Book Group Voting Part 2

Remember that list I posted last week with possible 2013 titles for my library book club? Well, it is been beyond butchered. I took out several titles due to page length. I also started taking submission from the members so I removed titles so I could have room for theirs. I wanted 24 books on the list, since we will be selecting 12. I figured 24 was a good number because I could fit 24 books on one page, but I might have to make the font smaller because I am thinking of adding Agnes and the Hitman or Getting Rid of Bradley  by Jennifer Crusie. I have heard wonderful things about these books.

I wish this was as easy as adding any book I heard was really good, but sadly I have worked hours on this list. Why? I had to think about what my book club liked. Some of the members have been in this group for 6 or seven years. I know I can't cater to a few particular members, but for the most part, I have noticed that my group loves mysteries. Loves them. And since we are set in the South, they love southern mysteries or mysteries by southern writers. But if you give them too many, they start complaining about reading the same thing. Double edged sword. So the last list has been revised several several several times. I am not even sure this will be the final list. I have tried to add some mysteries, but I also added a little fluff in there. For the last 3 month, we have been in a reading slump and though our current Sept. read is going over well, I intend to pay more attention to the order I assign the books. My goal is to rotate from month to month with either a heavy read to maybe something a little more fun. No more slumps!

From this list I am going to let them pick 7. From there I will take the top 12 and start to work. Since I am the moderator, I do have some pull. I am not saying that I will full out rig the voting, but executive decisions must be made. I would like for there to be at least 3 nonfiction picks and one young adult pick. I know for a fact there one title will automatically be a pick because there is a movie that can be shown as a corresponding program. We did an author visit last year, which definitely had its pros and cons. Some loved meeting the author because they got to ask additional questions, but if the author is present then it is difficult to honestly critique the work.

Anyways, here is the list. Our next meeting is on Sept. 11th and I hope to have everything finalized for them to vote. By the Oct. meeting I will have everything selected, bookmarks and flyers made, along with extra copies of the titles ordered (including LP and audio), plus meet with the Adult Dept. Head about other programs she might like to pair with the readings (ie movie showings, author talks, lectures, etc. )

Fiction:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

Defending Jacob by William Landay

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Home by Toni Morrison

The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips (local author)

The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Nonfiction:

Muddy Boots and Red Socks by Malcolm W. Browne 

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Quest for Justice by Richard S. Jaffe (Local Author) 

The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma

It Worked For Me by Colin Powell 

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell