Pajiba

Some of my friends read Catch-22 in highschool and they all raved about it. I wanted to read it but I was stuck on Russian novels at the time so I forgot about it. I'd definately go for that. Also, The Jungle Book/The Graveyard Book sounds fun. I love me some Kipling.

@ Caitlin

Second that. I just finished The Hunger Games a few weeks ago. It was simple (teen fiction) but intense and supremely entertaining. The pace is consistent and all of the characters believable. Overall a great read. I'm going to get Catching Fire (#2) sometime this week.

I would go for Catch-22.

How are we going to decide on the next choices? Are we going to get a short-list to vote on?

@ ashlie

I know there are some Cannonball Readers who are active on Goodreads (Nicole, for one). If you are interested you should check out he Facebook group for cannonball read (which is not just for the people participating) and put something out there to get friended (or whatever) by Goodreads people.

In fact, everyone should check out the facebook group for cannonball read if you don't already.

I'll throw another penny in for The Graveyard Book. Really, anything by Neil Gaiman is treasure.

I nominate Terry Pratchett. Any Pratchett book is a great read; but Small Gods is one of his very best; or Lords and Ladies. Both of them are screamingly funny and also fodder for deep thought.

I wanna read Catch-22! I wanna read Catch-22!

I'd also be down with The Graveyard Book/The Jungle Book -- you can count me in for that, too.

As for other future reads, can we get some Chabon in the hizzy? Kavalier & Clay, anyone?

I'll vote for Girl With the Dragon Tattoo/ Millennium Trilogy. I read the first two, and I think they are excellent fodder for discussion.

I'm totally down with Catch-22 since it's on my nightstand, I'm about 75 pages in and it was to be my next Cannonball Read until Edith Wharton got her filthy judgmental claws into me.

Speaking of, can I throw out The Age of Innocence? It's one that a lot of us didn't read in high school, but probably should. That's also a selfish choice, as it is downloaded into my phone right now.

I would read The Jungle Book, since I very recently read The Graveyard Book.

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Comparisons to 2010 are fascinating and very discussion-worthy.

Something by Margaret Atwood besides The Handmaid's Tale (since most people had to read that at some point)? The Blind Assassin? Never read it, always meant to.

And you know if you say anything by Steinbeck or Hemingway, I will squee and wet my pants profusely.

Oh, ditto E.M. Forster, my dead gay author boyfriend.

I can second To Kill a Mockingbird. Haven't read it in over 10 years, AND it's actually the 'Spokane's Big Read' pick for this year (if we did it in March, it's a month late, but that's all right. the more excuses to revist, right?)

Speaking of Spokane, can I suggest The Zero or anything else by Jess Walter? I just read Citizen Vince, so I'd rather read something else, but he's great.

For people who hated the movie but might want a better book version: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. It's excellent, trust me. And there's the whole "sympathizing with a killer" that would be worth discussion.

And as long as it's not one of his 100000 page behemoths, I'm okay with David Foster Wallace.

I'd go for anything Neil Gaiman, I only discovered him in the last year or two and I've read many of his books but haven't made it to The Graveyard Book yet. Catch 22 is one that I've picked up twice and haven't finished, so giving me a deadline would probably help me finally get through that.

To Kill A Mockingbird is also a great suggestion (I have actually read that mswas) and as for female authors I second the Suzanne Collins Hunger Games books and I would suggest The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

One of my favorite classics is Lord of Flies and I'd also like to start reading any David Sedaris, I keep hearing how fantastic he is.

The only that has been mentioned that I would really like to avoid is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I really, really disliked that book. There was really only one interesting and/or likeable character (Lisbeth) and I really didn't enjoy the story. I wanted to, it had an interesting premise and setup but I just couldn't engage or connect with the story. Just my two cents.

Three other books to consider:

Saint Joan - Bernard Shaw
Being There - Jerzy Kosinski
My Antonia - Willa Cather

Even Stevens - After becoming the mother of two daughters, I found that my reading tastes changed. I'm not sure I can handle Lovely Bones.

Lolita was hard enough to get through.

I, too, am a lurker. Though I've been reading Pajiba since 2006, I don't recall having posted anything...ever. But, since Yossarian is specifically looking for female authors/books worthy of discussion, here are my suggestions:

The End of Alice by A.M. Holmes. Since you just read Lolita, this book would offer an interesting comparison. It is written by a woman from the first person perspective of a pedophile currently in prison for the muder and rape of his former underage paramour (the Lolita character), Alice. It is well written and as hard to put down as it is disturbing.

