March Group Reads Nominations

[Tami]

For March we are going to have a category 1 anything goes book and our category 2 is "Not Y/A".

-Only one nomination per person and you must choose one category. If all 12 spots in one category are not filled by February 10th, you can nominate a book for the other category.

-Please specify which category you are nominating for. (Cat 1 or Cat 2) Your post should look something like this:

Category 1: "This Book" by An Author

- Please make sure you have the book and author in your nomination

- Add a blurb of some sort to let us know what the book will be like.

-We will be taking the first 12 nominations for each category or we will close nominations on February 20th if not all categories are filled.

-Voting will begin soon after nominations are done and will be open for a week or so.

- If your book wins, please let us know whether or not you would like to lead the book discussion. It is not required by any means that you lead it.

[Tami]

Category 1: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

[Kelly]

Category 2: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

A brilliant literary debut, inspired by a true story: the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829.

Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution.

[Leelynn]

Category 1: 1929: Book One by M.L. Gardner

What do you do when, in the blink of an eye, you lose everything you worked so hard for? This is what happens to three best friends on the fateful day of the Stock Market Crash of 1929. These friends, and their wives, have lost everything, and it is up to them to decide whether they give up, or fight to get it all back.

[Sara]

Category 2: Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

For a thousand years her existence has been denied. She is the legend that will not die – Pope Joan, the ninth-century woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to become the only female ever to sit on the throne of St. Peter. Now in this riveting novel, Donna Woolfolk Cross paints a sweeping portrait of an unforgettable heroine who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept.

(This is my best friends' favorite novel and I've promised to read it this spring, so thought it could be a good group read ^^)

[Anna]

Category 2: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945, Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering, but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl's theory--known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos ("meaning")--holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.

At the time of Frankl's death in 1997, Man's Search for Meaning had sold more than 10 million copies in twenty-four languages. A 1991 reader survey for the Library of Congress that asked readers to name a "book that made a difference in your life" found Man's Search for Meaning among the ten most influential books in America.

[Tami]

Category 2: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.

Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through.

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.

I have NEVER had an employee from the book store recommend a book, until last week. This is the book she recommended.

[Tami]

Any last minute nominations? I should have the polls up tomorrow morning some time.