DIS Book Club, 1st Selection: Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

[legs22]

Hi!
Single mom with dd7.
Add me to the list please
I would have a lot more time to read if I would stay off the computer!

 

[msdznyduck]

Started mine yesterday, but have only managed to read 20 pages. I will sit down tonight and make myself sit long enough to read.......that can be hard sometimes with much to do.
Anyways......
My name is Elaine and I live in New Jersey. I have 2 children at home, DD is 14 and DS will be 16 next week. I also have an older DS from a first marriage that is 31 and married, living in Florida.(lucky him). No grandchildren yet, but am hoping.
I work full time as a secretary in a hospital, and have been there for almost 33 years. I have a great DH, and we have been happily married for 19 yrs in Oct. We are thinking of planning our first Cruise (hopefully Disney) for our 20th next year. I love to read, but sometimes can't find the time to sit and lose myself in a book. But the children are at their grandmothers for a few days, so now's my chance.

 

[CourtasanSatine]

I'm at page 30 right now to get a bit ahead

I'm Wanda and I turn 25 on the 27th.I am in college and will be going back in Januray of all goes to plan.I will have been with my DBF for 2 years at the end of the month.I work part time at a video store so when my turn comes be ready for books that became films

 

[snoopy]

O.K., here is my selections for the next book -- will give us plenty of time to get the book from the library, for those of us who prefer not to have to buy books:

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Jane Fowler
Six Californians join to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they meet, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. With her finely sighted eye for the frailties of human behavior and her finely tuned ear for the absurdities of social intercourse, Fowler has never been wittier nor her characters more appealing. The result is a delicious dissection of modern relationships.

Crossing California: A Novel by Adam Langer
Poignant, ambitious, and tremendously fun, Crossing California is the fiction discovery of the season-a novel about two generations of family and friendship in Chicago from November 1979 through January 1981.

In 1979 California Avenue, in Chicago's West Rogers Park neighborhood, separates the upper-middle-class Jewish families from the mostly middle-class Jewish residents on the east of the divide. This by turns funny and heartbreaking first novel tells the story of three families and their teenage children living on either side of California, following their loves, heartaches, and friendships during a memorable moment of American history. Langer's captivating portraits, his uncanny and extraordinarily vivid re-creation of a not-so-past time and place, and his pitch-perfect dialogue all make Crossing California certain to evoke memories and longing in its readers-as well as laughter and anxiety. Whether viewed as an American Graffiti for the seventies, The (Jewish) Corrections, a Chicagoan Manhattan, or early Philip Roth for a later generation, Crossing California is an unforgettable, and thoroughly enjoyable, contribution to contemporary fiction.

The Book of Ralph: A Fiction by John McNalley
Following a collection of short stories (Troublemakers), this enjoyable first novel is a nostalgic trip back to late 1970s suburban Chicago and the foibles of eighth-grader Hank and his twice left-back delinquent pal, Ralph. The novel unfolds in a series of comic episodes, chief among them the boys' Halloween adventure with Ralph's ex-con cousin, Norm, and Norm's attempt to unload a trunk of stolen Tootsie Rolls; a hilarious afternoon spent wearing Big Bird and Snuffleupagus costumes to promote the opening of a car dealership; Hank's father's effort to turn the family house upside down and win the local Christmas decoration contest; and Hank's obsession with a potential new CB for his mom's Maverick. Particularly memorable is Hank's job at South Side Records, where he tries out a variety of vintage-era vinyl, from Kiss to the Rocky soundtrack, then quits in disgust at the sleazy store owner's corner-cutting. The novel is sprinkled with other '70s cultural artifacts, too: Evel Knievel, the rock band Styx and Star Wars cards. The tone is predominantly light, but the seriousness of Hank's parents' constant smoking, bickering and their inevitable breakup is subtly conveyed, and McNally nicely captures Hank's pubescent angst, naivete and insecurity. The last section is a little over the top, with rudderless, 35-year-old accountant Hank returning to Chicago after many years and, much to his surprise, falling in with Ralph again and working for Ralph's cousins in the crime scene clean-up business. The two get caught up in an unlikely murder scenario and, as Hank discovers, it is possible to go home again. This lively novel will appeal to fans of Rich Cohen's Lake Effect or even Jean Shepherd's wistful fiction.

--------------------------------------------

Please cast your vote. I'll let this go until after the weekend and pick which one got the most votes.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I vote for The Jane Austen Book Club.

 

[snoopy]

Me too, thats why I put it first.

Thanks for your vote Jenn.

 

[cheyita]

I vote for either of the second two, first off because we are currently reading one book about a book club of sorts; and secondly because I grew up in Chicago and both of those novels are set in Chicago!

 

[snoopy]

Can you pick one or the other, Karen, so it will be easier to tabulate final results?

I plan on reading all 3 of these books somewhere down the line so I'm happy with everyone's choices!

 

[Tinkerbelle739]

Jane Austin Bookclub gets my vote. I will have to pick up this months this weekend.

 

[cheyita]

OK - The Book of Ralph as my first choice.

Like you said, though, I'd enjoy any of the books.

 

[Madi100]

I choose the Jane Austen book club. I think it sounds like my kind of book. Plus, I really like her books.

 

[clhcpaca]

I vote for the Jane Austen Book Club

Cindy

 

[cheyita]

Twice now I'm in the minority here. Oh well, I will enjoy whatever is chosen.

 

[snoopy]

Karen, I like the Book of Ralph too, and you never know, it may get a lot more votes before the weekend is over.

 

[snoopy]

 

[legs22]

I don't think this is going to work for me with Lolita. It's Aug. 6 and I should be on page 55 but I don't have the book yet. The ones at the library are checked out (all branches) and I don't want to spend the money to buy the book

I vote for Jane Austen for the next book. I could request from the library if they have it.

 

[LittleMissMickey]

Don't worry if you aren't totally there yet with Lolita! I am not yet, either! I'm planning on working on it more today, since I only have a few pages to go...

I vote for:
1. The Book of Ralph
2. The Jane Austen Book Club

I think RALPH sounds so funny! The both sound really good, though. Great choices, Judi!

As for the discussion thread, I will start that now, then post a link on this one... I have never done this before, so here goes nothing!

Ashley

 

[LittleMissMickey]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=6171325#post6171325

Talk about it there!

Ashley

 

[gottaluvPluto]

I vote for The Book of Ralph.

 

[Vivig]

Count me in for The Book of Ralph