Ship of Fools: Ship of Fools Book Group

Thread: Ship of Fools Book Group - 2016 Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

A new year a new thread.
The current programme for the year is as follows:

January - Dorothy L. Sayers The Nine Tailors led by Brenda Clough
February - Anne Tyler A Spool of Blue Thread led by Sarasa
March - Susan Cooper - The Dark is Rising led by TreeBee
April - R.J. Palacio Wonder led by Curiosity Killed
May - Marilynne Robinson Home led by Fineline

Brenda Clough will be opening a thread about January's book shortly, but in the meantime feel free to contribute to the thread about December's Book The Box of Delights..

Any suggestions for other books to read this year welcome. I've recently read Nora Webster by Colm Toibin and was seriously impressed. Anyone else interested?

Posted by Tree Bee (# 4033) on :

Nora Webster looks interesting from that review.
I've only read The Testament of Mary by him, and have managed to miss the showings of Brooklyn locally.

Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :

As we tend to do mostly fiction works, here's a selection of books in that genre that are in my "to read" pile for this year:

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Code of the Woosters - PG Wodehouse
The Dispossessed - Ursula Le Guin
Quarantine - Jim Crace
Our Man in Havana - Graham Greene

Any of those pique anyone else's interest?

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

I'd love to read The Kite Runner - again if it were chosen.

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :

I've read The Kite Runner and although I am glad I read it, it wasn't the easiest of reads emotionally and I'm not sure I want to reread it. However, I have A Thousand Splendid Suns on my to read pile and would like encouragement to read that one.

The Code of the Woosters is good silly fun and I'd happily reread that one as I would Our Man in Havana as it's years since I read any Greene, but I devoured everything I found when I discovered him. (I'd also like to reread Travels with my Aunt)

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

I've just checked the availablity of the books suggested by Sipech, Curiosity Killed and me. The only one that people might have problems obtaining is Nora Webster which as far as I could work out wasn't on Amazon US.
Personally I have no desire to read either The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns, but if everyone else is interested I'm happy to add one of those to the list. I was wondering about The Code of the Woosters as an August read - ideal holdiay reading for those of us on holiday then.

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :

I have Nora Webster. I wandered into Waterstones to see if I could find Nine Tailors and Nora Webster was part of one of the table displays. I came out with both and a couple of other books.

Posted by Trudy Scrumptious (# 5647) on :

Oh, I'd really like an excuse to read Nora Webster. I have a sort of love-hate relationship with Colm Toibin so the extra motivation will be useful.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

I know whay you mean about Colm Toibin Trudy Scrumptious. I only read Nora Webster because it was on my Kindle (I share it with other family members and my Mother in Law had brought it as they discussed it at her book group) and I'd run out of other things to read. It took me three goes to get into it as it appeared to start in the middle of the story. As several people have expressed an interest I've put it down for June. Any more opinions about July and the rest of the year?

January - Dorothy L. Sayers The Nine Tailors led by Brenda Clough
February - Anne Tyler A Spool of Blue Thread led by Sarasa
March - Susan Cooper - The Dark is Rising led by TreeBee
April - R.J. Palacio Wonder led by Curiosity Killed
May - Marilynne Robinson Home led by Fineline
June - Com Toibin Nora Webster led by Sarasa (unless someone else fancies leading?
July?????
August - P.G Wodehouse The Code of the Woosters?? led by ??

Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :

Thank you for this book club...it will help me read a bit more widely. I never know where to start with new authors.

Posted by Tree Bee (# 4033) on :

The vigorous discussion of the Nine Tailors is so engrossing and intelligent that I haven't ventured my own lame ,"It was very good, I enjoyed it".
Looking forward to the Anne Tyler.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Agree TreeBee, The Nine Tailors discussion is one the best Book Club discussion I can remember.
Off to start the Feb thread.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Just bumping this up before it falls down the plug-hole.
A reminder of what's coming up:

Just Started - Anne Tyler A Spool of Blue Thread led by Sarasa
March - Susan Cooper - The Dark is Rising led by TreeBee
April - R.J. Palacio Wonder led by Curiosity Killed
May - Marilynne Robinson Home led by Fineline
June - Com Toibin Nora Webster led by Sarasa (unless someone else fancies leading?)
July?????
August - P.G Wodehouse The Code of the Woosters?? led by ??

Any suggestions for July and the rest of the year from September. Also anyone fancy leading The Code of The Woosters ?

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

oops - wrong board!

[ 20. February 2016, 10:15: Message edited by: L'organist ]

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

How about some SF? Memory by Lois McMasters Bujold is superb.

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :

That would be lovely.

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

Although this is one of the middle volumes in a very long SF series (something like 15, 17 novels) about Miles Vorkosigan, all of Bujold's novels are carefully written so that you can hop in at any point. Memory is particularly suitable because it is a hinge work. From this book you can look back, to the earlier space-opera Miles adventures, or forward to the more mature Miles with his adult concerns.

Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on :

I would love to discuss Memory. Bujold is my favorite living author.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Memory sounds good with me. An author I don't know and a genre that the Book Group hasn't tackled recently. Would you be OK to lead this in July, Brenda Clough?

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

Sounds good to me.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Thanks Brenda Clough.

Updated programme:
Discussing now - Anne Tyler A Spool of Blue Thread led by Sarasa
March - Susan Cooper - The Dark is Rising led by TreeBee
April - R.J. Palacio Wonder led by Curiosity Killed
May - Marilynne Robinson Home led by Fineline
June - Com Toibin Nora Webster led by Sarasa (unless someone else fancies leading?)
July memory by Lois McMaster Bujold led by Brenda Clough
August - P.G Wodehouse The Code of the Woosters?? led by ??

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Just bumping this up so it doesn't disappear altogether. Keep those suggestions coming!

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

I've just read The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge. There is lot in the book the I think worth discussing, but as it is yet another book for young adults and we've had a lot of those lately I'm wondering if people would be interested.

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

I am just finishing Private Lives by Phyllis Rose -- an analysis of several Victorian married (or more or less married) couples. Solid gold.

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :

I went to see Howard Jacobson discussing his latest book last night (and came away with a signed copy). It's called Shylock is My Name, which is a retake on Merchant of Venice and sounds amazing.

It's one of a series of Hogarth Shakespeares, no doubt inspired by the 400th anniversary this year, and the other authors include Margaret Atwood, Julian Barnes, Jeanette Winterson, Anne Tyler and Jo Nesbo, plus others. Not all these books are published yet.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Shylock is My Name sounds interesting, shall I pencil it in for later in the year? I guess Curiosity Killed will be a bit busy in September, so October or November, assuming CK is happy to lead it.
Reminder of the programme so far for the year:

May - Home by Marilynne Robinson led by Fineline
June -Nora Webster by Colm Toibin led by Sarasa
July - Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold led by Brenda Clough
August - The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse. Any takers to lead this?

[ 28. April 2016, 20:59: Message edited by: Sarasa ]

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :

I plan to be less busy - I will see what I can do.

(I've nearly finished A Spool of Blue Thread tonight as I ended up sitting outside a meeting waiting to hand over coursework and make sure it didn't go missing. I didn't have the work resources I needed to get on with anything I needed to do, so I actually stopped for a while.)

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Just bumping this up. I'm thinking suggesting The Lie Tree for September. I know it's another book for young people, but I think its appeal is wider than just another YA novel. I'm happy to lead that.
Curiosity Killed woudl you be OK leading Shylock is my Name in October?

The programme for May to August is:

May - Home by Marilynne Robinson, currently being led by Fienline
June -Nora Webster by Colm Toibin led by Sarasa
July - Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold led by Brenda Clough
August - The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse. Still looking for someone to lead this.

Keep those suggestions coming.

Posted by Fineline (# 12143) on :

The Lie Tree sounds interesting. I'd be interested to read it.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Programme for the next few months. Any queries, suggestions, objections, please post them up.

