The Next Best Book Club discussion

Hi all! Happy July!

I know I am opening this a day early, but I wanted to make sure the thread was up and available for you guys to get your discussion on tomorrow morning.

Ethan will be stopping in all month long to help guide and fuel the conversation around the book!

Happy discussing everyone!!!!

Hi everyone! I'm excited to get this one started. For the second month in a row, we'll be reading a book that has been languishing on my TBR list since publication. I love having an excuse to read these books!

I'm heading out for a weeklong vacation, so I don't expect to dive into this book until I get back. Still, I'd like to get the discussion rolling a bit.

This novel was awarded a Pulitzer last year. Have you read any other Pulitzer winners? Do you use these prestigious awards to help inform your reading choices?

I have read a some. Sometimes I get why they achieve the Pulitzer - Gilead and sometimes I don't - Tinkers. I do look them up and many are on my TBR. I find the History and Biography much more consistently my taste lately. Washington: A Life and Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America for instance. ...and I loved

You ask about the Pulitzer list and that is why I actually read this month pick. I decided I wanted to read the fiction Pulitzer list, and was my first book with it being the pick last year. I look forward to reading through this list as I did enjoy this book so much. Happy reading everyone.

It's rare that I like a Pulitzer novel this much, but this one has been one of my TOP reads this year.

☊ All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr ★★★★★+❤❤❤

my review is here

I had the privilege of reading an ARC of All the Light We Cannot See before it was a Pulitzer novel and I knew it was a wonderful story before all the hype. I gave it five stars and I would have given more if I could.

I have this book on my bookshelf with good intentions to read this summer! I am interested in reading Pulitzer Prize winners. I had bought this book for that reason and because I saw lots of good reviews/comments about it. (I've also seen readers who really disliked it! I expect I will enjoy it.) The most recent Pulitzer winner I read was "American Pastoral", which I thought was great! I can see where it would not appeal to a lot of readers, though. I am more interested in reading Hugo and Nebula Award winners, since I like sci-fi.

Like Guy, sometimes I agree with the Pulitzer Committee, and sometimes I think they must have been on drugs that year (A Confederacy of Dunces) ....

A woman in one of my F2F book groups always tries to pick a Pulitzer winner to nominate for our book discussions.

Just looked at the Wikipedia listing of the winners of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and realized I've read 10 of them and have three in my TBR stash. Most I have read without realizing that they were award winners.

Have been meaning to read All the Light We Cannot See for some time ... will have to get a copy and start reading it ...

I also checked out the Wikipedia and found that I've read 14 of them. Over half have been through participating in my library's book club as well as this one. I hadn't realized that Lonesome Dove was a Pulitzer Prize book, which TNBBC selected a few years back. I remember toting that heavy book around -- but it was so worth it!

Karen M wrote: "I had the privilege of reading an ARC of All the Light We Cannot See before it was a Pulitzer novel and I knew it was a wonderful story before all the hype. I gave it five stars and..."

I agree, so I added 3 hearts :)

I had heard good things about this book and picked it up while on holidays. I didn't realize it was a Pulitzer winner until I bought it. I have read other Pulitzer winners (The Good Earth, Gone with the Wind, Lonesome Dove, To Kill a Mocking Bird, The Grapes of Wrath); many we had to read for school. Finding out that this one won the Pulitzer was surprising because I thought the Pulitzer winners were supposed to be written by Americans and about life in America.

"All the Light we Cannot See" is one of my favourite books.

I hate to be a spoilsport so I'll say my piece without contributing any more to the discussion. While I haven't read Tinkers, I did read The Goldfinch without really understanding why it won a Pulitzer. I feel the same way about Doerr's. I am anxious to come back to this thread and read in more detail exactly what TNBBC's members found so enthralling about it, but to me it fell flat. My review is here. I am an avid fan of The Shell Collector and that, to me, remains Doerr's best book.

The thing about Pulitzer prize winners is that they are good books, in general, however sometimes different readers like different styles
and plots. So a great read to one might be something another would find dull/ or non-interesting. I like that there will be a chance to discuss a pulitzer prize winning book. I feel sometimes its hard to feel really satisfied as everything about the book is fine, but the plot line is often not that changing, or is expected in some ways, although the plot is excellent, So yeah, writing a pulitzer prize winner isn't an easy task, want to make reading them as enjoyable;e as they deserve. I would be interested to know, this is based on real life, yet the genera is historical fiction, yes? My taste often are more determined by this.

Victor wrote: "I hate to be a spoilsport so I'll say my piece without contributing any more to the discussion. While I haven't read Tinkers, I did read The Goldfinch without really ..."

