reading group

This is the second installment of the  Man Booker longlist book selections.

The first was Room by Emma Donoghue.

Today's selection

Parrot and Olivier In America by Peter Carey

First lines

I had no doubt that something cruel and catastrophic had happened before I was born, yet the comte and comtesse, my parents, would not tell me what it was. As a result my organ of curiosity was made irritable and I grew into the most restless and unhealthy creature imaginable -- slight, pale, always climbing, prying into every drain and attic of the Chateau de Barfleur.

Publisher Summary Olivier—an improvisation on the life of Alexis de Tocqueville—is the traumatized child of aristocratic survivors of the French Revolution. Parrot is the motherless son of an itinerant English printer.

Author On the Bookcase
Cathy Lamb

I'm excited to welcome Cathy Lamb, author of Such A Pretty Face. Her book tells the story of Stevie, who two years and 170 pounds ago, was wheeled into an operating room for surgery that most likely saved her life. At thirty-five, Stevie is the one thing she never thought she'd be: thin.

Stevie realizes the most important part of her transformation may not be what she's lost, but the courage and confidence she's gathering, day by day. What fascinating reading-group topics -- identity, family, friendships.

Today, Cathy chats about her writing process. What do toilets, electricity, carpet and a chimmey have to do with her writing?

Pennie Clark Ianniciello, Costco's book buyer, has chosen Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen as her pick of the month for August. This book is a great book club pick. Lots of conversation starters -- culture differences, family, loss, personal challenges. Clark wrote:

"It's a common adage that you can't go home again, but Rhoda Janzen does just that in her memoir, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress.

"Shortly after Janzen turns 43, her husband leaves her--for a man--and a car accident leaves her seriously injured. Those two events lead her to her parents' home--and the Mennonite community in which she was reared.

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers is the 2010 Tulane University Reading Project book selection. 

Since its inception in 2002, The Tulane Reading Project has created a shared intellectual experience for the entering first-year class through the reading and discussion of a selected book. With a variety of events scheduled throughout the fall semester, the Reading Project creates a campus-wide dialogue on a variety of themes. 

This year is the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and Zeitoun is a perfect choice for discussion.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

I'm still reading A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay. I took a vacation -- from everything, including reading! So my Teaser Tuesday is again from A Secret Kept.

I'm almost finished so I will give the ARC to one lucky random TT fan! Winning the giveaway is a good way for you to review the book before picking it as your choice for your reading group. A Secret Kept is a great book club pick, full of discussion points -- family, secrets, romance, hope, loss.

"I want to call Melanie about all this, and nearly do, but it is getting on for one o'clock in the morning.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week, hosted by Sheila from Book Journey.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I'm reading The Clouds Beneath the Sun by Mackenzie Ford.

July 11 is the 50th anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic. Featuring some of the most memorable characters in literary history—attorney Atticus Finch, his children Scout and Jem, and of course Boo Radley—To Kill a Mockingbird is the indelible story of race, class, and growing up in the Deep South of the 1930s. Great reading group discussion topics!

To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, and been made into an enormously popular movie.

I got the ARC of By Nighfall, the new Michael Cunningham novel, in the mail! It will be released in October 2010. The Hours by Cunningham was a favorite reading group pick.

Here's the scoop from the publisher.

Peter and Rebecca Harris: mid-forties denizens of Manhattan’s SoHo, nearing the apogee of committed careers in the arts—he a dealer, she an editor. With a spacious loft, a college-age daughter in Boston, and lively friends, they are admirable, enviable contemporary urbanites with every reason, it seems, to be happy. Then Rebecca’s much younger look-alike brother, Ethan (known in thefamily as Mizzy, “the mistake”), shows up for a visit. A beautiful, beguiling twenty-three-year-old with a history of drug problems, Mizzy is wayward, at loose ends, looking for direction. And in his presence, Peter finds himself questioning his artists, their work, his career—the entire world he has so carefully constructed.

Like his legendary, Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, The Hours, Michael Cunningham’s masterly new novel is a heartbreaking look at the way we live now.

I've been on vacation so my blog has been on vacation, too! Corolla, NC -- great weather and a good time.

Back to the book business. BEA(BookExpoAmerica) has afforded me some great galleys to look over. Amy from W. W. Norton gave me one that I'm excited to read -- Great House by Nicole Krauss. Krauss' previous novel, The History of Love, is one of my favorite books. Great story and lots of reading group topics to discuss.

I'm so thrilled to welcome Claire Cook to On the Bookcase. Claire is the author of seven novels, including The Wildwater Walking Club and Must Love Dogs. Her seventh novel, Seven Year Switch, has been released today!! Claire chats about reading groups, crafts, and a trip to Costa Rica?

MUST LOVE READING GROUPS