Post your suggestions. The two I've thrown out so far are the Dave Eggers book and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, but I want to hear what you have to say. And I'd also like to toss out the idea of the Anne Tyler book, because I really want to read it.

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000

Answers

I love this idea! Unfortunately I'm taking an English class in which I have to read a novel a week. This doesn't leave me much time for pleasure reading. So, I'm going to suggest the books on my list (all novels since 1920) and hope someone else has the desire to read them at some point. The Naked and The Dead -- Norman Mailer
Suttree -- Cormac McCarthy
On the Road -- Jack Kerouac
Invisible Man -- Ralph Ellison
Zuckerman Unbound -- Phillip Roth
I thinkt here are two or three more, but these are the ones we're reading this and next month. Jackie

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000

Eggers! Eggers! I ordered it on Wednesday having been hounded by Ben to read it or else. It should arrive this week.

Let me go find all the NY Times articles - including the first chapter which just blew me out of the water.

Also: http://www.mcsweeneys.net

(Oh bugger all. The articles have been archived and now you're supposed to pay $2.50 to read them. I hate crap like that. Anyway. Relevant articles can also be found at villagevoice.com, salon.com and time.com.)

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000

I wanted to reiterate that since we are not a TV show (hi, Oprah!) we don't have to all read the same book at once. If two or three or a dozen people all want to read the same thing at once, then just start some forum topics and have at it. Mi forum es su forum.

I'll probably read the Eggers book, if a couple of other people chime in, because I do want to read it, Kim R. is already reading it, and we have another vote. On the other hand, I've always felt that I should reread On the Road and Invisible Man because I gave them such a half-assed treatment in college, so Jackie, if you want to start topics to discuss those two, I might dig out my copies, give them a skim, and follow along.

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000

I'm looking forward to Eggers' book, but I too prefer to purchase paperbacks. I'd also like to read Midwives &/or What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day (and have them on my bookshelf, so that's a bonus ). I'd like to throw out Intimacy by Hanif Kureishi, The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy and The Beach by Alex Garland if I'm not the only person who hasn't read these ones yet.

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000

If you do decide to go with the Anne Tyler, I found out after I'd gotten a copy of Patchwork Planet for Christmas that I actually already owned the hardback edition; I'd picked it up at a library sale. I'd be happy to donate my extra to anyone in the club. (If we never actually hang out together, this is about as much of a club as the Hair Club for Men, but hell, we can call it a book club if we want to.)

Two days till the Dave Eggers reading at Elliott Bay Books, Seattlites.

...........................................

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000

Midwives has been on my teetering pile of books I'm planning to read for months now, so I'm all for that one. I'm also just finishing Angela's Ashes, and so I'll be starting 'Tis in a couple of days. I also just got Motherless Brooklyn -- I read a few pages over somebody's shoulder on the subway one morning and it looked really

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000

I think this is a wonderful idea. I love reading and discussing books, but I have no one to do this with at the moment. I have recently started reading about a book a week, like I used to years ago. I have made my way through most of Barbara Kingsolver, which I loved and am reading some of Maeve Binchy (Circle of Friends) at the moment. I am open to any suggestions though. I tend to read what I come across instead of reading reviews.

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000

1. The Eggers book (I just picked this up at Borders tonight, based on having read the Salon interview, read a chapter and it looks really promising. First question: How the form influence the story?)

2. Patchwork Planet. (You can't go wrong with AT. This book is one of her best, and it has an absolutely wonderful last page, with a wrapup and an ending that is so perfectly contextual and well, just perfect, it made me grin like a dope. How often does that happen?)

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000

Hugely good idea Beth; I'd love to join in. Although there may be a problem for me if I try to. Australia is a teeny weeny book market and nobody bothers to get things out here at the same time as, oh, let's say, the US. Books here come out months or sometimes a year after they do in the US (same as movies and TV series. We have better cricket coverage, though, so I'm thankful for small mercies).

We can buy through Amazon - although shipping times appear to be random guesses generated by coin tosses. Viv from FPP sent us two books for Christmas, one for me and one for my boy; mine was a big photographic book and arrived a month before Rob's paperback, which was ordered first.

I've checked on the biggest Australian bookshop's online site - www.dymocks.com.au, as well as the other generic bookstore, www.angusrobertson.com.au, and neither has heard of the Eggers book or the Maguire book. Dymocks has the Tyler, as well as The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon by Spanbauer, and the Bohjahlian - I suppose because they're "older" books in the US. That's all I checked.

