21st Century Literature discussion

Spring is in the air (somewhere around the globe), which means it's time for our May Open Pick! Nominations will be open for a week before the poll goes up. (Today is also the last day to vote on the April Wild Card pick--the poll is here.

New to the group? If so, please check out the "How Things Work" post in the Welcome folder.

May is spring full blown and that brings to mind the outdoors and color. So I previewed by shelves of unread books for one that made me think of the outdoors and was colorful. I found Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish by Richard Flanagan. It has pictures of fish and the print is in hues of green, purple, or muted red/orange, as well as muted black (or maybe its muted dark blue?).

The book was first published in 2001 in, I believe, Australia and won quite a few awards. I bought it after reading the author's novel that won the 2014 Man Booker award. How I got my copy is, for me, an book lover's story. I stopped by a favorite independent bookstore and found a stack of brand new copies of the first edition, first printing of the 2002 US hardcover for $15. It seems the recently deceased co-owner loved the book and had squirreled away a dozen or more copies of the book when it first came out in the US. The books had just been found and were added to the table with other books the deceased co-owner had, over the years, highly recommended to customers. They disappeared pretty quickly!

The book seems to be widely available. An e-book edition was published in 2014 and there are a lot of used copies on Abebooks for under $5.

Great title and wonderful story--thanks for kicking off the nominations, Linda!

Linda wrote: "May is spring full blown and that brings to mind the outdoors and color. So I previewed by shelves of unread books for one that made me think of the outdoors and was colorful. I found [book:Gould's..." I read that one last year - interesting but very surreal and strange - for me The Narrow Road to the Deep North would be a better introduction to Flanagan.

Hugh, are there any books left that you haven't read????

I already own The Narrow Road to the Deep North and haven't read it yet, so if it is recommended, I would be interested in reading it for May.

Erica wrote: "I already own The Narrow Road to the Deep North and haven't read it yet, so if it is recommended, I would be interested in reading it for May."

Are you nominating it, Erica?

I'd be willing to wager Hugh hasn't read The Day My Butt Went Psycho. I'm not nominating it (and not just because it doesn't fit the nomination requirements... I honestly had really high hopes for that book--I was so disappointed I donated the sequel without even reading it.)

Hugh? The gauntlet has been thrown!

And I hesitate to ask what the sequel is called.

Whitney wrote: "Hugh? The gauntlet has been thrown!

And I hesitate to ask what the sequel is called."

I will not hesitate to answer: Zombie Butts From Uranus

On a different note, I'm gonna nominate Min kamp 1. Supposed to be a touching inquiry into the loss of a father, an estranged relationship with his mother, and coming into his own as a parent. I've heard wonderful things about it and can resist no longer.

Whitney wrote: "Hugh? The gauntlet has been thrown!

And I hesitate to ask what the sequel is called." Needless to say Marc is right!
I may have read a lot of the books that are discussed here, but I still feel there are huge blind spots in my literary knowledge - apart from anything else I have only read three by Richard Flanagan (and no Knausgard at all yet). I won't be nominating this month because I'll be moderating in April.

I have The Narrow Road to the Deep North and My Struggle #1 on my tbr, so those are of interest. I nominate, however, The Past by one of my favorite authors, Tessa Hadley. I read it in January and it has stuck with me every since.

Yes, I can nominate The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

I would also like to nominate A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin, but since this is a collection of short stories, is it more appropriate for the next wild card pick?

I can't figure out how to make Goodreads links from my iPhone App. I apologize for the lack of them.

Erica wrote: "Yes, I can nominate The Narrow Road to the Deep North. {Richard Flanagan}

I would also like to nominate A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories by Lucia Berlin, but since this is a collection of short stories, is it more appro..."

Erica -- I understand the IPhone App either doesn't support entering Goodreads links or at least is difficult. (A suggestion on another board was to use Google, i.e., the Web, to reach Goodreads.) But, for now, I'm on my PC and put the links into the above.

