21st Century Literature discussion

Like the topic says, it's time to nominate books for the May group reads, so please post them here. Remember books should be 2000 or later, and hopefully be important works of literature, even if overlooked, underhyped, unheralded, unconsidered, or otherwise in ill-repute, it's enough if YOU consider it great literature (although let's be honest, a man booker shortlist has been known to get some additional attention)

You get one nomination for the month, and you have until sometime on Tuesday, April 10th to get it on this thread.

April 10th, there will be two polls opened, where you should vote for two DIFFERENT books. Polls close on April 16th, giving us two solid weeks to get our grubby little hands on the winning books before we begin reading them on May 1st.

I'll kick it off with one of the higher placed books on our little group listopia:
discussion: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...)

The actual list: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/17...

with The Corrections written by Jonathan Franzen which was nominated for the International Dublin Prize, and won the National Book Award for Fiction. Cited by many to be his finest work (some disagree, I know) and near the top of my personal everybody-has-read-but-me list, it's thought that many authors have been strongly influenced by this book, including one book we read in January 2012, The Art of Fielding by

I'd like to read Leaving the Atocha Station

From a National Book Award finalist, this hilarious and profound first novel captures the experience of the young American abroad while exploring the possibilities of art and authenticity in our time.

"Adam Gordon is a brilliant, if highly unreliable, young American poet on a prestigious fellowship in Madrid, struggling to establish his sense of self and his relationship to art. Instead of following the dictates of his fellowship, Adam’s “research” becomes a meditation on the possibility of the genuine in the arts and beyond: are his relationships with the people he meets in Spain as fraudulent as he fears his poems are? Is poetry an essential art form, or merely a screen for the reader’s projections? A witness to the 2004 Madrid train bombings and their aftermath, does he participate in historic events or merely watch them pass him by?

In prose that veers between the comic and tragic, the self-contemptuous and the inspired, Leaving the Atocha Station is a portrait of the artist as a young man in an age of Google searches, pharmaceuticals, and spectacle."

I nominate Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

I think that Margaret Atwood is one of the greatest contemporary authors. Oryx and Crake is a Man Booker Prize Nominee (2003), Orange Prize Nominee for Fiction (2004), and Scotiabank Giller Prize Nominee (2003)

Silver wrote: "I nominate Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood..."

Great choice, Silver! I agree about Margaret Atwood and Oryx and Crake! I have read The Edible Woman, Cat's Eye, and The Handmaid's Tale.

Cyn wrote: "Silver wrote: "I nominate Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood..."

Great choice, Silver! I agree about Margaret Atwood and Oryx and Crake! I have read The Edible Woma..."</i>

Cat's Eye was the first book I read by her, I have also read The Handmaid's Tale and [book:The Blind Assassin

Silver wrote: "I nominate Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

I think that Margaret Atwood is one of the greatest contemporary authors. Oryx and Crake is a Man Booker Prize Nominee (20..."

I'm new here but am planning on reading this soon so will hope to join in if chosen!

I'd like to read Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner.

Called a “magnificently crafted story . . . brimming with wisdom” by Howard Frank Mosher in The Washington Post Book World, Crossing to Safety has, since its publication in 1987, established itself as one of the greatest and most cherished American novels of the twentieth century. Tracing the lives, loves, and aspirations of two couples who move between Vermont and Wisconsin, it is a work of quiet majesty, deep compassion, and powerful insight into the alchemy of friendship and marriage.

I read 'Oryx and Crake'twice! It's an amazing book and well worth reading yet again. I've also read almost everything else Atwood's written. I rate her highly.

I still haven't read Unaccustomed Earth! I'll just keep nominating it until I do ... :D

I nominate Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.

Silver wrote: "I nominate Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

I think that Margaret Atwood is one of the greatest contemporary authors. Oryx and Crake is a Man Booker Prize Nominee (20..."

Yes Oryx and Crake would be a fantastic book. I am also about to read it so it would be brilliant timing!

On Beauty

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

getting some great books here! And

@KJ - don't give up, I'm sure we'll read that before Blankets, and anyway it's also on my to-read list and a couple of others on here I know for sure, so we'll assuredly get to Unaccustomed Earth sometime.

The Instructions by Adam Levin

I'm nominating Paperboy: A Dysfunctional Novel by Bob Thurber again, because it's F'in brilliant.

Hi,
I'd like to nominate Blankets,by Craig Thompson.
After seeing this title in Will's comment I looked the book up and am very interested. Thanks.

lololol.
@Diana - you are terrific! I'll def. vote for it in the 2nd poll.

I'd like to suggest something by Steve Aylett. Maybe "Novahead" (2011) or "Smithereens" (2010). I've read "Lint" by him, which is great fun. He's a very funny and inventive writer. One of my absolute favorites.

Barbara wrote: "I'd like to read Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner.

Called a “magnificently crafted story . . . brimming with wisdom” by Howard Frank Mosher in The Washington Post Book World, Cro..."

