Any good recent novels?

[Flameschick]

I'll throw a few more out there:

Non-fiction

"A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah - eye-opening account of being a child soldier in Africa

"A Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life" by J. Craig Venter - a scientist details his personal struggles with the politics surrounding the sequencing of the human genome

Can Lit

"Island" by Alistair MacLeod - on Atlantic Canadian rural life and mortality

Mystery

"The Way Through the Woods" by Colin Dexter - British detective Inspector Morse at his finest

"Koko" by Peter Straub - a group of Vietnam vets attempts to solve a serial killer mystery

[jammies]

Maybe next month, Flameschick, but for now the list needs to be narrowed down, not expanded.

[REDVAN]

Originally Posted by jammies

Ok, if people are serious about this, it's time to pick something - I see some suggestions earlier, but someone needs to narrow it down and I'm electing myself unless someone else (Redvan?) wants to step in.
...
Don DeLillo: Libra (fictionalized account of the life/death of Lee Harvey Oswald)
...
For the record, I'm voting for Libra

Thanks for taking the reins on this for now, I got lazy. I think this Libra can be a good selection. I hope I can pick it up around town easily. I was going to suggest we go every 6 weeks or so. Unless we can get a list of books we want to read and then increase the meetings. I guess that is just organization junk.

P.S. octothorp- I was going to pick up your book but the line was too damn big. Next time I am there I will grab it, since it looks like I'll be getting Libra too.

[Myth]

How about instead of voting on each title, each month (or 6 weeks) a different member gets their pick. That way you end up with a diverse selection and hopefully everyone will get to talk about a book that interests them. We can start with Jammies book Libra and go from there. If new people show up we can just add their names accordingly. If we go through everyone, well, we just start the list over. Just a thought. What do you guys think?

[troutman]

Best fantasy series ever for my money:

http://www.sfsite.com/08a/bh229.htm

If you haven't been following Steven Erikson's Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, you've sadly been missing out on some of the best fantasy fiction being written today. With six out of a projected ten-volume series, each a hefty tome unto itself, I can see why you might consider this to be an imposing reading project. Don't let the sheer page count deter you; Erikson's prose rips along at full gallop -- his characters are delightful, his ideas and story concepts inspired, and his firm control of an unfathomably vast web of plot is nothing short of masterful.

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/12/150850.php

These are not books for the faint of heart (or weak of stomach in places, because he holds no punches in describing the horrors of what men and women do to each other in times of strife); and those looking for a little light escapism should look elsewhere.

[octothorp]

I'm good with Libra too. As far as how we pick books moving forward, I think we should have a different member responsible for putting together a list of books to vote on each time. So it's democratic, but everyone has a turn at making the voting list.

[PsYcNeT]

Not terribly recent (2001), but I just finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman and holy hell...

That is one awesome book

The awesomeness cannot be put into mere words however

[jammies]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I'm good with Libra too. As far as how we pick books moving forward, I think we should have a different member responsible for putting together a list of books to vote on each time. So it's democratic, but everyone has a turn at making the voting list.

Good by me, for sure. That way you get a wider selection of possibilities, and everybody wins.

[jammies]

Originally Posted by troutman

Best fantasy series ever for my money:

http://www.sfsite.com/08a/bh229.htm

If you haven't been following Steven Erikson's Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, you've sadly been missing out on some of the best fantasy fiction being written today. With six out of a projected ten-volume series, each a hefty tome unto itself, I can see why you might consider this to be an imposing reading project. Don't let the sheer page count deter you; Erikson's prose rips along at full gallop -- his characters are delightful, his ideas and story concepts inspired, and his firm control of an unfathomably vast web of plot is nothing short of masterful.

Yes, his books are great - probably a year's worth of reading for some people, but well worth the effort. If he can keep it up for the whole 10 books (and so far, he is keeping the quality up), it very well may be one of the finest achievements in fantasy for decades to come; the only thing comparable is GRR Martin's Song of Ice & Fire series, but that is a notch below (although still very, very good).

[jammies]

Originally Posted by jammies

Don DeLillo: Libra (fictionalized account of the life/death of Lee Harvey Oswald)

This is the winner of the poll, so it'll be the first novel on the list; the next poll is for when people want to have the first meeting:

Option 1: Saturday, Feb 2nd (afternoon)
Option 2: Saturday, Feb 2nd (evening)
Option 3: Tuesday, Feb 5th (evening)
Option 4: Thursday, Feb 7th (evening)
Option 5: Saturday, Feb 9th (afternoon)

Hopefully that's a large enough range of dates that no-one says "None of the above".

We've got some time before any of those dates, however it would be best to get everyone's vote in by next Sunday so as to be able to block it off for people that need to schedule in advance.

Also, a place to meet is needed - suggestions are welcome.

[Myth]

FYI- According to the Calgary Public Library website, there are 3 copies of Libra with only 1 on hold so far

[CaramonLS]

If you're looking for a good mystery novels, which are fast paced with smart characters, pick up Boris Akunin's Erast Fandorin series: The Winter Queen is the first novel in the series.

I really enjoy them. I've read the 6 that have been translated to english so far (12 in the series).

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I recommend this one:

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/...n+dresser%2527

It's got lots of stuff you'd expect to find on the Calgarypuck off-topic board: discussions of western identity and alienation, epistemology, and the occasional reference to Willie Plett. Though as the author, I'm somewhat biased in recommending it.

Nice work! I'll definitely order a copy soon--to support a fellow CPer. When did it come out?

EDIT: The book club sounds awesome. If I were in Calgary, I would definitely join.