September Open Pick - Nominations Are Closed

[Whitney]

With our new improved lead time for group reads, nominations for September are now open! The usual rules apply, written in the 21st century, not excessively genre.

Another thing to keep in mind when nominating (and voting) is the availability of the book in question. With our August read, we have a few people finding the book hard to get from libraries in time for the discussion given its current popularity.

Happy nominating.

[Angie]

Thanks Whitney!

I may a bit late to the game, but I've yet to read Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.
I'd like to nominate it for our September Open Pick.


Described as...
A sweeping, emotionally riveting first novel — an enthralling family saga of Africa and America, doctors and patients, exile and home.

With a 4.26 rating from over 180,000 GR readers I'm confident it's worth reading. I hope others are interested in reading and discussing as well.

[Jan]

What are the winners for August? Have they been decided yet? I'm reading provinces of night by William Gay.

[Whitney]

The August Moderator pick is Provinces of Night, so good job :-)

August open pick is Americanah.

[Casceil]

I nominate Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith.

[Hanne]

i want to nominate Room by Emma Donnoghue. It keeps intriguing me!

[Jan]

Whitney wrote: "The August Moderator pick is Provinces of Night, so good job :-)

August open pick is Americanah."

Thank you, Whitney. I've just about finished it. Think I'll tackle Unbroken next.

[Lily]

Jan wrote: "...Think I'll tackle Unbroken next."

Jan -- the one by Laura Hillenbrand? (Are you making a nomination?)

You may know that there is another book about Louis Zamperini: Devil at My Heels: A Heroic Olympian's Astonishing Story of Survival as a Japanese POW in World War II. I have not read this one, only the reviews and some words contrasting it with Hillenbrand's book.

I see a movie is due this year (IMDb says December?). Look forward to seeing it.

[LindaJ^]

Perhaps third time's the charm! I again nominate the 2013 Pulitzer Prize winner The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson.

BTW, Cutting for Stone is one of those great, long sagas, centered in Ethiopia and the US. I loved it.

[Lily]

Linda wrote: "Perhaps third time's the charm! I again nominate the 2013 Pulitzer Prize winner The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson...."

If it doesn't make it in September, try again in October, Linda, and I'll vote for it. I believe I have the book; I have wanted to read it. But, given upcoming eye issues, I'm not making any commitments (i.e., not voting) until at least the October selections. If TOMS does get selected for September, enjoy and I'll know there will be a good discussion to read when I get to it.

Cutting for Stone provides a good story and should make a good discussion. Like Hanne, I continue to have that nagging sense Room would provide a good read. And I trust what Casceil brings to the table. So, all, have fun.

From the sidelines....

[Casceil]

October might be a better time for the Orphan Master's Son. I'm looking for something a little shorter and lighter in September, because the August reading seems on the heavy side to me. OMS sounds like it might be depressing, and I approach books like that with caution, but I have never encountered any person or reviewer who read it who didn't say it was a wonderful and incredible book.

[Jen]

It's heavy, but humourous and light at the same time. It's a fast read as a result. It would be a good book to read with a group - lots there to discuss.

[LindaJ^]

Casceil wrote: "October might be a better time for the Orphan Master's Son. I'm looking for something a little shorter and lighter in September, because the August reading seems on the heavy side to me. OMS soun..."

Well, if you want light, you do not want Room. I read it and wished I had not, especially the first half.

[Rachel W]

Angie wrote: "Thanks Whitney!

I may a bit late to the game, but I've yet to read Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.
I'd like to nominate i..."

I just finished this, it was wonderful. A lot of really interesting themes to dig into as well.

[Whitney]

Since your humble moderator is leaving town on the 25th, the nominations will be closing and the poll will be going up in 2 days. So get any more nominations, or comments on existing nominations, in now.

[Zulfiya]

Someone tried to nominate Arcadia by Lauren Groff three or four months ago. Let's do it again.

[Jan]

Lily wrote: "Jan wrote: "...Think I'll tackle Unbroken next."

Jan -- the one by Laura Hillenbrand? (Are you making a nomination?)

You may know that there is another book about Louis Zamperini:..."
Yes, by Hillenbrand. Well, if I can, yes, I nominate it.

[Whitney]

So, to clarify, Jan - what exactly are you nominating. And, Zulifiya, I'm assuming that's a nomination for Arcadia?

To make things easy for your poor, 'my brain functions at 40% at the end of a long day' moderator, nice simple statements like "I nominate such and such" are much appreciated. Thanks! And keep up the great nominations!

[Jan]

Unbroken.

[Whitney]

Sorry, I should have reiterated the requirements in the announcement for the September read. To crib from a previous month's announcement: Eligible books must be works of fiction published from 2000-2014. Selections that are overly genre or fail to meet the group standards of literary quality will not be permitted in the final poll.

So, Jan, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption doesn't qualify for the regular open pick since it's non-fiction. And, Meric, works don't have to be from major publishers, but availability is a consideration. While libraries will order books in on request, the lead time is usually much longer than would allow for people acquiring a book in time for the group read.

[Deborah]

Meric, the other mods may disagree with me here. I like the idea of discovering gems by small publishers. (Not vanity press though.) Unfortunately, they almost never win. But even nominating them puts them on some radars, and that's good.

