Non fiction was in the mix when the voting was started for the newest book. Did you weigh in there? I too am super fond of non fiction but as the previous poster pointed out it is hard to pick apart in the same way as fiction. Maybe if the nf selection was something more wandering ( bill Bryson comes to mind as well as Sarah vowel) then maybe there would be more to get people on tangents but if it's a mote straight forward interpretation it's like the noobie arguing with an expert ( especially if it's something technical) I think biography or memor might work well in this setting because you have other contexts in the world (and other books) that could inform/discount the discussion but them it's not just about the book but about the subject...

I'm sure they will. The only issue with non-fiction is that it's a little harder for factual books to conjure up good discussion, since the info is far less subjective. I find the discussion to be a little sterile. We'd have to be careful to pick a book with lots of good discussion material (Jared Diamond's "Collapse," for example).

Perdido Street Station is his second book and, in my experience, his most popular (aka the one I hear about the most). I've had it on my to-read list for years.

I've read every book on the list except the one by Matt Ruff and I have to say that The Intuitionist wins, hands down, for me. It turned me into a huge fan of Colson Whitehead and I have not been disappointed with any thing he has written since. The Intuitionist is thought provoking on many levels and introduces a whole new topic for readers, elevator inspectors - who would have thought?

True Grit!

The Intuitionist

"True Grit" doesn't need our help; Matt Ruff is a good writer who isn't well enough known, so "Set this House in Order"...and while you're at it, find a copy of "Sewer, Gas, and Electric", the best book ever to feature a pint-sized Ayn Rand simulation to act as a nicotine-voiced Jiminy Cricket.

(Out of Aspie Solidatrity I guess I should vote for "The Curious Incident..." but if you think there's Aspie Solidarity, you don't understand how it works.)

My first vote would be for Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, because I've been meaning to read it and haven't. The Inuitionist is one of my favorite books and I wouldn't mind reading it again - but I only read it last year. Run is a good (and very brief) book, but I'm kind of mad at Ann (no "e") Patchett right now.

True Grit if you please.

I've already read both The Intuitionist and Curious Incident- they are both stellar.

I vote for The Intuitionist!

The Intuitionist looks like a winner to me.
I read The Curious incident when it first came out a few years ago and it is one of my favorite books in a long,long time.

Oh, and how to I join the book group. I just found Question land and I am in love.

I lean towards True Grit, please.

But for those who haven't yet read it, I highly recommend "Set This House in Order." My real world bookclub read this in January and it sparked so much great discussion...and was also the first book that everyone found at least something to enjoy about it.

I often read 3-4 books at the same time. I can get 1/2 way through a book and then just decide not to finish it. I feel like there is no choice but to read the book all the way through unless it is a collections of essays or short stories.
Lately I have the tendency to read until close to the very last chapter and then decide not to finish the book. I think I don't want to be let down by the ending if I really like the book. I don't know ,it's weird but it works for me.

I'll go with True Grit.

I'd love to read True Grit again. I first read it something like forty years ago (after I fell in love with Kim Darby in the original movie). I recall it being hilarious, though less satisfying than "Addie Pray" by Joe David Brown (aka "Paper Moon"), but more so than "Little Big Man" by Thomas Berger, both of which I read around the same time and which also fit loosely into an American picaresque mode.

I have no opinion on any of the others, so maybe you should pick one of them.

Hmm, this is a strong list. Hard to choose. I've already read 3 of the 7 books on this list, so I guess my vote would be for a book I haven't read before, and of all of these I'm most excited about reading True Grit by Charles Portis. So I'm casting my vote for True Grit. Now that the movie hype has died down, there are plenty o' copies available at SPL.

However I will say that The Intuitionist is one of my favorite books ever written, and I think it would also be an excellent choice for this group.

Curious to see what others will vote for. . . .

True Grit.

My vote is for fiction, but I'm an easy-going sort.

Fiction is where my head is at these days.

Fiction for me.

Non-fiction. Sex at Dawn? Compass of Pleasure? A billion wicked thought? This is your brain on music? Maybe some books that are maybe fiction maybe not fiction like carlos castaneda, Teachings of Don Juan?

Evs.

+1 for non-fiction.

Non-fiction! :) But I need more time to get and read the book. How much time was there last time? It seemed short...but that's just me.

Fiction or narrative non-fiction.

Fiction for me please

Fiction.

I vote fiction. But it was a hard vote, not having seen the options.

Non-fiction. Prefer history. Prefer non-US history.

EDIT: although something Great-Depression-ish would be apropos.