If shell collector is his best. I will have to pick it up. I did love this book. If there was one thing I had difficulty with it was the back and forth between the two story lines. Eventually, though I came to love it. His ability to write with so much visual and feeling. I am a bit in awe.

The story was wonderful, and the writing also well done. Yes, it was tricky at first going back and forth between the two stories but interesting to see how they turned out. I think it was deserving of a Pulitzer prize. Hope we will discuss it more.

I can tell it was good because I had a hard time putting it down for long periods of time.

Ethan wrote: "Hi everyone! I'm excited to get this one started. For the second month in a row, we'll be reading a book that has been languishing on my TBR list since publication. I love having an excuse to read ..."

Lori wrote: "Hi all! Happy July!

I know I am opening this a day early, but I wanted to make sure the thread was up and available for you guys to get your discussion on tomorrow morning.

Ethan will be stoppin..."

I do pay attention to Pulitzer prizes, and will browse the winners at the local bookstore to see if they interest me. However, with All The Light You Cannot See, I read the book first, and then was gratified when it later won the Pulitzer, as no book I have read in recent years deserved it more!

All The Light You Cannot See is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I read it very slowly, savoring every word, every phrase, every startling metaphor. The pacing was excellent, yet I wanted to linger with the language. A perfect novel. I lent it to my daughter while I still had 4 pages left to read. I have it back (she loved it, too) but have delayed reading those pages because I want to savor the fact that I can look forward to the pleasure of reading them.

Having read both this and The Book Thief this year I have to say it is interesting that they both look at WWII from the angle of children. Hope exposed without shying away from reality of things as they were. It certainly was not sugar coated.

I thought part of this book were actually very moving. It held the human struggle so interestingly, and i like that it was told from the point of view of two children...growing up and over time from about four years.
"It certainly was not sugar coated".......
No it was suspenseful, ironic, and chilling.....I'm sure which all contributed to its winning a Pulitzer prize.
After reading this discussion question I have come to the conclusion that I think I will use the Pulitzer to inform my reading choices, it is not a overly prestigious award, yet I think there is merit in it.

I'm still very early on in the book but I'm enjoying it a lot. In contrast, I just got done with The Emperor's Children. Both books received unanimous critical praise but so far All the Light We Cannot See is deserving of it while the latter was not at all. Doerr has a great voice as a writer, able to make the unremarkable seem remarkable while the joys and catastrophes of life are captured in all their glory. At least as far as the writing goes, this reminds me of Tartt's The Goldfinch in terms of how easy it is to flip the pages and become lost in the story.

Victor wrote: "I hate to be a spoilsport so I'll say my piece without contributing any more to the discussion. While I haven't read Tinkers, I did read The Goldfinch without really ..."

I cannot abide The Goldfinch and did not get that far in the book, but I loved this one!

Monica wrote: "All The Light You Cannot See is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I read it very slowly, savoring every word, every phrase, every startling metaphor. The pacing was excellent, yet I..."

Love it--savour that! I agree with you and am so glad I listened to the audio, because I'd have never been patient enough to savour it properly in writing as I always want to know what happens next.

Brenda wrote: " I thought the Pulitzer winners were supposed to be written by Americans and about life in America.
"

The author is American; I'm not sure about the second part of the requirements.

Karin wrote: "Brenda wrote: " I thought the Pulitzer winners were supposed to be written by Americans and about life in America.
"

The author is American; I'm not sure about the second part of the requirements."

The main character telling the story is living in Oregon, if I am not mistaken, on her way to Parish for a reunion of the underground who worked against the Nazi occupation.

Do you mean Marie-Lore'?'s character. or explain further.
because there were several main characters.

I thought the ending was sort of sad.
I guess that is it because i don't have any other discussions q's to answer.

My goodness- I am wrong on that one. Some how I went from all the light you cannot see to The Nightingale. I would have to look into the US part on All The Light. Sorry for leading down a improper path.

Guy wrote: "My goodness- I am wrong on that one. Some how I went from all the light you cannot see to The Nightingale. I would have to look into the US part on All The Light. Sorry for leading down a improper ..."

Easy enough to do; I read both of those this year.

I see on Wikipedia it says the Pulitzer prize "preferably deals with American life". I guess it must be a consideration only.

Karin wrote: "Monica wrote: "All The Light You Cannot See is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I read it very slowly, savoring every word, every phrase, every startling metaphor. The pacing was e..."

Yes, the language is so beautiful that I agree hearing it via audiobook is actually a very good way to savor the words. Such a wonderful book.