Tomorrow will be the first of October (!) so that means it’s time for new book club selections. This month we have non-fiction, literary fiction and an old favorite of mine. Let’s take a look:
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LWD SEPTEMBER BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
After hearing no less than three podcasters rave about this book in the course of less than two weeks, I decided I needed to add it to my reading list.
“The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done. It is not a time management strategy, or a productivity technique. It is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter.”
2. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
This is one of my very favorite books and in fact, it occupies a spot on my desk along with a very small collection of favorites. I have no idea how many times I’ve ready this book yet each time I am reminded that Francie Nolan is a kindred spirit. It’s been a few years since I’ve read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn so I think it’s time. I’m going to try to set aside a whole day this month to just read and drink tea. Maybe it will even be a rainy day!
“The beloved American classic about a young girl’s coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness — in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience.”
3. I’ve long been fascinated by F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda. We had a book club selection about Zelda in July and this month we are going to take a peek at the final three years of Fitzgerald’s life. I bought my copy of West of Sunset at Faulkner House Books in New Orleans, one of my very favorite book stores.
“Those last three years of Fitzgerald’s life are the focus of Stewart O’Nan’s graceful and elegiac novel West of Sunset. With flashbacks to Fitzgerald’s glamorous Jazz Age past, the story follows him as he arrives on the MGM lot, falls in love with brassy gossip columnist Sheilah Graham, begins work on The Last Tycoon, and tries to maintain a semblance of family life with the absent Zelda and their daughter, Scottie. The Golden Age of Hollywood is brought vividly to life through the novel’s romantic cast of characters, from Dorothy Parker and Ernest Hemingway to Humphrey Bogart. Written with striking grace and subtlety, this is a wise and intimate portrait of a man trying his best to hold together a world that’s flying apart.”
Happy reading, my friends!
PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:
My reads this month will mostly be focussed on mysteries, weird tales, or spooky stories. I don’t do this every October (though I do try to be reading something weird or spooky on Halloween itself) but I decided I wanted to this year. I’m not saying I’ll be reading exclusively those types of books, but they will be my priority this month.
Also, I’m starting a monthly book reviews post on my blog, to do a round-up of what I read the previous month, along with what I thought of each book. The first one goes up this coming Monday, and details my reads for September. I’ve been doing the same thing for about a year now with movies and TV shows (though near the end of the month, rather than at the start of the following) and decided to also do it for books now for the benifit of book loving followers and friends who aren’t on Goodreads. I know I have you on Goodreads, but thought I’d mention it anyway.
I didn’t even think of choosing mysteries or spooky stories for October. That would have been a good idea. Next year!
Yeah… Next year. In the meantime, you could always think up ideas for holiday themed reads ready for December’s bookclub post… Just a thought.
Great idea – thanks! I’m going to make myself a reminder right now.