Selections to choose from

Author	Suggested Book Title
Kahneman, Daniel	Thinking, Fast and Slow
Fowles, John	The  Magus
DeLillo, Don	White Noise
Fishman, Ted	Shock of Gray
Gaarder, Jostein	Sophie’s World
Diamant, Kathi	Kafka’s Last Love
Hemingway, Valerie	Running with the Bulls
Duras, Marguerite	The Sailor from Gibraltar
Sayers, Dorothy	Strong Poison
Eco, Umberto	Serendipities
Shacochis, Bob	Easy in the Islands
Pamuk, Orhan	My Name is Red
Shermer, Michael	Why People Believe Weird Things
Corona, Laurel	Finding Emilie
Ronson, Jon	The Psychopath Test
Mahfouz, Naguib	Palace Walk
Galbraith, Robert	The Cuckoos Calling
Wolfe, Tom	I am Charlotte Simmons
Colette	Cher and The Last of Cher
Gide, Andre	The Immoralist
Tolstoy, Leo	Resurrection
Moaveni, Azadeh	Lipstick Jihad
Farmaian, Sattareh Farman	Daughter of Persia
Lofts, Norah	The Lost Queen
Furst, Alan	Night Soldiers
Rushdie, Sallman	Fury
Benioff, David	City of Thieves
Brennert, Alan	Moloka’i
Gopnik, Adam	Paris to the Moon
Gilbert, David	& Sons  OR Ampersand
Simsion, Graeme	The Rosie Project
Plume, Valerie	Blowback
McDermott, Alice	Someone (Ntl Book Award)
Nasaw, David	The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times Of Jos Kennedy
Schwalbe, Will	The End of Your Life Bookclub
Saramago, José	Blindness
Murdoch, Iris	The Sea, The Sea
Greene, Graham	Our Man in Havana
Zola	Therese Raquin
Amado, Jorge	Dona Flor and her Two Husbands
Rushdie, Salman	Fury
Patchet	State of Wonder
Faulks	Birdsong
Granoltier, Sylvie	The Paris Lawyer
Gioia, Diliberto	Paris Without End: The True Story of Hemingway’s First Wife
Shapiro, B.A.	The Art Forger
Larson, Erik	In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitlers’ Berlin
Toobin, Jeffrey	The Nine
Sarton, May	Crucial Conversations
Steinbach, Alice	Without Reservations
White, Michael	Acid Tongues and Tranquil Dreamers
Burleigh, Nina	The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Q Adams, and the making of America’s Greatest Museum: The Smithsonian
Feder, Stuart	Gustav Mahler
Meacham, Jon	The American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White  House
Chemy, Andrei	The Candy Bombers : The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America’s Finest Hour
Zusak, Markus	The Book Thief
Mann, Charles	1491: New Revelations of the America Before Columbus
Tartt, Donna	The Goldfinch
Edsel, Robert	Monument Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt  in History
Hartmann, Thom	Crash of 2016: the Plot to Destroy America-and What We Can do to Stop it
Haggani, Husain	Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the United States, and an Epic History of Misunderstanding

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

From Amazon
"An Amazon Best Book of the Month, June 2013: Neil Gaiman's intent was simple: to write a short story. What he ended up with instead was The Ocean at the of the Lane--his first adult novel since Anansi Boys came out in 2005, and a narrative so thoughtful and thrilling that it's as difficult to stop reading as it was for Gaiman to stop writing. Forty years ago, our narrator, who was then a seven-year-old boy, unwittingly discovered a neighboring family’s supernatural secret. What happens next is an imaginative romp through otherwordly adventure that could only come from Gaiman's magical mind. Childhood innocence is tested and transcended as we see what getting between ancient, mystic forces can cost, as well as what can be gained from the power of true friendship. The result is a captivating tale that is equal parts sweet, sad, and spooky. --Robin A. Rothman"

Review by the New York Times
NPR review
Review by The Guardian

Suggestions

Recently I received a suggestion for a possible January book: Thomas Mann's classic, Buddebrooks. It is 600 pages but ties in well with Henry James, Portrait of a Lady and Flaubert's Madame Bovary. Together they provide a more complete picture of women's lives in Europe during that period.

I just read a review of   Bob Shacochis The Woman who Lost her Soul and am anxious to read it. I read his first book, a group of short stories (Easy in the Islands) years ago and have been anxious to read more of his work. It is 640 pages so is a good candidate for January.

The book I put as a place holder for January was 100 Years of Solitude by Marquez and is only 448 pages.

Personally, I would be happy with any of these three. I suggest we have a vote at the next meeting or would you like to do an online ballot?

Any other suggestions to add to the ballot?

Portrait of a Lady Discussion

Good discussion and nice group.

I was left with several more items that could have been discussed, for example, Could one write a portrait of a lady today? What does it mean to be a lady in today's world? Would one compare the US with Europe? England? the Far East? the Middle East? Would love to hear the opinion of others.

What did James really think about women and their roles? How much of his view of women is portrayed in Pansy?

How much was his writing influenced by his brother, the psychologist? or his father the philosopher?

Each of the characters were were so rich!

Please feel free to add to this discussion! I welcome your thoughts.

August - Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

From Amazon:

"When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy Aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors. She then finds herself irresistibly drawn to Gilbert Osmond, who, beneath his veneer of charm and cultivation, is cruelty itself. A story of intense poignancy, Isabel's tale of love and betrayal still resonates with modern audiences."

  

This novel is considered one of Henry james' best. Like so many authors, he led a colorful life. One book attempts to explore the private life of James: A Private Life of Henry James.

During his life (1843 - 1916) he was quite prolific. A list of his books can be found here: http://www2.newpaltz.edu/~hathawar/jamesbooks.html

James portrait by Sergeant

July's book: Arabian Nights and Days

Our July choice is: Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz who won a Nobel prize for literature.

You are in for a treat.

From Amazon:

"A renowned Nobel Prize-winning novelist refashions the classic tales of Scheherazade in his own imaginative, spellbinding style. Here are genies and flying carpets, Aladdin and Sinbad, Ali Baba, and many other familiar stories, made new by the magical pen of the acknowledged dean of Arabic letters."

"Mahfouz is compared to Proust, Camus, Salinger, and an introspective Hemingway,

and justifiably so. Hailed as the "widest-read Arab writer currently published in the

U.S.," Mahfouz has certainly wielded his own influence among international readers

since the Prize"

From Barnes and Noble site:

"Naguib Mahfouz was born in Cairo in 1911 and began writing when he was seventeen. A student of philosophy and an avid reader, his works range from reimaginings of ancient myths to subtle commentaries on contemporary Egyptian politics and culture. Over a career that lasted more than five decades, he wrote 33 novels, 13 short story anthologies, numerous plays, and 30 screenplays. Of his many works, most famous is The Cairo Trilogy, consisting of Palace Walk (1956), Palace of Desire (1957), and Sugar Street (1957), which focuses on a Cairo family through three generations, from 1917 until 1952. In 1988, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the first writer in Arabic to do so. He died in August 2006."

Side bar tidbit:  The 1995 movie, Midaq Alley, with Selma Hayek and Ernesto Gomez Cruz was based upon Mahfouz's novel, but located in Mexico City instead of Cairo.