Tonight is my turn to pick the book for my book club to read for next month....?

Question

Which book should I pick? I am trying to decide among:

1. The Sirens of Titan, by Kurt Vonnegut
2. Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz
3. Triple Cross, by Kit Ehrman

Or perhaps you have another suggestion. It shouldn't be a really long book 300 - 400 pages.

Answer 1

Well it all depends on what your group members usually like to read.. (which books did they enjoy most so far?)

The Sirens of Titan is a classic Science Fiction novel, so do they usually like science fiction? It would be interesting to discuss it, contrasting it with, say, Slaughterhouse Five, because a lot of themes and motives are to be found in Sirens of Titan.

Odd Thomas is horror, how many members like horror novels? A lot of people seem to like Dean Koontz, who is quite trendy at the moment. It really depends on your taste and, as I said, on the other members!

And Triple Cross is a mystery with lots on races.. it's the fifth of a series I think, which means that you could also have an interesting discussion about the earlier novels..

I would personally lean towards the Vonnegut book.

And if I were to choose a book, I would choose a woman writer, such as maybe Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (who just got the Orange Prize for fiction for Half of a Yellow Sun), or the excellent rewriting of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, from the point of view of a maid, Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin (great movie as well with Julia Roberts and John Malkovich)

But, as I said, it depends on what you feel would be most appreciated by group members!!

Answer 2

If you want to get a good discussion going on in the club, Harry Potter is a great idea. Or if the members like fantasy sorts, I'd recommend Lord of the Rings, Eragon or Narnia. For an easy-to-read history book, you might like to choose one of the Horrible Histories series. They're easy to understand, and there's lots of jokes and stuff inside, which makes it more vivid and fun. You can also try simple classics like Daddy-Long-Legs, or Black Beauty. I don't know about Russian books, so I can't help you much with that. Just go into a library or bookshop, and you'd find loads of good books for your club there.

Answer 3

You will like this one: "The Hummingbird's Daughter", by Luis Urrea (ISBN 9780316154529)

It is about the famous Mexican curandera, Teresa Urrea, the "Saint of Cabora", sometimes known as the "Joan of Arc of Mexico".

A Mexican Indian girl is the daughter of the owner of a hacienda, and her mother abandons her. She is raised to be a curandera (which some people define as a "shaman", but that is not accurate). She gets involved in rebellions against the Mexican government and is expelled from Mexico, and dies in the US at the age of 33, but not before she becomes rather famous. She still has a large following even today, as people pray to her for miracles. She is a "folk saint".

Answer 4

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hossein
Any book by Wilbur Smith - The River God, Seventh Scroll, and the Quest need to be read in the correct order though ~

Answer 5

Perhaps these will come in useful for future book club selections.

The Celebration of Women Writers.

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/writers.html#B_Section

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/subjects/subjects-women.html

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Answer 6

I loved Sirens of Titan.

Or you might try The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.

Answer 7

The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Answer 8

"Odd Thomas" is excellent. I'm actually reading the second one now, "Forever Odd." It's a fast read, the characters are interesting, and it's a great story.

Answer 9

Try "The Good Guy" by Dean Koontz. You won't be disappointed. Good read from start to finish.

Answer 10

The link below has two lists of best novels.
One chosen by the Random House editors.
And one chosen by readers.
If I was going for one on your list, I'd go for Vonnegut.
If I was going for one on the Random House list, I'd go with: THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald if your group hasn't read it before.