2025 Reading Challenge discussion

The theme for July is Americana. I can't wait to see what you come up with for this theme. The theme is completely open to interpretation: as long as you can tell us why you think it should fit the theme, it counts.

Please nominate only one book and ensure you either link the book or give the name of the author as well to avoid confusion. Please do not nominate books from a series, unless it is the first book in the series. You can second someone else's nomination, but that will count as your own. Nominations cannot have been chosen for a past group read (past buddy reads are fine).

This thread will be closed by May 22, and we will choose ten books for the poll. If there are more than ten books nominated, we will choose the ten most nominated. If there is still a tie to get into the top ten, we'll go back to the Goodreads average rating to see which is highest.

A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor. (Short story collection might be a rare pick for a group read, but I'll argue it could be excellent for summer reading... or something. Several Flannery O'Connor titles are shelved as americana.)

A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is Flannery O'Connor's most famous and most discussed story. O'Connor herself singled it out by making it the title piece of her first collection and the story she most often chose for readings or talks to students. It is an unforgettable tale, both riveting and comic, of the confrontation of a family with violence and sudden death. More than anything else O'Connor ever wrote, this story mixes the comedy, violence, and religious concerns that characterize her fiction.

This now-classic book revealed Flannery O'Connor to be one of the most original and provocative writers to emerge from the South. Her apocalyptic vision of life is expressed through grotesque, often comic, situations in which the principal character faces a problem of salvation: the grandmother, in the title story, confronting the murderous Misfit; a neglected four-year-old boy looking for the Kingdom of Christ in the fast-flowing waters of the river; General Sash, about to meet the final enemy.

I'd like to nominate My Antonia by Willa Cather. I'm embarrassed that I haven't read any of Cather's work.

The story of Antonia Shimerda is told by one of her friends from childhood, Jim Burden, an orphaned boy from Virginia. Though he leaves the prairie, Jim never forgets the Bohemian girl who so profoundly influenced his life. An immigrant child of immigrant parents, Antonia's girlhood is spent working to help her parents wrest a living from the untamed land. Though in later years she suffers betrayal and desertion, through all the hardships of her life she preserves a valor of spirit that no hardship can daunt or break. When Jim Burden sees her again after many years, he finds her "a rich mine of life", a figure who has turned adversity into a particular kind of triumph in the true spirit of the pioneer.

I nominate A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith. It's about a family in Brooklyn during the first part of the 20th century, struggling with poverty, alcoholism and rising above all things to live the American Dream. A true classic.

Gretchen wrote: "I nominate A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith. It's about a family in Brooklyn during the first part of the 20th century, struggling with poverty, alcoholism and rising above all things to liv..."

I'm sorry, Gretchen, but we read that one last year as a group read. Is there another book you'd like to nominate?

Gretchen you could always suggest A Tree Grows in Brooklyn as a buddy read. It is a popular book and there are always people who want to read it.

I nominate The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington. "Winner of the Pulitzer Prize when it was first published in 1918, The Magnificent Ambersons chronicles the changing fortunes of three generations of an American dynasty.... a typical story of an American family and town--the great family that locally ruled the roost and vanished virtually in a day as the town spread and darkened into a city. This novel no doubt was a permanent page in the social history of the United States, so admirably conceived and written was the tale of the Amber-sons, their house, their fate and the growth of the community in which they were submerged in the end."

I nominate The Fifties by David Halberstam. I think a lot of Americans see the 50's as kind of a modern golden age, but we see it through a lens of nostalgia. Would be interesting to read a book about the "real" 50's.

I nominate The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck because, for me, the story of the struggle to make a better life for your family is the definitive story of American culture. Also a winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

i would like to nominate breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. about a girl wanting a better life in nyc.

I'd like to nominate Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for having a similar name and same pronunciation.

I've wanted to read this one for a long time and I just listened to her TED talk again.

I would like to nominate The Selection, because I like reading YA once in awhile, and I hear movie rights were just bought. Also, the main character's name is America, which is how it fits the category.

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

I second the Grapes of Wrath

I would also like to nominate Americanah. It has been at the top of my tbr list since it came out but for some reason I never get around to actually reading it!
Cassandra - I will have to check out the TED talk!

I second My Antonia!

I whole heartedly nominate "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America" by Erik Larson. This book is a captivating and interesting TRUE story about how a serial killer used the 1893 World Fair in Chicago to lure his victims. The book discusses the industrialization and rise of Chicago and how the millennium fair changed America.

I love all of the book nominations.

