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TheSite.org Book Club: Nominations for February's book

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited January 2023 in General Chat
Reminder of the rules:

1. Anybody can nominate a book.
2. Books nominated have to be fiction (or biographical), but there are no other restrictions. You can go for whatever genre you like, whatever time period, whichever author.
3. Try not to pick anything too hefty. While some of us could probably get through War and Peace in a month, others aren't so fast.
4. Nominations in the below example format, please:

Book: Snuff by Terry Pratchett|Kindle Edition

Synopsis: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a policeman taking a holiday would barely have had time to open his suitcase before he finds his first corpse.

And Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is on holiday in the pleasant and innocent countryside, but not for him a mere body in the wardrobe. There are many, many bodies and an ancient crime more terrible than murder.

He is out of his jurisdiction, out of his depth, out of bacon sandwiches, occasionally snookered and out of his mind, but never out of guile. Where there is a crime there must be a finding, there must be a chase and there must be a punishment.

They say that in the end all sins are forgiven.

But not quite all...
From Amazon

Reason for Nomination: Any reason you like can go here. The above is an example, but feel free to nominate it!

5. As I did above, if there is a Kindle/e-reader edition, put a separate link to that, please (On Amazon, there is a "Start reading [book] on your Kindle..." link under the image).

Commence nominations! Poll will be put up in one week with all nominations.

Franki

P.S. Luby - you never started a discussion for last month's book! Tut at you! Do it now :p
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Re-nomination:
    Book: Coraline by Neil Gaiman|Kindle Edition

    Synopsis: Despite being mostly known for his fantastical graphic novels and adult fiction, Neil Gaiman's first book for children is everything that you would expect from such a massive imagination as his. It's special and wonderful and very weird indeed. Described by some as the new Alice in Wonderland, Coraline is actually more bizarre than that, much more frightening and its modest length definitely adds to the book's undiluted potency.
    Shortly after moving into an old house with strange tenants above and below, Coraline discovers a big, carved, brown wooden door at the far corner of the drawing room. And it is locked. Curiosity runs riot in Coraline's mind and she unlocks the door to see what lies behind it. Disappointingly, it opens onto a brick wall. Days later, after exploring the rest of the house and garden, Coraline returns to the same mysterious door and opens it again. This time, however, there is a dark hallway in front of her. Stepping inside, the place beyond has an eerie familiarity about it. The carpet and wallpaper are the same as in her flat. The picture hanging on the wall is the same. Almost. Strangest of all, her mum and dad are there too. Only they have buttons for eyes and seem more possessive than normal. It's a twisted version of her world that is familiar, and yet sinister. And matters get even more surreal for Coraline when her "other" parents seem reluctant to let her leave.

    Her attempted escape from this nightmare alternative reality sees Coraline experience a chilling series of ever more bizarre encounters. Some are plainly odd, others disturbingly spooky and together they combine to form an immensely readable story. It's like all the best bits of the Goosebumps books condensed into 160 pages. A unique reading experience guaranteed. (Ages 10 and over)--John McLay
    From Amazon

    Reason for Nomination: Because I want to, basically :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Book: When God Was A Rabbit by Sarah Winman|Kindle Edition

    Synopsis: WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT is an incredibly exciting debut from an extraordinary new voice in fiction. Spanning four decades, from 1968 onwards, this is the story of a fabulous but flawed family and the slew of ordinary and extraordinary incidents that shape their everyday lives. It is a story about childhood and growing up, loss of innocence, eccentricity, familial ties and friendships, love and life. Stripped down to its bare bones, it's about the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.
    From Amazon

    Reason for Nomination: I'm going to admit that it's because the name of the book amused me.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Book: Room by Emma Donoghue|Kindle Edition

    Synopsis: It's Jack's birthday, and he's excited about turning five. Jack lives with his Ma in Room, which has a locked door and a skylight, and measures 11 feet by 11 feet. He loves watching TV, and the cartoon characters he calls friends, but he knows that nothing he sees on screen is truly real - only him, Ma and the things in Room. Until the day Ma admits that there's a world outside . . . Told in Jack's voice, Room is the story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible.

