Photo by Gallebee
You may have noticed a little green box on the front of my site that says “Site Meter.” This wonderful little program allows me to track how many visitors my site receives, from what location, and why. Most days I have about 40 visitors, who spend about 4 minutes, from such diverse places as Ireland, Finland, the Phillipines, and Dubai, as well as from cities around the U.S.
I love site meter because not only is it cool to see where my visitors live, it is interesting to see what they are looking for. And apparently a fair number of my visitors are looking for a list of what books work well in book clubs. (I can see what search terms people “google” in order to arrive at my site).
So, due to an apparent demand — here is the start to a list of what books seem to spark the best discussion, according to an informal poll I recently took. I’m hoping to do a series of polls and will publish my results periodically… Feel free to add more titles by commenting!
1. Atonement by Ian McEwan – Seen the movie? I haven’t yet, but I read the book and the writing is very engaging and will result in a different experience than the movie. Once of those novels that makes you think: now THAT is writing!
2. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See – Personally, I thought this was only o.k., but my pollsters rated it pretty high.
3. Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai — Haven’t read this one yet, but one reader said it is for “mature audiences” which has peaked my interest.
4. Anything by Jodi Piccoult – Why is she so popular? She has perfected the page-turning, ethical thrill ride… I usually struggle with her endings — I think she has a hard time “closing” her novels, and the result can be a “Movie of the Week” feeling — but millions and millions of readers love her. I have enjoyed My Sister’s Keeper, Plain Truth, and especially Nineteen Minutes.
5. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf – I was thrilled that a pollster chose one of my favorite classics!! Warning: you must be prepared to experience and embrace “stream of consciousness” writing (the representation of thoughts through writing). Reading Woolf is challenging, but ultimately rewarding… not for the faint of heart or mind, though!
6. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez — probably chosen thanks to Oprah, but really very good. Like I recommended with Mrs. Dalloway, you must be open to experiencing new forms — this time “magical realism.” I love this genre since I believe there is so much about life, each other, reality, etc. that we can’t understand or explain away, but the more realistic members may not readily embrace the magic.
7. Harry Potter J.K. Rowling — I know… been there, done that… but ol’ Harry received the most votes, so I couldn’t deny him a place…
8. Any Classic! O.k., this is my choice, not my pollsters, but there is usually (if not always) a good reason that a classic has stood the test of time (beyond the tyranny of teachers). I would recommend The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby or Frankenstein as immently readable novels that will be MUCH different (read: better) when read as an adult. One list I saw put Gatsby as the 10th most popular novel in 2007.
Now, wondering where my pollsters came from? Thank you to Yahoo… To get my teaching fix, I have been a member of Yahoo! Answers for the past few months and really enjoy it. People write questions about many topics and then well-meaning know-it-alls help them out. Yes, there are a number of students attempting to get their homework done for free, but there is an interesting ethos among the Answerers — we usually see right through the wily ploys of lazy adolescents and put them in their place!
Next week I will reveal books that tanked in book clubs across the country…
If you enjoyed my recent post on 5 Ways to Finish That Book Even Faster, here’s another angle on that topic from Lifehack.
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Your comment on Jodi Piccoult hit the nail on the head. I guess it’s a love/hate relationship for me as a reader. Piccoult always writes about the most interesting, consuming topics but the endings always make you think to yourself “I could have written that!”
Thank you for your comment, Leigh! I wonder if Picoult should start with the end next time? (If that would even work…) Or maybe she needs a panel of trusted advisors to give her a bunch of ideas that she could then choose between and incorporate into her story? I just hate feeling disappointed at the end of so many of her stories…
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