21st Century Literature discussion

Nominations are now open for the April Open Pick. They will stay open until Feb 20th and the poll will go up the 21st. Discussion will start on April 1st.

If you are nominating, please begin your post by stating "I nominate [name w. hyperlink to book]".

The usual rules: 21st Century work of literature, one nomination per person. Do not nominate a book or vote for it in the poll if you are not absolutely, 100%, no crossing your fingers behind your back, planning to read it and discuss it if it wins.

Ready, set, nominate!

With my new moniker and with a picture, I nominate Harbor by Lorraine Adams. This book was first published in 2004. GR's lists the following nominations for and awards: "Guardian First Book Award Nominee (2006), Cabell First Novelist Award (2005), Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction (2004) " and it was one of the NY Times 100 notable books for 2004. It is a first novel and is based on Adams's reporting for The Washington Post, described by the NY Times as "captur[ing] the immensity of the terrorist challenge."

Linda, looks interesting, as your nominations always are, though I think you have the author and title the wrong way round. I won't be nominating this month since I'm already doing The Noise of Time next month, and have moderator picks to consider now too.

I'll nominate The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud. It's a response to The Stranger by Camus but told from the perspective of the murder victim's brother.

Hugh wrote: "Linda, looks interesting, as your nominations always are, though I think you have the author and title the wrong way round. I won't be nominating this month since I'm already doing The Noise of Tim..."
Indeed I do have them backwards! Thanks Hugh for catching. I will now edit the nomination post to fix it.

LindaJ^ wrote: "With my new moniker and with a picture, I nominate Harbor by Lorraine Adams. This book was first published in 2004. GR's lists the following nominations for and awards..."

Sounds fascinating and so currently relevant, LindaJ^! I do have a question: Why Harbor rather than her Room and the Chair ? (Looking again at the reviews, perhaps I see why. I was initially more captivated by the plot description of the second one.)

(I found myself chasing her bio/oeuvre AND that of her husband. Another of those NY literary couples.)

Lily wrote: "LindaJ^ wrote: "With my new moniker and with a picture, I nominate Harbor by Lorraine Adams. This book was first published in 2004. GR's lists the following nomination..."

I have both books, but one is on Kindle and one in hardcover. Since I will be traveling to Greece in April, the Kindle book won. But since you brought it up, I checked out Room and the Chair. It is not a book I'd be likely to nominate here before reading, as the only person reviewing it whose reviews I trust tanked it! While that reviewer and I do not always agree, the percentage is such that I would not take a chance on nominating it to this group before reading it.

I would like to nominate Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien.

I would like to nominate Telex From Cuba by Rachel Kushner Telex from Cuba

I noticed the group did The Flamethrowers previously.

I'm also now on here with my new moniker, but old pic.
Since this is my first nomination, please let me know if I did anything wrong in this posting.

Everything looks legit, Nutmegger/Linda!

Thanks for the nominations so far and keep'em coming (those who haven't yet nominated anything).

I have just read and loved A Hundred Thousand Worlds by Bob Proehl
I'm telling you guys, this one stuck with me. It's smart and yet completely accessible. This Proehl guy can write and he can tell a story. You can tell his characters are very real to him, and so they become just as real to the reader.

One of the best things I've read recently. It would be a lot of fun to read it again with your guys.

It's being compared to Kavalier and Clay by the people who make those comparisons.

This is already looking a very strong shortlist - thanks for all of the nominations. Do Not Say We Have Nothing was my favourite from last year's Booker shortlist and I already have a copy of Telex from Cuba.

These do look interesting! I've been wanting to read Do Not Say We Have Nothing for a while.

Caroline wrote: "These do look interesting! I've been wanting to read Do Not Say We Have Nothing for a while."

My copy is sitting on my stairs, begging to be read.

I nominate Swing Time. I read it late last year and loved it - lots to discuss!

I also would be interested in reading and discussing Do Not Say We Have Nothing.

Loved Swing Time! One of those books that turn out completely different from what you expect. It would bring so many great ideas and themes to discuss! Still thinking of that book, very mature work.

Dramatika wrote: "Loved Swing Time! One of those books that turn out completely different from what you expect. It would bring so many great ideas and themes to discuss! Still thinking of that book, very mature work."

Ditto for me, Dramatika! Still on my mind after a few months.

