Help Complete the Book Club's Reading List

Gentlemen, this blog takes us back to February of this year. I'd like to complete the list of books that we read prior to reading Curt Brown's So Terrible a Storm. Here's what I have:

A Beautiful Life
The Man in the Yellow Sharkskin Suit
My Father's . . . (the book about the writer's Kurdish Jewish father and Aramaic language)

Do you remember any other books (or more complete/accurate book titles)? Use the comment feature, and once I have all of them, I'll create a posting with the complete list.

5 January 2010

The book for January 5 is Dame Rebecca West's The Return of the Soldier. A couple of us have had a hard time getting the book at a bookstore or our local libraries, so you might want to check www.bn.com or www.amazon.com, where you'll find inexpensive used copies (I just ordered mine today - 2 December 2009). We'll be meeting at Steve Beck's home.

Gentlemen, my Barnes and Noble order just arrived. I bought the book used for $1.79 (it's never been opened). It's more novella than novel - only 77 pages.

December 2009 (and looking ahead)

Our final book in 2009 will be Michael Greenberg's Hurry Down Sunshine, which Mike Bander describes as "creepy and out there," which from Mike is an absolute rave.

You can read more about Hurry Down Sunshine at the Random House web page devoted to the book.

We agreed to meet at Mike's place on Tuesday, December 1.

The next two books will be Rebecca West's The Return of the Soldier (Steve Beck's home on Tuesday, January 5) and The Poisonwood Bible (Michael Kuhne's home on Tuesday, February 2).

After that, as decided by vote of the book club minyan present during October's gathering, Mike Ferlic will pick the March 2010 book; Arnie will pick the April 2010 book; and Ira will pick the May 2010 book. (Sidebar: Ira, while eschewing another Faulkner novel, intimates that his selection will come from the list of Nobel Prize winners. We all await Ira's - and Mike's and Arnie's - decisions with great anticipation.)

October book - The Hemingses of Monticello

The October book will be Annette Gordon-Reed's The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family.

That was a good meeting, gentlemen. I enjoyed our discussion, and if all goes well, I'll be finishing the book today, November 4, only eight days after we met to discuss it:(. As Vonnegut would have written, "so it goes."

September book - The Singing Wildnerness

We will travel to a campground near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, leaving Thursday, September 10, and returning Sunday, September 13. Our book will be Sigurd Olson's The Singing Wilderness.

9/14/09 What a great time, gentlemen! We had four days of spectacularly clear weather with highs in the 80s and calm breezes. Even though we had to share the waters with 25hp motorboats, the scenery was just gorgeous. I am posting some of the photographs that are acceptable for public consumption. Feel free to add your own comments.

Above: Shel on Pipestone Bay

Right: Pipestone Bay from the campsite near the portage to Jacknife Bay

Below: Mike and Todd swimming

August book - Freakonomics

We will meet at Mike Bander's home on August 26 (time to be determined) to discuss Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner's Freakonomics.

July Book - In Defense of Food

We'll meet on July 21 at 6:00 pm at the Heartland restaurant in St. Paul (1806 St. Clair Avenue). We will be reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. In the spirit of transparency, I should note that as I wrote this, I also had four Oreo cookies dunked in a glass of skim milk.

Recommended Books - Things that we've read

Post titles that you have enjoyed reading.

Upcoming books, Summer 2009

The July book will be Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.

The August book will be Annette Gordon-Reed's The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (you might want to start reading this one ahead of time: at 800 pages, it's quite the tome.

Our September book will be Sigurd Olson's The Singing Wilderness. This will be part of our September 10 - 13 camping and canoeing trip to the borders of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

June 24, Saul Bellow's Herzog

Our next book is Saul Bellow's Herzog. We will meet at Michael Kuhne's home.

Looking Ahead

We don't have dates yet, but we do have books for the summer.

July - Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food

August - Annette Gordon-Reed's The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family

September - Sigurd Olson's The Singing Wilderness

June 2009, Herzog by Saul Bellow

The June book will be Saul Bellow's Herzog. We will meet at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, June 24, at Michael Kuhne's home, located at 993 Cobb Road, Shoreview, MN 55126. Bring your calendars so that we can schedule the July and August meeting dates.

Photo by Antydilivuian

Flickr Creative Commons

May 2009 book - David Halberstam's October 1964

Our May book will be David Halberstam's October 1964, which is not only a recounting of the World Series between the Yankees and the Cardinals but also a critique of how sports interplays with current events and America history. We ought to enjoy this.

We'll meet on Wednesday, May 20, at Mike Bander's place. See you there!

April 2009 Book - Per Petterson's Out Stealing Horses

Our April book will be Per Petterson's Out Stealing Horses. Check here for details about when and where we will meet. Graywolf Press has a nice page devoted to the book, including links to reviews as well as an excerpt from the novel. There is also a link to discussion topics.

Cover design Jeenee Lee Design (copyright)

Cover art Photodisk/Punchart (copyright)

March 2 - So Terrible a Storm: A Tale of Fury on Lake Superior by Curt Brown

Our next book club meeting with be Monday, March 2, at Curt and Adele Brown's home. We'll be reading Curt's book, So Terrible a Storm: A Tale of Fury on Lake Superior (St. Paul, MN: Voyageur Press, 2008). See Michael's email on February 9 for specific location details.