Book suggestions, please!

Hi everyone!

I've just done what I've never done before... I selected January's book without asking all of you for your input. I'm sorry!! Let me know if you're vehemently opposed to the choice. The last poll didn't really have a compelling runner-up and none of our past suggestion lists seemed to yield anything for me. I was feeling the pressure, since I like to have the book chosen by the previous month's meeting...

However, to prevent a repeat of this in the future, please start sending me your suggestions for our 2009 books so that we can get a list going to choose February and March books.

Thanks!
Cheryl

OK, just putting some out there for discussion. Mostly, I just pulled off the net from the lists of other book clubs...
Don't know anything really about any of them

1) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie :In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

2) The Next Thing on My List: A Novel by Jill Smolinski Meet June Parker. She works for L.A. Rideshare, adores her rent-stabilized apartment in Santa Monica, and struggles with losing a few pesky pounds. But June’s life is about to change. After a dark turn of events involving Weight Watchers, a chili recipe, and a car accident in which her passenger, Marissa, dies, June finds herself in possession of a list Marissa has written, “20 Things to Do By My 25th Birthday.” Even though they barely knew each other, June is compelled by both guilt and a desire to set things right and finish the list for Marissa. The tasks before her range from inspiring (Run a 5K), to daring (Go braless), to near-impossible (Change someone’s life), and as June races to achieve each goal before the deadline, she learns more about her own life than she ever bargained for. Funny, engaging, and heartwarming, The Next Thing on My List features a loveable, relatable heroine and a story with plenty of humor and heart.

3) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak : First warning, the reviews say that this book does not have a happy ending. So there.Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's">Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

Moloka'i by Alan Brenner: This richly imagined novel, set in Hawai'i more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place---and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit. Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here her life is supposed to end---but instead she discovers it is only just beginning. With a vibrant cast of vividly realized characters, Moloka'i is the true-to-life chronicle of a people who embraced life in the face of death. Such is the warmth, humor, and compassion of this novel that "few readers will remain unchanged by Rachel's story" (mostlyfiction.com).

Okay, here's a couple ideas. Were we still going to read the Ishmael Beah book, since some of us are going to the lecture in April?

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson - This is the kind of book where you can smell and hear and see the fictional world the writer has created, so palpably does the atmosphere come through. Set on an island in the straits north of Puget Sound, in Washington, where everyone is either a fisherman or a berry farmer, the story is nominally about a murder trial. But since it's set in the 1950s, lingering memories of World War II, internment camps and racism helps fuel suspicion of a Japanese-American fisherman, a lifelong resident of the islands. It's a great story, but the primary pleasure of the book is Guterson's renderings of the people and the place.

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing.

Yes, let's definitely read the Ishmael Baeh book... maybe for March?

Thanks, Kris and Stephanie! I have started the list to capture these...

Good Omens - by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
A humourous telling of the end of times and the events leading up to it, as foretold by the nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter. This isn't an especially challenging book in literary scope but it's a lot of fun and very entertaining.

Orlando by Virginia Woolf
This novel examines age and gender as a construction of society vs. the perception of the self. Thought provoking.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Excellent novel, wonderful characters, made into a good movie. I really enjoyed reading this and it's one of the most loved books on my shelf.

I came across these lists while reading the new today and thought I'd share.
Links to the 'Best of.... 2008'. You can take a look, and see if anything jumps out at anyone....

Best short stories of 2008
Best novels of 2008
Best nonfiction books of 2008

Also, Happy Holidays everyone!!

"Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson - This is the kind of book where you can smell and hear and see the fictional world the writer has created, so palpably does the atmosphere come through."

This statement is absolutely true of this book. I have read it and it is wonderful. I would read it again in a heartbeat!

Mo - Snow Falling on Cedars is on the list as a potential selection for our next 1-2 books. Did you vote in the poll yet??