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Book Club book poll
It looks like the date for the next book club will be mid-afternoon (around 2 or 3 p.m.) on Sunday, March 11. It will be held at my house in Crofton (near Waugh Chapel)! Guys, I'm super excited to have you over, and for the record, I always go overboard with serving good food and drinks.
So now it's on to the book selection. I've picked four books that seem to be very different in tone and subject. I added the Good Reads blurb and link. Clicky poll to determine which one we'll read!
p.s. I really want to do Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but I bet with the movie coming out that it will be hard to find copies. Perhaps in a couple months?
1. "Still Alice" by Lisa Genova.
Genova's debut revolves around Alice Howland - Harvard professor, gifted researcher and lecturer, wife, and mother of three grown children. One day, Alice sets out for a run and soon realizes she has no idea how to find her way home. It's a route she has taken for years, but nothing looks familiar. She is utterly lost. Is her forgetfulness the result of menopausal symptoms? A ministroke? A neurological cancer? After a few doctors' appointments and medical tests, Alice has her diagnosis, and it's a shocker -- she has early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
What follows is the story of Alice's slow but inevitable loss of memory and connection with reality, told from her perspective. She gradually loses the ability to follow a conversational thread, the story line of a book, or to recall information she heard just moments before. To Genova's great credit, readers learn of the progression of Alice's disease through the reactions of others, as Alice does, so they feel what she feels -- a slowly building terror.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2153405.Still_Alice
2. "Under the Banner of Heaven," by Jon Krakauer
In 1984, Ron & Dan Lafferty murdered the wife & infant daughter of their younger brother Allen. The crimes were noteworthy not merely for their brutality but for the brothers' claim that they were acting on direct orders from God. Under the Banner of Heaven tells the story of the killers & their crime but also explores the shadowy world of Mormon fundamentalism from which the two emerged. The Mormon Church was founded, in part, on the idea that true believers could speak directly with God. But while the mainstream church attempted to be more palatable to the general public by rejecting polygamy, fundamentalist splinters saw this as apostasy & took to the hills to live what they believed to be a righteous life. When their beliefs are challenged or their patriarchal, cult-like order defied, these still-active groups are capable of fighting back with tremendous violence. While Krakauer's research into the history of the church is admirably extensive, the real power of the book comes from present-day information, notably jailhouse interviews with Dan Lafferty. Far from being the brooding maniac one might expect, Lafferty is chillingly coherent, still insisting that his motive was merely to obey God's command. Krakauer's accounts of the actual murders are graphic & disturbing, but such detail makes the brothers' claim of divine instruction all the more horrifying. In an age where Westerners have trouble comprehending what drives Islamic fundamentalists to kill, Krakauer advises us to look within our own borders.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10847.Under_the_Banner_of_Heaven
3. "A Dog's Purpose" by W. Bruce Cameron
This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog?s search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, A Dog?s Purpose touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here?
Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden-haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey?s search for his new life?s meaning leads him into the loving arms of 8-year-old Ethan. During their countless adventures Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog.
But this life as a beloved family pet is not the end of Bailey?s journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders?will he ever find his purpose?
Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, A Dog's Purpose is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7723542-a-dog-s-purpose
4. "The Invisible Bridge," by Julie Orringer
Julie Orringer?s astonishing first novel?eagerly awaited since the publication of her heralded best-selling short-story collection, How to Breathe Underwater ?is a grand love story and an epic tale of three brothers whose lives are torn apart by war.
Paris, 1937. Andras L?vi, a Hungarian Jewish architecture student, arrives from Budapest with a scholarship, a single suitcase, and a mysterious letter he has promised to deliver to C. Morgenstern on the rue de S?vign?. As he becomes involved with the letter?s recipient, his elder brother takes up medical studies in Modena, their younger brother leaves school for the stage?and Europe?s unfolding tragedy sends each of their lives into terrifying uncertainty.
From the Hungarian village of Kony?r to the grand opera houses of Budapest and Paris, from the lonely chill of Andras?s garret to the enduring passion he discovers on the rue de S?vign?, from the despair of a Carpathian winter to an unimaginable life in forced labor camps and beyond, The Invisible Bridge tells the unforgettable story of brothers bound by history and love, of a marriage tested by disaster, of a Jewish family?s struggle against annihilation, and of the dangerous power of art in a time of war.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7274337-the-invisible-bridge
Re: Book Club book poll
I voted for #4 but any of them are fine with me.
You're welcome to come to the book club. The invitation hasn't gone out yet. She'll make a new post asking who wants to be invited, and you'll just need to leave your e-mail address. Anyone who wants to come is welcome!
Thanks!
I like Jon Krakauer, but I don't think I could read a book that includes graphic descriptions of a child's murder.
I voted for #4, but 1 and 3 are OK too.