If it's not to late I think I want to nominate one of my DL's which I have in the past and I know a few of you wanted to read it anyway so will give it another try In the Woods by Tana French.

I would like to nominate just one book, a novel I have wanted to read for a long time, The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks. I have been told that it is a great book for discussion.

From Publishers Weekly

With resonating effect, Banks tackles the provocative subject of a fatal accident involving children, and its effect on a small community. On a frigid, snowy morning in the Adirondacks, veteran school bus driver Dolores Driscoll goes off the road, carrying 14 children to their deaths. Dolores survives; hers is the first and the last narrative voice here. Plainspoken and pragmatic, Dolores and her crippled husband have been longtime residents of the close-knit, economically depressed town of Sam Dents, but the accident makes her an outcast. The flat, almost uninflected voice of Vietnam vet and recent widower Billy Ansel, who witnessed the accident, reflects the numbness he now seeks: both his children died in the crash. Though Banks makes too much of Billy's "noble" character, he effectively portrays the man's refuge in drink and his downhill slide. When he introduces the obsessive, enraged voice of New York negligence lawyer Mitchell Stephens, who hopes to manipulate the bereaved into bringing suit against anyone he can find to blame, Banks jolts the narrative into high gear, and uses Stephens's contempt for the grieving parents--their "sagging porches and rusting pickup trucks"--to render a clear sociological portrait of the community. Beautiful teenager Nicholes Burnell, crippled as a result of her injuries, takes revenge in her own way, propelling the novel to a moving denouement. Banks handles his dark theme with judicious restraint, empathy and compassion; the result is that this book is less downbeat than his previous works--and more powerful.
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Through the four narrators -- each with their own demons reaching to break the surface -- readers will travel to a small American town where they will discover that blame doesn't always have a recognizable face, and that even the darkest roads can still lead to hope.

I think I'm going to skip the Nominating part this time since I see a few I might to vote for and read and at the moment can't think of anything I really want to nominate. Until I get a connection my signal from home is here one week gone the next and when I find a location someplace else I usually just do emails.

I'll nominate two books I've read recently, both of which contain some thought provoking topics:
Betty Webbis the first author, and this is part of a series, but I believe it's perfectly OK to read this one as a stand alone.
Desert Cut

From Amazon.com: From Publishers Weekly
Scouting locations with her film director boyfriend on a sparkling mountain morning, Arizona cop-turned-PI Lena Jones stumbles across a nightmare: the freshly dumped corpse of a little girl. Instantly it's personal, for, as fans of Webb's previous four Jones mysteries know, her feisty sleuth suffered a horrific childhood in foster care. Not getting involved simply isn't an option for Lena, especially once she learns that the dead girl suffered gruesome sexual mutilation—and that another child of around the same age, seven, has already gone missing from the small town of Los Perdidos. Then two more girls vanish. As in Webb's earlier adventures—particularly Desert Wives (2003), with its critically praised exposé of contemporary polygamy—the longtime journalist manages to fuel her plot from the starkest of news stories without compromising the fast-paced action. Though some may want to skim the more graphic passages, the intrepid will be rewarded with a propulsive, thought-provoking read. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
"Revelations of a dark past blossom from the mutilated corpse of a beautiful girl-child laid to rest in a desert grave.

While scouting for locations near the popular tourist destination of Los Perdidos, Ariz., Scottsdale private eye Lena Jones and her lover, Oscar-winning director Warren Quinn, uncover a shallow grave. The body brings back nightmares of Lena's own troubled childhood (Desert Wives, 2003). She has only fragmentary memories of her life before she was shot in the head by her mother and grew up in a series of foster homes. The sheriff, who doesn't want Lena's help, withholds the coroner's report, but she can't let the case go. Although the search is on for pedophiles, she worries that someone even more sinister is involved. A large chemical plant nearby employs many foreign-born workers. Could the dark-skinned child be connected to that population? When two more girls go missing, Lena's investigations turn up the horrifying discovery that female genital mutilation is being practiced in the immigrant community. The desert girl-child bled to death when her genitals were crudely removed with a knife. One of the missing girls is the daughter of a self-proclaimed charismatic minister in the mold of Jim Jones. As Lena works to find The Cutter, parts of her own past are slowly revealed.

