A Book to Read for September?

[Sharman]

Does anyone want to suggest a book to read this remaining summer and discuss in September?

[[deleted user]]

For a MG book I'd suggest Number the Stars and for a YA book I'd say The Book Thief or Not a Drop to Drink.

[Sharman]

The Book Thief would be good.

The Book Thief

I'll also throw in Threatened which was a finalist for the National Book Award. I haven't read it but I am interested in the subject and in literature set in Africa.

[Sharman]

Looks like we are all distracted by summer? I myself am on a delayed Amtrak train to Denver and feeling very distracted. But I have read the book thief and am happy to discuss it, and I am going to read Threatened. It's on my kindle!

[[deleted user]]

Another great YA book is Tell the Wolves I'm Home. I finished that earlier this year and it was great.

[Amy]

It seems like magical realism is a hot ticket right now. I finished The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. It reminded me a bit of Bone Gap. Two other books that were fabulous and dark and realistic- All the Bright Places and The Beginning of Everything.

[Sharman]

I've put those down on my list of to read...

[Amy]

Sharman, let me know what you think of Ava. It was such a different book and I would love to get your opinion/ideas about it.

[Madly Jane]

I just finished Rook by Sharon Cameron, which is an awesome homage to The Scarlet Pimpernel. I highly recommend it and will be using it for my class as I want the readers to read both. This book is layered and has some interesting little things that have to do with science and the environment, which I thought would be valuable for discussion. The characters are great and what I love about it, too, is that it is 3rd person viewpoint with multiple narrators, which is sorely lacking in his genre. I cannot recommend it enough.

[Madly Jane]

Sorry I have not been around, but I have been reading for research for a project and it's not easy reading. But I do read everything. Love this group.

[Sharman]

Melinda Jane wrote: "Sorry I have not been around, but I have been reading for research for a project and it's not easy reading. But I do read everything. Love this group."

Hi, Melinda! We have all been off in different directions this summer, I think. I love research. What's your project?

Amy, I will let you know re Ava...

[Kathy]

Amy wrote: "It seems like magical realism is a hot ticket right now. I finished The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. It reminded me a bit of Bone Gap. Two other books that were fabulous and dark ..." Oh yes, I agree, Ava Lavender reminded me a LOT of Bone Gap! Gorgeous and heartbreaking. I loved the characters.

[Shelley]

Has anyone read Benjamin Percy? I would say his are YA crossovers -- some more adult than others. New book:
Dead Lands. I would be interested to hear discussion on this. His last was Red Moon. Either would make for interesting discussion.

[Sharman]

Ive just finished Threatened and will write a review of that. I have on order (interlibrary loan) Ava and Dead Lands! I've never read Percy but crossovers interest me...

[Madly Jane]

Sharman wrote: "Melinda Jane wrote: "Sorry I have not been around, but I have been reading for research for a project and it's not easy reading. But I do read everything. Love this group."

Hi, Melinda! We have al..."

My project is a series of small paintings and mixed media projects that replicate 17th-19th century folk charms, amulets, and related cunning magic.

[Sharman]

That sounds SO interesting and original and fun.

[Sharman]

Amy wrote: "Sharman, let me know what you think of Ava. It was such a different book and I would love to get your opinion/ideas about it."

Interestingly, while I appreciated Ava, I didn't fall in love with it. Bone Gap was more captivating and original for me. There was something a little too "easy" (for me) about the magical realism. People turning into birds so soon and off-handedly. And I couldn't quite care about the love stories, at the center of the plot. I did like the darkness and the toughness of some of things that happened to people, and I liked the surprise of some of the characters--like Jack. I don't want to write an official review of this for Goodreads because I find my own response too idiosyncratic. It WAS a good book. It just didn't connect for me as well as I would have thought...reading can be strange.

[Amy]

Interesting perspectives, thanks for sharing. I also struggled a bit with the love story and found parts of it to be too weird to fit the rest of the story. I went back and forth a bit on it and still do.

[Janelle]

Hey everyone wow I have been so busy with work and classes I have not been on for a while. Anyway, I am currently reading romance novels, I got stuck in that genre as a stress reliever after work but my west history class has me also reading some historical books such as Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. My nature writing class also has me reading some American Earth Environmental Writing Since Thoreau by Bill Mckibben. I am finding the nature perspective is helping me continue to write my fantasty talking animal series of short stories. I really have to polish those up after this semester. What is everyone else reading?

[Sharman]

I have been reading H is for Hawk and All the Light We Cannot See for bookclubs where I live. Mostly they don't read children's literature...we are going to read a Kelly Link collection of short stories which makes me think: she had a YA collection called Pretty Monsters.

Pretty Monsters: Stories

Has anyone read this or her?