Hello, hubski, especially you 74 people who follow this tag and you twenty-something I have just highlighted. I suspect almost complete overlap in the two groups. Oh well.

Anyway, we are gathered here today to select a new material for the hubski book club. Three or four of us just finished reading Blood Meridian. This time we would like more people to finish reading our choice, so while all suggestions are welcome it would be nice if we kept things light this go-round. Light-ish. Suggest away!

eightbitsamurai, StJohn, DiamondLou86, AnSionnachRua, _refugee_, minimum_wage, flagamuffin, fuffle, b_b, hugitout, JakobVirgil, zebra2, AdSeriatim, mk, thenewgreen, SufficientGrace, ecib, kleinbl00, cliffelam, hootsbox, lil, rezzeJ, cgod, blackbootz, onehunna, AshShields, BLOB_CASTLE, insomniasexx, kuli, cowboyhaze, louderwords, Floatbox, maynard, hiss, NikolaiFyodorov, Meriadoc, wasoxygen, BlackBird, jayfixkleenit, crimsonlight, Kaius, spearhard, iamducky, humanodon

*can totally be a play, compilation of poems, movie^, selection of essays, etc.

^nope, can't be this! Ya got me!

_refugee_:

My vote's for a little book called Swamplandia!

OK, now that I've crawled out of bed, showered, and even gotten all the way to work (yes guys I hubski long before I am dressed) here is Swamplandia! on Amazon.

I was introduced to this book because of an NPR (a NPR?) book review. NPR considered Swamplandia! one of the best books of the year the year it was published. I bought the book and then it sat in my house for like a full year. Recently I picked it up, probably because I'm supposed to be reading Contact by Carl Sagan and uggghhh I just can't get into it. Well, Swamplandia! is amazing. Swamplandia! is SO amazing, I want to know what happens next, but I don't want to read the Wikipedia page to find out.

I have a funny approach to a lot of things which is that if I'm into it or interested in what happens next I'll read the Wikipedia page and I'll find out. Then I continue with the book or with the series. Recently I did this with American Horror Story and The Road. Half of it is because I'm afraid the author is going to do something really stupid that makes me mad, so if I check it out first on Wikipedia, I'll know what to expect. Well, with Swamplandia! i know I could access the summary, but I don't want to. Maybe a little part of me is afraid to.

Short summary: so Swamplandia! is set in an alligator used-to-be amusement park. It's on an island in the Thousand Islands and the amusement park (called Swamplandia!) is run by a family, except (like the amusement park) the family is slowly falling apart. The main character is a young girl who wants to grow up to be an alligator wrestling champion. IT'S WONDERFUL.

Even if we don't choose it I will try to participate more for book club this round. Sorry guys :(


posted 3751 days ago