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I read a bit of this in the bookstore tonight and I am going to have to pass on this. I really could not get past the first 15 pages, let alone the whole book. There is just too much to read on my plate at this time. I have not even started the Arendt book (and may not get to that either).

Sorry Chris.

Nick

I definitely plan to read that book. My wife said is was quite good, though depressing, and it received very positive reviews. Hosseini's The Kite Runner was well worth reading.

In addition, it's important to understand Afghanistan better, considering its impact on the world, US responsibility for what happened there, and the ongoing chaos in present-day Afghanistan.

This books received really great reviews. Any other comments?

I'm not really thrilled about the prospect, and since I'm already reading "The Brother's Karamazov" and have promised some friends to read a book they like a lot, it would take something that really excited me to get me to commit to a fiction reading next month. Sorry.

Chris OConnor wrote:This books received really great reviews. Any other comments?

I read the book and wasn't that impressed. It's not bad. It just didn't have the impact of The Kite Runner. However, my wife read it and said she really liked it, even though it is depressing. Since the focus of the book is two women, it may be that my gender influenced my reaction.

At any rate, it is useful because it does open a window into a part of the world most Westerners know very little about. On the other hand, Hosseini's fiction seems to be drifting toward the formulaic.

I have too much going on in my own life right now, so I don't plan to participate in any book discussions for a while.

George

Hmmm...

we really need to find a fiction book for December and January and now is the time for selecting it.

I don't know what to tell you, Chris. I suggested three fiction bestsellers in the other book thread, but they didn't receive much comment. Those are about the only fiction books I saw that matched your criteria and interested me enough that I would probably join in. And even those weren't ideal -- "Suite Francaise" is probably the most appropriate in terms of subject matter, but it's long; "On Chesil Beach" is apparantly sexually explicit.

If you don't think any of those are suitable, and you're intent on sticking with this Top 1000 criteria, then you may as well stick with "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and see who you can attract to the site.

Incidentally, a lot of the books that show up on the Amazon Top 1000 are self-help books, children's fiction, serialized books, special interest books, cookbooks, and so on. Most of those are completely unsuitable for a book discussion group, so we're actually chosing from a list that's much smaller than 1000 books.

MadArchitect wrote:I don't know what to tell you, Chris. I suggested three fiction bestsellers in the other book thread, but they didn't receive much comment. Those are about the only fiction books I saw that matched your criteria and interested me enough that I would probably join in. And even those weren't ideal -- "Suite Francaise" is probably the most appropriate in terms of subject matter, but it's long; "On Chesil Beach" is apparantly sexually explicit.

Chris mentioned to me that he would be willing to choose "Candide" if a few more people were going to participate...so far it is Me, You (Mad) and Seeker I believe, Only 3.

Mr. P.

Fact of the matter is, I don't think "Candide" is likely to be a popular choice, either -- at least, not if people make the effort to familiarize themselves with the book before hand. It's a pretty brutal story, and not terribly redeeming.

MadArchitect wrote:Fact of the matter is, I don't think "Candide" is likely to be a popular choice, either -- at least, not if people make the effort to familiarize themselves with the book before hand. It's a pretty brutal story, and not terribly redeeming.

Right up my alley!!!