The programme for June to October is:

June -Nora Webster by Colm Toibin led by Sarasa (discussion has just started here)
July - Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold led by Brenda Clough
August - The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse. Still looking for someone to lead this.
September - The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge, led by Sarasa
October - Shylock is my Name by Howard Jacobson. Led by Curiosity Killed if that's OK?

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

*Bump* before this discussion falls into a blackhole.
The August book discussion, The Code of the Woosters is now open. I'm leading it at present, but if anyone would like to take over please feel free to gently nudge me out of the way.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Bumping this up again ahead of opening the discussion on September's book The Lie Tree tomorrow.
Any more suggestions for November and December?

Posted by Marama (# 330) on :

My daughter has just given me Geraldine Brooks' A Secret Chord' as a birthday present, and so far I'm finding it very interesting. It's a retelling of the story of King David, and raises a lot of questions about the way we (Jew or Christian) might regard the Hebrew scriptures.

Would this be a good choice for November?

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

Gosh, I want to read that. I read her March and enjoyed it immensely. Alas, I am reading almost nothing for pleasure this year due to professional pressures. (I did contrive to sneak in Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson this month.)

Posted by Trudy Scrumptious (# 5647) on :

I read The Secret Chord awhile back. I would definitely be up for discussing it.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Right - suggested reading for the rest of the year

September - The Lie Tree led by Sarasa (thread now open)
October - Shylock is my name by Howard Jacobson led by Curiosity Killed(?)
November - A Secret Chord led by Marama(?)
December - Something Christmas related - any ideas??????

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

I'm sure you've done Dickens for Xmas before?

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

Yes, we did A Christmas Carol last year.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

I think A Christmas Carol was a couple of years ago, I remember being surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Last year was The Box of Delights, which to my mind was a right disappointment.
Anyway I was wondering, how about another children's classic, with a bit of a Christmas/winter theme, The Wind in the Willows or The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe perhaps?

Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :

I'd like to propose 'All Seated on the Ground' by Connie Willis. It's a novella, so it's quite a quick read. There's a lot about Christmas music in it and one of the main characters is a choirmaster.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Jane R - The Connie Willis sounds interesting. She's a friend's favourite author but I didn't get into the one book of hers I tried, so another go would be good. Would you be able to lead the discussion?

Posted by Trudy Scrumptious (# 5647) on :

I'll read anything by Connie Willis, and I haven't read that one, so I'd be in for that as a Christmas read!

Posted by Marama (# 330) on :

I'm OK to lead 'The Secret Chord' in November.

The Connie Willis for December sounds interesting but I'm not sure how easily available it is outside USA. I can't find 'All Seated on the Ground' in my usual go-to places. Might it have another title outside USA?

Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :

I could lead the December discussion, yes.

As it's a novella it tends to be included in collections of Connie Willis's short stories. I bought it as part of 'Time is the Fire: the best of Connie Willis', available in the SF Masterworks series. It doesn't seem to be available separately in the UK, but the Kindle edition of that collection is only £4.99; a lot cheaper than the prices Amazon is quoting for the hardback edition of 'All seated on the ground' by itself.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Updated Programme:

September - The Lie Tree led by Sarasa (thread now open)
October - Shylock is my name by Howard Jacobson led by Curiosity Killed(?)
November - A Secret Chord led by Marama
December - 'All Seated on the Ground' by Connie Willis in the 'Time is the Fire' collection of short stories led by Jane R.

Thank you Marama and Jane R for leading discussions in November and December. That's this year' more or less sorted.

Posted by Marama (# 330) on :

Thank you Jane, I'll find it now.

Posted by Dafyd (# 5549) on :

Has anyone proposed Golden Hill by Francis Spufford for the group?
I enjoyed it and I'd like to talk about it.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Golden Hill sounds like fun. Would you liek to lead the discussion soemtime early in the new year Dafyd?

Posted by Dafyd (# 5549) on :

I'd be happy to.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Great Dafyd. I'll put you down for January, but let me know if you'd prefer sometime later in 2017.

