21st Century Literature discussion

On Wednesday, February 1st, nominations will open for the group reads for March 2012, where your nominations will be joined by the two top non-winning vote getters from the previous month's poll:
The Bronze Horseman written by Paullina Simons and
The Master written by Colm Tóibín

Nominations will run from Feb 1st-8th, followed by the poll running from Feb 8th-15th, giving us two weeks to get our hot little hands on whatever books win that month before March 1st.

I've opened up the thread for March's Nominations, and in the spirit, I'll open with my own personal nomination, which is:

Shalimar the Clown written by Salman Rushdie

The book was nominated for the Man Booker Prize in 2005, and has almost THREE thousand 4 and 5 star reviews on Goodreads.

Also, I WANT TO ENCOURAGE MORE OF YOU TO NOMINATE AND VOTE! If you are just too shy to comment on a discussion, you can at least vote on the books and read the discussion, and don't feel guilty!

I would like to nominate written by

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

Shalimar the Clown was my first Salman Rushdie, and I highly recommend it. It remains my favorite of all his novels that I've read.

My nomination is number9dream by David Mitchell. I adored Cloud Atlas, and I've been itching to read more by David Mitchell.

Adam wrote: "I heard a discussion about this book on a "great foreign books that most people never read" segment (or something to that extent) on NPR. Sounds interesting. Kamchatka"

Wow, there are some pretty great choices here, can't wait to see what others show up over the next few days!

I nominate 11/22/63, by Stephen King.

I nominate The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. It won the Man Booker Prize last year and was a Costa Book Award nominee, plus it's only 150 pages long.

I want two votes this month. At least.

While waiting for good ideas to fall into my lap, here's a list of books I DON'T want to read... in March or at any other time. :D

Aura wrote: "While waiting for good ideas to fall into my lap, here's a list of books I DON'T want to read... in March or at any other time. :D"

Ha! Ha! Yes, I'll second that; I will not be reading any of those books.

Aura wrote: "While waiting for good ideas to fall into my lap, here's a list of books I DON'T want to read... in March or at any other time. :D"

Hey, I actually own How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art, and I'll tell you, it's full of some pretty sound advice if you ever go backwoods camping or hiking. And it's pretty funny, too!

Logophile wrote: "Aura wrote: "While waiting for good ideas to fall into my lap, here's a list of books I DON'T want to read... in March or at any other time. :D"

Hey, I actually own [book:How to Shit in the Woods:..."

LOL watch a cat and you will learn what you need to know and it's free.

I have a question, if you nominate a book and it wins, do you then have to lead discussions? Sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm loaded with them.

Would anyone be interested in reading The Penelopiad? The description sounds intriguing and it is less than 200 pages long.

I've read it. Can't say I thought it one of Atwood's strongest works. But, that's only my opinion!

Sophia wrote: "I've read it. Can't say I thought it one of Atwood's strongest works. But, that's only my opinion!"

I haven't read it but the reviews run the gamut so will defer to your opinion until I have.

Mikela wrote: "I have a question, if you nominate a book and it wins, do you then have to lead discussions? Sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm loaded with them.

Nope! you're under no obligations to do anything! I'm not sure we really have anybody leading discussions, we just sorta talk. Because nobody else did it, I started managing the folders and timing of the polls and processes, but all the decisions about how long we'd think about it, how many books, etc we decided publicly as a group in the administration folder, and are always subject to the thoughts and choices of the group. I just volunteered myself to implementing the tastes of the group, mostly because I've spent a great deal of time doing that for a number of companies and communities...in RL I even spent years as a paid election judge

One thing I've noticed is people bumping forward a book asking if people would be interested in reading it. I'm never sure if they're nominating it or not!

Don't be afraid to nominate anything, if it horrifies people, they just won't vote for it. Hence my repeated nomination of (you'll give in eventually)

At this rate I'm going to read it anyway!

Logophile wrote: "Aura wrote: "While waiting for good ideas to fall into my lap, here's a list of books I DON'T want to read... in March or at any other time. :D"

Hey, I actually own How to Shit in the Woods:..."</i>

You have it? :D Wow, I sort of thought all of those would be extinct! And I was wondering what sort of book it was: a novel gone bad or an actual guidebook. ^^

On an entirely unrelated note:
I nominate [book:Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Mikela wrote: "LOL watch a cat and you will learn what you need to know and it's free."

But I don't think I like my cats' option for toilet paper!

And in case there's any ambiguity, I'll second Mikela's nomination of The Penelopiad, because it's already on my TBR list.

But I don't think I like my cats' option for toilet paper!

Ok, you win!! The book might have a thing or two to teach that our cats can't.

Aura wrote: "While waiting for good ideas to fall into my lap, here's a list of books I DON'T want to read... in March or at any other time. :D"

Thanks, that was fun!

I decided in February not to nominate in March, because I kept voting for everyone else's nominations anyway.

Logophile wrote: "Hey, I actually own How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art, and I'll tell you, it's full of some pretty sound advice if you ever go backwoods camping or hiking. And it's pretty funny, too! "

But...
Well,
It's not really your March nomination, is it?

Deborah wrote: "Well,
It's not really your March nomination, is it? "

Wouldn't matter, published 1994!