Book Choices for July 2010

I hope I got the month right- anyhow here are my choices- all available on Kindle (yes it was a prerequisite). The first one I read and absolutely loved. The second two are from books we considered but did not pick. I have read both samples from Kindle and will be purchasing them at some point. JB

1: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf (September 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375842209
• ISBN-13: 978-0375842207

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. Set during World War II in Germany, this groundbreaking novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist—books. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

2:The Book of Lost Things

by John Connolly
Stolen 110% from Linda's blog- it was perfect, so why change?!

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (October 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074329890X
• ISBN-13: 978-0743298902

The story is about a 12-year-old English boy, David, who, after the death of his mother, moves with his father and new step mother to the new wife’s family’s country estate. David is given an attic room lined with old books from a previous occupant and the books begin to literally whisper to him. One day after seeing an intruder in his room, David hears his dead mother’s voice in the sunken garden calling to him for help. He follows the voice and finds himself in a very different place. This new place is not the realm of Disney fairy tales but harkens back to the brutality of the original Grimms fairy tales that do not necessarily have happy endings. This book is definitely not written for kids, or adults who are the faint of heart. Although many of the adventures David encounters echo fairy tales that we all know they all definitely have unique twists and it is David’s understanding of these stories from his reading that enables him to prevail.

3: Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Ecco; Updated edition (January 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060899220
• ISBN-13: 978-0060899226

• When Chef Anthony Bourdain wrote "Don't Eat Before You Read This" in The New Yorker, he spared no one's appetite, revealing what goes on behind the kitchen door. In Kitchen Confidential, he expanded that appetizer into a deliciously funny, delectable shocking banquet that lays out his 25 years of sex, drugs, and haute cuisine.

  From his first oyster in the Gironde to the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center, from the restaurants of Tokyo to the drug dealers of the East Village, from the mobsters to the rats, Bourdain's brilliantly written, wild-but-true tales make the belly ache with laughter.

The Reading List

Girl with Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier (Asha)
House of Sand and Fog, Andre Dubus III (Carl)
God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy (Linda)
Fox in the Attic, Richard Hughes (Dick)
Daughters of the Dust, Julie Dash (Jasmine)
Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole (Maria)
Broom of the System, David Foster Wallace (Scott)
White Teeth, Zadie Smith (Christine)
Promise of Rest, Reynolds Price (Vince)
The Keepers of Truth, Michael Collins (Asha)
Patty Jane's House of Curl, Lorna Landvik (Vicki)
Soul Mountain, Gao Xingjian (Rachel)
The Muse Asylum, David Czuchlewski (Linda)
Wisdom, Heather Neff (Jasmine)
Wicked: The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Gregory McGuire (Scott)
Perfume, Patrick Suskind (Christine)
The Hours, Michael Cunningham and Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf (Asha)
Pickup, Nadine Gordimer (Rachel)
Maus, Art Spiegelman (Heather)
100 Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Linda)
Bel Canto, Ann Patchett (Liz)
Life of Pi, Yann Martel (Scott)
Autobiography of My Mother, Jamaica Kincaid (Jasmine)
Empire Falls, Richard Russo (Asha)
Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller (Christine)
The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd (Lori)
Russian Debutante’s Handbook, Gary Shteyngart (Rachel)
The Archivist, Martha Cooley and the Wasteland, T.S. Elliot (Linda)
Book of Salt, Monique Truong (Scott)
Troll: A Love Story, Johanna Sinisalo (Heather)
Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri (Jasmine)
Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Michael Chabon (Asha)
Roaches Have No King, Daniel Evan Weiss (Christine)
Atonement, Ian McEwen (Liz)
Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon (Chris)
Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, Tom Robbins (Linda)
Fountainhead, Ayn Rand (Scott)
Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco (Scott, Guilty Pleasure selection)
The Voyage, Philip Caputo (Rachel)
Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs (Sunni)
Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (Christine)
Seven Types of Ambiguity, Elliot Perlman (Liz)
Girl Who Played Go, Shan Sa (Hera)
Disgrace, J.M. Coetzee (Danica)
Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami (Linda)
When We Were Orphans, Kazuo Ishiguro (Scott)
All the Names, Jose Saramago (Wayne)
Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (Sunni)
I Lucifer, Glen Duncan (Jasmine)
Inheritence of Loss, Kiran Desai (Rachelle)
Double Bind: A Novel, Chris Bohjalian (Melissa)
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon (John)
Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates (Christine)
Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (Hera)
No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy (Liz)
Lamb: A Gospel According to Biff, Christopher Moore (Matt)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig (Scott)
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler, Italo Calvino (Linda)
Lullaby, Chuck Palahniuk (Wayne)
A Gracious Plenty, Sherri Reynolds (Missy)
The God of Animals, Aryn Kyle (Sunni)
Human Stain, Phillip Roth (Stacey)
Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz (Jamila)
Polished Hoe, Austin Clarke (Jonathan)
Choke, Chuck Palahniuk (Rachelle)
A Supposedly Fun Thing, David Foster Wallace (Scott)
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein (Melissa (I) Moroney)
Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury (Christine)
Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery (Linda)
Egalia’s Daughters, Gerd Brantenberg (Nesha)
Lucky One, Nicholas Sparks (Sunni)
Cane River, Lalita Tademy (Angela)
Say You Are One of Them, Uwem Akpan (Phyllis)
Unburnable, Marie-Elena John (Mia)
Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson(Calli)