The current programme is:
November - A Secret Chord led by Marama (opening shortly)
December - 'All Seated on the Ground' by Connie Willis in the 'Time is the Fire' collection of short stories led by Jane R.

2017
January - Golden Hill led by Dafyd.

Any more suggestions for next year?

Posted by Fineline (# 12143) on :

Hi Sarasa. I recently read a novel called 'The Rabbit Back Literary Society', by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, which I found an interesting read. It is kind of fantasy, surreal, and also deals with the themes of reading and writing fiction, and the dark elements of that. I'm not really sure how to describe it, but if it is something people are interested in reading, I would be happy to lead a discussion on it and write some discussion questions.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Fineline, The Rabbit Back Literary Society sounds like an interesting read. I for one am interested in the process of writting and the mix of genres in the book sounds intriguing. Shall I put you down to lead it in February next year?

Posted by Fineline (# 12143) on :

Yes, I can lead it in February.

Posted by Tubbs (# 440) on :

Given it's come up a few times, did anyone fancy reading Boneland, the third book in the Weirdstone series by Alan Garner.

It's very different to the other two books. (I'm not really selling this am I?!)

Tubbs

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

I don't much fancy re-reading it but I would be up for discussing it. I'd like to know what others make of it.

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

It was (so far as I know) never published in the US, but I cunningly acquired a copy, so I am in.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Tubbs, I read the first two books in that series years ago, so I'd be interested in reading the third. The Owl Service was one of my favourite books when I was a teenager, but I haven't really kept up with Garner as an author.

How about this for the start of the 2017 season:
January - 'Golden Hill' led by Dafyd
February - 'The Rabbit Back Literary Society' led by Fineline
March - 'Boneland' led by Tubbs

Keep those suggestions coming. I'll start a new thread for next year sometime in early December, but in the meantime we have:

November - 'A Secret Chord' led by Marama (Now open for business)
December 'All seated on the Ground' led by Jane R.

Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :

Oh gosh, December starts next week!

Of course, I knew that.

I'd like to suggest either 'After Atlas' by Emma Newman or 'Children of Time' by Adrian Tchaikovsky as our SF book for 2017. Both hard SF with some religious themes, both well-written (Children of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke earlier this year; After Atlas is only just out).

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Thanks for the suggestions, Jane R. I think I fancy 'Children of Time' more, I'm not very good with dark and bleak novels, which is what the review I read suggested 'After Atlas' was. What do others thin? We could, of course, do them both. We seemed to do a lot of Children's lit this year, so nothing against more than one book in the same genre during the year.

Posted by Tubbs (# 440) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Sarasa:
Tubbs, I read the first two books in that series years ago, so I'd be interested in reading the third. The Owl Service was one of my favourite books when I was a teenager, but I haven't really kept up with Garner as an author.

How about this for the start of the 2017 season:
January - 'Golden Hill' led by Dafyd
February - 'The Rabbit Back Literary Society' led by Fineline
March - 'Boneland' led by Tubbs

Keep those suggestions coming. I'll start a new thread for next year sometime in early December, but in the meantime we have:

November - 'A Secret Chord' led by Marama (Now open for business)
December 'All seated on the Ground' led by Jane R.

That should work. I'll lurk on an a few threads to get the idea of what I'm supposed to do.

Thank you for including me.

Tubbs

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Great Tubbs, glad you can do it. It's all pretty straightforward. Start a thread at the start of the month about the book discussion you are leading, and then post a few questions around about the 20th.

Having looked at the 'Comfort Reading' discussion I was wondering about adding one of those for next year. My personal favourite would probably be Anne of Green Gables, but I was wondering if a Georgette Heyer might be a good idea. Nice light romantic romp might be what we all need at the moment.
What do you all think?

Keep those suggestions coming!

Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :

If you do choose a Georgette Heyer, I would like to put in a bid for 'Cotillion'.

