Literary Exploration discussion

Fiction
The Princess Bride
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Foucault's Pendulum
Fight Club
Howl's Moving Castle
On the Beach
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
Brave New World
Slaughterhouse-Five
Moby-Dick or, The Whale
The Count of Monte Cristo
Lord of the Flies
The City & The City
Atonement
The Odyssey
The Iliad
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Middlesex
The Passage
Life of Pi
The Perfect Deceit
The Human Stain
Choke
Infinite Jest
The Road
On the Road
The Bell Jar
Brideshead Revisited
Freedom
Lolita
Men Without Women
This Side of Paradise
The Beautiful and Damned
The Corrections
The Virgin Suicides
The Kitchen House
Garden Spells
The Girl Who Chased the Moon
Into the Wild
She's Come Undone
Atlas Shrugged


Non-Fiction
Marching Powder
The Prince
Darwin and the Barnacle: The Story of One Tiny Creature and History's Most Spectacular Scientific Breakthrough
In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences
Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked our Sexuality
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
Long For This World: The Strange Science of Immortality
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
Black Boy
Outliers

Can we please not read Lord of the Flies? Not that it's not worth it, but I read it in high school and remember it vividly. It's fairly disturbing (or was to me at any rate). If you go for it, I'll sit it out. I really don't think I can read it again.

I like disturbing books :P you don't have to read it. We may not even be reading it; its just a suggested book to vote on

Chazz is disturbing... I would read it but I'm not a fan of disturbing books really. Humanity is disturbed enough without having to constantly force it into peoples faces.

It looks like Lord of the Flies won't be getting many votes

That's ok

don't forget to recommend more books, I'll continue to remove the recommendations and add them to the list we have currently compiled.

How about we do Jane Austen Month and pick one of her books in Feb.?

A Jane Austen theme would be good to do one month.

Jane Austen? Only with zombies :P

The Perfect Deceit

An intriguing and fascinating book on how countries vie against each other to be top dog on the world stage. Spies, double agents, love triangles -- it’s all in a day’s work for super spy Alexey! In today’s interconnected world, this book gives an interesting perspective on how much competition goes on behind the scenes with ambitions and stakes running high. Hearts are broken and for some power is gained.

Illuminating book on the espionage sphere. Lots of mind games involved. Great book with high drama which makes for a perfect summer read!

Peter wrote: "The Perfect Deceit

An intriguing and fascinating book on how countries vie against each other to be top dog on the world stage. Spies, double agents, love triangles -- it’s all i..."

awesome, its on the list

How about some African-American authors, like Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, or Ralph Ellison? Or Sandra Cisneros has House on Mango Street or Caramelo. Or even Native American Sherman Alexie has some great books. We have a diverse month to choose from- think that might be fun. I'm new to this group, so I haven't even seen what has already been read, but I really enjoy American authors, and like how we have such a great diverse bunch out there!

That would be interesting to do. I think we can arrange something in the coming months.

Just got to vote on my first poll today - what a tough decision! I would happily read any book on the list. Thanks for all the great suggestions!

Thank you KL for the suggestions. I have read several of them AND forgotten some too. (One does, dont you think,if one is old and has been reading for a long long time?):-)But I like your wonderfully eclectic list.

I had started reading Siddhartha Mukherji's 'The emperor of maladies'-on cancer, but had to take a break. It is extremely well-written but due to certain personal reasons I decided to go back to it later.I am enjoying 'The troubled man' by Henning Mankel.Its the latest in his Inspector Wallander series.

I strongly recommend Middlesex! It might be my favorite novel of all time and that is saying something considering that I read about 2 every week.

I also really liked Freedom. I would add Franzen's The Corrections to the list too.

Heather wrote: "I also really liked Freedom. I would add Franzen's The Corrections to the list too."

done

Sonali wrote: "Thank you KL for the suggestions. I have read several of them AND forgotten some too. (One does, dont you think,if one is old and has been reading for a long long time?):-)But I like your wonderful..."

We try to keep an eclectic list. We want people to try new books. There is so many great ones out there.

Oh, I love this group already. I read "Emperor of All Maladies" earlier this year. I was especially interested in the first part of the book. So much I did not know. "Middlesex" has been on my shelf for years, but I haven't gotten to it yet. I liked "Freedom" more than "Corrections" Also want to read the Wallender series.

If only there were more hours in the day!

Get busy with Middlesex! I may be more partisan than most in favor of it because I grew up in Detroit where most of the book is set and now I live near Grosse Pointe where other parts take place. However, it is one of the most original stories with great characters and beautiful writing.

I'll try! I liked "The Virgin Suicides."

Currently reading Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber. Very funny, witty and well written for a first book.

I think that your list of suggested reads is absolutely fantastic, very intelligent, and well thought out. I would like to add two amazing books to it, the first fiction and the second non-fiction.

My preference would be books written in, say, the last half century or more current, and picks from multiple countries and cultures. But, I trust the future picks, because I like the backlist of monthly reads.

