The Next Best Book Club discussion

Lorena, thanks for coming up with this topic! I dont think i will have too many to add to this one, but I will try like hell... My Saramago seemed to be a big hit, so the magic might be gone!!

Seth,I'm going to have to check up all these books.I haven't read a single one!

Lorena's Top 10 Great Books You Probably Never Heard of ...


1. Maria, by Jorge Isaacs -best love story, written by this Colombian writer between 1864-1867.

2. The Vortex, (La Voragine), by Jose Eustasio Rivera, The novel written in 1924, elegant and refined prose, is full of metaphors and poetry, that shows the beauty and exotism of the virgin Colombian rainforest.

3. Love in the times of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, magical realism at its best, this is another love story with the strange twist and turns GGM puts into his work.

4. The Billygoat (El Carnero) by Juan Rodriguez Freyle, written in 1638, novel about the establishment of the American conquest, and the foundation of Bogota, the capital of Colombia.

5. Chronicles of a death foretold, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, this could be my favorite novel by this author, its about the story of a death by honor, told by several people who witness the “facts”.

6. Simon the Magician, By Tomas de Carrasquilla, written in 1890, explores the moment in time when black and white Colombians became equals and the clash of the African culture had with the Spaniards and the criollos (sons of Spaniards born in South America).

7. La Celestina, Fernando de Rojas, written in 1499. A tale of love a la Romeo and his Juliet, marks the end of medieval literature and the beginning of the Renaissance in Spain.

8. Don Quixote (Don Quijote de la Mancha), by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, written about 1605, is regarded as one of the best novels ever written, is a satirical look at the world at the times.

9. Azul… (blue…), Ruben Dario, published in 1888, is a collection of his work. He was called the father of modernism. His work was written in prose and depended a lot in rhythm, so I truly don’t know how that would translate to English.

10. Ficciones, Jorge Luis Borges (fictions, by Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges … he he he , I had to do that), 1944 collection of some of the authors short stories, just beautiful work.

Lorena, I've had Labyrinths by Borges sitting on my shelf for years and have never cracked it. Have you read this one before? Should I move it up my to read list?

Seth, thanks for the list! I can't wait to check out some of your recommendations, I love books that I haven't heard of.

these are all truely books that i have never heard of. (Well with the exception of Don Quixote (how do you even pronounce that?) Oh boy, more books for me to look into and add to my list!

Logan, Borges was an avid reader, not more like a super reader, he was so well read an inventive that he created this worlds in his mini stories that are unbelievable, some you will dislike some will have you thinking for days, his wok is full of philosophy and vivid images, is like if Dahli wrote instead of paint. I have not read Laberynths but I am wondering if I have read the stories in another compilation under a different name in Spanish.

I would love to know what you think once you read him, many authors of our day take his format as a platform.

Lori I think it would sound something like Kijote in English, that is mi daughter's favorite bedtime reading material, I have a version for "children" in modern Spanish, she loves all of the trouble he gets into and his dreams. It is fun.

Here is my list, tho I am not sure how 'unknown' some of these might be. They were quite obscure to me when I found out about them, tho since then I have written a little bit about some of them on here...

1. The Testament of Gideon Mack - James Robertson
2. The Seven Days of Peter Crumb - Jonny Glynn
3. Samedi The Deafness - Jesse Ball
4. The Town That Forgot How to Breathe - Kenneth J. Harvey
5. Virgins and Martyrs- Simon Magin
6. The Coma - Alex Garland
7. The Blood of Angels - Stephen Gregory
8. Being Dead - Jim Crace

Well this is a great place to come if you want to feel illiterate and inferior!I have only heard of two of them and read one,Love in the Time of Cholera.The rest is virgin territory!Well now I have more books to check out and read up on.

Sherry, you should in no way feel illiterate or inferior. I haven't heard of most of these recommendations, but I'm looking to fix that very soon.

I guess I should make a list... Ummm... This may take a minute.

i feel like a kid in a candy store with all these new books and ideas to explore!!!!im a knowledge junkie!!!thank you all

Lori -- How was The Town That Forgot How To Breathe? I had heard about it somewhere and added it to my TBR list, but I haven't talked to anyone who read it!

The Town That Forgot.. was an interesting read. Its about a coastal town of mainly fishermen who start to see and experience strange things. Suddenly some of the town people become sick with an illness where they are fighting for every breath. And its all linked to the strange goings-on.

Its quite a long book, mid-500 pgs. There are some rambeling parts, but overall it was good. Never read anything like it before!

Sherry, this is the books you probably never heard of... a little obscure, a little unknown but that you know others with a love for reading such as yourself would probably enjoy. Some great authors go by being unknown to the book lovers and we are going to correct that ... ;o)

This is fantastic...I just hope I can find this in the book stores.

