New Leaf Nominations for July • Life's a Beach, Water, Water, Everywhere

[CRussel]

Good morning, and welcome to the New Leaf Book Club's July Book Nomination thread where we select the book that the New Leaf Book Club will read in July, 2020. The theme is Life's a Beach, Water, Water, Everywhere .

Everyone is welcome to join the nomination process even if they'd rather lurk during the voting and discussion; if that is still a little too much commitment, please feel free to suggest titles without making a formal nomination. Also, don't sweat the links. It's helpful to check availability and prices before nominating in order to eliminate anything that's out of the question, but ultimately our global members with different gadgets and preferences will have to check for themselves.

The nominations will run through 9 AM PST, June 7, 2020. Each nomination requires a second to make it to the poll, which will remain open for three days. The discussion of the selection will start on July 15, 2020.

Any questions? See the FAQ below, or just ask!

FAQs for the Nomination, Selection and Discussion process

General Guidelines for the New Leaf Book Club

Official choices with three nominations:

• At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen (Catlady,Bookworm_Girl)
  
  Spoiler:

  NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this thrilling new novel from the author of Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen again demonstrates her talent for creating spellbinding period pieces. At the Water’s Edge is a gripping and poignant love story about a privileged young woman’s awakening as she experiences the devastation of World War II in a tiny village in the Scottish Highlands.
  
  After disgracing themselves at a high society New Year’s Eve party in Philadelphia in 1944, Madeline Hyde and her husband, Ellis, are cut off financially by his father, a former army colonel who is already ashamed of his son’s inability to serve in the war. When Ellis and his best friend, Hank, decide that the only way to regain the Colonel’s favor is to succeed where the Colonel very publicly failed—by hunting down the famous Loch Ness monster—Maddie reluctantly follows them across the Atlantic, leaving her sheltered world behind.
  
  The trio find themselves in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands, where the locals have nothing but contempt for the privileged interlopers. Maddie is left on her own at the isolated inn, where food is rationed, fuel is scarce, and a knock from the postman can bring tragic news. Yet she finds herself falling in love with the stark beauty and subtle magic of the Scottish countryside. Gradually she comes to know the villagers, and the friendships she forms with two young women open her up to a larger world than she knew existed. Maddie begins to see that nothing is as it first appears: the values she holds dear prove unsustainable, and monsters lurk where they are least expected.
  
  As she embraces a fuller sense of who she might be, Maddie becomes aware not only of the dark forces around her, but of life’s beauty and surprising possibilities.

  AmazonUS
  362 pp.
• Sand (omnibus edition) by Hugh Howey (JSWolf,gmw)
  
  Spoiler:

  The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes. Here in this land of howling wind and infernal sand, four siblings find themselves scattered and lost. Their father was a sand diver, one of the elite few who could travel deep beneath the desert floor and bring up the relics and scraps that keep their people alive. But their father is gone. And the world he left behind might be next.

  Overdrive Amazon US Amazom UK eBooks.com UK
  336 pp.
• The Lightning Thief (aka Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief) by Rick Riordon (CRussel, Victoria).
  Spoiler:

  Originally Posted by goodreads

  Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

  Kobo US Kobo CA Kobo UK Kobo AU
  375 pp.
• The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough (Catlady,CRussel)
  Spoiler:

  The stunning story of one of America’s great disasters, a preventable tragedy of Gilded Age America, brilliantly told by master historian David McCullough.
  
  At the end of the nineteenth century, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hardworking families striving for a piece of the nation’s burgeoning industrial prosperity. In the mountains above Johnstown, an old earth dam had been hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an exclusive summer resort patronized by the tycoons of that same industrial prosperity, among them Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon. Despite repeated warnings of possible danger, nothing was done about the dam. Then came May 31, 1889, when the dam burst, sending a wall of water thundering down the mountain, smashing through Johnstown, and killing more than 2,000 people. It was a tragedy that became a national scandal.
  
  Graced by David McCullough’s remarkable gift for writing richly textured, sympathetic social history, The Johnstown Flood is an absorbing, classic portrait of life in nineteenth-century America, of overweening confidence, of energy, and of tragedy. It also offers a powerful historical lesson for our century and all times: the danger of assuming that because people are in positions of responsibility they are necessarily behaving responsibly.

  AmazonUS
  386 pp.
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (astrangerhere,Victoria)
  Spoiler:

  When an unidentified “monster” threatens international shipping, French oceanographer Pierre Aronnax and his unflappable assistant Conseil join an expedition organized by the US Navy to hunt down and destroy the menace. After months of fruitless searching, they finally grapple with their quarry, but Aronnax, Conseil, and the brash Canadian harpooner Ned Land are thrown overboard in the attack, only to find that the “monster” is actually a futuristic submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by a shadowy, mystical, preternaturally imposing man who calls himself Captain Nemo. Thus begins a journey of 20,000 leagues—nearly 50,000 miles—that will take Captain Nemo, his crew, and these three adventurers on a journey of discovery through undersea forests, coral graveyards, miles-deep trenches, and even the sunken ruins of Atlantis. Jules Verne’s novel of undersea exploration has been captivating readers ever since its first publication in 1870, and Frederick Paul Walter’s reader-friendly, scientifically meticulous translation of this visionary science fiction classic is complete and unabridged down to the smallest substantive detail.