I would like to nominate The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield

A quick caveat on Swing Time (which I am very much looking forward to reading) - the UK paperback is currently scheduled for release on July 6th...

Hugh wrote: "A quick caveat on Swing Time (which I am very much looking forward to reading) - the UK paperback is currently scheduled for release on July 6th..."

Are you suggesting we should wait to put that up for a vote until July?

No, all I meant to suggest was that if we wait, more of us will be able to take part in the discussion. If the majority want to vote for it now then that's fine too...

Hugh wrote: "No, all I meant to suggest was that if we wait, more of us will be able to take part in the discussion. If the majority want to vote for it now then that's fine too..."

Ok, let's keep my nomination and if it doesn't win, I'll wait till July reads to nominate again. I got a copy from the library which is why I was able to read it last fall. I've got an audio copy from the library too - I liked it well enough that I'm going to reread in audio.

The magnificent seven nominees are up for voting here:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/150955-what-will-be-our-april-2017-open-pick-please-take-into-account-the-a

Voting will be open thru March 2nd. Votes can be changed up to the closing of the poll. Thanks for the great nominations!

Thanks Marc

Sure thing! Looks like we're off and running at the poll...

Marc wrote: "I'll nominate The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud. It's a response to The Stranger by Camus but told from the perspective of the murder victim's..."

I haven't read this, but I have heard the author interviewed (he's also a journalist), and he is a very intelligent and thoughtful person, capable of expressing himself elegantly. I'd definitely be interested in reading some of his fiction.

Nicole wrote: "I'd definitely be interested in reading some of his fiction."

If you have time to join us, please do vote!

This poll is still a three horse race - we don't see a third place with 7 votes very often! If you have voted for one of the also-rans a change of vote could still influence the decision. All three look very interesting to me...

Some last day "swing" votes pulled out a victory for:
Swing Time
(and to think we don't even charge extra for puns around here... )

Suzy, would you be interested in leading this discussion (you are under no obligation to do so, we've just made a habit the last year or so of offering first dibs to the person who nominated the open pick that wins)?

Thanks to everyone for a great round of nominating and voting!

Marc wrote: "Some last day "swing" votes pulled out a victory for:
Swing Time
(and to think we don't even charge extra for puns around here... )

Suzy, would you be interested in leading this di..."

Yes! I would love to lead the conversation for Swing Time. I read it last fall and plan to listen to it later this month so it will be fresh in my mind. I'll be back in touch closer to April 1 to confirm.

Perfect--thank you! One of the moderators will set up a "placeholder" for the discussion either on the 1st or a day or so beforehand and then you can decide how many threads the discussion needs.

Dianne wrote: "I would like to nominate Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien."

Several people have recommended this to me.

Beth wrote: "Dianne wrote: "I would like to nominate Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien."

Several people have recommended this to me."

Hi, Beth. This is the thread for the April book, you want to nominate your book (which looks really good) for the May open pick, which is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Hi,
I'm new at this and I'd like to join the April book club discussion if it's not too late but I can't figure out where the winning books are posted. I see nominations but I need to know which books to buy/borrow asap as it is April 1st today. Thanks

Olga,
If you go to the group's homepage, upcoming books should be listed near the top just under the group's description. We also e-mail out an announcement a month in advance. Upcoming reads below:
- April Open Pick: Swing Time (discussion starts today)
- April Moderator Pick: An Officer and a Spy (discussion starts April 15th)
- April Wildcard Pick: The Just City (discussion starts April 15th)
- May Open Pick: Signs Preceding the End of the World (discussion starts May 1st)

It's never too late to join a discussion, but most of the activity takes place in the first month.

Olga wrote: "Hi,
I'm new at this and I'd like to join the April book club discussion if it's not too late but I can't figure out where the winning books are posted. I see nominations but I need to know which b..."

Hi Olga - we're discussing Swing Time by Zadie Smith for April. And you're not too late - we're starting now! I have put up a General topic thread and will add a couple more threads for discussion of our thoughts about the book as we read it. Here's the thread for general comments. (I see that it's not showing up on the home page - I'll look into that and get it corrected.)Welcome to the group! https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Marc wrote: "Olga,
If you go to the group's homepage, upcoming books should be listed near the top just under the group's description. We also e-mail out an announcement a month in advance. Upcoming reads below..."

Thank you, Marc.

Sure thing, Jan. The Moderator Pick for May should be announced in the next couple of days. That discussion will start May 15th.