You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

I'm going to go insane before this is over!

Love the title of your reporting thread! I'll be going insane with you! The true challenge is fitting everything else in with the alphabet challenge! And, if it doesn't fit, find time to read it anyway!

I love the name of your thread, too! I do hope we don't go insane! (But I am fearful.)

I've already accepted the insane part! It seems to be required for these six month/year challenges.

A-Z Authors
1/1/13 - 12/31/13

A - Laurie Halse Anderson, Fever 1793 1/20/13
B - Lorna Barrett, Murder is Binding 1/21/13
C - Karen Cantwell, Take the Monkeys and Run 1/25/13
D - Harriet Doerr, Consider This, Senora 1/26/13
E - Steve Earle, I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive 1/30/13
F - Craig Ferguson, American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot 2/19/13
G - Jim Gorant, Wallace: The Underdog Who Conquered a Sport, Saved a Marriage, and Championed Pit Bulls - One Flying Disc at a Time 2/25/13
H - N. John Hall, Correspondence: An Adventure in Letters 3/5/13
I - Kazuo Ishiguro, Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall 3/6/13
J - Hillary Jordan, When She Woke 3/7/13
K - David Kherdian, The Road from Home: A True Story of Courage, Survival, and Hope 3/13/13
L - Lisa Lutz, Trail of the Spellmans 3/29/13
M - Marcia Muller, The Bughouse Affair 3/29/13
N - K.A. Nuzum, The Leanin' Dog 4/29/13
O - Barbara O'Neal, The Garden of Happy Endings 5/18/13
P - Kate Pullinger, The Mistress of Nothing 6/7/13
Q - Qiu Xiaolong, Years of Red Dust: Stories of Shanghai 6/24/13, Qui is the family name
R - Ron Rash, One Foot in Eden 6/27/13
S - Anita Shreve, Resistance 6/29
T - Đặng Thùy Trâm, Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram 7/12
U - Thrity Umrigar, The Space Between Us 7/17
V - Susan Vreeland, Girl in Hyacinth Blue 7/28
W - Franz Wisner, Honeymoon with My Brother: A Memoir 8/19
X - Xinran, Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother: Stories of Loss and Love 9/2
Y - Jacqueline Yallop, Obedience9/3
Z - Mitchell Zuckoff, Lost in Shangri-la 9/3

What is it they say.... you don't need to be insane, but it helps. :)

Insanity is a prerequisite for joining these challenges!

I FINALLY finished a book, two actually!!

Way to go, j'mom! What's up for C?

Hope to start Take the Monkeys and Run today. But I have a couple of other books I should read first.

That cosy mystery looks like it could be a fun read.

Take the Monkeys and Run was a fun read. It had a twist to it that was unexpected.

I also read Consider This, Senora, a quick enjoyable read.

Will be starting I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive tomorrow.

I added Take the Monkeys and Run to my TBR list. Sounds like a fun one. Sigh... when will I get to all these books?

Finished E. I'm probably going to read Mrs. Mike for F.

I have that one on my list as a possible for my Cross Canada challenge. Can't wait to hear your verdict.

Switched and read Craig Ferguson's for F. He's very candid about his past, and I understand his humor better now.

Read for my G book. Roo and Wallace make a great team.

I have for my H book.

Finished H, I and J.
Correspondence: An Adventure in Letters
Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall
When She Woke

Listening to Into the Wild for my L book.

Wouldn't Into the Wild be K? Jon Krakauer

yes, I meant K :) And I even started it, but ended up with another book. I listenend to The Road from Home: A True Story of Courage, Survival, and Hope, which was about the author's mother, a survivor of the Armenian genocide.

I love Mudbound, but I have been hesitant about Jordan's newest book When She Woke. It sounds so different and "out there." Do you recommend it?

I read Into the Wild years ago and enjoyed it; however, it is very sad. I also read Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster and loved this book.

Yes, I'd recommend it. It brings up a lot of issues, I'd be happy to discussion it with you if you want. It was the March read for another group, or I probably wouldn'thave read it. I'll be reading Mudbound in April with 21st Century Literature.

It sounds quite intense.

It is. A world that's hard to imagine, but you can believe some of it could happen some day, while hoping it never will.

I saw it compared to The Handmaid's Tale but much more intense. I really love Mudbound, so I think I will like her writing style. I will be interested in what you think after you read Mudbound and how you compare the two books. Jaxnsmom, I am going to this latest book on my tbr list, and I'll visit with you when I read it.

