When @mathmom said it was 625 pages and thus maybe a bit long for December, I nixed The Nix. I didn’t realize it was an official addition; it can go on the list, if there’s interest, but it’s a “lukewarm” for NJTM. With @ignatius’s vetoes, we have:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Gloaming by Melanie Finn
*The Water Museum/i by Luis Alberto Urrea
Old Filth by Jan Gardam
Duo: The Stranger by Albert Camus and The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
The Pallisers: Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope
That’s 7, much easier for voting (or re-voting, if necessary).
- *The Water Museum*
- Duo: *The Stranger* and *The Meursault Investigation*
- *Old Filth* **or** *East of Eden* **or** *Can You Forgive Her?/i
- *Custom of the Country*
- *The Gloaming*
Same list as above except I nixed The Nix.
Re-voting:
1, The Gloaming by Melanie Finn
2. *The Water Museum/i by Luis Alberto Urrea
3. ANY of the others on the most recent list, no strong preferences
- The Water Museum
- Duo: The Stranger and The Meursault Investigation
- Old Filth or East of Eden
- Duo
- Old Fiflth
- The Gloaming
I’d really rather not read short stories, though I loved our discussion of Alice Munro, I’m not up to another collection. I’m sure the Steinbeck would be good for me. I think all I’ve read is The Pearl. (Yuck) and whatever might have been (if anything) in the Norton Anthology.
I’d rather not read the Trollope he’s great, but I read all but the last Palliser novels years ago, and I’ll go back to feeling guilty about never having completed the series. (I think I liked Barchester Towers better.)
- *Custom of the Country*
- *East of Eden*
- *The Gloaming*
I adored Can You Forgive Her, but it’s long and I’d rather read any other Trollope work because time is short, too many books, etc.
They all look good to me. I leave it to the group.
Interesting article about attempts to authenticate a purported Jackson Pollock, illustrating the role of provenance. And this is a painting that, if genuine, was painted only 60 years ago. Anyway, I thought it was interesting in light of our discussion here.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-jackson-pollock-pierce-odonnell-20161011-snap-story.html
PS: i think it is probably a fake.
Okay, people – this time you’re making me work. The top three choices are East of Eden, The Stranger-The Meursault Investigation duo and The Gloaming. Each appears in five out of the six lists above, more than any of the other choices. However, there is no clear winner among the final three. Their positions on the lists vary – no title is consistently or predominantly #1.
Are there any strong opinions pro or con on any of the three? Anybody who would really love to read choice A or would really dread reading choice B or C? Are there any more votes to consider? Not everyone has chimed in yet. I would be happy with anything, so can’t be an effective tiebreaker. Plus, 1:30 am is a bad time to make a decision, especially when it’s 5-5 in the bottom of the 12th and the Giants have a man on first. (Yes, my entire family is still up watching the baseball game.)
Ugh, Cubs lost 5 - Giants 6
Your family wouldn’t feel so tired this morning if the Cubs had won- maybe tonight’s game will do it !
While the well-reviewed new book The Gloaming excites me the most, I think East of Eden might be the best choice. It has been suggested many times and is a “tried and true” classic that I’ve never read. I’d also be very happy if the duo were chosen, but since we are probably doing a duo in February, it might be a bit much.
- Duo or East of Eden (out of respect for their continued reappearance each time we get ready to choose a book)
- The Gloaming
My top vote is for East of Eden. I don’t think I’ve ever read it – or if I have, I don’t remember it. Second choice is The Gloaming. If we’re doing a duo in February, I’d rather not do one now. (Hey, you’re not my only Book Club!)
I changed my mind. (Happens easily before 7 a.m.)
- The duo - We can easily read this duo: *The Stranger/i and *The Meursalt Investigation/i. Together the page count is half that of *East of Eden/i.
- *The Gloaming* or *East of Eden/i
Digression - I wonder why The Gloaming is only available in paperback or on a kindle. Never mind I figured it out. Published by Two Dollar Radio. Interesting in and of itself: http://twodollarradio.com