My second suggestion is Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. The story follows Oly, an albino dwarf, as she recounts her childhood with the parents who genetically engineered their offspring to be circus freaks. It's a truly crazy story that explores family dynamics and the limits of moral reprehensibility. It kind of asks the question, can one be held morally accountable for their actions if the world they live in is totally amoral?

I'm a fallen English major, so I have lots of other suggestions: The Ogre, Housekeeping, Time's Arrow, Disgrace, just to name a few. I did read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and was not too impressed. I know it's an international bestseller and all, but I thought the translation was wooder and that it's kind of a tarted-up thriller. Unless you're really into Swedish econimics, parts of it are impossbled to get through. Having said that, I couldn't put it down and want to read the sequel but it's not a book that stayed with me or about which I have any lingering questions.

Sayonara, Gangsters is an interesting book translated from Japanese. It's, um, very surreal and postmodern, but it totally had me hooked, and I admit I almost cried at the end.

The writings of Edogawa Rampo, one of Japan's foremost horror authors, are pretty awesome too. His pen name is taken from the Japanese pronunciation of Edgar Allan Poe's name, and I know that at least his book of short stories is published in English.

As for English-language books, you are never too old for the Prydain chronicles. Those books rock at any age, and are a pretty light read. Same goes for the Oz books, which are sadly underappreciated since the movie, which is based on the stage musical rather than the book, is a million times more well-known.

I'm also a big fan of Thomas Ligotti, again a horror author, but he's a little hard to find. The only book of his I've managed to snag is The Shadow at the Bottom of the World, but I loved it. He's very like Lovecraft, but not so pretentious and wordy.

I'll throw in Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. Got it as a christmas present and have only managed to get a few chapters in thus far. Not that it's not interesting, I just haven't had/made the time, and as mentioned by someone else, a deadline could help me get my ass in gear.

And I'll second the Margaret Atwood rec. I haven't read any of hers, but I would like to.

I'll do The Graveyard Book/Jungle Book... i love the idea of comparing books.

I'm not too crazy about writers that have been talked to death already, even if they are fantastic writers (that book by JSF, I know I love love love but I don't think there's that really much to explore anymore... unless if i'm just incredibly shallow?)

of course, my above sentence kinda disqualifies my enthusiasm for Lolita... but that's because I just didn't understand Lolita... so I wanted to know more about it.

I too would also like to avoid the Steig Larsson series, not because i've read it and judged it (don't know a thing about it) but because it's so newwwww and it'll be around in everyone's consciousness for ages and ages (new movie and all) that I feel that there will be another time to get people interested in it again.

I would actually read Ralph Ellison's Invisible man (same reason for Lolita... read the beginning and got it, read the end and went "huh"? and ended up not liking it.)

All that being said, I will definitely read Cavalier and Clay (because I just borrowed it... so this is a selfish choice on my part.)

one last thing: I would ABSOLUTELY love To Kill a Mocking Bird, but again, I'm not sure what can be said that hasn't already been said... I just love love love love love the book so much.

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon because it's definitely his most accessible book and it's fucking awesome.

Summerland by Michael Chabon because it's technically a kid's book but it is a wonderful story, remarkably sophisticated in its themes, and beautifully written. Plus, it helps develop a love of baseball.

Nine Stories by JD Salinger because he just died and we should all be bandwagoners, because it's got room for both discussion of one story or another and of the whole thing, and because it never fails to make me laugh while simultaneously crying.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M Pirsig because I'm incredibly curious to see how many of us absolutely love it and how many of us want to bitchslap me off a cliff for suggesting it.

Mostly, we should go with one of these choices because I really really really want to participate but I don't have time to read anything new (unless y'all want to discuss Aristotle's The Politics, which is currently taking up all of my time).

Hi Thunder Sac Triumph, I just completely cracked up at your comment. It was this that broke me:

I was periodically lambasted for the cruelty of "my" anglo-predecessors. *Being referred to as The White Devil wasn't funny, even in jest.

HAHAHAHAHHAHA sorry.....

For people who hated the movie but might want a better book version: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Fie! I loved that movie. Matt Damon was fucking AMAZING in that!

When I marry banana (which will come as a surprise to my gay boyfriend, but what of it?), it will be because we share a love of Sensation Novels. Wilkie Collins is among my favorites; but have you tried anything by Mary Elizabeth Braddon? I especially recommend Lady Audley's Secret. You start out, and you're all, "This...isn't much of a secret." And then it gets more and more fucked up until the devastating end of the novel.

