We can begin choosing our October selection at any time.
I’d like to start the list with an excellent suggestion from another CC reader:
The Street by Ann Petry.
Originally published in 1946 and having sold 1,500,000 copies, it was recently reissued and has made quite a comeback. The reader who suggested the book said it was an eye-opener for her and extraordinarily relevant in light of Black Lives Matter.
Our April and June selections were delightfully escapist, and I needed that–I think many of us did–but I’m ready to dip my toes back into the cold water of the real world.
I looked back at our selections since 2009 and out of more than 70 books, I saw only one by a black woman (Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat). Can that be? That’s an egregious imbalance I’d like to start correcting, beginning with this round, if possible.
Bluebird, Bluebird - Attica Locke - Anthony Award for Best Novel (2018), Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Mystery/Thriller (2017), Edgar Award for Best Novel (2018) *I’ve read Bluebird, Bluebird and really liked it. I’ve also read other books by Locke; she’s good.
Pride - Ibi Zoboi Young Adult
Red at the Bone - Jacqueline Woodson - Women’s Prize for Fiction Nominee for Longlist (2020), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction (2019), Reading Women Award Nominee for Fiction (2019)
or
Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming - Newbery Medal Nominee (2015), National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (2014), Sibert Medal Nominee (2015), Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2016), Coretta Scott King Book Award for Author (2015) Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Nominee for Nonfiction (2015), Claudia Lewis Award for Older Readers (2015), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Middle Grade & Children’s (2014), YALSA Award Nominee for Excellence in Nonfiction (2015) *I’ve read another book by Woodson and her writing is exquisite. (I’m really interested in Brown Girl Dreaming - free verse and poetry. I hear the audio is exceptional.)
I checked and each of these is available in multiple formats in my library system as is The Street by Ann Petry.
My library book club read A Raisin in the Sun. The librarian wanted us to read a play. I admit it didn’t take with me at the time but it could have been the “when” rather than the play itself (though the ending annoyed me). Still, others in the book club liked it and I’m glad I read it - like I’m glad I read Alice Munroe’s short stories. (On the other hand, I’ll never be glad I read Reading Lolita in Tehran.)
Oops, I meant June and August, not April and June. I definitely was not including Middlemarch! I was referring to our 30’s mystery and time travel duets.
I’m not a fan of reading plays either. I cheated and listened to the L.A. Theatre Works production (Raisin in the Sun). It won the Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance (2012). Let’s just say the librarian/book club leader put a black mark by name for doing so.
I actually like short stories nowadays. I listen to LeVar Burton’s podcast, LeVar Burton Reads. The short stories he picks are really good. As for Alice Munro, I too liked the discussion better than the stories. I’m glad I read the book; I have no desire to follow with another.
I started to suggest *The Fifth Season/i by N. K. Jemisin also. And since @mathmom brought it up, I’ll at least list its awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (2016), Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (2015), Locus Award Nominee for Best Fantasy Novel (2016), World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel (2016), Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire Nominee for Traduction (2018) (2019) James Tiptree Jr. Award Nominee for Longlist (2015), Premio Ignotus Nominee for Mejor novela extranjera - Best Foreign Novel (2018), The Kitschies Nominee for Red Tentacle (Novel) (2015), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy (2015), Dragon Award Nominee for Best Fantasy Novel and Best Apocalyptic Novel (2016), Le Blanc Award Nominee for Melhor Romance Estrangeiro de Fantasia, Ficção Científica ou Terror Publicado em Língua Portuguesa (2018)
@Mary13: note that it was a nominee for Best Apocalyptic Novel (2016).
Thank you for the suggestions! I included The Fifth Season because why not? The trilogy may be long, but I assume the first book could be read on its own. I’m also adding Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. I’ve heard very good things about it. It’s a new release, though, so might not be so easy to get from the library.
The Street by Ann Petry
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Vetoed because the waitlist in my library system means I won’t get it anytime soon no matter the format. By anytime soon, I mean 2020. I’m betting others run into same.
My library system is and isn’t open for business. Only staff can enter the building. I can request books online and do curbside pickup when they come in. The process goes slowly because it involves quarantining of books as they transfer from one place to another. Another slowdown factor - no fines - so no hurry to return books. Overall it works unless you need a specific book by a specific time (like book club). Requesting a book with no waitlist goes slower than our past-normal but one with a long waitlist doesn’t work at all.
I’m still reading To Say Nothing of the Dog. I am enjoying it and am glad I got through enough of Three Men and a Boat to get all the references.
The list of choices for our next book looks good. The only two that I am unsure about are the thriller, Bluebird, Bluebird and the poetry book. Brown Girl Dreaming. Neither are genres I typically read. One of the reasons I like this book club is it gets me to read books I might not read. So it is okay if they get picked. Maybe it will snap me out of my reading funk. I would definitely read The Fifth Season. That is a genre I enjoy.
I read Their Eyes Were Watching God when one of the kids brought it home from school and didn’t particularly enjoy that, but the others are all new for me, so I’m ok with whatever people choose.
Well, I’m the one who recommended The Street, so I’ll comment on that.
It is extraordinarily well-written. The author Ann Petry has been compared to Richard Wright and other black authors. The book sold 1.5 million copies when it was published in 1946! I think it would make for a fascinating discussion.
I vetoed one (Such a Fun Age) and am removing Pride from consideration ('twas my suggestion anyway). I’ve also slid some books further down the list when I’ve sensed others have reservations. What’s left in alphabetical order:
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (2015)
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson (2019)
The Street by Ann Petry (1946)
I’m good with any of the above. My only hesitation concerns The Street. We’ve read a number of classics lately. Even before Covid-19 hit, we chose Little Women and Behind a Mask for our December discussion. Educated has been our only 21st century choice for quite a while. (To Say Nothing of the Dog was published in 1998.) Is it time to pull in something with a more recent publication? We usually mix things up a bit more but on the other hand we haven’t read and discussed during a pandemic. Anyway, thought I’d bring it up as food for thought.
Again, I’m happy with whatever’s chosen - no order of preference.
I don’t usually vote and just read what is selected but The Fifth Season has a long wait time at our library so my votes would be
Bluebird, Bluebird
The Street
Red at the Bone
I have read myself out of my slump so I’m on board with anything. Library hold time will matter in terms of getting the book in time but other than that no worries. My library is ‘open to go’ but is slow moving.
