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

Welcome to Team Three's Happening Place. Pull up a chair and join in the discussion.


We are:

Bella
Dom
Janice
Kristie
Lisa Ann
Lisa UK
Liz
Rebecca
Sam F
Tammy
Travis

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First order of business is to decide on the leader, the scorekeeper, and the name of our team.

I just want to say I'm not feeling a lot of love for this toppler. I really am not finding a lot of books interesting me. Books fitting these types of topics are ones I have to be in the mood for. I do figure on Khaleed Houssini for my yearly challenge so I have 1 of his lined up. After that I just don't kbow. People have posted a lot of books but they just aren't interesting me.

I'm taking a peak at your tbr, and there are lots on there that would fit. Remember, the books can be in any genre.

Alan Turing: The Enigma - homosexual
The Long Hard Road Out of Hell - religious background to rock star
The Ghosts of Belfast - war atrocities

The Wicked Girls - child murderers/media frenzie (not on your tbr, but I think you'd like it)

Maybe you'll need to talk to jaxnsmom about her special lighthearted option.

I'll have to look at this tomorrow but I think Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies may somehow fit a category

Also I have The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration which may fit the slavery iption. Again I'll look in the daylight. I've been in the bottle a bit tonight

Hi everyone! Just checking in. :)

Travis do you like WWII stories? I just finished Between Shades of Gray, which is about the Russian invasion of Lithuania during Stalin's rule. It's a YA book, but very good. It would fit the challenge under the genocide heading.

Also, books where you learn about other cultures are fitting, so something like The Kite Runner, maybe?

Just throwing some ideas out. The stories don't have to be nonfiction.

I'm also checking in and gearing up for my first toppler. :-)

Travis- I do have some understanding of how you are feeling about the toppler, as there are a lot of heavy subjects associated with it. Under my everyday reading circumstances, I would normally only read one book and follow it up with a light read or children's book. In this case, I am going to try for two (or three).

Travis - how about some action/thrillers that deal with a terrorist attack and it's impact on the people, government, region? Maybe you could find something conspiracy theory related that would qualify. Or covert government actions that affect politics in other countries, like arranging assassinations or selling weapons in order to put preferred governments in place. Remember, you're not limited to the topics that have been listed.

Hi everyone! Really looking forward to this toppler!

Thanks for the ideas. I should be able to find sonething by the time the toppler gets here. I've had so much on my mind lately I've been listening to podcasts rather than books lately.

A suggestion for our team name: 'Three Times A Winner'. Can you tell I heard 'Three Times A Lady' by Lionel Richie on the radio earlier?

I like it, Lisa.

Lisa wrote: "A suggestion for our team name: 'Three Times A Winner'. Can you tell I heard 'Three Times A Lady' by Lionel Richie on the radio earlier?"

That sounds great and a little retro.

I'm checking in to the fabulous Team Three! I'm fresh out of inspiration for a name, I'm good with anything.

jaxnsmom wrote: "Travis - how about some action/thrillers that deal with a terrorist attack and it's impact on the people, government, region? ..."

The Ghosts of Belfast falls right in there with that theme.

Name possibilities -


Three Times a Winner
Three to Tango
The Triad
Triple Threat - x-rated apparently!
Third Team's a Charm

Any others?

I keep thinking "third time's a charm". I suppose it could be reinvented as "Third Team's a Charm"?

Kristie wrote: "I keep thinking "third time's a charm". I suppose it could be reinvented as "Third Team's a Charm"?"

Added it.

I csn't do triple threat. Maybe you all aren't as familiar with sex toys as me. I like searching them and seeing all these wonderful artificial love ways to cum. Anyway there is a device called a triple threat made for a woman. Basically a butterfly with an extra extremity for the back door. I can't take triple threat seriously. I'd be like oh great I'm on the dildo team

Lol. So Dildo Team is off-limits then?

Travis of NNY wrote: "I csn't do triple threat. Maybe you all aren't as familiar with sex toys as me. I like searching them and seeing all these wonderful artificial love ways to cum. Anyway there is a device called a t..."

ROFL! Maybe you should read Fifty Shades of Grey if you haven't already.

Maybe our team needs a safe word. ;)

Liz wrote: "Maybe our team need a safe word. ;)"

Agreed! Yikes, I learn something new everyday ......

Travis of NNY wrote: "I csn't do triple threat. Maybe you all aren't as familiar with sex toys as me. I like searching them and seeing all these wonderful artificial love ways to cum. Anyway there is a device called a t..."

Lol!

Travis of NNY wrote: "I csn't do triple threat. Maybe you all aren't as familiar with sex toys as me. I like searching them and seeing all these wonderful artificial love ways to cum. Anyway there is a device called a t..."

You never fail to make me laugh. I saw this post in my updates thread out of context so i had to head on over and find out what was going on. :-)

ROFL! Travis, you crack me up. I've amended the list of possible names.

Hi, reporting in. Kind of surprised to be greeted by sex toy talk. I'm pretty sure I requested assignment to the team full of furries.

