Thursday, January 29, 2009

book suggestions

Let's go ahead and start making our book suggestions so that we can get started reading. I know that some people are still thinking about what they want to recommend, but maybe by getting a list started, that will spur some ideas for those still undecided.

If you have a particular preference to when your book is read, go ahead and state that in your recommendation post. Otherwise, I suggest that we just randomize the list once it's all together. We can always change things up a little, but it's nice to be able to know what books are coming up so we can plan to get them whether by purchasing them, borrowing from a friend, or checking them out from a library.

Be sure to check out the introduction post as people finish up making their introductions. We'll get to know each other even better through discussion, but it's nice to have a little background before we start.

12 comments:

Kate said...

My suggestion is Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama.

From Publisher's Weekly:
"Elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, Obama was offered a book contract, but the intellectual journey he planned to recount became instead this poignant, probing memoir of an unusual life."

The paperback version has listed 448 pages, so it's not a short book by any means, but hopefully it's still a manageable number. From a quick online search I found Walmart (sigh) had the best price at $7.00.

Istari the Angel said...

My first choice is The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett, which is one of his Discworld Novels but also one of the ones written primarily for young adults, and the first in his storyline of Tiffany Aching. It's quite short at 263 pages in the hardcover edition, though a mass market paperback is available, and a very easy and enjoyable read. I haven't seen it at Wal-Mart, but a good library should have it, and if not it's available at stores like B&N for roughly $8 in paperback.

As a second option, just because I very much enjoyed it and would love to discuss it at some point, I'll suggest The Giver, by Lois Lowry. Many people tell me they read it in school, but I did not, so I"m fairly new to it. Again, easily available in libraries or as a mass-market paperback.

I think the only one we're waiting on for an intro is Philip. I'll talk to him later.

Ghostlibrarian said...

I think I'll stick with Peace like a River by Leif Enger. Amazon has used copies for as low as $1.98. My paperback copy was $13.00. At 312 pages it comes in between the 2 already mentioned.

Istari the Angel said...

If I may make a suggestion so that we can get started, if a lot of people aren't sure of their choices yet, we can make our first choice from what's already been suggested, and then you guys can have your choices ready for us to pick from after the first book. Not that I want to rush anyone, but I am eager to start reading and discussing.

Ruth said...

Agreed with Istari. Let's just start. They all sound good, and I'd like to get around to all of them. Considering the newness of our President, I'd like to start with Kate's suggestion.

Ruth said...

One more thing, I think I'm going go ahead and reserve it from our library (hopefully I can find a copy). Since it's so long, should we consider more than 2 weeks? I'm also trying to squeeze in other books, like Making the Terrible Two's Terrific.

Istari the Angel said...

Oh, we're not planning on finishing it in two weeks, we were thinking of going up to a certain point for each meeting, whether it be pages or chapters, so that we don't end up spoiling anyone just because one of us reads faster than another or someone falls behind.

Havilah said...

I agree! I am having trouble coming up with a good book suggestion but would love to get started. Let's do Kate's suggestion.

(Who is the one that is going to keep track of what book we're going to do when and stuff?....)

Istari the Angel said...

Since Kate started the blog and you guys want to read her book first, she can keep track for this one, and decide chapters and whatnot, and I would say we can decide the next one the same way as this one, with popular vote. I don't think we have to know in advance what's coming next.

Kate said...

Okay - sounds good. I will make a post today to start up the book.

Philip said...

As for my suggestion, I'm going to volunteer "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. It should be inexpensive and easy to find at most libraries or bookstores. It's also a real trip to read. It's fairly short, and wildly entertaining, especially to fans of British comedy.

Kate said...

That sounds great. It's been years since I've read that book, so it will be new to me all over again. I like how we've got a nice variety of genres so far.

Anyway, I will add that book to the sidebar soon. It looks like we've got four books after this first, so only a few haven't made their choices yet, not that there's any rush or that it's a requirement.

Thanks!