1. Brothers Lionheart
2. Equal Rites
3. Haunted
4. Lemony Snicket's Series of unfortunate events- book series.

ooh my first Pajiba marriage proposal! (hugs self)...Mike B. I will certainly check that one out; I've never even heard of it!

Agree too with Mellignas that the Victorians in general are some great reads. I really love Elizabeth Gaskell.

@ Dene

It's funny now, but it wasn't then. For a long time I thought PSA's and modern white vs black racism in film and tv were some sort of irony.

Posted by: Katers at February 23, 2010 1:21 PM

There's way more than 2 movie versions, Katers. There's actually a whole list of them (I looked it up one time- I seem to recall there being like 17, many of which were French and not to be found here ). I've got three on DVD myself. LOVE.

I will second this suggestion (sorry - Dangerous Liaisons) as I own the book but haven't actually *read* it. (I own it because I was TOTALLY GOING to read it, but haven't gotten around to it yet.)

To be honest, I'd love to read Bram Stoker's Dracula again. It's another of those epistolary-types, which is inherently interesting (IMO), and it's told from different points of view (and different voices), which makes it more so. Plus, subtly, Mina kind of saves the day (though she's sure to let the men feel like they have). I totally get if it's one of those too-many-times-read/too cliché/too-dead-old-white-guy selections, though.

Jeez, I hope I get through Lolita before the weekend. I don't know if that's going to happen, though. Stupid college, with all the reading and writing! And family stuff!

How about a little of Pratchett & Gaiman combined,it is called Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agbes Butter, Witch.
Funniest book I have read in years also I enjoyed Rat Scabies and the Holy Grail, a wonderful book too.

I love the enthusiasm for Catch-22 but I would like to wait a few months before we get into that one. We can't do two of the greatest novels of the 20th century back-to-back. And then what, Ulysses in April?

The Graveyard Book / Jungle Book combo sounds like an early favorite for March.

Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo is getting mixed response. Maybe it is a better recommendation than a book club choice? I certainly think that is the case with David Sederis. @Even Stevens, you should start with Naked, but I don't see it being a good choice for the book club. You'll have to read it on your own.

Lots of love for the classics. The Age of Innocence? The Woman in White? It's been a while since I've read a good Victorian novel but I did have a big Thomas Hardy phase at one point.

I'll also put my support behind The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. It's one of those novels that I need a book club to push me into.

How about more contemporary stuff? Inherent Vice was a great suggestion. Is anyone else up for tackling Pynchon?

Keep them coming, guys. I'm listening. Further discussion may be held on the facebook page for Cannonball read once this scrolls away.

I'll cast my vote for To Kill a Mockingbird. I just bought it for my Cannonball Read. I'm pretty sure I read it years ago, but wanted to read it again. I'd do Catch-22 again too.

Another to consider-- The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. I've just ordered it for Mr Smith who is teaching a TIP course at Duke Univ. this summer. The students will be reading past and present (science) fiction then discussing how "the future" is imagined by the authors. It's gotten some good reviews and sounds like it might generate some good discussion amongst the Pajibans.

Even Stevens... I always loved Holidays on Ice, I think it's Sedaris' first book-- really short and "Season's Greetings to Our Family and Friends!!!" will make you a fan forever. I just reviewed When You Are Engulfed in Flames for Cannonball Read, just click on my name and it will take you to the review.

I wanted to suggest The Other Side of the Gate, a fantasy/adventure novel by Craig M Curtis

I love all the suggestions on this thread. I'm definitely most interested in reading, DFW-A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never do Again, anything by Margaret Atwood (I've never read her before), or To Kill A Mockingbird.

Even Stevens, I'd suggest starting with Me Talk Pretty One Day or Dress Your Family. Both have had me laughing out loud in airport terminals. I love Sedaris.

I love To Kill A Mockingbird. I have actually read Virgin Suicides and would love to discuss it with others. It's been a while since I've read it. The suggestions above are quite good and I look forward to joining it. I've never been able to get into Nabokov.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

Child geniuses are trained on a space station to be military geniuses in order to save mankind from the next attack by aliens. Ender Wiggin is the most promising. It's really really fucking good.

With people mentioning Wharton, can I also suggest Ethan Frome?

Also, I've been looking for even more excuses to go out and buy Kevin Sampsell's A Common Pornography.

@ ruthie:
I absolutely second the Safran Foer love. I suggest this book to anyone who will listen.
I'll also jump on the To Kill a Mockingbird wagon because it's just a great book.
As for other female authors, I would love to see some Ursula Le Guin on the list (maybe The Lathe of Heaven?).
And finally, in honour of Paheeba Day (a few days late), anything by Michael Ondaatje would be fantastic, but especially In the Skin of a Lion.

