MoFo Book Club - Jan. '22

All are eligible to nominate a title. We're a bit late with this process this time so please nominate and vote ASAP.

Nominations close on Jan. 3rd. Voting closes on the 6th.

My nomination: History

Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History

https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Summer...0885032&sr=1-1

*Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award*
*A New York Times Notable Book*
*Winner of the Texas Book Award and the Oklahoma Book Award*

This New York Times bestseller and stunning historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West “is nothing short of a revelation…will leave dust and blood on your jeans” (The New York Times Book Review).

Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.

Glad to see it's up and running!

My nomination:

Black Water Sister, Fantasy/horror/drama

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Water-S.../dp/0425283437

When Jessamyn Teoh starts hearing a voice in her head, she chalks it up to stress. Closeted, broke and jobless, she’s moving back to Malaysia with her parents – a country she last saw when she was a toddler.

She soon learns the new voice isn’t even hers, it’s the ghost of her estranged grandmother. In life, Ah Ma was a spirit medium, avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she’s determined to settle a score against a business magnate who has offended the god—and she's decided Jess is going to help her do it, whether Jess wants to or not.

Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business, but dealing with her grandmother is just as complicated. Especially when Ah Ma tries to spy on her personal life, threatens to spill her secrets to her family and uses her body to commit felonies. As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma, she’ll also need to regain control of her body and destiny – or the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good.

Wow, Blue, Empire of the Summer Moon looks amazing.

I'd nominate Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. It's been on my TBR pile for a while now.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400080673

In Thunderstruck, Erik Larson tells the interwoven stories of two men—Hawley Crippen, a very unlikely murderer, and Guglielmo Marconi, the obsessive creator of a seemingly supernatural means of communication—whose lives intersect during one of the greatest criminal chases of all time.

Set in Edwardian London and on the stormy coasts of Cornwall, Cape Cod, and Nova Scotia, Thunderstruck evokes the dynamism of those years when great shipping companies competed to build the biggest, fastest ocean liners; scientific advances dazzled the public with visions of a world transformed; and the rich outdid one another with ostentatious displays of wealth. Against this background, Marconi races against incredible odds and relentless skepticism to perfect his invention: the wireless, a prime catalyst for the emergence of the world we know today. Meanwhile, Crippen, “the kindest of men,” nearly commits the perfect murder.

With his unparalleled narrative skills, Erik Larson guides us through a relentlessly suspenseful chase over the waters of the North Atlantic. Along the way, he tells of a sad and tragic love affair that was described on the front pages of newspapers around the world, a chief inspector who found himself strangely sympathetic to the killer and his lover, and a driven and compelling inventor who transformed the way we communicate.

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Linda's Amazon Author page

I'd also be okay with either Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525657606



Or Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1982168439/

Dark City (published 7/20/21)


This is an expanded version of writer Eddie Muller's original book, with additional chapters and hundreds of new and enlarged sharp photos from the classic noir era. Muller covers not only the chief noir films from each studio, but discusses some of the more minor classics.


If you're a noir fan, this "bible" is a must-have.

Thanks. Everyone I know that's read it just raves about it. But then we live in what was once the heart of Comanche country. I know several people that have a family story about the Comanches.

For anyone not already familiar with the story of Cynthia Ann Parker I'll just say that it's terrifying, heartwarming and sad all wrapped together... and it's fact, not fiction. There are still people scattered throughout north and central TX that can claim Quanah was a distant uncle or cousin... imagine that. In 'Dances with Wolves' the character 'Stands with a Fist' was based on Cynthia Ann Parker.

Thought I'd go classic for my nomination.

Bram Stoker's Dracula

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bram-Stoker...t%2C196&sr=1-3

Dracula is a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking a business trip to stay at the castle of a Transylvanian noble, Count Dracula. Harker escapes the castle after discovering that Dracula is a vampire, and the Count moves to England and plagues the seaside town of Whitby. A small group, led by Abraham Van Helsing, hunt Dracula.

I just read Dracula last year and really enjoyed it. Not a knock at all: I think I would gladly read it again if it wins the vote.

To be honest, I'm liking the sound of your nomination judging by the blurb. Swap votes? :P

LOL.

I've also read Dark City, but it's admittedly been long enough that I wouldn't mind revisiting it.

Just a reminder that nominations will close later today.

Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir



Newer book by the author of The Martian.

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Read this a little while back, really enjoyed it. Obviously it's kind of just The Martian again with some fun twists and turns: similar enough that you end up scratching the same itches that book did, but different enough to be worthwhile and surprising.

It really reads like a movie, no surprise, and no surprise it's already being turned into one. I hope they do a good job, because if they do, there's some stuff in there that could be very funny (and occasionally very sweet) on the big screen.

I've seen The Martian a couple of times, but admittedly never read the book. I got Project Hail Mary as a gift, so thought I would toss it in the mix before I read.

So, @Blue, a friend of mine posted his top 25 books read in 2021 yesterday. On his list was Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.

I'd never heard of this book before last week, and now it's been mentioned/recommended twice. I'm more inclined to vote for this now, although, of course, choosing any of my own suggestions would come first.

I've never seen the movie precisely because I found the book cheap at a used bookstore and decided I should probably read the book before I see the movie. Still haven't done either one.

Let's talk about voting and how we want to do it. I may be overthinking this...... sorry.

We can vote openly here in this thread or everyone can PM me their vote. Once voting is closed your vote will become public as I will post them.

Thoughts?

P.S. Nominations will close in a few hours....

Can I suggest the (admittedly a bit more complicated) system of voting by ranking the nominations? That way it's more likely that we'll read a book that is closer to consensus. Everyone would PM you a list of the nominees ranked, with their top pick earning 5 points, their second pick earning 4, and so on. That way it's more likely we read something that is a top 3 pick from everyone.

I second this method!

I'm fine with this. I wonder though if it gives an unfair advantage to those that nominated more than one book.

Not picking on Austruck, just concerned.