Bumping this up again ahead of it being August tomorrow and therefore a new book club choice. We still need a book for December, and I'd still like to step down from the role of co-ordinating the book club next year.
July The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark, led by @North East Quine
August King Solomon's Carpet led by @Fineline
September The Tenant of Wildfell Hall [/]by Anne Bronte, led by @Tukai
October The Promise by Damon Galgut, led by @MaryLouise
November The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Gouge, led by @Nenya.
December ?
July The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark, led by @North East Quine
August King Solomon's Carpet by Barbara Vine led by @Fineline
September The Tenant of Wildfell Hall [/]by Anne Bronte, led by @Tukai
October The Promise by Damon Galgut, led by @MaryLouise
November The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Gouge, led by @Nenya.
December ?
Thanks for pointing out I'd missed putting down the author of next book. I haven't read a Vine in years, but have enjoyed the ones I have read so looking forward to it.
I can’t think of many novels for adults with Christmas themes. All that comes to mind is a selection of children’s books - “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, Arthur Ransome’s “Winter Holiday” and Susan Cooper’s “The Dark is Rising” (that might be a good one actually). The first few chapters of “Little Women”.
I can’t think of many novels for adults with Christmas themes. All that comes to mind is a selection of children’s books - “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, Arthur Ransome’s “Winter Holiday” and Susan Cooper’s “The Dark is Rising” (that might be a good one actually). The first few chapters of “Little Women”.
The Dark is Rising is a great book, as is the whole series.
One Christmas book with a different twist is Certain Poor Shepherds by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, who also wrote The Hidden Life of Dogs. It tells the story of a sheep, a dog and a goat who see (and smell) the star, and who follow where it leads. The story is as much or more about animals as about Christmas, and these are definitely not anthropomorphic animals.
It’s not a heavy read (which may be just as well in December) and it’s not at all sentimental, but it does come at a familiar story from a very different and, I thought when I read it many years ago, interesting angle.
I can’t think of many novels for adults with Christmas themes. All that comes to mind is a selection of children’s books - “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, Arthur Ransome’s “Winter Holiday” and Susan Cooper’s “The Dark is Rising” (that might be a good one actually). The first few chapters of “Little Women”.
The Dark is Rising is a great book, as is the whole series.
One Christmas book with a different twist is Certain Poor Shepherds by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, who also wrote The Hidden Life of Dogs. It tells the story of a sheep, a dog and a goat who see (and smell) the star, and who follow where it leads. The story is as much or more about animals as about Christmas, and these are definitely not anthropomorphic animals.
I haven't read Certain Poor Shepherds and it sounds good; my only concern would be getting hold of a copy, given the trouble I've had trying to source the current book. Having said that, it looks as though it's a book that would be nice to own, if we did decide to do it.
We did Little Women last Christmas but I'd be up for any of the others that @Aravis lists.
A couple of Christmas books I like that are both very sort and aimed at children, though enjoyable for all ages are: The Thirteen Days of Christmas by Jenny Overton and I saw Three Ships by Elizabeth Gouge. I think doing two books by the same author back to abck is probably not a good idea though.
I think we did The Dark is Rising a few years back.
If short is desired—and maybe it should be in December—there’s Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory.
Not short exactly, but made up of chapters that read like short stories, is Jean Shepherd’s In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash. (The movie “A Christmas Story” is based on it.)
I'm very happy to announce that @Caissa has offered to take over the running of the book group next year. I've enjoyed doing it, but various other commitments mean I haven't got the time to do it properly anymore. I'll be stepping down at the end of the year.
Keep the Christmas suggestions coming.
Thanks, @Sarasa, for running this group for so long - it's one of my favourite things in the Ship. And thanks, @Caissa, for volunteering to take over for next year.
Thank you for looking after this thread for so long @Sarasa . And thank you @Caissa for keeping it going. I’m glad that the ship book group has been and will be in good hands.
Good thing I checked here as I was merrily thinking I was leading on The Little White Horse in December and have just realised it is in November! Fortunately I have been rereading it anyway, as a welcome relief from the tedium of my current real-life book club book.
I am not up for anything murder-mystery-ish. It's not my preferred genre and I've read enough (for me) of it this year both here and in my real-life book club.
But don't go by me: I am not yet sure how December is going to look for me for reading. The easy options for me from the suggestions above would be The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe or Winter Holiday - haven't reread the latter for years - but people probably wouldn't want to do another "children's" book straight after The Little White Horse.
I found this one in a list of books recommended to be read during Hanukkah.
The Frozen Rabbi by Steve Stern.