If I'm the only one in this position then I'm happy to just to use the book club as a way of generating recommendations and contribute when I can, but if you could from time to time use one I can actually comment on, I'd be happy as a pig in mud. And you know how happy that can be.

cheers! anna from Australia, where we don't actually live in caves. honestly.

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000

I'm up for either the Eggers or the Maguire -- finished "Wicked" around the beginning of the year and am still thinking about it. I've been planning to pick up the Eggers anyway (I have the Maguire; haven't started it), so either is great with me.

Re: Jackie, I had "IM" a few years ago. Excellent novel. Don't know if I want to read it again just quite yet. ^_^

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000

I'm going to have to go with A Pilot's Wife...Simply because that's the only one that I have out of those suggested so far and I can't afford to get anything new.

Anyone with me?

Meghan

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000

I, too, tend to read whatever I come across. Right now I'm reading "Red Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson, which is the first in a sci-fi trilogy (the other two: "Green Mars" and "Blue Mars" - a pretty cool colonization story, from what I hear). How do people feel about science fiction?

I'm also going to try and read "The Songlines" by Bruce Chatwin sometime soon.

I'd love to read the Gregory Maguire book; he's the one who wrote, "Wicked", right? I really enjoyed that, and I'd like to see that he's a consistent writer. I read "Midwives" over a year ago, but I just got my copy back, so I could follow along and join discussions on that, I think.

I'm also serious about travel, so I'll be trying to read some travel books soon - hm, any suggestions (in general; these don't have to be something we discuss here)?

This is a great idea! I tend to read a lot anyway, and it'll be nice to be able to coordinate this with other people, to have more people to tal

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2000

I read a glowing review of What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day from a source I trust and picked it up when I was in the US in July, and I thought it was an incredible book. Flawed, yes, and somewhat wandering in narrative, but there's some wonderful prose and the characters really resonated for me.

I don't know what the deal is with the Oprah Book Club, do they pick really bad books or something? People seem to put it down a lot. Either way, though I think this book was an Oprah pick, I'd recommend it.

You can get it in Australia now, too. :) Just checked the Dymocks site.

This is a great idea, Beth. I haven't heard of any of the other books you're recommending, but if I can get copies here (pref. in paperback, hardbacks cost the earth in Aus) I'll read along.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2000

Cool, an Australian sub-book-club.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2000

Hmm. I hadn't thought about all you folks in Oz! Maybe that's another reason to wait until books come out in paperback here.

I was going to propose this general rule: out of consideration for everyone's finances, we wait until books come out in paperback before reading them, unless there is a specific exception upon which we can agree. The Eggers book, for instance, is getting a lot of buzz right now so it might be worth reading it right away, especially since the hardcover is only $11 at Amazon.

But the Australian/international angle might be reason enough to wait even with the Eggers book. I like the idea of a more international discussion. I'd also encourage you folks to suggest some Australian books -- my sister sends me suggestions now and then, and I've liked almost everything I've read. It's hard to find books by Australian authors here, though.

So -- what does everyone think? It looks like we've got support for the following books: Midwives, A Patchwork Planet, the Eggers book, and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. The last two aren't out in paperback yet. We could read the first two, starting with Midwives because I think it's slightly older, and by the time we're done one of the others may be available in paperback and overseas, as well.

And as I said, those of you who are already reading something, feel free to discuss it on the forum. Post a new topic and have at it; the rest of us can catch up sooner or later.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2000

Dave Eggers! Dave Eggers!

I just finished it on Friday and I am itchin' to discuss it with someone.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2000

I also just finished the Eggers and would love to discuss it while it's fresh. Maybe we could start with that and the Ann Tyler or Midwives? I haven't read Patchwork Planet and would love to do so.

I would also like to recommend to people another book I just finished, Lewis Nordan's memoir "Boy with Loaded Gun." It's amazing. Unfortunately it, too, is just out in hardback.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2000

I took this afternoon away from the clinic, drove into the nearest city with a bookstore and a theatre (an hour's drive one way!), saw American Beauty (*loved* it) and picked up both A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and A Patchwork Planet. However I have not ever been in a book club (I live in the sticks and hardly anyone here reads for pleasure...honestly!) so can someone please tell me how this works? Do we read the entire novel, then discuss or do we discuss as we are reading? Sorry to be so dense... Thanks, Cathy.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2000

Those sound like great choices! I'd like to add Invisible Man to the list...