[Casceil]

I agree with Deborah. Discovering gems is wonderful, and I worry less about availability in libraries when the book is easily available at a modest cost. The concern about availability from libraries is more for newer hardcover books that are expensive to buy, too new to be easily available in used book stores, and have very long waiting lists at libraries. The other concern about small press books is, as Deborah mentioned, vanity press. When it looks like a nomination is aimed primarily at promoting a new book (possibly written by the nominator), we sometimes question that.

[Whitney]

What Deb and Casceil said :-)

[Lily]

Whitney wrote: "...Eligible books must be works of fiction published from 2000-2014...."

Sorry! Afraid I think of Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption as historical fiction! Apologies to all, including Ms. Hillenbrand.

[Zulfiya]

Yes, Whitney. Arcadia is my nomination.

[Whitney]

Meric wrote: "Thank you for the clarification. So, would The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack be considered to genre oriented to qualify for example?"

I think it might be. Usually the moderators put their pointy heads together to hash these things out, but because it's late and I need to get up and catch a plane tomorrow, I'll say let's put that one on hold. It looks interesting, but it also looks like may be a better choice for the Wild Card nomination if anything. If the other mods have a different opinion, you can always nominate it again next month.

[Whitney]

Okay, nominations are closed, and the poll is up here: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

Thanks for all the great nominations, the poll will be up until the end of the month.

[Hanne]

Indeed, great nominations. In particular Casceil thanks for bringing Glaciers to my attention. Definitely goes on my 'want to read' list.

[Deborah]

Whitney wrote: "Meric wrote: "Thank you for the clarification. So, would The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack be considered to genre oriented to qualify for example?"

I think it might be. Usually the moderators put their pointy heads together to hash these things out, but because it's late and I need to get up and catch a plane tomorrow, I'll say let's put that one on hold. It looks interesting, but it also looks like may be a better choice for the Wild Card nomination if anything. If the other mods have a different opinion, you can always nominate it again next month."

This looks like a great nomination for the next wild card, but I think too genre to be a regular selection.

[Whitney]

Poll closing soon. Last chance to vote, or change your vote to boost a second-favorite.

[Whitney]

As you've all no doubt seen by now, the September winner is Arcadia, and it's nominator Zulfiya has graciously offered to moderate the discussion.

[Edgarf]

I'm currently reading Drop City by T. C. Boyle. Arcadia sounds like it is a similar book and may be an interesting compare and contrast.

[Jan]

I lived through Arcadia, I'm finding: all the utopianism and 60s sensibility. It's a little eerie.

[Matthew]

I am reading both books for next month, enjoying Arcadia so far, and finding Beautiful Ruins to be total crapola. Maybe there should be a place to compare and contrast.

[Casceil]

Give Beautiful Ruins a chance. The author seems to need to start four or five stories before the relationships start to take shape. And yes, maybe there should be a place to compare and contrast, since books cover roughly the same time period--sixties to the present.

[LindaJ^]

Jan wrote: "I lived through Arcadia, I'm finding: all the utopianism and 60s sensibility. It's a little eerie."

If I understand you correctly, Jan, I think I agree. The whole Acadia scene reminds me of things I saw around me around me as a child in the 60's.

[Lily]

Linda wrote: "If I understand you correctly, Jan, I think I agree. The whole Acadia scene reminds me of things I saw around me around me as a child in the 60's...."

I guess being in one's twenties did give a different perspective in those days than being in one's teens. I wonder if the difference is as great today.

[Jan]

Linda wrote: "Jan wrote: "I lived through Arcadia, I'm finding: all the utopianism and 60s sensibility. It's a little eerie."

If I understand you correctly, Jan, I think I agree. The whole Acadia scene reminds..."
Yes, you got it. I was a "young man" during the 60s/70s and wallowed in the whole utopian movement. Jackson Browne wrote a song called "After the Deluge" that sums it up pretty well.

[Lily]

Jan wrote: "Jackson Browne wrote a song called "After the Deluge" that sums it up pretty well...."

You sent me looking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhQM4... -- "Before the Deluge"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SX-H... -- with lyrics on screen; the entry is listed as "After the Deluge," even though the screen says "Before..." Must have been known by both names? I can see why.

Watched one of Nova's specials on life in the universe tonight. Listened recently to The Sixth Extinction: . Somehow all the above seem related in our 2014, some 50 years after those 1960's and as some of us pass the guard to those who will follow.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/fi...

[Jan]

Oh, ok. THe lyric "after the deluge" from the song just stuck with me. I remember when I heard the lyric, "And in the end they traded their tired wings / For the resignation that living brings" I needed about a half-hour to get ahold of myself. That hit home like a punch in the gut. Even now it's hard to listen to.

[Lily]

Jan wrote: "Oh, ok. THe lyric "after the deluge" from the song just stuck with me. I remember when I heard the lyric, "And in the end they traded their tired wings / For the resignation that living brings" I n..."

Quite a piece. Glad to learn of it. (Added notes @45.)

[LindaJ^]

Definitely looking forward to discussing Acadia. It was one of those books I had zero desire to read but am now very glad it was the September pick. I loved it!

[Zulfiya]

Dear Mods, can anyone create a folder for Arcadia? As a non-mod, I can open threads for discussions, but I can not create folders.

[Casceil]

Zulfiya, you have a folder now. I believe you should be able to add threads once the folder is created, but if not, let us know.

[Whitney]

I was just doing that, looks like Casceil beat me to it.