Does anyone other than myself see the irony of the responses to my post?If you REALLY want to feel illerate and inferior say something of this nature on a post meant to be unknown and obscure!
(I say having a very good laugh at my expense!)

Actually what is mildly intimidating is I'm sure I know of no books to fit this category other than,maybe Music of Razors.

Don't worry Sherry, I'm standing right next to you...lol.

Now this is what I love about GoodReads....I love to read but after a while I never get out of my "comfort zone" with nre authors. I am ALWAYS excited about hearing of different authors that people like to read. Now that inspires me!!

Good to know LittleSaintina! :)

Some really interesting choices there Ken.I had A Death in the Family on my wishlist but I see a couple of others that will have to be added.

Ken, I had no idea that Anthony Bourdain had written a book about Typhoid Mary. I need to find this and devour it.

I am so happy that I stumbled across this site. For too many years I have stayed with popular fiction by my favourite authors. There are some fantastic books out there that I would never have known about if not for you wonderful people. I am definitely going to broaden my horizons! Thank you :)

Haa haa,... dont thank us yet Karen... you may just decline into bankruptcy becuase of this site!

I love No Reservations! A.B. is one of my favorite TV people. I will check this title too, Thanks!

I find Flying Saucers intriguing as well as Typhoid Mary.

Both sound interesting.

Well you've got to love GRs.2 more books added to an already long wishlist but having checked out both books,I have to have them.Thanks for the recos Ken.

And here I thought I was a serious bibliophile... I've heard of Don Quixote, I've heard of Love in the Time of Cholera - but the rest... oh dear.

Back to the same tagline - sooo many books, sooo little time!

I'm not sure how unheard of these are, but here are some books I've absolutely adored lately:

1. Under Milk Wood - Dylan Thomas
It's a play for voices, but I've seen a staged version of it as well. It's about a sleepy, fictional Welsh town, populated by quirky, yet fiercely human characters. And the language is as lush as grass is green.

2. Eternal Curse on the Reader of These Pages - Manuel Puig
Ninety-five percent of the book is dialog (223 out of 232 pages) between an exiled invalid and his caretaker. But their conversations span politics, sex, and philosophy. Also, it's Puig's first novel in English.

3. Lemon - Lawrence Krauser
Krauser is mainly a playwright and that sensibility colors his stream-of-consciousness novel. His protagonist, Wendell, finds a lemon, pockets it, and the tale unfolds from there...

4. A Girl Named Charlie Lester - Carissa Halston
I would recommend this coming-of-age novel to anyone who's ever asked, "Who am I?" The titular character struggles to find a sense of purpose through her work, and through her relationships, sometimes finding that they overlap. This book stays with you long after you're finished reading.

5. Perdido Street Station - China Mieville
Mieville creates a world so new and surreal that you're almost overtaken by it. Not to give anything away, but the world plays a major part in the outcome of this novel.

6. The Cheese Monkeys - Chip Kidd
Long before Art School Confidential, Chip Kidd wrote about the birth of commercial art (whoops, that is...graphic design) in this beautifully laid out novel. Besides the backdrop of design knowledge, the story Kidd tells is absorbing and loaded with heart. And if you like this one, you're in luck...there's a sequel.

7. The Dot and the Line - Norton Juster
You've probably heard of The Phantom Tollbooth by the same author. But this lesser known volume is a gem of a picture book. Made into an animated short by Chuck Jones (years and years and years ago...), this is a charming story of an unlikely coupling.

8. This Book Will Change Your Life
Gasp and shriek...humor. I know. It doesn't tell a story. But, the next time you're in a bookstore, look for this one and flip through the irreverent suggestions on how to drastically change your life. ...then thank goodness that you're not in jail for following the directions.

I hope eight will do. Everything else I've read recently has been hyped or is relatively well-known.

How 'bout
The Book of Fred by Abby Bardy
A Special Relationship by Douglas Kennedy
The Bastard of Carolina-Dorothy Allison
A Lifetime Burning-Linda Gillard
Emotional Geology-Linda Gillard
Parvana-Deborah Ellis
Parvana's Journey-Deborah Ellis


Books I have read in the last year of so that were really good but I don't think they are very popular.
I really liked all of these...

I've read Bastard Out of Carolina. Dorothy Allison is a wonderful writer. Her best book, as far as I am concerned, is "The Women Who Hate Me".

How about -

Paradise by Toni Morrison

and Vida by Marge Piercy

I am so glad someone else has read Bastard Out of Carolina
That was one of my favorite books!
I loved it.
I'll put that other one on my Wishlist
Thanks Sharon!

