Book Help

CitizenRick

Hey...I bought my Aunt Ismail last year for Christmas and she loved it. She presented it to her book club and half liked it... half didn't...which made for great conversations.

I'm going to be exchanging gifts with her on Monday the 28th and I've already picked up a package that includes both the Into The Wild book and movie. Is there any other interesting reads that I might wanna include?

Maybe something of the same thought provoking and polarizing nature as Ismail? I wanted to add one more book for her this year. I figured you guys could give me some ideas.

Thanks....Rick

InsideMan

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild or The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman are phenomenal books. I'm not sure they will generate a great debate at her book club meeting, but they will certainly spark discussion.

CitizenRick

therk17 wrote:

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild or The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman are phenomenal books. I'm not sure they will generate a great debate at her book club meeting, but they will certainly spark discussion.

Awsome. I'll check those out.

Thanks.

Who Princess

I think King Leopold's Ghost is a fascinating read if you're looking for non-fiction. Also non-fiction, I just finished Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. It's definitely a thought-provoking story. I read a one sentence description of it as "Hurricane Katrina meets the war on terror." It's about a Syrian immigrant who built a successful contracting business in New Orleans. When his wife and children evacuated for Hurricane Katrina, he stayed behind to look after their business and rental property. During the first few days he was able to assist some people who were stranded by flood waters, then he was suddenly arrested at a house he owned and thrown into a newly built detention center. He was unable to contact his family and was imprisoned for weeks while his family searched for him.

It's a fairly short and easy to read book. Also, it's not completely grim. There's humor and the story of a loving family and a man who has accomplished what many Americans dream of doing, starting his own small business and building it into something that he takes pride in and that makes him part of the community.

CitizenRick

Bumping one last time. Any thoughts on a fiction?

vduboise

You can go with a couple of classics. I started re-reading Don Quixote, the Count of Monte Christo, and Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

he still stands

The Road by Cormac McCarthy.... same guy that wrote No Country for Old Men. This one is going to be a movie in 2010. I get the feeling the book club is a group of mostly women? If so they might not relate to this father/son journey.

Can't go wrong with Lamb by Christopher Moore. Although I imagine a few in the club have read it. My Mom is a church-goer and she thought it was blasphemous - but it doesn't speak badly of Christ it just puts him in a few... errr.... socially liberal situations.

If you want another book that some will love and some probably won't appreciate... Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins is a classic (written in the 70s). Probably my favorite book of all time, but people either love Robbins or just don't get him.

Most of the other books I've read over the past 5 years or so are classics, science fiction, or non-fiction so probably not suitable for a book club.