  Mobileread PCML
  394 pp.
• We Keep a Light by Evelyn M. Richardson (Victoria,gmw)
  Spoiler:

  Originally Posted by kobo

  We Keep A Light is the inspiring story of how the author and her husband bought tiny Bon Portage Island and built a happy life for themselves and their three children on the isolated lighthouse station off the southern tip of Nova Scotia. But it is much more than the story of a unique personal experience. We Keep A Light is a freshly written and engrossing record of family life set against the ever-changing background of the sea, the vagaries of the weather, the enduring shores, and the great beacon light, all of which become important characters in this fascinating and isolated world. As Evelyn Richardson remarked in the original edition, she wrote the book "partly to answer the polite incredulity I face when I say 'No, we aren't lonely, we like the island.'" We Keep A Light transports readers back to a simpler era when lighthouses were very much a part of the Maritime way of life. As fresh today as when it first appeared, this classic preserves the past in both remembrance and written word.

  AmazonUS, AmazonCA, AmazonUK, AmazonAU, KoboUS, KoboCA
  169 pp.
• The Light Between Oceans, by M. L. Steadman (JSWolf,gmw)
  Spoiler:

  The years-long New York Times bestseller and Goodreads Best Historical Novel that is “irresistible…seductive…with a high concept plot that keeps you riveted from the first page” (O, The Oprah Magazine)—soon to be a major motion picture from Spielberg’s Dreamworks starring Michael Fassbender, Rachel Weisz, and Alicia Vikander, and directed by Derek Cianfrance.
  
  After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.
  
  Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a “gift from God,” and against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.
  
  “Elegantly rendered…heart-wrenching…beautifully drawn” (USA TODAY), The Light Between Oceans is a gorgeous debut novel, not soon to be forgotten.

  AmazonUS KoboUS AmazonUS AmazonUK eBooks.com
  417 pp.
• 
  

[CRussel]

Nominations awaiting a second:

[Catlady]

I nominate At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen (2015, 362 pp.).

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this thrilling new novel from the author of Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen again demonstrates her talent for creating spellbinding period pieces. At the Water’s Edge is a gripping and poignant love story about a privileged young woman’s awakening as she experiences the devastation of World War II in a tiny village in the Scottish Highlands.

After disgracing themselves at a high society New Year’s Eve party in Philadelphia in 1944, Madeline Hyde and her husband, Ellis, are cut off financially by his father, a former army colonel who is already ashamed of his son’s inability to serve in the war. When Ellis and his best friend, Hank, decide that the only way to regain the Colonel’s favor is to succeed where the Colonel very publicly failed—by hunting down the famous Loch Ness monster—Maddie reluctantly follows them across the Atlantic, leaving her sheltered world behind.

The trio find themselves in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands, where the locals have nothing but contempt for the privileged interlopers. Maddie is left on her own at the isolated inn, where food is rationed, fuel is scarce, and a knock from the postman can bring tragic news. Yet she finds herself falling in love with the stark beauty and subtle magic of the Scottish countryside. Gradually she comes to know the villagers, and the friendships she forms with two young women open her up to a larger world than she knew existed. Maddie begins to see that nothing is as it first appears: the values she holds dear prove unsustainable, and monsters lurk where they are least expected.

As she embraces a fuller sense of who she might be, Maddie becomes aware not only of the dark forces around her, but of life’s beauty and surprising possibilities.

Amazon U.S., $13.99

E-book and audiobook. Available through Overdrive and Axis 360.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I will second At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen. It has been on my TBR. My husband liked her book Water for Elephants.

[JSWolf]

I shall nominate Sand (omnibus edition) by Hugh Howey.

The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes. Here in this land of howling wind and infernal sand, four siblings find themselves scattered and lost. Their father was a sand diver, one of the elite few who could travel deep beneath the desert floor and bring up the relics and scraps that keep their people alive. But their father is gone. And the world he left behind might be next.

Overdrive: https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=sand+hugh+howey
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Sand-Omnibus-.../dp/B00HSXGYCK (also on Kindle Unlimited)
Amazom UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sand-Omnibu.../dp/B00I50K1Q0
eBooks.com UK: https://www.ebooks.com/en-gb/book/16...and/hugh-howey (cheaper then Amazon UK)

[gmw]

I second Sand (omnibus edition) by Hugh Howey. Not a big fan of Wool, but it was good enough that I've been meaning to try something else from him.

