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TheSite.org Book Club - Nominations for October's book (Anniversary Edition!)
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hi folks!
Can you believe that October marks a whole year of Book Club?! I for one am impressed that piccolo and I have managed to keep it going for so long
.
Anyway, to celebrate, this month's theme is Coming of Age! Books that show a journey of changing maturity and whatnot. I'm sure someone else can think of a better description of that than I...
Example books that would fit in this theme (feel free to nominate, of course!) : Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, etc. etc. etc.
Reminder of the rules:
1. Anybody can nominate a book.
2. Books nominated have to fit within the monthly theme listed above.
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, and was our book for March 2012, so no nominating!
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 relevant nominations. And just a reminder that Book Club chat is still running monthly - the next one will be in October for September's book, Persuasion.
Franki
Can you believe that October marks a whole year of Book Club?! I for one am impressed that piccolo and I have managed to keep it going for so long
.Anyway, to celebrate, this month's theme is Coming of Age! Books that show a journey of changing maturity and whatnot. I'm sure someone else can think of a better description of that than I...
Example books that would fit in this theme (feel free to nominate, of course!) : Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, etc. etc. etc.
Reminder of the rules:
1. Anybody can nominate a book.
2. Books nominated have to fit within the monthly theme listed above.
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, and was our book for March 2012, so no nominating!
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 relevant nominations. And just a reminder that Book Club chat is still running monthly - the next one will be in October for September's book, Persuasion.
Franki
Post edited by JustV on
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Synopsis: Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor (From amazon)
Reason for nomination: I want to read it
Synopsis: "The Catcher in Rye is the ultimate novel for disaffected youth, but it's relevant to all ages. The story is told by Holden Caulfield, a seventeen- year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Throughout, Holden dissects the 'phony' aspects of society, and the 'phonies' themselves: the headmaster whose affability depends on the wealth of the parents, his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection.
Lazy in style, full of slang and swear words, it's a novel whose interest and appeal comes from its observations rather than its plot intrigues (in conventional terms, there is hardly any plot at all). Salinger's style creates an effect of conversation, it is as though Holden is speaking to you personally, as though you too have seen through the pretences of the American Dream and are growing up unable to see the point of living in, or contributing to, the society around you.
Written with the clarity of a boy leaving childhood, it deals with society, love, loss, and expectations without ever falling into the clutch of a cliche." (From amazon)
Reason for nomination: I've had it in my to-read pile for ages and it sounds good.
Synopsis: Scout is 13, and lives according to the rules her father Atticus sets her. She lives in the South of the US during a time of heightened racial tension. Society teaches her to fear black people, but Atticus sees things differently. During one summer, when a black man is accused of assault on a white girl, her father's stance changes her life and outlook for good.
Reason for nomination: Awesomeness. The film is also exceptional (and has Gregory Peck in it, whom chat consider to be quite fit at the time of filming). The first time I read Mockingbird, I re-read it immediately. If you did it for GCSE, take the time to come back to it fresh.
Synopsis from amazon: The story of five sisters who all commit suicide in the same year. Trying to fathom events two decades later, one of the boys who used to spy on them recreates the fateful year, from the youngest's first plunge into her own bloodbath, to the final field day of the national press.
Reason for Nomination: One of my favourite books ever. It really transcends whatever you are feeling now and transports you to 1970s suburban America during that lazy summer.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time by Mark Haddon
Synopsis from amazon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour's dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down.
Reason for Nomination: Just a very original and inspiring outlook on Aspergers Syndrome wrapped up in a page turning mystery
From amazon: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament, to prove that he has the makings of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him - for he always helps Amir - but this is 1970s Afghanistan and Hassan is merely a low-caste servant who is jeered at in the street, although Amir still feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father's heart. But neither of the boys could foresee what would happen to Hassan on the afternoon of the tournament, which was to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return, to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.
Reason for nomination:Not only is it a bit of a heart wrenching story, it also opens peoples eyes to aspects of another culture. It portrays some scenes of despair but also how being good and decent are admirable qualities.
Synopsis: Meet the mongrel. Timoleon Vieta. A deeply loyal, undemanding and loving companion . . . with the most beautiful eyes. He's living an idyllic existence in the Italian countryside with Cockroft, a composer in exile. Until, that is, the mysterious and malevolent 'Bosnian' comes to stay. How will the stranger affect the bond between dog and master? Timoleon Vieta Come Home is a free-wheelin' take on the Lassie legend, deeply moving and hysterically funny.
Reason: Not really "coming of age" in the classic sense, but it's absolutely about someone maturing and realising their priorities. I read this book about ten years ago and god, it's beautiful. The whole book is just so hopeful and wonderful and then you get to the end and...I won't spoil it. Tear-jerking. In a good way.
Synopsis: Jeanette is a young girl being brought up by her parents (domineering mother, emotionally absent father) in 1960s Lancashire. Her mother's evangelical Christian faith defines her upbringing and marks her out as an outsider, but she is happy and doesn't know anything different. Until, one day, she meets Melanie and her world is turned upside down.
Weaving folk tales and dreams with darkly comic descriptions of her life, the narrative is beautiful.
Reason for nomination: This was recommended to me when I was 15 and it had a profound impact. I still read it every few months when I need cheering up. There are whole passages I know by heart. It's a very short book, but it will stay with you for a long time after you've put it down.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding (paperback, epub, kindle)
Synopsis: A group of young boys being evacuated in the middle of an unspecified war are stranded on a desert island after a plane crash. As they try to survive without adult authority, they grow their own society. The boys are almost all strangers to one another (except for a group of choirboys amongst them), and they learn to work together to find food and signal for help. However, their fragile peace is soon shattered and as it breaks down the reader is forced to question what role human nature plays in 'civilisation', and what it means to live in relationship.
Reason for nomination: It's one of the most profound philosophies of human nature written since 1945. (Again, if you read it for GCSE you will benefit from re-reading it now.)