You might recall this post, where I asked your opinion on which books to pitch at my book club’s yearly selection meeting. The book that I most wanted to read, was also the book that I feared would get overlooked because of its content, its overly depressing nature… the fact that it’s about yet another school shooting. Well, I was right. It didn’t go over well. There were some who wanted to read it, but when it came down to it, We Need to Talk About Kevin was voted out. I think I stared off in space in disbelief.  Oh, that was the wine.

My second pitch was The Sense of an Ending, but another member pitched it right before me. That left me with Lamb, which would have been a fabulous choice for discussion, but as soon as I mentioned that it involved an older man and a young girl, I saw the eyes looks elsewhere. Good lord! I just about lost it. Not because I was mad. Certainly not, but because it seems as if anything somewhat controversial gets shot down.

In my head, I was dying. I had about five other books in front of me so in a last ditch effort to get a book chosen, I pitched Norwegian Wood and it made it in. Now THAT surprised me. I haven’t read NW myself but if it’s like Murakami’s other books these folks are in for a wild ride. Plus, it’s sexually charged. Well, that’s what folks tell me.

We picked twelve books but we had books for this year already chosen so there is some overlap into 2013. Here is the list:

2012 Book Club Reading List

Jan – The Lost City of Z by David Grann [review] (chosen last year)

Feb – The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee (chosen last year)

Mar – The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds (my pick from last year)

Apr – The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan

May – The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi Durrow

Jun – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (my 4th time reading it)

Jul – The Moon and Sixpence by Somerset Maugham

Aug – Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Sep – The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

Oct – The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Nov – The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

Dec – The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

2013 Book Club Reading List (to be continued)

Jan – Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Feb – The Submission by Amy Waldman

Mar – Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) by George Orwell (my 4th time reading it)

At first, I felt so-so about the list. I went home and tried to decipher my chicken scratch (apparently, the chicken was on crack) and it just looked okay to me. Now that I have the official list, I am liking it more. It’s varied and balanced from what I can tell and should, for the most part, generate plenty of discussion.

Now, if I could just pull myself out of the reading rut I’ve found myself in, I’d be thrilled to pieces!

Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

As much as I wanted to keep going with this one, I couldn’t force myself to finish it. It was long listed for the 2011 Man Booker Prize and it started off great and included everything that a girl could ask for in a book, but around page 100 it began to lose me, and by page 200, I fell out of love with it.

Reading it was like a great first date, with the second date being only ho-hum.  I took a brief survey of readers on Facebook and then checked out Goodreads and the consensus was to put it aside. I may pick it up again if I hear one of you raving about it, but for now, it has been placed in DNF (did not finish) status.

My apologies to Hollinghurst. You had me at “Hello” but lost me when my fave character no longer appeared in flesh and blood.

Today, there is no rain in sight. That’s okay though, I still have a roast cooking away in the crock pot and I might throw a gluten-free lasagna together for later this week. I just love to cook on Sunday. I am still reading The Stranger’s Child. It’s slow going for me. It started off great but then took a very weird turn. I felt as if I missed a huge plot point so I reread several pages and I still don’t understand what is going on. I am about halfway through but it might be a DNF for me as I have a lot of other books to get to and this one is holding me back.

Remember my post about the new, snazzy rec center that they built at the university where I work? And how they wanted to charge staff a ridiculous amount of money ($163 per academic term)? Well, I went to the test run last Friday and because I was a grad and technically enrolled as a student, I got a discount of 60% off. Of course, I signed-up on the spot and then worked out for the first time in I don’t know how long. The foot injury which I never even mentioned here and all my auto-immune stuff kept me from working out, but now I am back. And sore. And limping around, but it feels good. My membership begins on Jan. 27th because that is when the Spring semester begins. Stay tuned for some humorous posts because I will be working out at 6am (before work) and I expect my body to rebel in a big way.