Great book but not 21st century :(

I would like to nominate The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey euginides.

@Barbara - Yes, I'm sorry, Crossing to Safety barely misses out, first published in 1987.

@James E. - Absolutely, but you'll have to choose one for us! So which Steve Aylett book are you nominating?

Diana wrote: "I'd like to nominate Blankets,by Craig Thompson.
After seeing this title in Will's comment I looked the book up and am very interested. Thanks."

I have now read this! And I was impressed. So good, in fact, that I read it in one sitting.

Will wrote: "@Barbara - Yes, I'm sorry, Crossing to Safety barely misses out, first published in 1987.

@James E. - Absolutely, but you'll have to choose one for us! So which Steve Aylett book are you nominating?"

OK, I'll go with "Lint".

Brooke wrote: "
On Beauty

On Beauty by Zadie Smith"

Good book!!!

I would like to nominate "The Healing" by Jonathan Odell. It is a truly beautiful book that attacks the whole idea of slavery during and after the Civil War from a different point of view--not just that of the plantation slaves but specifically that of the women. The last time I felt this way about a book it was "The Color Purple," which I believe it is similar in it's themes of endurance and strong female strength.

Will wrote: "@Barbara - Yes, I'm sorry, Crossing to Safety barely misses out, first published in 1987.

@James E. - Absolutely, but you'll have to choose one for us! So which Steve Aylett book are you nominating?"

So true! Forgot to check. Then I would nominate After the Strawberry. I haven't read it yet but it looks very good.

I nominate Luis Alberto Urrea's much-acclaimed Hummingbird's Daughter. I have read Devil's Highway (nonfiction), Into the Beautiful North, and his graphic novel Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush. All were excellent. Hummingbird's Daughter is supposed to be his best work and the predecessor to the recently-published book Queen of America (which is also generating a lot of positive buzz).

I nominate Freedom by Johnathan Franzen. It is a very well written family drama novel written in modern times and dealing with modern issues. I loved this book and recommend to any book lover.

hmm, for the first time, a conflict.... by Jonathan Franzen has already been nominated. I'll consult with the mods after the weekend and see if we agree on whether or not we want multiple books from the same author on a poll.

Brooke wrote: "
On Beauty

On Beauty by Zadie Smith"

Great choice. This has been on my to read list for a long time.

I would like to nominate Cloud Atlas: A Novel by David Mitchell .

It's been sitting on my home shelf for a couple of years now, making me feel very guilty, and I've read/heard nothing but wonderful things about it.

My first nomination for May is in. I've been deciding between The Corrections and The Marriage Plot for my second choice. Then,I decided to go with Turn Coat.
I realize I'm early. Just contemplation...

I suggest English Passengers . I read it some years ago and now is the time to read it again.

I nominate Matt Ruff's The Mirage for the May group read. It's an amazing piece of revisionist fiction and a whole new take on 9/11.

Regina wrote: "Brooke wrote: "
On Beauty

On Beauty by Zadie Smith"

Great choice. This has been on my to read list for a long time."

I third this choice. Read The Autograph Man some time ago, and it made me a huge fan of Zadie Smith.

Regina wrote: "Brooke wrote: "
On Beauty

On Beauty by Zadie Smith"

Great choice. This has been on my to read list for a long time."

James E. wrote: "Will wrote: "@Barbara - Yes, I'm sorry, Crossing to Safety barely misses out, first published in 1987.

@James E. - Absolutely, but you'll have to choose one for us! So which Steve Aylett book are ..."

James E. wrote: "Will wrote: "@Barbara - Yes, I'm sorry, Crossing to Safety barely misses out, first published in 1987.

@James E. - Absolutely, but you'll have to choose one for us! So which Steve Aylett book are ..."

Charlotte wrote: "Silver wrote: "I nominate Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

I think that Margaret Atwood is one of the greatest contemporary authors. Oryx and Crake is a Man Booker Priz..."

I nominate Winds of Wildfire. visit www.timeoftriumph.net thanks

I nominate the Caster Chronicles; therefor Beautiful Creatures

I nominate The Book Thief or Looking for Alaska.

Preferably Looking for Alaska as my nomination, since I'm almost finished reading the Book Thief.

Nominations closed, with THIS many nominations it will be a while before I can get the polls up, not to mention some nominations are not eligible, so I'll have to untangle that...and I just got in from L.A. last night, and have reviews to write, so it will be a bit.

Do the books get announced today? Looks pretty clear which books it will be, but awaiting official word before I go track them down.

Probably in a few hours, although yes, it looks pretty clear. The poll has a closing time, and it will show as closed then (again, I think it's 3 hours from this writing) then I'll post it, send a broadcast to all members so it will show up in their inboxes and email, and also put them on the front page so it will show up as incoming reads, then I'll try to find mods to run the discussions for each book, and failing that, if I don't want to lead it, I'll ask if any members want to try running a discussion.