• Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
• The Blessings of the Animals by Katrina Kittle
• Harry, Revised by Mark Sarvas
• Born Under a Million Shadows by Andrea Busfield
• Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parker
• After You by Julie Buxbaum
• Short Girls by Bich Minh Nguyen
• Belong to Me and Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
• Man of the House and Househusband by Ad Hudler
• Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
• The Godmother and The Stepmother by Carrie Adams
• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
• Everyone is Beautiful and The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center  
• When She Flew by Jennie Shortridge
• Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Be sure to check out the first three posts in this series, too:

• Best Books for Discussion: Popular for a Reason
• Best Books for Discussion: Future Book Club Favorites
• Best Books for Discussion: That You Might Have Missed
• Best Books for Discussion: Classics
• Best Books for Discussion: Nonfiction

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Best Books for Discussion: Uplifting Reads!

Half Broke Horses  and The Glass Castleby Jeannette Wills

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell *

Be sure to check out the first three posts in this series, too:

• Best Books for Discussion: Popular for a Reason
• Best Books for Discussion: Future Book Club Favorites
• Best Books for Discussion: That You Might Have Missed
• Best Books for Discussion: Classics

Another great post from: BOOK CLUB CLASSICS! Thanks for visiting...

Best Books for Discussion: Nonfiction

• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
• Major Pettigrew’s Last Standby Helen Simonson
• Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
• Still Alice by Lisa Genova
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
• What Is the What by Dave Eggers
• The Story of Edgar Sawtelleby David Wroblewski
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
• Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
• Bel Cantoby Ann Patchett

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Future Book Club Favorites (?)

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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Best Book Club Books!

So, a few years ago my cousin came up with a great idea:  start a family book club!  My family is blessed with a week together every year between Christmas and New Year’s — my grandpa started this tradition in 1973 when I was 3 1/2 (I’m the oldest grandchild) and it has continued without interruption to today (I’m 38).  We started with 12 – my grandparents, mom and dad, aunts and uncles, myself, my sister, and my cousin Susan – and now include 24 (soon to be 25!), as my cousins have married and had children. 

We rarely go to the same exact spot twice and have covered Mexico, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Barbados, St. Thomas, Aruba, Florida, California, Texas, Hawaii, and many other warm spots.  Our most recent destination was Puerto Rico. 

The true gift of my grandpa’s idea was the ability to touch base and really catch up with one another at least once year.  Most of my family lives in Michigan, but three cousins live in Chicago and my sister and I live in the Twin Cities, so the ability to reconnect beyond a superficial check-in at the holidays has resulted in cousins who are siblings and relationships that have survived distance and time. 

Seven years ago, inspired by Oprah’s book club, my cousin Libby decided that we should start our own family trip book club, and we selected The House of Sand and Fog (which was entirely too dark and disturbing for our family!) as our first choice.  So, before dinner on New Year’s Eve we gathered for a refreshing beverage and sparkling conversation and the family book club was born!

Our second choice was To Kill A Mockingbird.  After the horrors of Sand and Fog, Mockingbird seemed a safe bet since it is an accepted American classic, even 9^th graders tend to enjoy it, and Oprah had just attempted to get the entire city of Chicago to read it.  And, as most of us know, it is simply a good read — interesting and controversial enough even today to spark conversation.  

We have since read: All Over But the Shoutin by Rick Bragg, The Devil in White City by Erik Larson, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez, The Innocent Man by John Grisham and this year’s selection: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson.  We have occasionally embraced non–fiction in an attempt to lure the male family members to join us (we tend to have one or two of the 8 males make an appearance).  My husband was the “token male” this year and recommended a return to fiction next year.  Since the family book club is entirely voluntary, the criteria for our choices tends to be something that can be read during the family trip, something that interests a wide variety of people, and something that sparks discussion. 

This year, our discussion tended to focus on how much good one individual can do with perseverance and dedication, the balance everyone must find between our public and private lives, and the political situation in Pakistan (due to the assassination of Bhutto that occurred during our vacation).  What I always take away from our discussion is how, despite knowing someone from birth (whether their birth or my own), hidden facets of personality are revealed when confronted with the experience of another – whether fictional or not.  How often do we sit down with well-known family members and ask, “Is it appropriate to spend months away from home and immediate family if your mission is to help countless others?”  This utilitarian question – the sacrifice of one for many – is fascinating and gets beyond “So, how’s your job?”  The safety of discussing another’s thoughts or journey reveals where we are on our own journeys as we “read ourselves” into the work. 

We usually decide on our work by Thanksgiving and are always looking for good choices – any suggestions of fiction (or non) that would appeal to men and women and doesn’t venture too far into the dark side?   And thanks for a great idea, Libby!

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Family Book Club