Updated March 5, 2010

Also-Ran Reading List

Those books that were proffered for our consideration and were passed over in favor of other books.

Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison (Jasmine)- winner Namesake
Autograph Man, Zadie Smith (Asha)-winner Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Ordinary Wolves, Seth Kantner (Christine) - winner Roaches
Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (Christine) - winner Roaches
My Name is Red, Orhan Pamuk (Liz) - winner Atonement
Middlesex, Jeffery Eugenides (Liz)- winner Atonement
Memoirs of a Survivor, Doris Lessing (Chris) - winner Lot 49
World of Vikram Lall, M.G. Vassaaji (Chris) - winner Lot 49
Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut (Linda) - winner Fierce Invalids
Snow Crash, Neil Stephenson (Linda) - winner Fierce Invalids
Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (Scott) - winner Fountainhead
Deception, Denise Mina (Scott) - winner Fountainhead
Disgrace, J.M. Coetze (Scott) - winner Fountainhead
Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (Scott) - winner Fountainhead
Feddy and Fredericka, Mark Helprin (Sunni) - winner Name of the Rose
Witching Hour, Anne Rice (Christine) - winner Name of the Rose
Sandstorm, James Rollins (Rachel)- winner Name of the Rose
Club Duma, Arturo Perez-Reverte (Linda) - winner Name of the Rose
Straight Man, Richard Russo (Chris)- winner Name of the Rose
Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (Rachel) - winner Voyage
Unless, Carol Shields (Rachel) - winner Voyage
On Secret Service, John Jakes (Sunni) - winner Running with Scissors
First Deadly Sin, Lawrence Sanders (Sunni) - winner Running with Scissors
In the time of Butterflies, Julia Alvarez (Christine) - winner Kite Runner
Master Butcher’s Singing Club, Louise Erdrich (Liz) - winner Seven Types of Ambiguity
Veronica, Mary Gaitskill (Liz) - winner Seven Types of Ambiguity
Saving Fish from Drowning, Amy Tan (Hera) - winner Girl Who Played Go
All the Names, Jose Saramago (Linda) - winner Girl Who Played Go
Disgrace, J.M. Coetzee (Scott) - winner Girl Who Played Go
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison (Danica) - winner Disgrace
Jazz, Toni Morison (Danica) - winner Disgrace
Island of the Sequined Love Nun, Christopher Moore (Danica) - winner Disgrace
All the Names, Jose Saramago (Linda) - winner Kafka on the Shore
The Trial, Franz Kafka (Linda) - winner Kafka on the Shore
Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo (Linda) - winner When We Were Orphans
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky (Hera) - winner When We Were Orphans
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (Rachelle) - winner When We Were Orphans
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (Christine) - winner When We Were Orphans
The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom (Sunni) - winner Orphans
Point Counter Point by Aldous Huxley (Liz) - winner When We Were Orphans
Until I Find You, John Irving (Wayne) - winner All the Names
The March, E.L. Doctorow (Wayne) - winner All the Names
The Known World, Edward P. Jones (Wayne) - winner All the Names
Night, Elie Wiesel (Sunni) - winner Cloud Atlas
Cry the Beloved Country, Alan Paton (Sunni) - winner Cloud Atlas
Hand I Fan With, Tina Mcelroy Ansa (Jasmine) - winner I Lucifer
On Beauty, Zadie Smith (Rachelle)- winner Inheritance of Loss
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (Rachelle) - winner Inheritance of Loss
The Story of Lucy Gault, William Trevor (Rachelle) - winner Inheritance of Loss
Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Ehys (Melissa) - winner Double Bind
Then We Came to the End, Joshua Ferris (Melissa) - winner Double Bind
Saving Fish From Drowning, Amy Tan (Melissa) - winner Double Bind