Janice was the one who introduced Jordan to me. I had never read her before. ; ) Yea! Janice!!

Hehehe! Thanks Connie. I thought Mudbound was pretty intense. This new one kind of scares me. You read it first, okay Connie?

Hmmmm... it might be an interesting selection for my book club since we read Mudbound. We could compare the two.

I don't know if you'd have time to compare the two. When She Woke pushes a lot of hot buttons and could generate a lot of discussion on it own. I'd recommend it for book clubs.

jaxnsmom wrote: "I don't know if you'd have time to compare the two. When She Woke pushes a lot of hot buttons and could generate a lot of discussion on it own. I'd recommend it for book clubs."

Sounds great! The last book we read generated the following discussion,

"I was disappointed in the book. It turned out to be a soppy love story."
"Yeah, me too."
"I agree."
"Yeah, soppy love story."
"Didn't like it."
"Couldn't find the book. Didn't read it."

End of discussion!

The two books by Hillary Jordan that have been mentioned both look good - I've added them to my TBR.

Janice wrote: "Hehehe! Thanks Connie. I thought Mudbound was pretty intense. This new one kind of scares me. You read it first, okay Connie?

Hmmmm... it might be an interesting selection for my book club si..."

I think we should read it together, Janice. hehe
I am convinced though. I am reading it.

It definitely looks like a winner for you book club, Janice. At least you wouldn't get the same complaints. lol

I'd love to read it together. Do we want to do a buddy read? Maybe others would want to join us.

I'd contribute to the discussion.

I'd join the buddy read.

I would join the buddy read.

Alright Connie and Janice - you've got some interest in reading When She Woke. Now it looks like you need to pick a start date.

I'll start a buddy read thread, and we can hash that out there rather than take over your reporting thread. LOL!

But these comments are the only activity I'll have for a while! I'm in a mindframe where reading isn't happening too much. I think I've been on my L book about two weeks now without much progress :(

Hopefully things will turn around soon and I'll have energy and desire to read!

Not to worry, j'mom... I'm still on my C book. *sigh*

I finally finished L - O. The Leanin' Dog was a sweet juvenile book, while The Garden of Happy Endings started getting on my nerves. Oh well, now on to P.

Finished P, Mistress Of Nothing. Although a lot of the customs and social conventions of the time (1864) bothered me, this was a wonderful read.

I also finished Q, Years of Red Dust: Stories of Shanghai. The stories are glimpses of life on Red Dust Lane in Shanghai over a period of 56 years.

I have Mistress of Nothing on my wishlist. Time to bump it up on the priority list.

jaxnsmom wrote: "Finished P, Mistress Of Nothing. Although a lot of the customs and social conventions of the time (1864) bothered me, this was a wonderful read.

I also finished Q, Years of Red Dust: Stories of S..."

How were the stories on Red Dust Lane? Did you like them? Learn anything from them? Recommend them?

I enjoyed the stories, even though some didn't seem to have as much of a point, they were glimpses of individual lives during years with many changes. At the beginning of each one was a very brief summary of political changes and experiences China had gone through in that year, changes in leadership and relationships with other countries. I'd recommend it to those who are interested in that part of the world.

Finished R - One Foot in Eden, by Ron Rash. A murder is committed, but there's no body to prove it. Told in five parts; the points of view of the sheriff, the farmer, and his wife, about what happened, then their son and a deputy to complete the story. Knowing what happened and what had to happen didn't take away from the reading of the book in any way, it actually added to the suspense. i gave the book ****.

Finished S, T, and U - Resistance, Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram and The Space Between Us.

I'm impressed! You've almost got the alphabet done!

FINISHED! DONE! One alphabet down, on to the next one (which I doubt I'll finish, but who cares :p)

Knocked out V, W, X, Y and Z!

A to Z Titles

A - Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer 9/5
B - Bootlegger's Daughter, Margaret Maron 9/13
C - Cinnamon and Gunpowder, Eli Brown 9/13
D - The Dog Next Door: And Other Stories of the Dogs We Love, Callie Smith Grant 9/16
E - The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, Jacqueline Kelly 9/19
F - Finding Jack, Gareth Crocker 9/23
G - The Godmother, Carrie Adams 9/22
H - Hour Game, David Baldacci 9/23
I - Irreplaceable, Stephen Lovely 10/31

Congratulations on finishing the first alphabet, j'mom! I'll join you doing the happy dance. :)

Congratulations Jmom! Love the happy dance!

You read an amazing list of titles for your 1st challenge. I can't wait to see what you choose for the next 26. Congratulations.