Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon

Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon, 204 pages

This relatively short book, the working title of which was Jews with Swords, is set in and around the year 950. Zelikman and Amram, two con-men and fighters have to make their way to Khazaria to save the rightful ruler. Lots of fun.
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The one and only Ivan

The one and only Ivan by Katherine Applegate 305 pgs.

Oh my gosh, Ivan certainly is a one and only.  A compassionate, smart, sensitive, artist who is also a mall attraction. He is a gorilla and that is not as easy as it looks.    This beautifully done Newbery Medal winner is a little hard to read at times.  Many serious themes and some painful topics but very worth your time.

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Room by Emma Donoghue

Room by Emma Donoghue, 321 pages.
We had a great discussion about Emma Donoghue's new book last night. The book:
Jack and his mother "Ma" have been in "Room" for all of Jack's life, kept there by the seldom seen "Old Nick." And, as the small room is Jack's whole world, he has become the whole world for his mother, and she will do anything to protect him. As he turns five and changes loom, Jack must learn to cope with the wider world and with change in his once unchanging world. Thanks to Jack's five-year-old bright-eyed world view and his strength, this is not completely depressing and is a great book, but has a strong sense of hope.

Join us next month, on October 26, as we discuss Ralph Ellison's classic Invisible Man.

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A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes

A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes, 299 pages, literary fiction.
Early on we made the rule that you cannot count having read a book in this competition unless you blogged about it. I regret agreeing to that ruling now that it is mid-December and I am some fifty books behind in my blogging. Even if I had blogged regularly, I would still be in about fourth or fifth place, at least in total books. I think I might be in better shape for total pages, page average and sheer charisma. We will see. A High Wind in Jamaica is Hughes's 1929 novel of children, the high seas, and semi-competent, semi-committed pirates. When a hurricane devastates their Jamaican home, the Bas-Thorton and Fernandez families send their children back to the safety of England. The ship they are on is set upon by pirates at the beginning of the voyage and the children are accidentally taken captive. The adjustments made by the children and the pirates run the range from comic to disturbing.

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Room by Emma Donoghue

Room by Emma Donoghue, 321 pages, Fiction. Check our Catalog!
Jack and his mother "Ma" have been in "Room" for all of Jack's life, kept there by the seldom seen "Old Nick." And, as the small room is Jack's whole world, he has become the whole world for his mother, and she will do anything to protect him. As he turns five and changes loom, Jack must learn to cope with what the world really is in his once unchanging world. Thanks to Jack's five-year-old inevitability, this is not completely depressing and is a great book.