My reading habits aren't terribly strange, but some of my library sale acquisitions have been pretty obscure...

1. The Secret Life of Lazlo Count Dracula
Roderick Anscombe
2. Listening Now
Anjana Appachana
3. Drinking Coffee Elsewhere
Z Z Packer
4. Pink Samurai
Nicholas Bornoff (Not finished with this one, but
loving it just the same. It's about sex in Japanese culture.)
5. After Dark
Haruki Murakami
6. Forms of Shelter
Angela Davis-Gardner
7. The Antelope Wife
Louise Erdrich
8. Negotiating with the Dead
Margaret Atwood
9. Watercolor Bold and Free
Lawrence C. Goldsmith (A really great book on painting if you are interested in it, also has pretty pictures)
10. The Inhabited World
David Long

Sharon, I've never heard of Vida but read Piercy's Dance the Eagle to Sleep and really enjoyed it. I'll have to track down Vida at some point.

I've also read Bastard Out of Carolina. I read it when I was a junior in high school and at the time, it had a lot of shock value for me.

Oh, I did too. I read Kafka on the Shore this summer (on audio, performed by a british guy which was weird because they mispronounce the japanese in a whole different way than americans do...it was kind of odd). And just loved that too. I'm waiting for his new book to come into the library, WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNING . It's still on order, but I'm amused. His short stories are pretty good too.

Another one who's read Bastard Out of Carolina
Fantastic
I really loved that book!

Yukio Mishima...Don't know if I know that one. I have a copy of The Tale of Genji I need to get to and I have read some Kazuo Ishiguro. He's interesting because he is Japanese living in England, so all of his topics seem to be about Britain. It's really interesting.
Also I keep meaning to check out Banana Yoshimoto. I read a paragraph of one of her books once, but didn't have the money to buy it then and haven't gotten back to finding it again. Her style is really interesting.

"Never Let Me Go" was good, very weird though. And Dark.
I have "Remains of the Day" haven't read it yet.
Has anyone read anything by Natsuo Kirino
I read "Out". It was pretty good.

David Bowie? I'm there.
No really, that sounds interesting. I love Japanese culture. Other than comics though, the first book I read was Shogun. Which still makes me laugh. And while I'm thinking about that, White Lotus comes to mind also. Anyone ever read that? Very amusing book. (more Chinese culture though) It's funny to read all the outrageous reviews on that one.
I tried reading some Gail Tsukiyama, but I couldn't get into her style.
I just finished Remains of the day. It's really dry, but worthwhile. I enjoyed it.

I second Lorena in my love for Borges. The three collections by him I adore are:

1. Ficciones
2. El Aleph
3. El Hacedor (english title is Dreamtigers)

Jean Rhys wrote a novel called Good Morning, Midnight which I completely recommend.

Belinda, I have read the Cheese Monkeys (it was ok) and This Book Will Save Your Life (really good!)

I don't know if this book is obscure, but has anyone read "The Moviegoer" by Walker Percy? It shows up on a lot of Top 100 Books lists, but I had never heard of it until I found a copy at my grandmother's house and don't know anyone who has ever read it. (I read it awhile ago, and liked it but it's been long enough that I don't feel comfortable giving more of a review than that.)

How about "Happy All the Time" by Laurie Colwin? A short novel about two male cousins and the quirky women they fall in love with. It's got a great timeless quality to it and the characters are likeable and complex (without being exhausting). Colwin writes great short stories, too.

One of my all-time favorite books is "Father Elijah: an Apocalypse" by Michael D. O'Brien. You can probably guess from the title that it's an apocalyptic novel written from a Catholic perspective. It's mysterious, mystical, religious, historical, romantic...all in one brilliantly written novel. At one point, I had read it 4 times in 3 years.

Oh, and Starlight...I read "The Moviegoer" last summer for a class in Southern Literature, and I really enjoyed it.

So glad to read these comments on "The Moviegoer"
It is one of the books we are reading in bookclub this year and I just mooched it a couple days ago.
Looking forward to reading it.

Hi Starlight

I discovered Laurie Colwin last year via the NPR program Selected Shorts I subscribe to the podcast). It featured one of her stories and I immediately wanted to read her. I don't think I have that book...must check my TBR piles!

Happy All the Time is wonderful, Renee. She has a great short story book called "Passion and Affect", too. I first read her in a collection of short stories by various writers called "White Rabbit" A Psychedelic Reader". Her story was called "The Achieve of, The Mastery of the Thing," which was hilarious. I instantly fell in love.

I loved THE RICE MOTHER by Rani Manicka and not too many of my friends have heard of it. It was so good!