I just read George by Alex Gino about a transsexual girl who wants to play Charlotte (from Charlotte's Web) in the school play. For anyone really struggling to find a book, this one is cute, charming, and short (under 200 pages).

Thanks for the suggestion, Bella. It sounds interesting. I like that it's short, too.

What books has everyone got lined up? I have four, probably won't get to them all during the week but we will see.

Cold City (mental illness, sexuality)
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (genocide)
A Royal Affair (sexuality)
The Shock of the Fall (mental illness)

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 386 pages (medical research)
Me Before You 385 pages (assisted suicide)
Between Shades of Gray 355 pages (genocide)
The Pearl that Broke Its Shell 469 pages (cultural beliefs/treatment of children)
The Last Runaway 305 pages hardcover (slavery/underground railroad)
Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness 368 pages (mental illness/depression)
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban 320 pages (cultural/religious beliefs/treatment of children)
Gemini 352 pages (medical ethics/genetic science)

I will be starting with The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and then go from there depending on what I am in the mood to read, page count and how much time is left for the challenge. Now that I listed the page counts, they all sound a bit long. The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, is likely too long for a toppler.

I thought I had put down the books I plan to read, but I see I was busy making suggestions for Travis.

For myself:

Lolita - Sexual obsession of a minor
Unsaid - Animal treatment

If I finish either one of them and have time, I'll consider:
Lord of the Flies - social behaviour
Their Eyes Were Watching God - more with the sexual obsession, forced to marry much older man
The Girl in 6E - phobia
Impatient with Desire - cannibalism

I have a few more picked out, but if I finish 2, I'll be lucky.

I will definitely read:
Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave (human trafficking & slavery)

I am hoping to finish:
Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain (mental illness and eating disorders)
All the Bright Places (teen mental illness and suicide)

Travis of NNY wrote: "I csn't do triple threat. Maybe you all aren't as familiar with sex toys as me. I like searching them and seeing all these wonderful artificial love ways to cum. Anyway there is a device called a t..."

Lmao. I've been mooching around to find books and I get a good laugh =] haha

Does Lord of the Flies fit the category? If so, I'll read that one for sure. I'm waiting for others to come in from the library. I hope they get here in time.

I think it does, Sam. It discusses the devolution of social behaviour.

Perfect- thank you

So far, these are my tentative books. (I have them in my possession, too.)
Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt- GLBT
Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine by Damon Tweedy
Shots on the Bridge: Police Violence and Cover-Up in the Wake of Katrina by Ronnie Greene
The Body Hunters: Testing New Drugs on the World's Poorest Patients by Sonia Shah
Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life by Annette Lareau
Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America by Helen Thorpe

These are books on racial issues that I've read and can recommend:
Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League by Jeff Hobbs
Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward- this book is short. Only about 250 pages.

Bella - I was interested in Becoming Nicole too, but I don't own it and there are already a couple of holds ahead of me at the library. I look forward to seeing what you think of it, if you end up reading that one.

Thanks, Bella. My library has The Men We Reaped, but the waitlist is too long. 250 pages looked very appealing though!

Also, for those still gophering here is a link to books shelved under social issues although some may not qualify for this toppler.
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

I plan on reading Faces in the Water - mental illness and then either Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith (religion) or Me Before You (assisted suicide)

It looks like we all have some good books lined up! :)

Lisa Ann, Jesmyn Ward has another book- fiction- that would fit into the race category. It's been out a while- Where the Line Bleeds. Haven't read it, but plan to. I think that the people in it are fictionalized versions of people- including her brother- that she wrote about in Men We Reaped. The paperback edition on GR's says 230 pages.

Also, these books are short short and were released a while back so may not be in as much demand:

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore- about 230 pages. I read this one and it was good, not great. The poignancy comes from the reality of the story.

American Psychosis: How the Federal Government Destroyed the Mental Illness Treatment System by E. Fuller Torrey- I have this one and it's only about 200 pages. Haven't read it yet. But if it's mediocre, at least it'll only be for a few hours.

The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by Ta-Nehisi Coates. About 230 pages. Read his other book, Between the World and Me and it was a 5 star book for me. One of my Top Ten books of the decade, so far, so I bought The Beautiful Struggle.

And for culture, this book was excellent. (Although some of it may make you angry.) The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman.

I'm considering Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America by Paul Tough and NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman. The latter won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction in 2015 and would fit for the mental illness one since technically autism is listed in the DSM-V. I have an Aspie (on the autism spectrum) and don't believe it's a disability or a mental illness, but that was mentioned in the explanation for that category: "Is having that label helpful for others to understand, or does it give a negative connotation that affects others views?"

Thanks, Bella. I will see if my library has a few of those available. If not, then I can keep them in mind for future challenges.

I really haven't decided on books. I do want to mention, before I forget, I won't be around or at least not in a position to read on Saturday. I may be able to check in at some point. I really don't know.

I was going through my to-read shelf looking for female authors and came across Possessing the Secret of Joy which deals with female genital mutilation. I had to add it to my list of possibilities.