Bookspan’s Book of the Month Club is a monthly book subscription box. Each month, their panel of Judges selects 5 books, which they announce on the first of the month, and members have six days to decide which book (or books) they would like to receive. All books are shipped at the same time, so members can read and participate in their discussion forums as a group. One book per month is included in the membership fee, and members can purchase up to two additional books each month for $9.99 per title. The monthly price is $16.99 per month, $11.99 per month on a year-long subscription.
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Here are all five selections for the November Book of the Month!
A Gambler’s Anatomy by Jonathan Lethem, selected by guest judge Anthony Bourdain
Handsome, impeccably tuxedoed Bruno Alexander travels the world winning large sums of money from amateur “whales” who think they can challenge his peerless acumen at backgammon. Fronted by his pasty, vampiric manager, Edgar Falk, Bruno arrives in Berlin after a troubling run of bad luck in Singapore. Perhaps it was the chance encounter with his crass childhood acquaintance Keith Stolarsky and his smoldering girlfriend Tira Harpaz. Or perhaps it was the emergence of a blot that distorts his vision so he has to look at the board sideways.
Things don’t go much better in Berlin. Bruno’s flirtation with Madchen, the striking blonde he meets on the ferry, is inconclusive; the game at the unsettling Herr Kohler’s mansion goes awry as his blot grows worse; he passes out and is sent to the local hospital, where he is given an extremely depressing diagnosis. Having run through Falk’s money, Bruno turns to Stolarsky, who, for reasons of his own, agrees to fly Bruno to Berkeley, and to pay for the experimental surgery that might save his life.
Berkeley, where Bruno discovered his psychic abilities, and to which he vowed never to return. Amidst the patchouli flashbacks and Anarchist gambits of the local scene, between Tira’s come-ons and Keith’s machinations, Bruno confronts two existential questions: Is the gambler being played by life? And what if you’re telepathic but it doesn’t do you any good?
I wasn’t sure what to think of A Gambler’s Anatomy by Jonathan Lethem, There were a couple unexpected twists that make the book interesting. I wasn’t sure how much the physic abilities helped him with backgammon. The well-written book held my interest although I did not like the characters.
Recent business school graduate Penny Baker has rebelled against her family her whole life-by being the conventional one. Her mother, Amalia, was a member of an Amazonian tribe called the Kogi; her much older father, Norm, long ago attained cult-like deity status among a certain group of aging hippies while operating a ‘healing center’ in New Jersey. And she’s never felt particularly close to her much-older half-brothers from Norm’s previous marriage-one wickedly charming and obscenely rich (but mostly just wicked), one a photographer on a distant tropical island.
But all that changes when her father dies, and Penny inherits his childhood home in New Jersey. She goes to investigate the property and finds it not overgrown and abandoned, but rather occupied by a group of friendly anarchist squatters whom she finds unexpectedly charming, and who have renamed the property Nicotine House. The residents of Nicotine House (defenders of smokers’ rights) possess the type of passion and fervor Penny feels she’s desperately lacking, and the other squatter houses in the neighborhood provide a sense of community Penny’s never felt before, and she soon moves into a nearby residence, becoming enmeshed in the political fervor and commitment of her fellow squatters.
As the Baker family’s lives begin to converge around the fate of the Nicotine House, Penny grows ever bolder and more desperate to protect it-and its residents-until a fateful night when a reckless confrontation between her old family and her new one changes everything.
I disliked Nicotine by Nell Zink. I suspect that all the reasons I disliked the book are all the reasons others will love it. I wanted to throw up after the first few pages. I found the sexual elements including the scene involving virtual reality sex to be disturbing. I also was disappointed that Penny and Rob were happy to be back at what used to be Nicotine after all that had happened. Here’s the first paragraph of Judge Nina Sankovitch’s letter to show a different point of view.
Like the drug from which the book gets its title, Nicotine is adrenalizing and addictive. I could not put it down. My heart was racing and my thoughts were percolating and enjoyment oozed from every pore as I sunk into Zink’s unadulterated good-time storytelling.
The characters and sub-plots were interesting. All I can wonder is, “Did we read the same book?”