Webb's dark tale of a clash of cultures is emotionally draining and intellectually challenging."--Kirkus Reviews

The next one is by Lisa ScottolineLook Again


From Goodreads: When reporter Ellen Gleeson gets a “Have You Seen This Child?” flyer in the mail, she almost throws it away. But something about it makes her look again, and her heart stops—the child in the photo is identical to her adopted son, Will. Her every instinct tells her to deny the similarity between the boys, because she knows her adoption was lawful. But she’s a journalist and won’t be able to stop thinking about the photo until she figures out the truth. And she can’t shake the question: if Will rightfully belongs to someone else, should she keep him or give him up? She investigates, uncovering clues no one was meant to discover, and when she digs too deep, she risks losing her own life—and that of the son she loves. Lisa Scottoline breaks new ground in Look Again, a thriller that’s both heart-stopping and heart-breaking, and sure to have new fans and book clubs buzzing.

Both of these would be very good to encourage discussion, I think.

Donna in Southern Maryland

1st..... The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, September 2008: Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo. --Dave Callanan



From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Cases rarely come much colder than the decades-old disappearance of teen heiress Harriet Vanger from her family's remote island retreat north of Stockholm, nor do fiction debuts hotter than this European bestseller by muckraking Swedish journalist Larsson. At once a strikingly original thriller and a vivisection of Sweden's dirty not-so-little secrets (as suggested by its original title, Men Who Hate Women), this first of a trilogy introduces a provocatively odd couple: disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist, freshly sentenced to jail for libeling a shady businessman, and the multipierced and tattooed Lisbeth Salander, a feral but vulnerable superhacker. Hired by octogenarian industrialist Henrik Vanger, who wants to find out what happened to his beloved great-niece before he dies, the duo gradually uncover a festering morass of familial corruption—at the same time, Larsson skillfully bares some of the similar horrors that have left Salander such a marked woman. Larsson died in 2004, shortly after handing in the manuscripts for what will be his legacy. 100,000 first printing. (Sept.)

2nd.....THE RIGHT TURN
Product Description
When self-made Los Angeles billionaire Clint Jason dies in a tragic car accident, a long list of people profit handsomely from his death. Before Clint died, he believed someone was trying to kill him. From his grave, he wants the killer found and punished. Tric Lee, a rakish, rule-breaking private detective, has been hired to investigate Jason's death.The beneficiaries of Clint's wealth include his attorney, Lewis Boné; his grown children, Allison, Christina, and Westley; his wife, Veronica; and Steven Dalheim, director of Jason's pet charity Protect Animal Rights. They're shocked, however, when an unknown codicil is produced at the reading of the will. Tric methodically follows the evidence to prove Jason's death was no accident. His investigation uncovers a myriad of issues, including infidelity and family greed, and Tric finds himself infatuated with one of the lovely suspects-who soon turns up dead.An engaging whodunit, The Right Turn holds many surprising twists for Tric and his talented assistant, Cricket Jackson, who doggedly pursue every lead, no matter how small, to uncover a secret that one suspect doesn't want exposed.

About the Author
Ol Gene, also known as Harold Owings, published two poetry books before writing this whodunit novel. Owings passed away prior to getting this last work published. He served as director of community services for ARCO for thirty-five years. Owings and his wife, Doris, raised three children.

I didn't mean to pick two authors who passed away.
:-) I don't know anything about either of these books or authors. Just found them online.

In Open Spaces - Russell Rowland -

This novel received very good reviews on Amazon and on GR.