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See (Melissa) - winner Double Bind
Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides (John) - winner Curious Incident
Baby Proof, Emily Griffin (John) - winner Curious Incident
Grendel, John Gardner (Christine) - winner Revolutionary Road
The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell (Christine) - winner Revolutionary Road
Then We Came to the End, Joshua Ferris (Hera) - winner Kavalier & Clay
Boomsday - Christopher Buckley (Hera) - winner Kavalier & Clay
Reservation Road - John Burnham Schwartz (Liz) - winner No Country
Divisadero - Michael Ondaatje (Liz) - winner No Country
Absurdistan, Gary Shteyngart (Matt) - winner Lamb
Brothers, Da Chen (Matt) - winner Lamb
Saturday, Ian McEwan(Scott) - winner Zen and the Art
Black Swan Green, David Mitchell (Scott) - winner Zen and the Art
The Emperor's Children, Claire Messud (Scott) - winner Zen and the Art
Pale Fire, Vladimir Nabokov (Linda) - winner If on a Winters Night
Only Revolutions, Mark Danieleqski (Linda) - winner If on a Winters Night
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley (Wayne) - winner Lullaby
Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy (Wayne) - winner Lullaby
The Space Between Us, Thrity Umrigar (Missy) - winner Gracious Plenty
Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Missy) - winner Gracious Plenty
1.19 Minutes, Jodi Picoult (Sunni) - winner God of Animals
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen (Sunni) - winner God of Animals
What is the What, Dave Eggers (Stacey) - winner Human Stain
Brother, I am Dying, Edwidge Danticat (Stacey) - winner Human Stain
Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Jamila) - winner Oscar Wao
Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Jamila) - winner Oscar Wao
Unburnable, Marie Elena John (Jonathan) - winner Polished Hoe
Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain (Jonathan) - winner Polished Hoe
The Road, Cormac McCarthy (Rachelle) - winner Choke
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini (Rachelle) - winner Choke
Saturday, Ian McEwan (Scott) - winner A Supposedly Fun Thing
Black Swan Green, David Mitchell (Scott) - winner A Supposedly Fun Thing
1984, George Orwell (Scott) - winner A Supposedly Fun Thing
American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis (Melissa I) - winner Moon is a Harsh Mistress
My Name is Red, Orhan Pamuk (Melissa I) - winner Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Hyperion, Dan Simmons (Christine) - winner Martian Chronicles
Venus on the Half Shell, Phillip Jose Farmer (Christine) - winner Martian Chronicles
Stolen Child, Keith Donohue (Linda) - winner Elegance of the Hedgehog
Book of Lost Things, John Connolly (Linda) - winner Elegance of the Hedgehog
Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel (Nesha) - winner Egalia’s Daughters
Pawn of Prophecy, David Eddings (Nesha) - winner Egalia’s Daughters
My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Picoult (Sunni) - winner Lucky One
Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, Connie Godwin (Sunni) - winner Lucky One
War at Home, Kris Nelscott(Angela) - winner Cane River
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison(Angela) - winner Cane River
Mister Pip, Lloyd Jones (Phyllis) -winner Say You Are One of Them
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro (Phyllis - winner Say You Are One of Them
Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson (Mia) - winner Unburnable
Autobiography of My Mother (Mia) - winner Unburnable
Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (Calli) - winner Snow Falling
Learning Joy from Dogs with Collars, Lauralee Summer(Calli) - winner Snow Falling

Last Updated March 5, 2010