Regarding what to read first... How about reading one "Hot" book and one paperback together? That way not only can we crib remarks from the forum for witty water cooler repartee (say, re: Eggers book), we can draw nifty parallels between the two, like "As Ralph Ellison posited in Invisible Man, the construction of personal identity in the face of societal disregard or opprobrium can require extreme action; Eggers creates his identity as his brother's guardian by performing outrageous acts of "parenting." By emphasizing his alienness, he achieves societal legitimacy. (Okay, I totally made this up, as I haven't read the books yet. But it sounds fun.)

A threaded-type forum might be helpful, to facilitate discussion of sub-topics (and to make it easy to avoid reading annoying faux- intellectualism like the above).

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2000

I like the idea, suggested above, of doing one currently hot book and one "gee, I wish I'd read that" book concurrently.

I loved A Patchwork Planet, and would be happy to re-read it. I'd never even heard of Midwives, but it sounds fine to me.

Some suggestions for future titles:

Dave Eggers' book, natch
The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov, which I read so half-assedly in college
Possession, by A.S. Byatt
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
Motherless Brooklyn, by Jonathan Latham

To haul out an expression I thought I'd never use again, I am so totally stoked about this bookclub. I'm almost giddy about it, in fact. Excellent idea, Beth.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2000

You know, it occured to me while I was plowing though my inbox today that you might want to create a separate forum for the book club, that way, people who don't care and get notified about the forum wouldn't get book club notices and vice versa.
Just a thought.

Meghan

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2000

Another vote for Dave Eggers.

I am a book merchandiser and have a couple of extra copies of "Midwives" if anyone is interested, just in case we start with that title. Please e-mail me for further info.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2000

That's a good idea about setting up another forum, but I think I'm going to do it a little differently -- I've decided to switch to UBB, and what I'll do is use the book club to test it out. I'll make the book club its own category so no one has to plow through other messages.

Since a lot of people don't read on weekends, I'd like to wait until tomorrow to make a firm decision on what we're going to read, but it sounds like our votes are leaning towards reading the Eggers book and one other simultaneously (or more generally, one "buzz" book and one older book). Obviously you can read just one of those if you prefer. I think Midwives got the most votes for the older book choice, and we can do A Patchwork Planet next time around, how's that?

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

I'm already in a book club so I probably can't keep up with yours, but I'll be interested in following along on your discussions. Our book club put together the Modern Library's Best novels of 20th century list from 2 years ago and added the list that was compiled from readers' responses and also threw in a list compiled by our Eng. Dept. professors which has more culturally diverse offerings. We have them all in a "hat" from which we select each month. Ours in an "in the flesh" club where we get together and eat and discuss once a month. This month we're reading Butler's Way of All Flesh. I love the club as it forces me to get one book read a month. By the way, haven't any of you heard of the public library? You don't have to buy every book! (I'm a librarian...had to get that in)

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

Actually, the library issue was one of the reasons I suggested we choose some older books. I don't know how it works in other cities, but here you have to go on a waiting list to check out any new and popular titles, and you can wait for a long, long time. I figured some people would want to go to the library, and it would be easier for them if we waited a while after the book was published.

I need to buy the Eggers book and payday isn't until tomorrow. But I started Midwives while I was eating breakfast this morning (meaning I read two pages of it before the cats knocked something over and I had to go deal with that).

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

I ordered the Eggers book from Amazon yesterday, so that's my vote. I would like to read at least some older stuff, partly to keep good books circulating in libraries and partly because most book clubs already address current titles.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

I'm definately interested in a book club here. I really want to read the Eggers book, it looks great. Every newspaper I pick up mentions it. Looks fascinating. I vote for that one. I have read 'A Patchwork Planet' loved it, wouldn't mind refreshing on that one. I read 'Midwives' great book as well, I would read again. I hope we go with Eggers first. I'm currently reading 'Bella Tuscany' and any of her books would be wonderful for a book group.

