I recently formed a book club with some ladies who are voracious readers. Voracious means three books a week (at least). Before I started writing, I used to be that way too. Now I feel lucky to have read one book over the course of seven days.
In any case, my friend picked the first book for us to read and it was an excellent choice. (The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama. It’s excellent). My pick drew a neutral response and the one after that had us all up in arms about what it means to be a modern housewife (we read Caitlin Flanagan’s To Hell with All That: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife). Because we were so animated about our opinions, that book was a great pick. Next up was Ian McEvan’s Atonement and it was a dud with this group. We stirred our coffees and talked about the kids, our husband’s crazy work schedules, and everything else but the book.
So I need your help! It’s my turn to pick again and I want everyone to enjoy the book I pick yet have it be meaty enough to garner some discussion. The obvious choices (Thousand Splendid Suns, Water for Elephants, Peony in Love) and I say obvious because they’re on bestseller stands right now and women seem to love them, have already been read by my voracious-reader friends. I either need something brand new or a gem that’s been out for a while but we’ve all missed.
Any suggestions?
11 comments:
JB, have you guys tried Tasha Alexander's Lady Ashton books? AND ONLY TO DECEIVE and A POISONED SEASON. They aren't your typical historicals, and are brilliantly written.
Boy, is this timely. All three of those books have been read or are on our list to be read. I grow so tired of the group choosing the most likely suspects. This month I forced them into reading On Chesil Beach, which I though provoked a great discussion. I have some of it on my website. Some books we liked were Bel Canto (Patchett), Revolutionary Road (Yates), Disgrace (Coetze), Oleanna and The Piano Lesson (two plays we did together), Small Wonder (Barbara Kingsolver), Light in August (Faulkner), Housekeeping (Robinson)
Stone Diaries (Shields).
I'm a big Cormac McCarthy fan and my favorite of his is "No Country for Old Men." They are making a movie of it:
http://www.nocountryforoldmen.com/
Directed by the Coen Brothers. Looks great and a nice tie in for the group.
Fair warning, if you are squeamish - McCarthy pulls no punches....
I say put the titles of all of the current Midnight Ink books in a bag and pick one.
Get your book club to think outside the Best Seller List and discover new authors and new ideas. Some of the best books are not on the big lists.
The Chemistry of Death by Simon Beckett.
It's a mystery, and a forensic procedural about a serial killer to boot, but I think your group would be surprised by how much there is there.
And to keep it on the thrillers titles, because that's what I know best, anything by John Ramsey Miller would probably work for a book group.
Or historical mysteries, check out all six by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer (they take place in 6th century Byzantium).
I just read Blood of Flowers, and it was a gorgeous read. Every time I try to explain it, I do it a disservice. Let's just say it's beautifully set in ancient Persia, makes rug-making seem like something I want to take up, and it has TONS of "meat" for discussion.
Here's the website for Blood of Flowers.
You mentioned Carol Shields' STONE DIARIES. I've read most of her work (what a loss to this world when she passed) and really enjoyed one of her final books, UNLESS. Another fav is Elinor Lipman's THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE, which I was able to enjoy as part of an on-line book club with Elinor moderating.
I keep hearing great things about Bel Canto too. I also just finished Blood of Flowers and really liked it. I think I'll try Mark's Byzantine suggestions just for myself. I love that setting. If nothing else, my TBR pile is going to expand. I really like to see what you guys are reading. I'm about to start Amy Bloom's Away. Will let you know about it and if you haven't picked up The Thirteenth Tale, get it! Easily my favorite book of the year.
This one is a bestseller, so it may be too obvious, but EAT, PRAY, LOVE prompted a terrific discussion in my book club. We each took our favorite third of the story--Italy, India or Bali--and related it to our own journeys through life. It was definitely a good pick for our particular group.
JB, you mentioned one of my all time favorites, THE THIRTEENTH TALE by Diane Setterfield. I was absolutely transfixed by it and highly recommend it. I've also read some interviews with Setterfield about her love of books and reading that are well worth the read. What's most interesting is that despite the hoopla, huge advance and strong sales, the novel was largely panned by reviewers. The book was so well written, IMHO.
I agree with Sue Ann about MI mysteries. But if you're looking for a non-mystery novel that grapples with issues of rearing children, marriage, and friendship, try Songs without Words, just out by Ann Packer. (It is on today's Wall St Journal bestseller list.) Ann also wrote The Dive from Clausen's Pier.
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