However, as I recall, we are only allowed one nomination in a month. I'm not in a position to volunteer to get anything on the polling list. Since my TBR is overflowing, I am neither nominating nor voting for the foreseeable future, but I am of course reserving the right to join a discussion if selection and my schedule can overlap.

Lily wrote: "Erica wrote: "Yes, I can nominate The Narrow Road to the Deep North. {Richard Flanagan}

I would also like to nominate A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stor..."</i>

I will nominate [book:The Narrow Road to the Deep North. This novel has been on my TBR since it was listed for the Mann Booker.

Thanks for the posting the links, Maureen! (Erica, the GR app can be a real pain--I don't think it even gives you the option of seeing the group polls when we do voting.)

Marc wrote: "Thanks for the posting the links, Maureen! (Erica, the GR app can be a real pain--I don't think it even gives you the option of seeing the group polls when we do voting.)"

Actually Lily was the first one to post the links!

Maureen wrote: "Actually Lily was the first one to post the links! ..."

Machts nichts. (Makes no difference.) But, thank you, Maureen. We do all try to support each other here.

Thanks, Lily and thanks for the reminder about one nomination per person per nominating thread!

Wholeheartedly support this nomination The Past, but I also want to nominate Frog

One more day to get your nominations in!

Vote your conscience and beware of the dueling Flannagans!
Poll is here: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/59543-21st-century-literature?type=group

Erica, Would you like to do the honors and moderate the discussion in May for The Narrow Road to the Deep North?

(You are in no way obligated to do so.)

Erica had to pass on moderating May's discussion. Any other member who would like to step up and lead the discussion on The Narrow Road to the Deep North?

I'd be willing to lead it if you don't mind a total newbie who may need some education on ground rules, etc. Happy to defer if you'd prefer a more seasoned member though!

We'd love to have you lead, Dianne. You can get a good feel by browsing some of the ongoing and past discussions. The biggest decision is usually how many threads to start (e.g., larger or more complicated books might warrant more threads or threads divided by certain chapters). Some moderators like to read along during discussion, some like to have the whole book read by the time discussions start. Feel free to direct message me if you have any questions. Thanks!

Thanks, Dianne! Here's a boilerplate message I've sent to other new moderators. It doesn't add much to what Marc said, but passing it along anyway:

There's not a lot of hard and fast rules about moderating. We usually have at least two topics, one for a general, non-spoiler thread for general discussion. This is a place to post background material, links to reviews, etc.. Then there's at least one other thread for discussion of the book with spoilers. With longer books, moderators frequently divide the book up into smaller discussion chunks, based on what you see as logical breaks, such as "Part 1, Chapters 1-20". You can look at some of the other discussions to see how different people did it.

The moderators will open a place-holder topic for you, then you can add whatever folders you think are appropriate. Obviously, you're not expected to explain the book to people. Start with a few leading, open-ended questions and encourage discussion on other things that come up. You can always check with the mods if you have any questions, but it's largely up to you how you want to conduct things. It's pretty open, and is supposed to be fun for you and everyone else.

Dianne, Thanks for volunteering. Everyone here is so nice that it isn't really that difficult (I was in a similar position in December, and I'm doing my third one at the moment). Looking forward to the Flanagan discussion - I found the book very interesting.

Thanks so much everyone, I am really looking forward to it! Please let me know if I'm missing anything as we go along :)

I did my first mod job in January and everyone was very supportive.

I have the book and have been looking for a good excuse to read it, so I'll be happy to throw in my two cents!

Awesome Portia! I think it will be best if we have several very engaged people like yourself! Hopefully we will get a good group on board :)

Thanks for agreeing to moderate, Dianne. I am in the beginning of the novel and just savoring it. Given my reading speed, I should be ahead of where I am, but I keep stopping to jot down a quote and to relish the beautiful writing. I love to read this way when the writing is particularly well-crafted! I am looking forward to our discussions!

Been meaning to read that book for quite a while. Count me in :0)