21st Century Literature discussion

Nominations are now open until December 22nd for the February 2021 Open Pick. As a one-off experiment we would like to make this one a non-fiction book, on whatever subject you like.

Nominating guidelines:
- Non-Fiction (original & translation, if applicable) first published between January 1, 2000 and February 1, 2020. For translations the latter date must be an English edition.
- One nomination per person (please do not nominate or vote for a book unless you are certain you can read and discuss if it wins)
- A book this group has not yet read (see the group bookshelf or the Index of all Group Reads))

If you are nominating, please begin your post by stating "I nominate [name with hyperlink to book]"

The discussion will start on February 1st

I nominate Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

I read it for a real life book group this summer and there was a lot to talk about.

Thanks Ang - that looks fine.

Great, thanks. I removed the question at the top so that the nomination is at the beginning of the post.

Perhaps it was discussed beforehand, but first I would like to point out the date of publication is after the cutoff date. I would also like the group to ignore that. The target date for publication was January of last year. Nonfiction tends to differ from fiction in the length of time of reading value, diminishing in value quicker than fiction except for a few cases. The closer we read the nonfiction to the publication date is going to be a plus sometimes, so I suggest a little leeway when it comes to rules on dates of publication and that they are measured against group interest. Ang picked a great selection.

Good point Sam - I should have checked that. A lot of non-fiction boks never make it to mass market paperback editions, so for now I am tempted to let it stand and see what else is nominated.

I nominate Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood.

I nominate Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.

Thanks Ami - that one definitely qualifies. Lyn - that one is very recent so I can't guarantee that we can accept it - will discuss this with the other moderators.

I nominateThe Fall: A Father's Memoir in 424 Steps
I haven’t read anything else like it.

Hugh wrote: "Good point Sam - I should have checked that. A lot of non-fiction boks never make it to mass market paperback editions, so for now I am tempted to let it stand and see what else is nominated."

Oops! I don't mind if you need to disqualfy it. I double checked that I understood the start date but the end date passed me by completely.

Hugh wrote: "Thanks Ami - that one definitely qualifies. Lyn - that one is very recent so I can't guarantee that we can accept it - will discuss this with the other moderators."

I, for one, hope you will consider allowing "Caste". It has been brought to my attention strongly in recent weeks, although I haven't picked it up. It apparently should be quite topical this year. If it doesn't qualify, I will nominate another book, Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America by Rich Benjamin -- not so much for it to be chosen as to remind people it is available to be read, if not in its entirety, at least in part. (I have not looked closely at criteria for inclusion; it was published in 2009.)

Thanks Ang. On reflection I think we should stick to our rules, so your nomination and Lyn's are out - both of you are welcome to nominate another. Lily's is fine.

I will nominate At the Loch of the Green Corrie, a book I would love to reread. Inspired by his friend and inspiration, the late poet Norman McCaig, this is a mixture of tribute, memoir and travel/landscape writing that I found very moving.

Lily wrote: ". Lyn - that one is very recent so I can't guarantee that we can accept it - "..."

Even if Caste does not qualify for this Non Fiction Open Pick I hope it might be resubmitted under some guise in the next few months. I, too, am very interested in this book.

For those of you who are fairly new to the group, the two main reasons behind the 12 month rule were availability of the books, particularly for those on low budgets, and to try and stop discussions being confined to overhyped new books that many other groups cover.

Hugh wrote: "For those of you who are fairly new to the group, the two main reasons behind the 12 month rule were availability of the books, particularly for those on low budgets, and to try and stop discussion being confined to overhyped new books that many other groups cover."

Both great reasons!

Laurie wrote: "I nominate Charged: Overzealous Prosecutors, the Quest for Mercy, and the Fight to Transform Criminal Justice in America by Emily Bazelon."

Thanks Laurie - that one is fine too.

Just my 2 cents on the rule. I almost never pay for books, but read the newest books frequently. I have had
caste on my Kindle free from Library2Go for awhile already.

