Modern Good Reads discussion

It’s time to nominate our MAY Book of the Month. Let’s let the fun of a new book and discussion begin.


What do you want to read & discuss?

We will be picking from your choices, but one book will be decided by your votes and the second by the moderators. We try to maintain a balance between indie and more mainstream books, and will make sure the final choices reflect the two. If the popular vote is for an indie, then the moderators will choose a mainstream option. If the popular vote is mainstream, then we will chose an indie option.


Please nominate your favorite to our list and we will get the poll up soon. First the ground rules:
- No self-nominations
- Any nominated book must have a minimum of 100 ratings
- The nominations will be open for three days
- Nominations will be listed in a first-come, first-serve manner, with the books with the most nominations heading the list
- Total number of nominations taken for the poll is twenty.
- If you prefer to email me your choices, those will be added at the end of that day’s nominations.

Since the second book in the series is about to release, I'll nominate Incandescent:

Season of the Witch

Natasha is an amazing author. Evocative and sensual,her writing is amazing. Check my review here :) http://tinyurl.com/k9pghk3
Cheers,
Leiah

I would like to nominate For a Hero by Jess Hunter and
Sable Hunter.This is not the conventional ALpha male and
a shy heroine romance.We have arson, a man bullied
verbally by a stepfather as child, who is unsure about
his self worth.A romance with a difference,please vote
for this book.

I nominate I Cried, You Didn't Listen: A First Person Look at a Childhood Spent Inside CYA Youth Detention Systems.

"I CRIED, YOU DIDN'T LISTEN IS THE MOST POWERFUL TALE OF HORROR WITHIN THE WALLS OF PENAL INSTITUTIONS SINCE 'PAPILLON.' THE TERRIFYING ASPECT IS THAT IT DESCRIBES AMERICA'S JUVENILE SYSTEM" - Alden Mills, ARETE MAGAZINE
"THE AUTHOR'S WELL-WRITTEN STORY COMES AT THE READER FAST AND FURIOUSLY; SHOCKING READERS INTO AN AWARENESS OF THE INHUMANITY OF AMERICA'S JUVENILE PENAL INSTITUTIONS."- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"I CRIED, YOU DIDN'T LISTEN IS A POWERFUL INDICTMENT OF A SYSTEM THAT MAY HAVE LOST TRACK OF ITS PURPOSE."- Don Davis, THE SAN DIEGO UNION

An early Winner of the "Project Censored" Award of Excellence; I Cried, You Didn't Listen is a powerful story. It is shocking, haunting and brutal. Although it is a rare and valuable document, what is exceptional is not Dwight Abbott's experience, but his clarity and courage in sharing that experience. Dwight tells the disturbing tale of a very young child, first committed to the care of the state because of family tragedy and bad luck. Once institutionalized, he must learn to live within the cruel dynamics of a system that grants power through violence and leaves children at the mercy of predatory adults. He is continually faced with the need to choose between dehumanizing options: Be predator or be prey. Even in Dwight's description of racialist violence we see the effect that the social system has had on him – cementing stereo-types and prejudices that become self-fulfilling prophesy. Dwight's account is terrifying. Upon reading it, one must recognize that, faced with the stark choice between victimizing another and being a victim oneself, the morals and values that make sense in freedom fall away. Perpetrating violence appears as the best option for self-preservation. This is the fundamental dynamic at work in Dwight's institutional life. I Cried, You Didn't Listen shows that, within incarcerating institutions, violence in all its forms – sexual assault, cliques, crews, gangs, emotional abuse – is essentially about power and control both over and above one’s own sense of self. -Books not Bars

It's the first part of a powerful biography and it's just $0.82. No reason not to read it and a million good reasons to do so.

WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES, a father discovers that a journey of misfortune is sometimes the path to deliverance.
The quaint mountain town of Ruidoso, New Mexico, is the perfect place for Isaac Snow to raise his family. But when eight-year-old daughters, Caroline and Josie, commit an innocent act of heroism, media coverage attracts the wrong kind of attention. Soon, their life unravels, leading them to the crossroads of love and hate, forgiveness and retribution.

In the dark hours of a drizzly morning, Isaac, an ex-air force pilot, wakes to find a masked intruder cradling one of the twins in his arms. Before he can react, the man in black leaps through the nearest window, plummeting in a tangle of body parts and glass. Isaac charges in pursuit, but is suddenly faced with a new dilemma. Caroline is unconscious, lying facedown in the lawn, cuts from the shattered window saturating her pajamas. If he gives chase, his little girl will surely bleed to death.

From a secretive loner with a pension for unrestrained violence to the pristine granite peaks of the Rocky Mountains--from laughter filled family dinners to a string of cross-country abductions, LANDON PARHAM'S debut novel relentlessly explores the horrific realities of unnatural lust and obsession. Taken well beyond the investigation and law-enforcement tactics, you'll find yourself steeped in journey of evil and torment, and the power of family that overcomes it all. Suspenseful, bold and meticulously researched; a true psychological thriller that captures the heart.

I support the choice of Danielle Tremblay. I've read it and this book really shook me and pushed me to wonder how it was possible that treat human beings, especially children, in this way. And do not imagine that it's not like that anymore. Unfortunately, children as young as 8 years old are still imprisoned for several years. We can't stay blind to their sufferance.

I nominate Fingersmith. I just read it and it's a real page turner, a kind of historical mystery with turns in plot that'll keep you hanging off your chair.

I nominate The Copy.

Ambitious geneticist Geoffrey Bartell is fighting for his life. His company is under legal and political attack while his marriage crumbles around him. Desperate to recapture his once idyllic life he comes upon the perfect solution by creating a clone of himself, and together they set about picking up the pieces.

But the perfection is short-lived as the two’s priorities begin to diverge. As the jealousies and resentments build Bartell comes to realize that while living alone was difficult, living as two may be impossible. Things take a dark turn and before long Bartell finds himself at the center of a criminal murder trial in which he now must fight to salvage what life he can.

"Dark and edgy. The mystery and intrigue kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put it down." -ML

I'd like to nominate Grayson by Lisa Eugene! It's a romance novel where the hero is schizophrenic. This book teaches that despite our limitations, we can do incredible things. It's an amazing love story that will make you laugh, cry, angry, and will inspire you. Check out the reviews! I LOVED this book.

Thank you for the great nominations. This thread is now closed so I can put together the voting poll. If your nomination was not included it is because it did not meet the 100 ratings minimum requirement.