Amazon Description:
Set in the vast and unforgiving prairie of eastern Montana from 1916 to 1946, In Open Spaces is the compelling story of the Arbuckle brothers:

George-A rising baseball star who mysteriously drowns in the river

Jack-A World War I veteran who abandons his family only to return to reclaim the family ranch

Bob-The youngest brother, whose marriage to Helen creates a fault line between him and the rest of his family

Blake-A shrewd, observant man burdened with growing suspicions of Jack's role in his brother's death

With breathtaking descriptions of the Montana landscape, Russell Rowland masterfully weaves a fascinating tale of the psychological wars that can rip a family apart...and, ultimately, the redemption that can bring them back together.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product...
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Letters of a Woman Homesteader - Elinore Pruitt Stewart

The book is a series of authentic letters written by Elinore Pruitt in 1909. The print in my book is large, so this looks like a quick read.

Amazon Description: Elinore Stewart, a homesteader, left us a wonderful legacy when she recorded her experiences, reactions, and, best of all, her emotions as she encountered a life that would daunt most people. She wrote wonderfully descriptive letters to a former employer/friend in which she regales her with stories about the usual pioneer tasks, including looking after young children, along with preparing for a wedding, meeting some pleasant-- and very unpleasant--characters, and simply existing in harsh conditions

http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Homesteade...

Ok, I'll nominate

Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian [I nominated this before, but I'm at a loss for nominations.

Second Nom:

American Rust by Philipp Meyer

Side note to Jan.....I think we could nominate two and still vote for three even though it is only a two month nomination. I just hoped for more variety this time than last..

kate

I just can't think about this yet. Too many other irons in the fire and books to read right now.

Here are my nominations:Eye Contact


Chang and Eng

Kim

My nominations are --

Hold Tight by Harlen Corben --
I have usually liked everything I have read that he has written. The reviews are somewhat mixed but the average of the reviews on Goodreads is 3.82. Not bad.

Rain Gods by James Lee Burke
This is a fairly new book so perhaps only in hardcover. However, my library has it so that is always a good sign. I generally like his writing which usually takes place in Louisiana. This is a new "hero" for him. The average of reviews on Goodreads is 4.06.

That is as much thinking as I can do this week. LOL

Barbara

My nominations are:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. It's not a mystery, but it might be different enough for Traveler. Don't reject it out of hand. It's gotten some good reviews here at Goodreads and at Amazon.

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. Well, now that I've looked it up I see that it has a couple of counts against it: it's a BFB and the paperback isn't out until January. But it's getting good reviews on the boards. Kate has already read it. Has anyone else? I'm gonna let it stand as a nomination because I have no other ideas on the tips of my typing fingers.

Jan O'Cat

kate/Edukate12 wrote: "I'd like to go back to letting people nominate------what was it before???----two books? I didn't feel as if there was enough of a choice with only one book each."

I agree with you, Kate. The trouble is that this time we're nominating for only two months--October and November. But I'm thinking that to get a variety of nominations maybe we should still nominate two and then vote for two and just see how it turns out.

Y'all are welcome to start posting nominations in this thread when you're ready. I'm thinking I'll accept nominations through the 12th and then put a voting thread up on the 13th. School starts for teachers on the 14th :-( So if we vote quickly we can have out books selected before the kids come back and the year starts in dead earnest.

I know we're selecting early, before we've even read the September selection and I appreciate your understanding. I'm not sure how this school year will go. I'll have a lot of the same kids back including two of the extreme problems. I'm supposed to have a new assistant which, whatever way it goes, can't be any worse than the assistants I had last year. But there will be a learning curve for her. And I'll be absent a lot as the dental stuff is ongoing. Any teacher will tell you that being absent creates A LOT of work.

Oops, off on a tangent there. Post your nominations for one or two books (your choice) in this thread until Wednesday, August 12.

Jan O'Cat

I'd like to go back to letting people nominate------what was it before???----two books? I didn't feel as if there was enough of a choice with only one book each.

Kate

Thinking, thinking. And I'm with you Tricia.

Barbara

Lets nominate some M/T books this time. Something a little different. Just an idea. :-)

In the next few days Jan/omalleycat will begin accepting nominations for our October & November reads. We take the month of December off.

So please start thinking of what books you would like to nominate.

Please wait to post your nominations until Jan/omalleycat is ready and explains how we go about the process for all our newbies here. We just wanted to give you a heads-up to start thinking about it.

Thanks !