<p>Taking into account NJTheatreMom’s points, this is what we have:</p>
<p>Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín Missing Person by Patrick Modiano (not available for kindle if that matters) All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle and The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz (duet) To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf The Maid’s Version by Daniel Woodrell The Good Lord Bird by James McBride</p>
<p>We need to narrow the list a bit, so feel free to speak up and strike what you know you won’t read (and/or add something else that you really want to read).</p>
<p>Take off The Book of Unknown Americans. Yes, I know I originally suggested it but have since read and discussed it in September with another book club. Don’t want to reread it and I’d probably need to do so for a December discussion.</p>
<p>Neither *Nora Webster<a href=“on%20order%20with%20not-too-long%20a%20wait%20list,%20so%20maybe”>/i</a> nor *Missing Person<a href=“short%20%20:”>/i</a> ) are readily available through my library. I’m willing to buy but don’t know how others feel about doing so.</p>
<p>I’ve read - and am more that willing to read again - All the Light We Cannot See. I’ll second Lipsha’s accolades. =D> </p>
<p>I’ve wanted the duet ever since it was first mentioned so thumbs up to mathmom for bringing it up.</p>
<p>I read and really liked - and would read again - The Maid’s Version. The narrative meanders in a somewhat similar way to Claire of the Sea Light. I liked it better than Claire - not so depressing - but you either like the style or you don’t.</p>
<p>I know almost nothing about The Good Lord Bird other than I keep seeing mentions of it here and there - in an award sort of way.</p>
<p>Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín Missing Person by Patrick Modiano All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr The Good Lord Bird by James McBride</p>
<p>Our library has (and I just ordered) Nora Webster. I read Brooklyn a few years ago and thought it fine. Thanks for the heads up on the new book, NJTM! Our library does not yet have, but I requested they order Missing Person. No doubt it’ll be widely available in bookstores soon enough, too! I’m interested in All the Light We Cannot See and The Good Lord Bird. </p>
<p>A few newer books I have also requested from the library are The Children Act by Ian McEwan; The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters; and Some Luck by Jane Smiley. And I have a pile of Louise Erdrich waiting now :)</p>
<p>I haven’t given up on To the Lighthouse but I’m not in the mood for it this month. Sorry to be so brief, but my youngest is on his way home for fall break. Yay :)</p>
<p>One of the books that Plantmom mentioned, Some Luck by Jane Smiley, sounds good.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what to think of Missing Person, based on reviews I’ve seen. Just because someone’s body of work merits a Nobel doesn’t mean that their books are necessarily all that appealing to read!</p>
<p>I’ll preemptively veto The Paying Guests. From Kirkus: “An exquisitely tuned exploration of class in post-Edwardian Britainae with really hot sex” and “The first half of the book slowly builds the suspense as Frances falls for the beautiful and passionate Lilian, and teases at the question of whether she will declare her love; when she does, the tension grows even thicker, as the two bump into each other all over the house and try to find time alone for those vivid sex scenes.” Um, books with really hot sex can make for really awkward discussions. :"> </p>
<p>All other suggestions sound good to me. (Some Luck will be the first in a trilogy if that makes any difference to anyone. I’m fine as long as it’s not second or third in a trilogy and requiring me to read the previous books.)</p>
<p>Oh my goodness, I had no idea about the content of The Paying Guests X( I do not remember her last book having such racy content. I heard an NPR interview about this one, too, and I do not think hot sex was part of the discussion. Definitely remove from consideration! Good gravy…!</p>
<p>I’m going to remove Missing Person by Patrick Modiano – it’s not only the no kindle aspect, but also the fact that there are 17 people on the waiting list for it at my library, Barnes and Noble doesn’t have it in stock, and there is a 1-3 week shipping delay on Amazon. I also removed To the Lighthouse per PlantMom’s post #182 (and I’m not in the mood for it right now either).</p>
<p>Let’s vote with the following seven. If everyone ranks their top three, maybe there will be an obvious choice, and if not, we can revisit the list. </p>
<p>Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín Some Luck by Jane Smiley All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle and The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz (duet) The Children Act by Ian McEwan The Maid’s Version by Daniel Woodrell The Good Lord Bird by James McBride</p>
<p>Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín Some Luck by Jane Smiley The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle and The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz (duet)</p>
<p>No preference whatsoever … well, almost no preference. I list the Holmes duet whenever it makes its appearance, but glancing at the posts so far it doesn’t look a likely choice. So go with no preferences whatsoever on my end. </p>
<p>Time for that what do you plan-to-read-in-the-interim list. Always interesting. PlantMom - if you read The Paying Guests, you’ll have to let us know whether it lives up to its Kirkus review.</p>
<p>I have an idea of the direction things are going, but am hoping to hear from mathmom, Bromfield2, CBBBlinker, buenavista, etc. before doing the math.</p>
<p>I am currently reading the 17th century play The Alchemist by Ben Jonson for my other book club. A sub-group of that club (“book to film”) is reading The Royal Physician’s Visit by Per Olav Enquist, so that novel is next on my agenda.</p>
<p>For my recent birthday, one of my sons gave me a novel I’d expressed an interest in after hearing an interview with the author on NPR, so that’s the third book in my lineup. The book is Fives and Twenty-Fives, a novel about the Iraq war.</p>
<p>This may surprise you–it surprised me–but I am going to call it for The Hound of the Baskervilles and The House of Silk, which appear on four of the above lists.</p>
<p>Technically, Nora Webster has the edge, but my gut tells me to go with the Holmes duet for the following reasons:</p>
<p>1) This duo was first suggested in December 2011–three years ago!–and has popped up on almost every one of our short lists since then. Time for persistence to be rewarded.</p>
<p>2) It will be a complete change from our last selection. One the strengths of this group is how we continue to mix it up, and the Holmes pair keeps us from going directly from one suffering family to another. </p>
<p>3) The duet contains a classic and we haven’t had one of those on the menu for over a year.</p>
<p>Historically, the incredibly good-natured members of this group are generally willing to read anything. I just hope that PlantMom and Caraid are okay with this choice, which did not make either one’s top three. Let me know what you think! </p>
<p>The duo is a nice thrifty choice. Used copies of House of Silk are available for pennies, and The Hound of the Baskervilles is in the public domain.</p>
<p>Well, one of the reasons I participate in this book club is to read books I might not go to on my own. I’ll give it a shot and hope I will be pleasantly surprised.</p>