Announcing the September tag

[Nicole R]

Contact was SSOOOO good!

[Susie]

Is it the same Contact as the Jodie Foster flick?

[Anita]

Booknblues wrote: "Anita wrote: "Denizen wrote: "My recommendations are:
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry a quintessential American western
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen..."

Let me know if you decide upon No Country for Old Men. It's always more fun if a few of us are reading the same thing, so I would commit to that if others do. Otherwise, I'll give one of the ones Tracy recommends a try . . .

[Anita]

Tracy wrote: "Anita wrote: "As per usual, it is so interesting to see the plans and recommendations.

I'm 90% sure I'm going to read something by Cormac McCarthy. Ever since The Road (a top read for ..."

Thanks so much, Tracy! If we don't end up having a group read for No Country for Old Men, I'll go with one of the two you suggest! If I can get them from the library. It looks like every McCarthy book has a waiting list, sigh.

[Susie]

Oh, they are in my wheelhouse too Tracy! Decisions decisions. If only I had time to read them all!

[Nicole R]

Susie, yes! And, you may be forgetting something important..Matthew McConaughey was in it too 😉

Did you ever see the newer movie with Amy Adams (and Jeremy Renner), Arrival? That was a good one too...not sure if it was based on a book.

(Update: To be clear, Arrival is NOT based on Contact. It is nothing like Contact aside from the ET lifeform thing. I just think if you enjoyed Contact the movie, then you might enjoy Arrival as well)

[Sushicat]

Susie wrote: "Is it the same Contact as the Jodie Foster flick?"

That's the one. I'm about a third in and it's fascinating, the things he got right and those he got wrong. And it's a nice read too.

[Susie]

Nicole R wrote: "Susie, yes! And, you may be forgetting something important..Matthew McConaughey was in it too 😉

Did you ever see the newer movie with Amy Adams (and Jeremy Renner), Arrival? That was a good one to..."

I love McConaughey as an actor, but I don't find him that hot. I'm more of a Tom Hardy girl. ;-) I haven't seen Arrival but had planned to. Thanks for the reminder!

[Susie]

Sushicat wrote: "Susie wrote: "Is it the same Contact as the Jodie Foster flick?"

That's the one. I'm about a third in and it's fascinating, the things he got right and those he got wrong. And it's a nice read too."

My groaning list!

[Book Concierge]

I'm aligned with Cora ... because my immediate top two picks were:
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

I also second recommendations for
Lonesome Dove ... it may be long, Anita, but it reads fast.
Gone with the Wind

A few others that I haven't seen mentioned:
Lamb in His Bosom by Caroline Miller (1934 Pulitzer re Civil War era ... the book that had publishers looking for Southern fiction and led them to Margaret Mitchell's GWTW)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
True Grit by Charles Portis
The Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas
Little House in the Big Woods (and the rest of this series) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Montana 1948 by Larry Watson
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
The Martian by Andy Weir (While it's set mostly on Mars, I think it's a very "American" book)

As for what I'll be reading .... I'm going to stick with books by American authors that are also set in the USA.
These are on my "short list TBR"
A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline
Eventide by Kent Haruf
Saint Monkey by Jacinda Townsend

[Susie]

Anita wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Anita wrote: "Denizen wrote: "My recommendations are:
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry a quintessential American western
[book:We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves..."

Let's do it! I'll definitely read No Country for Old Men if you and Booknblues are going to aswell.

[Nicole R]

Susie wrote: "I love McConaughey as an actor, but I don't find him that hot. I'm more of a Tom Hardy girl. ;-) I haven't seen Arrival but had planned to. Thanks for the reminder! ..."

Oh girl, you can appreciate both of them ;) lol!

[Nicole R]

Book Concierge wrote: "I also second recommendations for
Lonesome Dove ... it may be long, Anita, but it reads fast.
Gone with the Wind

Lonesome Dove was great as well! If you have read Lonesome Dove but want to try another western, I recommend The Son by Philipp Meyer.

As for what I'll be reading .... I'm going to stick with books by American authors that are also set in the USA.
These are on my "short list TBR"
A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline

I just finished this one, in fact I am getting ready to write my review now. It was....good. It took me a bit to get into it, but once I hit about the 35ish% mark I flew through it.

I did a little research about the painting Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth before reading and that greatly increased my enjoyment. Like most people, I am familiar with the painting, but I had no idea the back story! Now I want to head to the MoMA to see it in person.

It was a good audio as well, but the downfall of audio is that you often don't get any author's notes that may have been at the end.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christi...
http://mentalfloss.com/article/64001/...