Re: Ender's Game... yes! a thousand times yes! Excellent book. I enjoyed the flip side to it, Ender's Shadow, it was cool to see Bean's point of view. An examiniation/comparison of them would be interesting.

And I do loves me some Good Omens. After reading The Road, I needed a good pick-me-up and broke out Good Omens again. A thoroughly intelligent, entertaining and well-written book.

If anyone is looking for an actual good book to recommend to the Twi-crowd, I'd toss in A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (I've only read the first one of the trilogy). Instead of simpering Bella, we get a strong female character in the form of Gemma, who gets sent to a boarding school in Victorian England... secret societies, mysterious powers, a girl fighting for her independence, all that fun and interesting stuff. I'd recommend it to a teen (or an adult) sooner than any of that Twilight/Vampire Diaries/Sookie Stackhouse crap.

I'd like to put Ian McEwan's Solar out there for a future month - it will be out in March.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
Child geniuses are trained on a space station to be military geniuses in order to save mankind from the next attack by aliens. Ender Wiggin is the most promising. It's really really fucking good.
Posted by: Mick J

I fully agree (and this review proves it)

Add me to the pushers of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Loved the integration of pictures into the story.

Ender's Game is one of my favorite scifi books of all time.
Did you know that in the late 90's Spielberg was attached to make Ender's Game? Apparently Card has all script approval and nixed the whole thing :(

Even if Card is a fascist, right-wing, woman hating Mormon, Ender's Game is still amazing and still holds up very well.

@ Meghan

Ursula K Le Guin, yes. I'd read anything of hers.

Re: Ender's Game/Orson Scott Card

I LOVE Orson Scott Card (well, as an author I love him, as a person, that's another story) and Ender's Game, but I would suggest The Worthing Saga. In my opinion, it's the best thing OSC has ever written. It's set in the future, when humans have invented a way to (very nearly) live forever and what that does to society and human nature and I'm terrible at descriptions, but trust me, it's great. Plus, Ender's Game is the expected OSC book to read, and who wants to do the expected?

A counter point to the Twilight crowd, Sunshine by Robin McKinley. The world it's set in feels real and McKinley's take on vampires is fascinating and again, I'm terrible at descriptions but it's a vampire book with real, honest to goodness good writing. Go figure.

Dorothy Snarker Thank you so much for mentioning Steinbeck. You're my new best friend.

HarperJay Thank you for mentioning Hemingway. I love you.

I'm going to throw this out there, because why not: Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. It's not sci-fi, though every bookstore and library I've ever seen sticks it right in with his other stuff, which is sci-fi. It's semi-autobiographical and set in the summer of 1928. It starts on the first day of summer and ends on the last, the point of view shifts from time to time (though that wouldn't be a challenge for most readers) and it is some of the finest prose I have ever read. There's a LOT to dig into in this one, and he wrote it 30 years before he became all hateful and cynical (you break my heart, Ray).

To Kill a Mockingbird is a damn fine book, but I've not only read it 100000 times, but I've taught it multiple times. So for selfish reasons, I can't back this one.

1) Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

(and this one is a challenge)

2) Special Topics in Calamity Physics by whassherface

Oh, Snuggiepants, I'm going to love you forever. I've been trying for years to get people to read Dandelion Wine, but most people have only ever read Fahrenheit 451 and are convinced that they know everything about Ray Bradbury and won't listen when I say, "Really, it's his worst book. Dandelion Wine is sweet and nostalgic and one chapter contains the best love story I've ever read."

Put me in the excel spread sheet column for Ender's Game, Yossarian! (you said spread sheets were involved...) I never read it, but heard loads of people rave about it, so I'd definitely give it a try.

I would propose anything by Kurt Vonnegut (have only read Sirens of Titan so far and even though I didn't completely get it, i still enjoyed it), and new stuff (for me) like that Victoria literature.

I would prefer not to go for (but I will still read it) extra new books or books that's really what-you-see-is-what-you-get in terms of writing (Examples: Jhumpa Lahiri - though she's fantastic; jsFoer - he's amazing, i bought his book for roommate for xmas; someone mentioned Audrey niffenTimeTravelersWife and meh...)

All that being said, i got what I wanted with the Lolita pick... so yea, I'd totally read whatever.

Oooh, some excellent recommendations. LOVE Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and I'd re-read it in a heartbeat (it's been long enough that I think it would feel fresh again).

I kind of hope we read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo soon because I just started it.