This debate is in danger of side-tracking the whole point of this thread, i.e. to choose a book for February.

Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys Viv Albertine

Have to have a fun one on the list.

Thanks Sam - this will be an interesting poll!

Sam beat me to it. I was just about to nominate Patti Smith's Just Kids or M Train, but I'll hold on it until the next nonfiction round. So many great suggestions.

I nominate The Adversary: A True Story of Monstrous Deception by Emmanuel Carrère

I tend to only read nonfiction if it is selected by one of my real life book groups. This was a good one.

Vesna wrote: "Sam beat me to it. I was just about to nominate Patti Smith's Just Kids or M Train, but I'll hold on it until the next nonfiction round. So many great suggestions."

Vesna, I was considering Year of the Monkey, but thought Viv Albertine might be more interesting. If you would prefer, I can withdraw the nomination, so you can put up one of Patti Smith's books.

Thanks Ang

Sam wrote: "Vesna, I was considering Year of the Monkey, but thought Viv Albertine might be more interesting. If you would prefer, I can withdraw the nomination, so you can put up one of Patti Smith's books."

Oh, no, Sam, please don't withdraw your nomination. I think the book you nominated will be fun. It will be difficult for me to decide what to vote for, because I've been wanting to read at least a couple of other nominated books and your nomination is very tempting too. Great choice.

Last chance to nominate today - I will start the poll tomorrow.

The poll is now up and will run until the end of the year.

Here is the link: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

No clear winner yet, and we may be heading for a tie break, but there are still three days left to vote.

It's a tricky one - There are several I would be interested in, but their length puts me off, as I don't generally read nonfiction and prefer them shorter. I have changed my vote to one I originally avoided because of length.

Now changed again to the one I nominated, as it seems the correct thing to do. But I hope Searching for Whitopia will not be left with no votes.

I intend to try and read and comment on the selection without regard to my taste just to support the idea of literary nonfiction, though from the looks of things, they are all interesting picks. I am quite pleased with the variety of nominations. Especially, the multiple translations and the graphic memoir. Perseopolis is the only one I have read and I recommend it to those that aren't familiar with the work. Marjane Satrapi devoted a good portion of the early 21st century to the work, film adaptation, and promotion.

My nomination has no hope of being selected, but I can't commit to reading most of the others. It was always likely that this round would divide opinion - what brings us together as a group is our taste in fiction, and our tastes in non-fiction have not been explored and are bound to diverge more.

The Adversary has won the poll. Ang - are you happy to lead the discussion? One of the moderators, probably me, will create the folder a day or two before the discussion is due to start, and we will give you any help or advice you need.

Oh wow. Yes, I'll try, and happy for help and advice.

Thanks Ang. I have also created a poll to help decide my February moderator pick here:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

Good choices, Hugh.

The Life of an Unknown Man has won the moderator pick poll - I am looking forward to rereading this one.

It caused me to break my new year's resolution to not buy any new books for at least a month! Now I just hope it arrives in time to read for the discussion, given how delayed delivery of packages of any kind has become.

I've got my copy of The Adversary from the library, ready to re-read it in preparation for a group discussion. It is very short and I think it would be best handled in a single thread with spoilers allowed. Please let me know if that is acceptable. I see a January discussion is set for 15th Jan so just wondering when I should be ready for this one. I thought it would be 1st Feb but happy to delay it if that is the norm.

Ang wrote: "I've got my copy of The Adversary from the library, ready to re-read it in preparation for a group discussion. It is very short and I think it would be best handled in a single thread with spoilers..."
Yes, a single discussion would be fine. Open pick discussions always start on the 1st of the month, so we will create a folder for you on or before the 31st of January. The wild card and moderator pick discussions overlap with the open pick discussions but we start those on the 15th of the month to avoid starting too many discussions simultaneously.

Great, thank you.