Every Man a Menace by Patrick Hoffman
San Francisco is about to receive the biggest delivery of MDMA to hit the West Coast in years. Raymond Gaspar, just out of prison, is sent to the city to check in on the increasingly erratic dealer expected to take care of distribution. In Miami, the man responsible for getting the drugs across the Pacific has just met the girl of his dreams—a woman who can’t seem to keep her story straight. And thousands of miles away in Bangkok, someone farther up the supply chain is about to make a phone call that will put all their lives at risk. Stretching from the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia to the Golden Gate of San Francisco, Every Man a Menace offers an unflinching account of the making, moving, and selling of the drug known as Molly—pure happiness sold by the brick, brought to market by bloodshed and betrayal.
I was confused during the first few chapters of the aptly named Every Man a Menace by Patrick Hoffman. As I further read the book, the characters drew me into the story. I read the book in one night because I wanted to know who were the innocents, if there can be anyone in this story, and who were doing the double and triple-crossing. I was surprised that I found this well-written read to be satisfying.
Two brown girls dream of being dancers—but only one, Tracey, has talent. The other has ideas: about rhythm and time, about black bodies and black music, what constitutes a tribe, or makes a person truly free. It’s a close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in their early twenties, never to be revisited, but never quite forgotten, either.
Tracey makes it to the chorus line but struggles with adult life, while her friend leaves the old neighborhood behind, traveling the world as an assistant to a famous singer, Aimee, observing close up how the one percent live.
But when Aimee develops grand philanthropic ambitions, the story moves from London to West Africa, where diaspora tourists travel back in time to find their roots, young men risk their lives to escape into a different future, the women dance just like Tracey—the same twists, the same shakes—and the origins of a profound inequality are not a matter of distant history, but a present dance to the music of time.
Swing Time by Zadie Smith was a welcomed respite for me after reading the first few novels. I loved the details from the 80s. The heart of the novel is women. It was interesting to follow their journeys throughout the book.
It’s time to see the book selection inside the Book of the Month box! It is shrink wrapped and on a cardboard board to keep it in well-protected on its journey.
Subscribers received a Book of the Month Magnet and a bookmark. The bookmark reads
There’s never a better time to read about a mixed race woman in a male-dominated field than during this heinous election season. The twisted thriller is a perfect cop novel with a compelling edge. Enjoy! Gaby
In bestselling Tana French’s newest “tour de force,”* being on the Murder squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her partner, Stephen Moran, is the only person who seems glad she’s there. The rest of her working life is a stream of thankless cases, vicious pranks, and harassment. Antoinette is savagely tough, but she’s getting close to the breaking point.
Their new case looks like yet another by-the-numbers lovers’ quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty, groomed to a shine, and dead in her catalogue-perfect living room, next to a table set for a romantic dinner. There’s nothing unusual about her—except that Antoinette’s seen her somewhere before.
And that her death won’t stay in its neat by-numbers box. Other detectives are trying to push Antoinette and Steve into arresting Aislinn’s boyfriend, fast. There’s a shadowy figure at the end of Antoinette’s road. Aislinn’s friend is hinting that she knew Aislinn was in danger. And everything they find out about Aislinn takes her further from the glossy, passive doll she seemed to be.
Antoinette knows the harassment has turned her paranoid, but she can’t tell just how far gone she is. Is this case another step in the campaign to force her off the squad, or are there darker currents flowing beneath its polished surface?
I was a little concerned that I would feel like I would be missing out by reading the sixth book in the Monster Squad Series. Those fears were laid to rest as I read The Trespasser by Tanna French. The protagonist, Detective Antoinette Conway, is a strong woman who has flaws that can either hinder or help her solve the case. The characters, multiple storylines, and suspense made this murder mystery a treat for me.
All five books had “November 2016” labeled on the back cover.
The November Book of the Month selections pushed me out of my comfort zone and some! My favorite book was The Trespasser because I adore mysteries. All the books were released in October 2016 except for Swing Time which was released in November 2016. Book of the Month also offered Poweredhouse stories for $9.99 a book. This month the selections were Kitchen Confidential, Remains of the Day, and The Widower’s Wife.
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What book did you pick this month? Share below and let us know!
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