Nancey

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

I just finished Egger's book last night and I am too itchin' to talk about it. Most of the other suggestions sound good to me. I usually wait for paperbacks unless something really grabs my attention. Right now I'm eyeing the new Ursala Hegi (can't remember the title... she wrote Stones from the River and Floating in My Mother's Palm)

-Katie

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

I'm gonna get started on Patchwork Planet right away, so I can join the discussion on it when it starts. I, too, am dying to read the Eggers book, but have a thing about buying hardback. I work in a library, so I can't help but to remind everyone: if your finances are a consideration, be sure to check your library for any of the titles! But, unless you have a high-speed well-funded 'brary, it'll be hard to get the newest releases.

I'm so excited about this idea, I love love love to talk about books.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

Yay sci-fi! I am totally up for "Red Mars", since it's been lying around for months and I keep meaning to get around to reading it.

Of course, this means I'll have to put the nine books I bought this weekend on hiatus for awhile.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

Yay! Book club!

A reason to read stuff I wouldn't read ordinarily, since the main thing I've been reading in the past couple of years are British mysteries. (Dorothy L, anyone?)

I like the idea of some of the classics that Jackie is reading in class, and the more contemporary --

Count me in.

Pooks

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

your idea of a separate forum for a book club is to my way of thinking, a wonderful thing. i do have one request - please, at the beginning, list a url where us newbies can learn how to UBB without fl-ubb-ing. doug

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

your idea of a separate forum for a book club is to my way of thinking, a wonderful thing. i do have one request - please, at the beginning, list a url where us newbies can learn how to UBB without fl-ubb-ing. doug

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

Hooray for this idea. Looks like the Eggers book is getting the votes. Maybe that's a good one with which to start. In January, Salon listed what they felt were the 10 best books of 1999. As I pride myself on being a person who tries to keep up with current publishing, I confidently looked at the 5 best fiction selections and was shocked to find that I hadn't even HEARD of 3 of them. Here they are: Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson

Motherless Brooklyn, by Jonathan Lethem

Original Bliss, by A.L. Kennedy

Plainsong, by Kent Haruf

A Prayer for the Dying, by Stewart O'Nan

Anybody want to try any of these? I sort of made a commitment to myself that I would read them all.

My personal favorite book of 1999 was Tomcat In Love, by Tim O'Brien. If anyone wants to do that one, I would gladly read it again.

Also, I think it would be great to have a seperate forum in which to discuss the classics/ books with publishing dates more than 30 years ago. Always good to revisit those when one can.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

I would go for the Eggers book. I just ordered it from Amazon.com, not having heard anything about it or seen discussion of it anywhere else. And I haven't anyone to talk about books with in.. well, years. =p

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

Thank god for my bookmarks at work:

The NYTimes Book Review about AHWOSG:

http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/020100eggers-book-review.html

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2000

I have 'Infinite Jest' by David Foster Wallace doing the paperweight thing on my bedside table (no, actually I'm lying - it's on the floor..) Anyway - I guess this may be somewhat oversized for the bookclub thing, but I really need something to help me get started on that one..

As for Australian novels, I've been trying to read 'Illywhacker' by Peter Carey (he of Oscar & Lucinda fame) for a good few years now and haven't got round to it..

If you can cope with Bryce Courtenay's flowery prose 'The Potato Factory' is a great story set in London and Australia.. but this has been out for a good few years and everyone has probably read it by now..

Dave Eggers book is definitely something I would be interested in but I just don't like hardbacks, so I guess I'll have to wait..

I'll be in the Anne Tyler reading though. That paperback has reached Australian shores. Alert the media..!!

-- Anonymous, February 29, 2000

Hey, count me in! I don't care what we read as long as it's not a mushy romance novel. I do prefer paperback because they're easier to tote around and I do most of my reading on the bike at the gym.

-- Anonymous, February 29, 2000

The Eggars and Maguire books were the two I was looking for yesterday at the library. I'd like to read them and be involved in a book club. Wicked was one of the best novels I've read in a long time, and I'd be glad to do a discussion of that too. I'm now reading Cavedwellers by Dorothy Allison, which is pretty good, and I liked Patchwork Planet- I'd be happy to look at it again.

-- Anonymous, February 29, 2000

Re: the Salon list above -

_Cryptonomicon_ is not for the faint of heart. Not only is it a monster but it's also pretty dry stuff, unless you enjoy things like cryptography, the idea of data havens and all that implies, WW2 espionage and some pretty wicked math. It's a geek's geek book. I finished it with a "eh" - I felt like it went right over my head.