I'd also be tickled pink to read Forster or Gaiman (maybe it's weird to mention those in the same sentence).

Female authors: would love some Toni Morrison or Margaret Atwood.

Yesterday I read gp's review of The Mote in God's Eye by Niven and Pournelle. I'd read it before but decided I wanted to re-read it--awesome sci-fi book.

Uh oh, afraid my geek is showing now. Better tuck that in.

OoooOOOOoooooHHHHH! I LOOOOooooOOOoooOVED Dandelion Wine. My dad was a HUGE Bradbury fan, and I loved all the stories in Body Electric when I was a kid. Obvy, read 451 in HS, but I did love that also.

I'd totes try Ender's Game, though I do often have difficulty getting into some sci-fi/fantasy stuff. Also, haven't read any Margaret Atwood and would like to, and the same goes for Toni Morrison. AND I've started both East of Eden and The Historian and not finished them, and would really like to, as they were terrific.

So much good stuff here! And I'll never have enough time! You know, if it were me in that Twilight Zone episode, I wouldn't have broken my glasses. I was always mad at Burgess Meredith for being so careless.

Could I also suggest Tessa Hadley? I just started her Everything Will Be All Right and I'm enjoying it a lot, and I read an excerpt (I think) from her Accidents in the Home in the New Yorker and loved the pants off of it.

But then I'm a sucker for the North of England, so.

I second (third? quadruple?) "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood but would favour "American Gods" over "The Graveyard Book" when it comes to Neil Gaiman. Though "Good Omens" is also a great suggestion! Anything Vonnegut rocks. Anyone else up for "The Book Thief"?
AnnvB: Thanks for the Twilight Zone reference, that episode traumatized me so much as a book-gobbling only child that I always carry a spare pair of glasses with me. No lie.

I might agree with Yossarian's opinion that Larsson's Millennium trilogy might work better as a reading suggestion than book club material. I loved loved loved all 3 books, but there mightn't be that much under the surface.
I heartily support the Catch 22 love
Also Pynchon and would suggest Coupland's Generation X

@ bonnie: "Persuasion is one of her least read, but it's probably her richest and most adult work."

I'm partial to Mansfield Park -- recognizing how irritating Fanny Price is. I think, in some ways, Austen couldn't have written Persuasion without working out a lot of ideas about patience, longing, and acquiescing in MP.

The marriage at the end of Persuasion (spoiler alert to the six people who don't know Austen's schtick) is the only marriage that I think will last. I'm even including the Pride and Prejudice marriage.

@ astounded: "all of them would have lasted because divorce was inconceivable at that time."

Touche.

However, what if we're not talking divorce, but a little Lady Audley action?

(I am not a life-long Elizabeth/Darcy fan -- Delizabeth or Earcy or whatever. I don't necessarily dislike Pride and Prejudice; however, it's too known to me now. That's not a fault at all with the book; it's entirely with me. I root for Anne and Wentworth because there's time for them to consider each other; this is why I think they're a stronger couple than E/D. But I absolutely hold no hopes of happiness for Catherine and Henry of Northanger Abbey, Emma and Knightley in Emma; or, and maybe most of all, between Fanny and Edmund. That one's definitely ending with Farah Fawcett playing Fanny Price in the Lifetime TV movie.)

If anyone is still checking back before it scrolls away:

Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions & discussion. I'm only sorry that it is impossible/ impracticable to read all of these but I hope some people take away good recommendations for their personal reading or cannonball efforts.

I mentioned in the original post that I would like to feature a very diverse selection of books for the Pajiba Reading group. After reading over the comments here I can see how this might work in practice:

one month for fantasy (Gaiman?); one month for the contemporary female author (Atwood?); one month for a classic sci-fi novel (Ender's Game?); one month for the Victorian novel (???); one month for postmodern (Wallace? Pynchon?); one month for translated fiction (Murakami?); One month for non-fiction (???); one month for modern classics (Catch-22)

And so on and so on for as long as we can go: The Pajiba Book of the Month Club.

I will add a discussion topic for "Book Club Suggestions" on the Cannonball Read Facebook group. Any additional debate over which books to read and when will take place there, so if you want a hand in shaping the future of the book club you need to get involved on the social networking side (discussion topics for the current book of the month take place there as well).

I will add a discussion topic for "Book Club Suggestions" on the Cannonball Read Facebook group. Any additional debate over which books to read and when will take place there, so if you want a hand in shaping the future of the book club you need to get involved on the social networking side (discussion topics for the current book of the month take place there as well).
Posted by: Yossarian
And off I'll go to debate. Thanks for the work.