Still trying to make up my mind, with ideas ranging from an 1870 classic that I've read a few times to a very popular 2005 fantasy for YA or middle grade readers that I've been wanting to try. Decision making disorder ... maybe.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by gmw

I second Sand (omnibus edition) by Hugh Howey. Not a big fan of Wool, but it was good enough that I've been meaning to try something else from him.

Thanks!

Still trying to make up my mind, with ideas ranging from an 1870 classic that I've read a few times to a very popular 2005 fantasy for YA or middle grade readers that I've been wanting to try. Decision making disorder ... maybe.

Go for the 2005 fantasy if it's not too long and easily available at Overdrive.

[CRussel]

Well, we've already got Sand, so I'm re-thinking my first inclination of Dune. Though I think there's likely to be more to discuss with it. OTOH, it's REALLY LONG if I remember correctly, which is definitely not a plus.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Well, we've already got Sand, so I'm re-thinking my first inclination of Dune. Though I think there's likely to be more to discuss with it. OTOH, it's REALLY LONG if I remember correctly, which is definitely not a plus.

IMHO, I feel that Dune would be too large.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

[...] Go for the 2005 fantasy if it's not too long and easily available at Overdrive.

But you didn't ask about the books in between. The 1957 apocalyptic story; the 1974 thriller; or the 1993 famous literary novel and more. But in the end, I decided to go with the 2005 option as the prices are pretty good right now. The main downside is that it's a big enough name that some of you may have read it already. Such is life. So the winner on the indecision stakes is...

[gmw]

I nominate The Lightning Thief (aka Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief) by Rick Riordan. This the first book of the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The book is apparently targeted at YA or middle-grade readers, but I never let that sort of thing get in my way.

The description from Goodreads:

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

375 pages (according to Goodreads)

Some example links, but the book has been around for a long while and there are several editions so you may want to shop around (or go to a library). Note that some of these prices are because it is currently on special in some locations: Kobo US $5.99, Kobo CA $6.99, Kobo UK £3.99, Kobo AU $4.99

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by gmw

But you didn't ask about the books in between. The 1957 apocalyptic story; the 1974 thriller; or the 1993 famous literary novel and more. But in the end, I decided to go with the 2005 option as the prices are pretty good right now. The main downside is that it's a big enough name that some of you may have read it already. Such is life. So the winner on the indecision stakes is...

What are the rejected titles, please?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by gmw

But you didn't ask about the books in between. The 1957 apocalyptic story; the 1974 thriller; or the 1993 famous literary novel and more. But in the end, I decided to go with the 2005 option as the prices are pretty good right now. The main downside is that it's a big enough name that some of you may have read it already. Such is life. So the winner on the indecision stakes is...

Do you think any of the books in between would make a good choice? Of the ones mentioned, I'm inclined to think maybe the 1974 thriller may be good. I know 70s thriller movies are usually good and a lot of them are based on books.

[gmw]

Ah, I wondered whether I'd get any guessers ... but I will remove the mysteries. They are all well known books.

The 1974 thriller. JSWolf, you hit the nail with the thriller movie bit (wondering if you had this in mind when you said it). Jaws by Peter Benchley. I've never read it, but the reviews at Goodreads suggest it could be quite readable. Lots of beach, lots of water, it's a good match to the theme.

The 1957 apocalyptic story was On the Beach by Neville Shute. I rejected this partly on the grounds that comments about Shute on here, when A Town like Alice was read, were less than enthusiastic.

The 1993 literary novel was The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. I've never read it even though there is a paper copy sitting on the shelf. I figured "shipping" should have some water in it somewhere, so this theme would make a good excuse to get to it.

The 1870 classic was, of course, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne. Hard to get more watery than that.

I didn't mention it earlier, but I also considered Jeanette Winterson's Lighthousekeeping (2004), which sounds interesting to me (see on Goodreads).

[Catlady]

Second nomination: The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough (1968, 386 pp.).

The stunning story of one of America’s great disasters, a preventable tragedy of Gilded Age America, brilliantly told by master historian David McCullough.

At the end of the nineteenth century, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hardworking families striving for a piece of the nation’s burgeoning industrial prosperity. In the mountains above Johnstown, an old earth dam had been hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an exclusive summer resort patronized by the tycoons of that same industrial prosperity, among them Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon. Despite repeated warnings of possible danger, nothing was done about the dam. Then came May 31, 1889, when the dam burst, sending a wall of water thundering down the mountain, smashing through Johnstown, and killing more than 2,000 people. It was a tragedy that became a national scandal.

Graced by David McCullough’s remarkable gift for writing richly textured, sympathetic social history, The Johnstown Flood is an absorbing, classic portrait of life in nineteenth-century America, of overweening confidence, of energy, and of tragedy. It also offers a powerful historical lesson for our century and all times: the danger of assuming that because people are in positions of responsibility they are necessarily behaving responsibly.

Amazon U.S., $12.99

E-book and audiobook; available from Overdrive and Scribd.