If you visited me earlier in the week, you may have read this post where I expressed my anxiety anticipation over my book club’s yearly selection meeting. Well, we met at Border’s last night to select twelve books and let me tell you, it was hard to limit myself to two books. I came in with a stack of oh… 18 or so.
I’ve separated them into two groups.
Once the chosen books have been assigned to a month, I will post them under the Book Club tab.
The Chosen
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller
A Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell
A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japriscot
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Pearl of China by Anchee Min
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Lost City of Z by David Grann
*The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds
The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
*Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
*Pitched by me
The Recommended (not chosen)
A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
*Bitter in the Mouth by Monique Truong
Candide by Voltaire
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
Master and Man by Leo Tolstoy
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
*Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
The Photographer by Emannuel Guibert
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
*The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris
*We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
*Pitched by me
What do you think of the list? Sometimes it’s hard to choose for an entire year because you just don’t know what you’ll want to read several months down the line but we’ve been choosing this way for years. It seems to work for us.
Book Chatter 
Tina,
I loved reading Sarah’s Key last year. My Book Club is reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet which I also read last year and loved.
Other favorites last year were The Book Thief and Those Who Save Us.For some reason I kept picking books about World War 11. I’m checking out your list.
What a great selection of both chosen and non-chosen books!
My book group will be reading Cutting for Stone later this year as well, and I think that Room will make for an excellent discussion with your group.
WOW – you are in a serious book club! My Omaha group wouldn’t make it through this list.
I’m about to bail on Cutting for Stone but am trying hard to finish it (audio). I’m interested to read your review and hear about the discussion. It’s beautifully written just moves at a snails pace.
LOVE We need to talk about Kevin. I tried to get my book club to read this one too… no success
You know my thoughts re: Room
I have A Thousand Autumns on my list too…
I need to find a book club!
I’d sort of like to start an online book club too, but finding the time to do it in between the “in real life” club would be difficult. My IRL club meets the first thursday of each month but thursdays don’t really work for me anymore so it’s always tough for me to make the meeting. I think I made a bit more than half last year. I am hoping to make more this year. Our club has evolved a bit. We used to read lighter reads (never chick lit or mystery) but lighter. Now we tend to go for the heavier stuff.
You just can’t get away from ROOM, can you?
I know. We’ll have a lot to talk about though.
You’ve got a pretty good list, but I see some missed opportunities. The Lotus Eaters is really an amazing book.
I know. If the one member had pushed for that one I would have voted for it. She only mentioned it after it was all said and done though.
That’s quite a list – serious reads. Impressive! I’d love to read Wench – great suggestion by you. And too bad that WNNTAK didn’t make the cut – I love Lionel Shriver, and that book. I read A Very Long Engagement years ago. Kind of reminds me of Atonement. Good book club read.
Others have said it, but I am going to as well–you guys are a serious group! There are some really heavy books in that list. I laughed when I saw Room though–:)\
Thanks for sharing–I sure wish I had a irl book club to attend!
*smiles*
I laughed too…internally and then I cried, to myself. Ugh..
we pick a year ahead of time too…it just seems to work for us
i think i’d like your group…there is no way my group would select matterhorn or anything near that length!
The length of a book is often a deciding factor but if it’s a really good one that everyone wants to read, we’ll make sure it’s cushioned between two shorter reads. That way it’s more doable and not so overwhelming. Usually it takes us a bit more time to iron the list out but we didn’t have that many folks show up for the selection meeting this time around.
Hey … you got two picks chosen! That is great! And it seems that you have a fairly eclectic list … not all modern, not all classics.
Boy, way to go book club for being organized 😀 Even though you’ve already read Room, a book club discussion on it would be interesting. It’s hard to avoid that book–everyone wants to read it. I’m glad to see that your book club wants to read at least one classic (Dostoyevsky). Cutting For Stone is supposed to be very good, as is We Need to Talk About Kevin (maybe you’ll get to that one on your own? *hint hint* :D).
My book group did CUTTING FOR STONE last year and it went over very well, even though it is long. There are some other good ones selected. And some good ones not selected. None match up to ones my group is doing this year though.
What an interesting selection! Have heard of some, read a few but found some new and interesting books! Ah!, the TBR grows longer!!
Looks like you have some fantastic discussion books in store for your group. The only one from the “chosen” list that I have not heard of is: The Lost City of Z.
(I wish I was part of a group like this one).
Looks like a great list with a wide assortment of tastes!! Should be fun to read about 😀
That’s a very cool list, and it’s interesting that you have such a mix of author’s nationalities. After “A Very Long Engagement” you might like to see the movie, it’s lovely 🙂
Wow, you guys do read a wide variety of books and push yourselves. You’ve got some great ones coming up but so many great ones that didn’t make the cut. Always makes me wish that I was in two book clubs!
Looks great! We’re also reading Room (original I know) and we have already read Sarah’s Key in January (I wasn’t a fan but most of the club members liked it). I love the recommendation of We need to talk about Kevin, such a great book.
There are some really good books on both lists. I loved Unbroken and The Lost City of Z.
Both lists look great, with some on my TBR list too. I will bookmark your post, useful reference it is. Some books I’m waiting in line from our public library, but don’t think I can wait that long, might just go buy it. Like Room by Emma Donoghue, my place in line is 427 last time I checked.
You’re good. I should use the library more but I just cannot wait to read a book when I’ve made the decision to read it. That’s why the Kindle is a blessing AND a curse! I’ve spent so much money on impulse buys!
I think both lists are impressive. There are some books on the not chosen list that I’d prefer to read instead of a couple on the chocen list. I should say before not instead of because I’d like to read all of the books on both lists…but it just ain’t gonna happen!
Looking at these lists reminds of how great it is to belong to a book club. I might have to look into that.
Enjoy Ti!
great looking list! as for your suggestions, i’m actually listening to ‘we need to talk about kevin’ right now. i’m close to the end and can’t WAIT to see how it all ties together.