[Nicole R]

Oh! And, I just got American War in at the library on audio. That will go on my list this month too.

[Jenni Elyse]

Nicole, I understand. It's totally fine. I'm good either way. ;)

[Jenni Elyse]

I used to love McConauhotty, but I have 15 others that have pushed him aside, lol. But, I can still appreciate him, especially in his younger days.

[Anita]

Susie wrote: "Anita wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Anita wrote: "Denizen wrote: "My recommendations are:
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry a quintessential American western
[book:We Are All Completely Be..."

I'm in if you are!!

[Nicole D.]

Nicole R wrote: "Oooo, Sara, All the President's Men has been on my list forever."
it's a very fast audio. I can probably send it to you

[Ashley Breanna]

I recommend Water for Elephants and Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail - both are very good!

I haven't decided what I am reading yet. I know it will have to be an easy read, as I have my sister's wedding shower, a surprise party, my sister's bachelorette party, my sister's wedding, my soon-to-be sister-in-laws wedding shower, my soon-to-be sister-in-laws wedding, a rehearsal night for both, my birthday, NFL football starts, school starts, & my best friend's baby is due. September is going to be nuts!

I am thinking To Kill a Mockingbird.

[Nicole D.]

No Country for Old Men is a GREAT McCarthy rec, and then see the movie!

East of Eden also great.

If I have time, I should/want to finally/read The Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck is the perfect author for this tag.

[Anita]

Susie wrote: "Anita wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Anita wrote: "Denizen wrote: "My recommendations are:
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry a quintessential American western
[book:We Are All Completely Be..."

Apparently I already own No Country for Old Men on my Kindle, so that's the one!!

[Joi]

Just finished The Hate U Give. Am strongly recommending to anyone and everyone. (Review to come) Definitely counts as an 'American' book.

[AsimovsZeroth]

I've been meaning to get around to:
Gone with the Wind and this Jack Kerouac Collection -
On The Road / The Dharma Bums / The Subterraneans but I'm not planning ahead very strictly for this tag. I have a few library books that are definitely not American and I want to finish up first. I'd love to reread some Steinbeck, but I don't think I'll manage it.

[Ladyslott]

Joi wrote: "Just finished The Hate U Give. Am strongly recommending to anyone and everyone. (Review to come) Definitely counts as an 'American' book."

Yes, and I think everyone should read it at some point.

[Ladyslott]

Susie wrote: "I'm jealous Linda!"

Because I'm reading Capote? Or that I'm spending a week at the beach? LOL!

I have been going to Montauk every summer for at least 30 years, we go to the same place and look forward to it all year. It used to be a sleepy little town, but it's been changing quite a bit over the last couple of years - not sure that's a good thing.

[Amy]

The hate U give was one of the five choices, all non-fiction, that our high school kids had to choose between, for required summer reading. I'm going to pick it up too.

[Joi]

For anyone thinking about reading The Hate U Give, here's my review, and my persuasion essay on why you should read it.

My Review Here

Amy, I think it's fabulous high school kids are reading this. I also think you personally think (hope) you will come out of it feeling as strongly positive as I do.

[Amy]

My personal home in real life book club is exploding with so many things we want to read together right away, and this one is one of them. I'm hoping we somehow do it in September. I'm so looking forward to it. My kid of course chose the crappy thin 96 page book "Coach." I at least made him write an essay on it, describing it, what he learned from it, whether or not it impacted him, and whether or not it was a good choice for a summer high school reading book. I can report, but the essay wasn't half bad, at least for him. But he will have something to turn into his ninth grade teacher to prove that his mother forced him to read it.

[Denizen]

Book Concierge wrote: "I'm aligned with Cora ... because my immediate top two picks were:
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

I also second recommendations for
Lonesome Dove ...</i>


Thanks for mentioning Kent Haruf. I've read Eventide but have yet to read the final book [book:Our Souls at Night. Haruf is a great choice for American. Definitely going on my short list.
I second Killer Angels!

[LibraryCin]

Nicole R wrote: "Susie, yes! And, you may be forgetting something important..Matthew McConaughey was in it too 😉..."

I had actually forgotten that! Sigh - what is wrong with me!!!? But now, I want to pull out A Time to Kill and watch it again. I just finished The Last Juror, and though I know it was a different character, I kept picturing Matthew McConaughey as the main character in it!

[LibraryCin]

If I have time to fit in an extra (I will have plenty that will fit, anyway, I'm sure), I might read North and South by John Jakes.

