christine in al Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 This isn't a religious group. Other's always choose books from NY best seller list and there is always a long wait for them at teh library. and I'm too cheap to buy a book just for a book group. We're a bunch of middle aged , wine drinking, moms. I'm thinking very non-curricula books like Lady Chatterly's Lover. Any " classics" , that just means books that are good and might be at my library. Thanks, ~Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 If you have not talked about her work before, "Pride and Prejudice" would be the one I would start with. "The Ladies' Auxiliary" by Tova Miris is a great book club read. It is a novel set in Memphis, TN, about a young widow who moves to the area after her husband's death, and her interactions with the Orthodox Jewish women's community that she joins there. It is outstanding and engaging. "A Thousand Acres" by Jane Smiley is a modernization of "King Lear", set in a Midwestern farm town. "Moo", by the same author, is one of the funniest books I have ever read in my life. "My Year of Meats" is one of my favorite novels ever. It could be construed as slightly political, however. It's about a half Japanese, half Swedish-American woman who works for a Japanese firm doing TV shows about red meat for viewing in Japan. That does not begin to do this book justice. It is one of the best books I have ever read. All of these books are easy to read, well-written, and have food for thought and lots to talk about. I have been in a book group for many years, and read several of these with that group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 What about The First Circle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in Florida Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 I was in a book group a few years ago. I am trying to get something started for this year but it is not off the ground yet. We read all kinds of books, some had better participation than others of course. The 'classics' we tried were: Tale of Two Cities (only two of us finished it, oops) Cannery Row (inspired the weirdest conversation of the year) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (stretching 'classic' here, fun discussion) I hope you and your friends have a great time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 One we read that gave lots of great fodder for discussion was The Sparrow. It is fantastic for a book club, imo. :thumbup1: Others that were good for our book club: The Shadow of the Wind (might have a bit of a wait at the library, so plan it for 2 meetings out) The Book Thief Middlesex People of the Book Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Dracula Most of these are not 'classics', nor are they the most current fiction, so you shouldn't have a problem finding them at the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 To The Lighthouse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txbloobonnet Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 A book that my book club loved was Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A year of food life. It was great and even though most of the ladies are not into hard core seasonal eating, organics and so forth it encouraged all of us to look at how we eat. Very good book by Barbara Kingsolver. I also loved her Prodigal Summer which is excellent for a nature lover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 I just read Washington Square. Lots to talk about there but not a hard read. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is an interesting read--deals with subjects not usually addressed in mid-Victorian novels (narrator is a young man who falls in love with a woman he thinks is a widow, but in fact she is in hiding from her drunken, abusive husband). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2a&z Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Last year my book club read The Grapes of Wrath and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Both great reads that led to great discussions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamasteff Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Our book group based our choices on this list, which has been floating around on Facebook the last couple of years. It is a mix of contemporary and (mostly) classic, (mostly) British. We have really enjoyed the ones we have read. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/mar/01/news "Cold Comfort Farm" was well liked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 I'd recommend "The Woman in White" - a classic mystery that is a reasonable length for a book club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiobrain Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 East of Eden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Someone else mentioned it,but, I wanted to second "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". So good! Lots of thought-provoking discussion could happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill- OK Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 (I should mention, probably, that this is a book-to-movie club; we read a book, then watch a movie version of it. It has to be somewhat "classic", although that definition is kind of loose.) The Jane Austen novels To Kill A Mockingbird A Christmas Carol Jane Eyre Frankenstein (I'd never read this, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 For some reason the Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan popped into my mind. I guess it is the idea of mom's getting together. I think Barbara Kingslover novels would be good - lots of things to discuss in them. The Egoist by George Meredith might be a good counterpoint to a Austen novel. The Odd Women by George Gissing would be another. Both with literary merit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Bird by Bird or Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott would be great. Some liberal CC, but not religious books, per se. Very real--I found them hilarious and profound at the same time, which is rare for a book. Not exactly classics, tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 The House of Mirth I also agree with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and The Joy Luck Club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 I've really enjoyed many of the discussions on Diane Rehm's Readers' Review programs. If you want a very unusual choice, perhaps Charlotte Bronte's "Villette." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Mary Barton House of Mirth The Penelopiad (Atwood) Madame Bovary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Another vote for Anne Bronte books and The Woman in White. Plus the Professors House. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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