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

Excellent idea. My only advice for a Heyer novel is that it be one of her most typical -- not The Maqueraders or These Old shades for instance, excellent as those works are. It should be right there in the center of her power, a Regency romance, and not an outlier. (in the same spirit if we were reading Tolkien it would beHobbit or LOTR and not The Silmarillion. If not Cotillion then The Unknown Ajax or Sprig Muslin.

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :

Cotillion, definitely.

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

Super! I'm in.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Who fancies leading Cotillion - shall I put it down for April?

Jane R - which of the two sci-fi books you suggested do you think would make the best choice for the SOF's book group?

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

Goodness, I have a copy of After Atlas right here.

Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :

Gosh, I don't know which to pick! It's hard to give an idea of them without spoilers.

Both are thought-provoking and well-written. If you want a book with a more upbeat ending I'd go for 'Children of Time', but on the other hand 'After Atlas' has a murder mystery sub-plot which might appeal to fans of detective stories...

I could toss a coin, if nobody else has a strong opinion one way or the other?

Posted by Trudy Scrumptious (# 5647) on :

I'm not sure how readily and cheaply available it is as it's a relatively new release, but would anyone be interested in reading and discussing Emma Donoghue's The Wonder? It's set in an Irish village in the mid 19th-century (post-potato-famine) and, while fictional, deals with the apparently real and weird phenomenon of "fasting girls," young girls who appeared to live miraculously on little to no food. The main character is a skeptical English nurse brought in to watch the daughter of a devout, poor Irish family who claim the child hasn't eaten a bite in four months, and there's some wonderful clash of cultures and reflections on the nature of faith, doubt, and miracles.

If anyone's interested I'd be happy to lead out in it -- perhaps it will be easier and cheaper to get hold of if we wait till sometime later in the year?

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

JaneR - I'm thinking that I shouldn't be such a wimp about challenging books and suggest 'After Atlas'. Maybe for May?

Trudy Scrumptious - 'The Wonder' is out in paperback in the UK in May, not sure about the rest of the world, though it looks like it might already be out in the US. So maybe June or July?

[ 30. November 2016, 13:36: Message edited by: Sarasa ]

Posted by Trudy Scrumptious (# 5647) on :

Maybe it's already out in paperback here in Canada and I just haven't noticed! July would work well for me if people are interested.

Posted by keibat (# 5287) on :

Dear bookthread:
I only just came across this thread, having set up a link to the 'Today's active threads' button on the SoF threads über-homepage. (I wish there was an equivalent button on other forums that I visit!)

How does this work? Clearly you don't use the thread itself for the actual discussion...
And are new members welcome, or would that spoil the group dynamic? (This is a serious question.)

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Hi Keibat, everyone is welcome.
How it works is we use this thread (and the new one that will be starting shortly for 2017) to suggest books for us to read. Someone then offers to lead the discussion for the month. At the beginning of the month they start a thread named something like 'January Book Group Discussion - name of book' and then posts some questuins for people to discuss around about the 20th.

Feel free to suggest some titles or comment on the suggestions already made.

Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :

keibat, welcome. I have just opened a thread for the December discussion if you are interested in joining that one.

Sarasa, if you would like me to lead the discussion on 'After Atlas', May should be fine.

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

And surely someone wants to lead for Cotillion but if no one steps up I can do it.

Posted by Sarasa (# 12271) on :

Thank you Jane R and Brenda Clough. Our 2017 season is taking shape nicely.

January - 'Golden Hill' led by Dafyd
February - 'The Rabbit Back Literary Society' led by Fineline
March - 'Boneland' led by Tubbs
April- 'Cotillion' led by Brenda Clough (Is April OK?)
May - 'After Atlas' led by Jane R

I'll start a new thread for 2017 in the next day or two.

Posted by keibat (# 5287) on :

quote:
keibat, welcome. I have just opened a thread for the December discussion if you are interested in joining that one.

Thanks for the welcome. December in a clergy household is a bit too heavy to take on an extra reading assignment – I'll look out for January 2017!

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