Also, I agree with Kim: Jane Austen only with Zombies -- or vampires. :)

KL likes to go with the literary "classics" but I always try and push for more modern books :)

I do trying to give people a mix of modern and classics

I highly recommend The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch. Wonderful novel that does not push religious motifs. Full of magnificent characters with great dialogue. Great for everyone.

Thanks, Kim, keep pushing for some new ones. :) I've read my fair share of the oldies, but in recent decades, I definitely have not kept up.

What about V.S. Naipal or Salmon Rushdie? I didn't notice any of their books on the list (but possibly I wouldn't recognize them by title). I always think I should have read something by them.

As an English teacher, I'm finding this list a bit heavy on the "classics" - many of which are required reading in schools. I do recognize that reading books a second, third and even fourth time provides new and exciting insights - I'd love to add a few that aren't so obvious.

Black Boy
Anything by Krakauer
Outliers
Anything by Wally Lamb
Ayn Rand - I'm not suggesting we start a cult around her or anything! ;)

I'm new to this group - so if any of these have been read - sorry!

I'd like to suggest anything by Sarah Addison Allen but especially Garden Spells and The Girl Who Chased the Moon. She writes magical realism. After reading her books I feel so happy and filled with the joy of living I alway end up baking a few cakes or pies or cookies!!

Also, the book The Kitchen House really impressed me when I read it a few months ago. It deals with black slavery in the Amerixan South, but it didn't read "same old same old" for me at all.

Both topics are really great for discussing too!

I've added some of the books to the list

The book Remainder by Tom McCarthy is one of the most thought provoking and interesting novels that I've read in awhile. It's bizarre and disturbing, but it is absolute genius. I think it would provoke some really interesting and engaging discussions.

Caroline,

I'm not really part of this reading group, but I just wanted to agree with you that Tom McCarthy's Remainder is a fairly intriguing read. I haven't finished it yet, I'm maybe halfway through, but its certainly worth completing. It is an intelligent one. If you really like intelligent reads like that, then you might want to check out The Illegal Spy Novel when you get the chance. Believe me, it's more thinker than thriller.

The Walk by Richard Paul Evans was an excellent book. It made me laugh and cry in chapter 1. The story is about a man who loses everything and decides he is going to walk from Bellevue, Washington to Key West, Florida. The first book of the series is his journal through Washington State. I read this short book in about four hours; well worth my time.

Thanks Gretchen, I'll definitely check it out. I've been looking for something in line with Remainder since I read it.

I finished reading a newly released novel ‘Blue Eyes’ by Hema Macherla. It is set in 1920’s India when the Gandhi took to the world stage. Story opens with Anjali, an eighteen year old about to be burnt alive on her husband’s funeral pyre- an age old tradition that time and now banned some years ago.
She makes a dramatic escape and embarks on an extraordinary journey. This journey is full of incidents entwined with political unrest, social injustices and cross cultural conflict. From all this amazingly evolves a love story. Very fast moving and very convincing writing from the first page and Hema Macherla handles superbly the social, political and tradition conflicts with sensitivities. A wonderful book to read and I wondered anyone else read this book.

I would like to suggest 'Testimony' by Anita Shreve. I just finished it and am aching to ask someone what they felt about each character and the consequences of their choices. It is centered around an elite prep school and a scandal that occurs. It is told from several points of view (which I personally love), including students, faculty and parents. It is a tad bit dark but overflowing with discussion potential. Great read!

I've been wanting to read Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace but to read a 1000 page book is quite a challenge for me!!! (I'm a somewhat slow reader.)

But I think reading it with a group would be very cool.

Knowledge Lost wrote: "Fiction
The Princess Bride
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Foucault's Pendulum
Fight Club
Howl's Moving Castle
On the Beach..."

This entire list is AWESOME. I would love to read any of these books with this group.

I think it would be fun to read and with this group.

"One for the Road" by Tony Horwitz is a book about a man's travels on a walkabout through Australia according to my brother-in-law. He says that this writer is a very good one. I would like to read one of his books. Has anyone else read a book from this author?

One for the Road: Revised Edition

Here is the link to the book on which I commented.

Can't say I've heard of him before but that book sounds interesting.

Heather wrote: "I also really liked Freedom. I would add Franzen's The Corrections to the list too."

I read The Corrections and liked it... I have Freedom in my to read pile but haven't gotten to it yet.

Knowledge Lost wrote: "Fiction
The Princess Bride
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Foucault's Pendulum
Fight Club
Howl's Moving Castle
On the Beach..."

Great List! With many I'd like to read or already have to read, perhaps some other suggestions for the list... The Help, Watership Down, Sarah's Key, Veronika Decides to Die, Great Expectations

I like older books best. I've always wanted to read Brave New World.

Tasha wrote: "I like older books best. I've always wanted to read Brave New World."

Brave New World is a great book, I highly recommend it. If I didn't have so much else on my TBR list I'd probably squeeze in a reread of it as it's about due for another go.

Ive just finished reading The Road and can honestly say it is one of the worst books i have read. I got nothing from this book and if i wasnt so stubborn would have given in within the first few chapters. I kept thinkin that something amazing would happen at the end to make it a special book but no i was left disappointed.