    Unsentimental and sometimes funny, devastating yet uplifting, Room is a novel like no other. 'Emma Donoghue's writing is superb alchemy, changing innocence into horror and horror into tenderness. Room is a book to read in one sitting. When it's over you look up: the world looks the same but you are somehow different and that feeling lingers for days' Audrey Niffenegger

    'Room is one of the most profoundly affecting books I've read in a long time. Jack moved me greatly. His voice, his story, his innocence, his love for Ma combine to create something very unusual and, I think, something very important . . . Room deserves to reach the widest possible audience' John Boyne

    'I loved Room. Such incredible imagination, and dazzling use of language. And with all this, an entirely credible, endearing little boy. It's unlike anything I've ever read before' Anita Shreve
    From Amazon

    Reason for Nomination: I read this when it was first nominated for the Booker Prize and I fell in love with it. I would absolutely read it over and over and over.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Nobody else gonna nominate :/?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Still busy at the minute with The Help and I'm reading some eBay book for my new job :/ so sorry I haven't poked my head in. I'll give you one or two for variety though!

    Book: Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

    Synopsis
    A magnificent epic set against a history of seven thousand years of the struggles of Gods and Kings and men - of strange lands and events - of fate and a prophecy that must be fulfilled!

    Long ago, so the Storyteller claimed, the evil God Torak sought dominion and drove men and Gods to war. But Belgarath the Sorcerer led men to reclaim the Orb that protected men of the West. So long as it lay at Riva, the prophecy went, men would be safe.But that was only a story, and Garion did not believe in magic dooms, even though the dark man without a shadow had haunted him for years.

    Brought up on a quiet farm by his Aunt Pol, how could he know that the Apostate planned to wake dread Torak, or that he would be led on a quest of unparalleled magic and danger by those he loved - but did not know?For a while his dreams of innocence were safe, untroubled by knowledge of his strange heritage. For a little while...
    From Amazon

    Reason for Nomination
    One of my favourite book series from my childhood. Probably loads of you have read it, if you haven't - you're missing out. If you think Harry Potter was good, you will love The Belgariad saga. Whether it wins the nomination or not, it's definitely something to pick up at some point ;).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Book Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

    Synopsis
    It took Vonnegut more than 20 years to put his Dresden experiences into words. He explained, "there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say anything or want anything ever again." Slaughterhouse Five is a powerful novel incorporating a number of genres. Only those who have fought in wars can say whether it represents the experience well.

    However, what the novel does do is invite the reader to look at the absurdity of war. Human versus human, hedonist politicians pressing buttons and ordering millions to their deaths all for ideologies many cannot even comprehend. Flicking between the US, 1940's Germany and Tralfamadore, Vonnegut's semi- autobiographical protagonist Billy Pilgrim finds himself very lost. One minute he is being viewed as a specimen in a Tralfamadorian Zoo, the next he is wandering a post-apocalyptic city looking for corpses. Slaughterhouse Five-Or The Children's Crusade A Duty-Dance with Death is a remarkable blend of black humour, irony, the truth and the absurd.

    The author regards his work a "failure", millions of readers do not. Released the same time bombs were falling on South East Asia, this title caused controversy and awakening. Essential reading for all. So it goes. --Jon Smith
    From Amazon

    Reason for Nomination
    It's on my to-read list. May as well hit two birds with one stone. Very highly rated book and apparently one of those 'must reads' that people have to get around to at some point in their life, so may as well be now! :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver

    Synopsis
    The mother of a teenage boy who went on a high-school killing spree tries to deal with her grief - and feelings of responsibility for her child's actions.

    Reason for Nomination
    To be honest, I've read it once and it's pretty disturbing at times. It's one of those books though that I would recommend to anyone because it's really well written in an interesting style.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Double Whammy - Carl Hiaasen

    Synopsis
    A private investigator, is hired to expose a celebrity bass fisherman as a cheat and is drawn into a frame-up for murder.

    Reason for Nomination
    I've read a couple of Hiaasen's books and they are usually pretty damned funny - he's been referred to as an American Tom Sharpe. Forget the context, it becomes irrelevant.
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