Wednesday 13 November 2013

Schedule ideas for 2014

As we will be deciding our books for the first half of 2014 at our November meeting, here are some suggestions to consider (including recommendations added after this was initially published):

New books from some of our BIG authors:
  • Richard Flanagan's The narrow road to the deep north
  • Roger McDonald's The following
  • Alex Miller's Coal creek
  • Christos Tsiolkas' Barracuda
  • Alexis Wright's The swan book
  • Tim Winton's Eyrie
Booker Prize Winner for 2013:
Debut novels:
  • Hannah Kent's Burial rites
Other novels:
  • Aminatta Forna's The Hired Man (set in modern Croatia with an English family renovating a house in a village previously affected by the recent war) or The Memory of Love (set in Sierra Leone, the birthplace of the author's father)
  • Mohsin Hamad's The reluctant fundamentalist
  • Lloyd Jones' A history of silence
  • Anthony Marra's A constellation of vital phenomena
  • Ann Patchett's Bel Canto (won the 2002 Orange Prize)
  • JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy (dark modern Britain, deeply insightful) 
  • Amy Waldman's The submission
Classics: Do we want to do a classic?
  • Wallace Stegner's Crossing to safety 
Translated book (or book in English from a non-English background writer): I think it would be good to try to do at least one non-anglo book each year - but that may just be me
  • Jonas Jonasson's The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared
Non-fiction: 
  • Janet Butler's Kitty's war
  • Nicholas Carr's The shallows 
  • Bee Rowlatt and May Witwit Talking about Jane Austen in Baghdad
And of course there are some books under Suggestions in the sidebar.

    3 comments:

    Marie Zuvich said...

    Some that I've thoroughly enjoyed lately:
    Anything by Aminatta Forna but loved The Hired Man (set in modern Croatia with an English family renovating a house in a village previously affected by the recent war); and The Memory of Love (set in Sierra Leone, the birthplace of the author's father)
    Also just finished The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling. Dark modern Britain - could be any Western country; deeply insightful.
    As for a translation, The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.
    And thoroughly engrossed by Hannah Kent's Burial Rites.
    Marie Zuvich

    Sue T said...

    Thanks Marie --- Aminatta! That's it. I kept thinking Amrita. These are great additions to our list.

    Sue T said...

    Posted by Deb on our Facebook page:
    I've had trouble posting on Minerva Reads and I'm tired so here are my comments on 2014 list.
    The entire list is awesome and it would make for a perfect year of reading.
    My only suggestion for the list would be the new Lloyd Jones - A History of Silence. I listened to him on Richard Fiedler when I was sick and the story sounds incredible.
    Luminaries would have to be the Christmas read as it is over 800 pages. Every year I allocate a much anticipated read to a Boxing Day start and Luminaries is this year's.
    Alex Miller's Coal Creek is very good and I'm half way through.