[JoLene]

On the plus side -- American tag is much more cooperative with the summer road trip challenge than space opera. On the minus, my RL book club will be reading the latest Lisa See novel which I think is set in China (although I might be wrong).

I really would like to read Lonesome Dove.
However, I will probably go for something shorter.

I will say that I tried to read Gone with the Wind last year and just couldn't get through it. I didn't care for Scarlet. I think that my younger self might have really liked it --- but my grumpy old lady self just thought she was insipid. Maybe it was timing, my mom was pretty sick and I was travelling across country every month to help so I might try again.

[Amy]

I'd love to see a Gone With the Wind Coterie. Feels like there may be a few books in this broad tag that will capture the interest of more than a few of us. Hamilton, Lonesome Dove, To Kill a Mockingbird, there were a few others.

[Kristel]

I am going to recommend anything John Steinbeck. I am currently reading Travels with Charley: In Search of America, which would be perfect.

[Sushicat]

For something completely different I would recommend Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt. It's non-fiction and alternates text passages by Chris Hedge with illustrative art sequences by Joe Sacco.

[Anita]

As per usual, I basically want to read everything mentioned that I haven't already read. Lately, literally every book is sounding good to me . . .that's worrying.

[Book Concierge]

Anita wrote: "As per usual, I basically want to read everything mentioned that I haven't already read. Lately, literally every book is sounding good to me . . .that's worrying."

I resemble that remark! I keep reading and thinking ..."Oooh , yes ... I want to read that one, too ...."

[Jenni Elyse]

Anita wrote: "As per usual, I basically want to read everything mentioned that I haven't already read. Lately, literally every book is sounding good to me . . .that's worrying."

This is why I have 1000+ books on my TBR. Someday, I'll actually need to start reading them, lol.

[JoLene]

For the first time in a while, I had already read or attempted to read or consciously decided not to read the majority of the books on the first page of the list.

And ..... I was really happy that cliffhanger didn't get picked because by labeling something as cliffhanger, it sets up expectations that changes the reading experience. Plus I actually don't like cliffhanger endings, especially when the next book is not published yet.

[Diane]

I am going to be reading On the Road by Kerouc and Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.

[Ashley Breanna]

I was going to read To Kill a Mockingbird, but I seen The Help available on audio cd at the library and reached for it.

So far, I am loving it.

[Barbara M]

Ashley Breanna wrote: "I was going to read To Kill a Mockingbird, but I seen The Help available on audio cd at the library and reached for it.

So far, I am loving it."

I found the audio of The Help to be fantastic. It was a loved book for the year for me.

[Barbara M]

Book Concierge wrote: "A few others that I haven't seen mentioned:
Lamb in His Bosom by Caroline Miller (1934 Pulitzer re Civil War era ... the book that had publishers looking for Southern fiction and led them to Margaret Mitchell's GWTW)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
True Grit by Charles Portis
The Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas..."

I really like Sandra Dallas' books. I think I'll add this as a possibility if my reading this month goes well! I wish I could find it in audio but my library doesn't have it - just the DTB. :-(

[Susie]

Booknblues wrote: "Susie wrote: "I'm thinking No Country for Old Men too Booknblues."

That would be fun! I've noticed that we have really high agreement when we compare books.., so it would be interesting to see if ..."

I think I'm going to get going on this soon Booknblues. We do have a lot of ratings in common, don't we?

[Susie]

Anita wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Anita wrote: "Denizen wrote: "My recommendations are:
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry a quintessential American western
[book:We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves..."

I'm going to start No Country soon Anita. Are you still thinking of reading it this month, or are you busy with Booker reads?

[Amy]

Starting my American books today. Starting love and other consolation prizes. If it goes quick as I suspected well, then I will put shotgun love songs in there next. But I plan to start gone with the wind somewhere between the 15th and the 20th. May not finish in time for the tag, but by golly it's about time I'd be getting to this book. This tag sort of feels like an now or never.

[Anita]

Susie wrote: "Anita wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Anita wrote: "Denizen wrote: "My recommendations are:
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry a quintessential American western
[book:We Are All Completely Be..."

Yes, definitely, Susie. I will start it with you. I am going to wait for the Man Booker shortlist before reading any additional books . . .there are two I'm still interested in, but I'm going to wait to see if they are shortlisted first.

[Susie]

Great! I think I'll start today.

[Booknblues]

Susie wrote: "Great! I think I'll start today."
I have a book, I'm trying to finish, but I will move to that as soon as I finish Evicted.