Hanukkah is a holiday celebrating a miracle. The miracle of the oil is a fantastical story that the rabbinical tradition felt the need to tack onto this commemoration of a miraculous military victory. So, I wanted to include something that had a miraculous quality to it; The Frozen Rabbi certainly does.
It’s a hilarious novel based on a fantastic premise. A Jewish teen in Tennessee, looking for hamburgers, discovers a 19th-century rabbi in his family’s deep freezer. Then there’s a power failure. The rabbi defrosts and it’s just hilarious. It becomes a story about the history of Jews in diaspora and about how the past haunts us. The Frozen Rabbi really captures that miraculous element of Hanukkah and the way all Jewish holidays tie modern people to an ancient past.
I quite like the idea of The Frozen Rabbi, but it would be good if someone read it first before we committed to a book that might not be as funny as the premise makes out.
I was thinking about going for a slightly different idea for December's book club and instead sharing our favourite Christmas poetry. To get round copyright problems we'd need to post link to places we can find the poems we're recommending. What does everyone think?
I just read Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Christmas Banquet to see if it was suitable, but think I found the most depressing Christmas story ever written! The premise is a yearly Christmas banquet for the most miserable people the stewards select and one man who is considered the most unfortunate of all. Interesting, but not a suitable Christmas read!
Looks like poetry is the way to go. I realise some of the group are busy celebrating Thanksgiving and before we know it it will be Christmas, so fitting in a novel might be challenging.
Comments
July The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark, led by @North East Quine
August King Solomon's Carpet led by @Fineline
September The Tenant of Wildfell Hall [/]by Anne Bronte, led by @Tukai
October The Promise by Damon Galgut, led by @MaryLouise
November The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Gouge, led by @Nenya.
December ?
July The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark, led by @North East Quine
August King Solomon's Carpet by Barbara Vine led by @Fineline
September The Tenant of Wildfell Hall [/]by Anne Bronte, led by @Tukai
October The Promise by Damon Galgut, led by @MaryLouise
November The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Gouge, led by @Nenya.
December ?
Thanks for pointing out I'd missed putting down the author of next book. I haven't read a Vine in years, but have enjoyed the ones I have read so looking forward to it.
One Christmas book with a different twist is Certain Poor Shepherds by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, who also wrote The Hidden Life of Dogs. It tells the story of a sheep, a dog and a goat who see (and smell) the star, and who follow where it leads. The story is as much or more about animals as about Christmas, and these are definitely not anthropomorphic animals.
It’s not a heavy read (which may be just as well in December) and it’s not at all sentimental, but it does come at a familiar story from a very different and, I thought when I read it many years ago, interesting angle.
I haven't read Certain Poor Shepherds and it sounds good; my only concern would be getting hold of a copy, given the trouble I've had trying to source the current book. Having said that, it looks as though it's a book that would be nice to own, if we did decide to do it.
We did Little Women last Christmas but I'd be up for any of the others that @Aravis lists.
The Thirteen Days of Christmas by Jenny Overton and I saw Three Ships by Elizabeth Gouge. I think doing two books by the same author back to abck is probably not a good idea though.
I think we did The Dark is Rising a few years back.
Not short exactly, but made up of chapters that read like short stories, is Jean Shepherd’s In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash. (The movie “A Christmas Story” is based on it.)
Keep the Christmas suggestions coming.
I don't think we've settled on a December choice?
We haven't got a December choice yet. Any thoughts on a Hannukah themed one @Caissa?
But don't go by me: I am not yet sure how December is going to look for me for reading. The easy options for me from the suggestions above would be The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe or Winter Holiday - haven't reread the latter for years - but people probably wouldn't want to do another "children's" book straight after The Little White Horse.
The Frozen Rabbi by Steve Stern.
Hanukkah is a holiday celebrating a miracle. The miracle of the oil is a fantastical story that the rabbinical tradition felt the need to tack onto this commemoration of a miraculous military victory. So, I wanted to include something that had a miraculous quality to it; The Frozen Rabbi certainly does.
It’s a hilarious novel based on a fantastic premise. A Jewish teen in Tennessee, looking for hamburgers, discovers a 19th-century rabbi in his family’s deep freezer. Then there’s a power failure. The rabbi defrosts and it’s just hilarious. It becomes a story about the history of Jews in diaspora and about how the past haunts us. The Frozen Rabbi really captures that miraculous element of Hanukkah and the way all Jewish holidays tie modern people to an ancient past.
I was thinking about going for a slightly different idea for December's book club and instead sharing our favourite Christmas poetry. To get round copyright problems we'd need to post link to places we can find the poems we're recommending. What does everyone think?
Including some of U A Fanthorpe's lovely Christmas poems please!