The Underground Railroad and Underground Airlines – February CC Book Club Selection

Parent Cafe
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Thanks, @NJTheatreMOM. Please keep us posted on how you are doing.

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I’m deleting the two books low on @ignatius’ list, and the one already read by @mathmom. (That does not affect any of the books in @NJTheatreMOM’s top four, so her vote is still good.)

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra
The Water Museum: Stories by Luis Alberto Urea
The Dry by Jane Harper
Paradise Sky byJoe Lansdale
The Nix by Nathan Hill
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

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I’ve been looking at some reviews, and Paradise Sky looks like the “funnest” of the bunch, so I’ll add it to my top choices.

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I loved Commonwealth, and thought the death was plausible (and I’m a physician) and important to the story as many deaths in fictional stories are. Why would one ever avoid a book because of a character’s death??

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@NJTheatreMOM , best wishes for you hospital stay. Be well.

I just looked up the books on the list. They all look good. I’ll pick 3 (no particular order), but am okay with any.
Swimming Lessons
The Tsar of Love and Techno
Paradise Sky

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All the choices look good to me, too! I’ll wait for some more votes before taking the next step. Remember, the most important thing is to let the group know if there is any book on the list that you definitely won’t read, so that it can be removed. (Current list is in post #201.)

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I myself am not a fan of short stories so I would not want to read The Water Museum: Stories by Luis Alberto Urea

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@VeryHappy, The Tsar of Love and Techno is technically stories as well; however, I believe they are interconnected, so that might be okay…? From Amazon:

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That would be OK.

I’m just not a fan of reading discreet stories one after the other. I get them all jumbled in my [jumbled] mind.

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I don’t really like short stories either, not enough time for character development. It always feels like eating too many bonbons. That said, some of the best discussions we’ve had here have been short story collection, so I am not averse to doing them from time to time.

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Updated list of nominees:

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra
The Dry by Jane Harper
Paradise Sky byJoe Lansdale
The Nix by Nathan Hill
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

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I have no problem per se with The Tsar of Love and Techno but it doesn’t sound happy/fun, if that’s the direction we want to head (probably due to the words “sacrifice,” “war,” “heartbreaking” in the reviews above.) I’m with @NJTM re Paradise Sky sounding “funnest.”

Note that I’m happy with whatever gets the final nod. All sound good to me.

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I am in emergency room being evaluated. Doesn’t seem too bad so far.

Didn’t realize Nix was on list. Reviews say it is bloated and too long. Nix The
Nix?? :slight_smile:

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^ Too long? If you are waiting in an emergency room, you’ll probably have time to read The Nix as well as War and Peace and Infinite Jest.

Consider it nixed. (It is 640 pages.) I think the momentum is moving in a different direction anyway. New list (and short enough for voting):

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra
The Dry by Jane Harper
Paradise Sky byJoe Lansdale
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

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^ :)) lol

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I had trouble with this and could easily rearrange order in the next hour. But for now, my vote:

  1. *Commonwealth* or *Paradise Sky*
  2. *The Dry*
  3. *Swimming Lessons*
  4. *The Tsar of Love and Techno*

Again, I can happily read any of the above, and go so far as to suggest that what we don’t pick we look at again in the future.

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1.Paradise Sky 2.Swimming Lessons 3.The Dry

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Waving at @NJTM: Are you still in the emergency room? If so, I can certainly understand why you want the “funnest” book you can lay hands on. (I feel kinda bad for including Commonwealth as one of my #1 choices now that I remember you weren’t enthused.)

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That’s okay, Ignatius. Yep still in E room.They finally figured out what is wrong and will fix me up, I hope.
Last few days I have felt too sick to read my current book! Have just wanted to sleep.

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Good to hear from you, NJTM. Keep us posted.

Based on what I’ve read here and a brief perusal of Amazon reviews, here’s my list in no order. Nixing The Nix is okay with me.

  1. Swimming Lessons
  2. The Dry
  3. The Nix