Chelsea we read The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America already as a group read, so unfortunately we can't nominate this one again. Please feel free to nominate another book.

I also would like to nominate Americanah. Seemingly fitting title. And her TED talk is amazing!

Meg, here's a link if you're interested: Chimamanda's TED talk. She is such an eloquent speaker.

(Also, if the book doesn't get selected for a group read, I'd love to do it as a buddy read anyway!)

The Circle by Dave Eggers
http://www.amazon.com/The-Circle-Dave...

I would read basically any of these. Love the nominations so far!

I looked up Americana books on GoodReads and there were a lot of books on the list that are on my "To Read" list. I decided to nominate

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.

As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.

I'm definitely interested in reading Americanah, either as a group read or a buddy read!

Cassandra wrote: "Meg, here's a link if you're interested: Chimamanda's TED talk. She is such an eloquent speaker.

(Also, if the book doesn't get selected for a group read, I'd love to do it as a buddy read anyway!)"

I just watched the TED talk. Wow. She really knows how to deliver a speech.

I'll second In Cold Blood.

Jodi wrote: "I looked up Americana books on GoodReads and there were a lot of books on the list that are on my "To Read" list. I decided to nominate

On November 15, 1959, in th..."

I read this one last year and it kept me up at night (which is a good thing, because scared is fun). I may or may not have kept a hall light on at night for a week after finishing it.

Alissa wrote: "Jodi wrote: "I looked up Americana books on GoodReads and there were a lot of books on the list that are on my "To Read" list. I decided to nominate

On November 15..."

I like a good scary book too Alissa. What I think makes this even more scary, is that it is non-fiction.

I could go for In Cold Blood as well.

I'd like to nominate Gilead

Twenty-four years after her first novel, Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. Writing in the tradition of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Marilynne Robinson's beautiful, spare, and spiritual prose allows "even the faithless reader to feel the possibility of transcendent order" (Slate). In the luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist minister John Ames, Gilead reveals the human condition and the often unbearable beauty of an ordinary life.

All of these sound like great reads! It's so hard to pick each month. Americanah also interests me! Looks like a great book.

Gilead and Plainsong were the two books that immediately came to mind. I'm glad to see them nominated! But I will throw A Painted House by John Grisham on the list. It certainly is Americana.

A farming family struggles to survive in the Midwest in the 1950s while listening to St. Louis Cardinals games on the radio. Told from the perspective of a 7 year old Stan Musial fan, for me, this book evoked To Kill a Mockingbird and The Grapes of Wrath. I really enjoyed it!

I already nominated a book, but I will second A Painted House. It is one of my absolute favorite books. I would love to see what others think of it.

I second the Selection

I second the Devil in the White City.

I join in the nomination for Americanah!

When I saw the topic, my first thought was that Americanah should be on the list (it's on my TBR as well)>

Cassandra wrote: "I'd like to nominate Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for having a similar name and same pronunciation.

I've wanted to read this one for a long time and I just listened to h..."

I'm with Americanah!

Great choices. I will just vote on one of these. I might even have learned what Americana means!

CMac I had to look it up! I just know it as a drink you can order at Starbucks :) Here is the definition though.

A·mer·i·ca·na
əˌmeriˈkänə,-ˈkanə/
noun
things associated with the culture and history of America, especially the United States.

I vote for Americanah. I haven't read it yet, but heard a review on public radio.

I second My Antonia. (but I wouldn't mind reading Americanah as well...)

Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson
Deals with isolated America, FBI, and CPS system.

Gretchen wrote: "I nominate A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith. It's about a family in Brooklyn during the first part of the 20th century, struggling with poverty, alcoholism and rising above all things to liv..."

I could be your reading buddy for A Tree Grows In Brooklyn if you're up for it. c:

Water for Elephants

It's on the Americana list on goodreads.

I nominate A Year in the South: 1865: The True Story of Four Ordinary People Who Lived Through the Most Tumultuous Twelve Months in American History

I second the Selection by Kiera Cass!! Becauase, fantastical or not, I like to wonder what America will become in our future (and I'm a sucker for anything with an interesting societal set-up, plus it's YA!)

The Book of Unknown Americans

I nominate The Book of Unknown Americans by CRISTINA HENRÍQUEZ.

It's a touching story of modern day immigrant experience, America from a different perspective.

hopefully I am doing this right my choice for July is Water For Elephants By: Sara Gruen. I haven't read the book yet but I do believe it was set during the depression so it should fit the theme nicely.

That is great Sammy! That is exactly what you do.