My book club recently discussed the book, “Swamplandia,” by Karen Russell. I really enjoyed this book. It’s about a family who runs an alligator/swamp tourist attraction and their trials and tribulations after the mother’s death.
I could relate to some of it from my own childhood – being somewhat isolated from the world at large – because I grew up in a very rural area. They were separated because they were surrounded by water on all sides.
Although the reader’s guide didn’t mention it, the water seemed another character in the novel to me. So many of the central themes of the book related to water in one way or another.
Regardless, I recommend the book. I found it to be a quick read that really kept my interest.
This was our second book. The first was, “The Crimson Petal and the White.”
I also just finished, “Man Seeks God,” which was fabulous. I’m also currently reading, “Unorthodox” and “Of Bees and Mist.”
This book club is great for multiple reasons:
1. I didn’t start it – someone else did and invited me. A wonderful change of pace!
2. The other women in it are better read than I am and smarter. I love being around smart people!
3. It’s causing me to discover and read books I might not otherwise have found.
It has been a long time since I’ve been a in a book club, and I’m hoping I can keep up. I have a tendency to not read the book on occasion, for one reason or another. But, so far, I’m ahead this time. Our next book is “Man Seeks God,” which is my favorite of the ones we’ve read so far.
I am going to try and keep a list of the books on the blog, so I’ll have it for reference. A few years ago I started a book club with a friend and we read a number of books over the time we met. I am sure I have that list somewhere in a computer file. Maybe I’ll run across it one day and can share it, too.
But, while this is fresh, I need to start the list:
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber – 2/2012
Swamplandia by Karen Russell – 3/2012
Man Seeks God by Eric Weiner – 4/2012
Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan – 5/2012
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