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And here are summaries of the options...
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
Readers will be startled to learn early on that the heroine of this engrossing puzzle, 26-year-old Laurel Estabrook, was born in West Egg. Wait a minute, wasn't West Egg where Jay Gatsby lived? Laurel works in a Burlington, Vt., homeless shelter and is trying to overcome mental and physical scars incurred from a brutal assault some six years earlier. After being given a portfolio of photographs taken by a recently deceased resident of the shelter, Bobbie Crocker, she becomes obsessed with questions surrounding what appears to be a picture of herself shot on the day of her attack. Laurel's already fragile mental state begins to unravel as she follows Bobbie's life from his rich-kid childhood on Long Island to homelessness in Vermont. The Gatsby references form the basis of the mystery, compelling readers to try to imagine how this fictional backdrop relates to the novel's "reality." It's a high-wire act for bestseller Bohjalian (Midwives), and while the climactic explanation may be a letdown for some, he generally pulls off a tricky and intriguing premise.
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
Erik Larson's latest work, In the Garden of Beasts, revisits chilling times, from Hitler's ascent to power in 1933 to the orgiastic climax of killings in the Night of the Long Knives. But he crafts his narrative through the eyes of America's ambassador, a history professor from Chicago, and his rather easy-virtued daughter, Martha, whose amorous encounters introduce us to a cadre of kooks, including a love-sick Soviet spy and the inadequately sadistic Gestapo chief.
Matched by Ally Condie
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.
The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.
Ohhhh, these all sound really interesting! I voted for Matched though--I am just so intrigued by the summary.
Matched sounds awesome! Yay Book Club!
Voted for Matched, I'm all about dystopian societies.
PSA, just finished The Night Circus and it was SO good
@LGenz: I love dystopian novels too. It made my vote easy!
My vote was for Matched too, I'm also a dystopian novel fan :)
They all sound really good to me though, I may end up reading them all just because!
@Running Elley: Did you realize Matched is a part of a trilogy? The second book (Crossed) is already out but I can't find an anticipated release date for the 3rd book.
@Mrs.KMM: No, I didn't know that! I love when books are part of a series because I hate when the actual book ends. At least with a series you have the next one to look forward to...until the last one and then you're so invested in the characters that it's extra sad! lol
It looks like Matched is our winner!!
Finals consumed my life so I missed the November book pooey. But, I have a month off from school, and was just looking at the list of top books of 2011. All three of those look really good!
@Running Elley: Not so fast :) I actually liked the Double Blind. Does anyone have these books on Kindle already that they can lend me? The wait times are sometimes too long at the library but I always do end up reading the books so I'm cool. Good job ladies. Let's keep this rolling :)
I voted for In the Garden of Beasts...I have a month off from grad school so I'm looking for something awesome to read.
Hey ladies!!! I just came back to this thread because I want to download the book to my Kindle and I couldn't remember which one we picked. It looks like we didn't have a clear winner. Eek! Has anyone started reading one of them yet?
I thought we had decided on Matched. I finished it last night and it was really good! I've already started the second book in the trilogy.
@Mrs.KMM: That's the one that I downloaded too and started yesterday :) I'll start a discussion thread later this week or early next to discuss.
I actually just finished Matched last night and am on the second chapter of the Double Bind. I also went and put Crossed on hold because I loved Matched so much. The girl in it reminded me of the girl in the Hunger Games but a bit NICER and their dystopian society is not as crazy as the one in the Hunger Games. Can't wait to come and discuss Matched :)
I'm going to start Matched later today! I'm excited, and I definitely can't wait to discuss it with you ladies. :)
@bRooklynRocks: I'm almost done with Matched (will probably finish it tonight) so I'm going to post the discussion thread this week! I'm really excited about discussing it too, I'm REALLY enjoying it and I'm so glad that the sequel is already out and I don't have to wait for it! It seems very Hunger Games-esque to me too but I think I like it a teeny bit better. It also is reminding me of The Giver.
@parasol: Oh maybe I'll wait until this weekend or Monday to post the thread then so you can be caught up!
@Running Elley: Aww, you're so sweet! Though if it's as good as you all say it is, perhaps I'll just speed through it tonight. :)
Just FYI, I'll be posting the discussion thread for Matched on Monday morning! I can't wait to discuss it, I loved this book!
@Running Elley: Yay! I'm so excited to discuss this book! I'm almost finished with it (off to read the last 50 or so pages right now!), and I've totally loved it. It's so interesting and captivating, and I really want to read the sequel now. And it's good to know that the final installment is scheduled to come out later this year - I don't know if I could wait much longer!
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Based on the responses in this morning's thread about whether there should be a book club book/discussion in December we decided to choose a book to read throughout December but we won't be discussing until mid-January. Since the holiday season is already so busy this will give people some extra time to get caught up. I'll leave the poll up until noon (PST) tomorrow to give everyone a chance to vote!