If Neal Stephenson were to show up as a possibility, I'd totally recommend either _Snow Crash_ or _The Diamond Age_.

-- Anonymous, February 29, 2000

Two votes: Eggers for the new and "On the Road" for the old. Having lived the latter and not yet read the former, I have a feeling they'd fit well together.

-- Anonymous, February 29, 2000

I'd like to vote for doing the MaGuire book "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister". The Eggers book seemed a trifle offbeat for my tastes.

-- Anonymous, February 29, 2000

I'd also like to nominate "Heaven's Coast" by Mark Doty. The most amazing, lyrical book I have ever read.

-- Anonymous, February 29, 2000

I loved Cryptonomicon, but I should also admit that I am something of a geek and this book gave me the same adrenal rush as code debugging or trouble-shooting my laptop (successfully) does. The transgender book Beth mentions in her log today (which I cannot remember) seems like an interesting read, and one with a lot of potential for tough reflection.

Still, I've been looking for an excuse to read the Eggers book. ----------------------------------------

-- Anonymous, February 29, 2000

I guess I'm going to have to just announce the schedule and what books we're reading at some point (with the caveat, of course, that anyone can start a new topic on any book they so desire), and the other suggestions can wait until next month. Someone has to make the decision, right?

Does two books a month sound good? I know a lot of people can easily read a book a week or a book a day or whatever, but that doesn't give much time for discussion, and some of us have a hard time finding time to read. The reason I'm suggesting two books a month rather than a book every two weeks is that I sometimes have a week or two when I have no time to read, but when I do read, I read pretty fast. Plus, with two books happening at once, people can read only one of them if they're busy or just not interested in the other one.

Anyway, I ordered the Eggers book and I should get it by Thursday or Friday. In the meantime I've been reading Midwives during my breakfast and lunch breaks, and I already have some comments I'd like to share with someone (you can translate "comments" as "gripes," if you wish). It's an easy read and a gripping story, addresses some social issues that might fuel a good discussion, and has enough flaws that we can find plenty of things to pick apart. So I think it's a good second or alternate choice. Fast readers will finish it in one sitting, and I doubt it will take most people more than a week or so.

In other words, I'm leaning toward those two, with A Patchwork Planet next on the list for April, I guess, along with one other book -- possibly a classic, as some people have suggested. And then we'll go from there with the other suggestions. Sound good?

Oh, and in regard to book ideas: a while back I was systematically reading as many Tennessee Williams plays as I could get my hands on, but then I got off track. I'd love to read one or two of those at some point if anyone is interested. I'd also nominate some of the early 20th Century American novels that get ignored in schools in favor of Hemingway, Stein, and Fitzgerald. (Um, yeah, I've got some guilt happening here ... I still remember cramming for an American Lit final, and I just didn't have time to finish the last two novels, so my roommate -- who was done with her finals -- read one of them for me and told me what happened. Kay Boyle, I owe you an enormous apology.)

-- Anonymous, February 29, 2000

Ok, I've bitten the bullet and ordered the Eggers and the Bohjahlian from Amazon - "2-12 weeks shipping time" (unless I pay more - like $30 PLUS $5.95 per item - gah! - AND that's all USD, ours is worth 63 US cents). I hope they arrive in reasonable time so I don't feel like the kid in the corner still playing with Ninja Turtles when everyone else has moved on to Pokemon. (Georgina, wanna read one while I read the other?)

Thanks, though, for including books that we here in Publishing- Nowhere-Land can actually go out and buy.

Beth, I think you said that it's hard to get Australian books over there? If anyone is interested in including an Australian writer (not only to make Georgina and me feel at home, maybe also to expand horizons!) might I suggest David Malouf - in particular Conversations at Curlow Creek, which I have read but would love to discuss, ditto Peter Carey, Oscar and Lucinda, or The First Stone by Helen Garner (not a novel, although she does write them, but an investigation into a sexual harrassment suit in an Australian university - sure to get people in different camps with some interesting discussion!). The first two are available from Amazon, the third not, although her novel "Monkey Grip" is.

I also saw a reference to "Possession" by AS Byatt earlier in this forum - can I throw in a vote for that at some stage? I love every page of that book and I would love to discuss it with others. Although I fear that my background in medieval english/linguisitcs colours me towards loving it - it's not often that a faux-medieval poet is a romantic heroine, but in my view it *should* happen more. Heh.

cheers anna.