One more update regarding my book club. My suggestion of We Need to Talk about Kevin got shot down in a big way. I was sort of saddened by it, but not surprised. “Depressing” does not go over well with the group, but I felt it would be a really good discussion book. However, when someone else pitched my 2nd choice I threw in Norwegian Wood (which I really did not expect them to choose) and it ended up getting chosen. I will post the entire list here soon.

Right now, I am about to enjoy my second cup of coffee for the morning. Later, rehearsal for The Boy and then I must run out to buy more coffee because we are totally out. Happy Sunday to you!

The Short of It:

A brutally honest look at a marriage in crisis.

The Rest of It:

In all my years as a reader, I’ve never read an O’Nan novel. Boy, have I been missing out.

Art and Marion Fowler ditch their soon-to-be foreclosed home for Niagara Falls, hoping to recoup enough money to save their home and their marriage.  The odds are against them, in more ways than one but as they rent the “bridal” suite for one last Valentine’s hurrah, one remains hopeful where the other has totally and utterly given up hope.

From the very first page, it’s clear that Marion is going along with Art’s plan as a way to humor him, or perhaps…she feels obligated to give it one last shot just so she can say that she tried everything in her power to make it work.  Regardless, what she is is a broken woman at the end of her rope, hoping to close this chapter so she can move on to the next stage of her life. She’s not entirely convinced that gambling can save them, but she gives it a go for Art’s sake.

Art however, is the opposite. Inside, he knows that the marriage is coming to a close but he’s not ready to throw in the towel. Not quite yet. He’s optimistic to a fault but somehow, you can’t hold that against him. Jobless and wanting nothing more than to provide for his family, he sees this trip as a solution to their problems. Additionally, he has decided to ask Marion to marry him all over again. To start fresh, even if they can never go back to the life they knew so well.

Since the odds of recouping what they need to save the house are slim to none, they continue to squander money by way of their maxed-out credit card, living it up until they are basically told that they no longer can.  Fine dinners, champagne and visiting all of the tourist traps that looked much more appealing the first time around. It’s heartbreaking, really.

But as sad and heartbreaking as so much of it was, I adored it. This story is all about second chances and when O’Nan goes into the heads of these characters, he must come out exhausted because these characters are complex characters with real worries and pressures. Ink on paper one second, living and breathing creatures the next. Amazing.

I can’t compare this book to his others since this was my first experience with O’Nan, but if the character development in his other books is anything like it was here, then I will be reading more of his books in the near future.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher via Net Galley.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

*I have been known to rearrange books on a shelf to more prominently display a hidden gem. You know how books sometimes face out at the bookstore? Well, sometimes I choose which ones should face out. I do this with all books but probably do it a little bit more with children’s books or Young Adult. YA, because I tend to always see the same books showcased. Come on, mix it up a little!

*I have also been known to move a classic to the bestseller’s table, just to remind folks that there are other books besides the latest Josh Grisham, although I have nothing against John. I know this might be slightly irritating to those in retail but I worked retail for years and years so I get why you might be irritated, I just can’t help myself. I also straighten stacks and alphabetize books that need it so I figure it all evens itself out in the end.

*I will pretty much contort my body any which way to see what a person is reading. This is harder to do with eReaders, but not impossible. Just takes a bit more effort on my part. I can tell that they notice me sometimes and they don’t seem to mind, but then why not just put the book down and tell me what you are reading? Would be so much easier for everyone.

*The books on my shelf are in the order in which I plan to read them. This helps me keep a visual of what’s coming up. Sure, I add stuff to it all the time but I always consider the order first and then position the title accordingly.

*If I pack an actual book in my bag, then I wrap it in a large zip lock bag to keep it from getting bent or messed up in some way. This did not save my copy of The Art of Fielding (The Girl’s water bottle found it in my car) but for the most part, it keeps books in pretty good shape.

These aren’t weird, right? What do you do that could be considered a bit weird by non-readers?