It’s always an exciting day when Bonny and Carole and I announce the next Read With Us title . . . and today’s the day!
Our next Read With Us selection is . . .
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx.
Over the years, Read With Us has “evolved” into a current-contemporary-fiction kind of book group. We often choose to read prize-nominated books; those current, kinda “buzzy” books that our blog readers tend to want to read. And we plan to continue in that direction . . . generally.
But we thought it might be fun to, once a year, select a more “classic” contemporary fiction book to read. Y’know . . . prize winners from the recent past that maybe you read and wouldn’t mind reading again — or that you missed reading the first time around.
The Shipping News was first published in 1993, and won a slew of awards, including the Pulitzer and the National Book Award. It’s a great book group kind of book — there’s much to discuss in there! It’s also a book that stands up well to re-reading — so if you read it years ago, you will probably not mind reading it again at all. And . . . if you haven’t read it, well. Here’s your chance!
Sandra Gwynn, book reviewer from The Toronto Star had this to say about The Shipping News when it was first published . . .
“A funny-tragic Gothic tale, with a speed boat of a plot, overflowing with black-comic characters. But it’s also that contemporary rarity, a tale of redemption and healing, a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit, and most rare of all perhaps, a sweet and tender romance.”
We’ll be talking more about the book and providing additional background information over the next month. Then . . . mark your calendars for our blog book discussions/Zoom discussion on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 (7:00 pm Eastern time).
Please be sure to visit the new Read With Us resource page for more information about the book and our discussion. (I’ll be updating the page as Bonny, Carole, and I share more details and links, so it really can be a resource for you as you read – or think about reading – with us.)
We hope you’ll be as excited as we are to go back in time . . . and read The Shipping News with us.
C’mon along!
Read With Us this winter!
I could hardly believe the book was initially published in 1993, and I’m very much looking forward to discussing this one!
I think this is the perfect winter read! It will be a (re)read for me, but I am very much looking forward to it!
A re-read for me too, but I don’t really remember it…just remember that I liked it. Looking forward to this one for sure!
This will be an interesting one for me. It was a DNF for me way back when…in a very, VERY different time of my life! I remember my response to it (which makes me laugh — a lot — now. So. Let’s see 🙂
Well, Kym, you might have ensnared me. I’ve been wanting to read this one for quite some time. (If I ever take on a buzzy book, it’s usually years after the fact.) However, I’m not making any promises…:).
Having read this shortly after it was published I had to reread this book in 2015 because Quoyle stayed with me. I could. not shake him. I loved it as much the second time as the first. I’m going to enjoy re-rereading this great classic.
I have not read this one yet and put a hold on the audiobook just now! Can’t wait to get into it.
Will be a re-read for me but I don’t really remember much from the first time I read it. I think I have John Lithgow in my head as Quoyle? Was he in the movie?
I think the best thing about re-reading this will be having the discussion with our great group of readers! When I read it way back when I was a young mom and had no one to discuss it with.
I don’t think I ever read this one so I look foward to reading it.
It’s going to be a reread for me, but the first time I read it was so long ago that I don’t remember much about it. I just ordered a copy (because the one I had back in high school was disposed of/given away when my parents moved), and I’m looking forward to it!
OH, what a great choice! This was the first book I remember reading for an on-line book group back in the days of AOL. This might have been 1994 or 95? Some of the people I met in this group are still on a group email chain. I remember liking it, and from the comments here I’m remembering more.
Anyway, off to see if the library has a kindle copy of this.
I pulled my copy off the shelf and look forward to rereading it. I barely remember the story so I’m anxious to see if it all comes back to me as I read. The price, $12 for a trade paperback – new, is a throw-back, that is for sure.