-- Anonymous, February 29, 2000

Just a quick note to the Aussie contingent..

'Midwives' is available here in paperback.. I bought it today from Dymocks for $16.95

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2000

I've been thinking about A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius as book-club fodder, and I have to say that although it's a great read -- certainly one of the best books ever written by someone of my generation -- it does not lend itself well to discussion. I mean, one of the items in the foreward is a chart mapping people, places, and objects in the book with their symbolic value. Every event in the book is gone over with a fine-toothed comb until Eggers has explicitly stated how it is poignant AND ironic AND fatuous. He has characters break the third wall and comment on how the book is going (usually in a self-deprecating manner, and it is SELF-deprecating because the voice they are speaking in is, of course, Eggers's.) The story analyzes itself as it is being told. The pages contain both the book and several ongoing critiques of the book.

As a work of art, it fascinated me, but is there anything left to say about the text that isn't part of the text itself? Can the reader really bring anything to a book that both praises and lambasts itself as it progresses, where the author tells you beforehand which parts are uneven and why he's chosen to emphasize certain people?

[I tried to phrase this in such a way that it didn't spoil the book for those who hadn't read it yet, and hope I succeeded.]

....................................................

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2000

Well, sure he mapped out all that out - but you didn't think he was being serious, did you? Certainly, if one find that the content lacking in terms of discussion, then we can absolutely tackle his style - oh yes.

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2000

Oh, I don't think the symbolism chart was meant seriously, but I do think it was his way of telling us [in his usual mocking, overeducated manner] that looking for allegory in an autobiography is pointless -- but that if we were really determined to find symbols, well, here's a bunch.

Anyway... since the first books have been chosen, debating whether or not they're worthwhile choices is moot, so I'll shut my pie-hole on this topic. Maybe I can chatter instead about how badly I want to marry Eggers, but only if he will permit me the occasional affair with Doug Coupland. (Permission rendered void if Coupland ever publishes something as craptacular as Girlfriend in a Coma again. Fingers yet capable of typing such blather shall never touch my delicate skin.)

.........................................................

-- Anonymous, March 03, 2000

anybody want to read a book in february?

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

Well, I'm about to start the new Barbara Kingsolver book next week ... Prodigal Summer. Anyone interested?

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

Prodigal Summer sounds great. I got it for christmas, but haven't started it.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

I (cringeing) have never read any Kingsolver, and I've been meaning to for ages. This would be a good time. Count me in.

-- Anonymous, January 26, 2001

I read Prodigal Summer and while I liked it, I did not think it as good as some of Kingsolver's other books. I would though, be willing to discuss it in Feb. I am very interested in finding out if I am the only one who feels this way.

Lil

-- Anonymous, January 26, 2001

I really hated her last book, Poisonwood Bible, but I enjoyed her others so much that I'm willing to give her another chance. I'm looking forward to this one.

-- Anonymous, January 26, 2001

Count me in for Prodigal Summer - I got it for Christmas, too, but I keep failing to find the time to get started on it! This will give me a good excuse to do what I wanted to do anyway. Excellent.

-- Anonymous, January 29, 2001

Count me in for Prodigal Summer; I just got the book for my birthday. I am almost finished listening to Poisonwood on audio and have mostly loved it, so it'll be interesting to see how I feel about this one.

-- Anonymous, January 30, 2001

I went to chapters to pick up Prodigal Summer and it was available only in hardcover and didn't really interest me at that price (yes! i am cheeeeeeeeap! smiley)

new question then: anyone want to read something out in paperback this month? and/or i have a huge list of books i haven't read yet at home: Barbara Gowdy The White Bone, Carol Shields Larry's Party, Jane Smiley both Moo and Horse Heaven, Mordecai Richler Barney's Version are just a few...

anybody? anybody???

-- Anonymous, January 31, 2001

Beth, you'll probably like Prodigal Summer if you didn't like Poisonwood Bible but liked her other works -- PS is much more a novel of dialogue. (while PB didn't have much dialogue at all.) It's not quite the same as Bean Trees or Animal Dreams, but she's still a wonderful writer.

In my case, PB is probably one of my favorite books, and that's why it took me awhile to get into PS. You just have to appreciate it as a seperate book, I guess.

I would love to discuss it with you guys once you get going. :)

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2001

Well, I read two pages. I'm on a roll!

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2001