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Original poster

Suggestions for the first book of a new Book Club?

30 replies

Flubba · 20/02/2012 10:10

Hi, I'm about to start a book club with other mums from our children's class and was looking for some inspiration for our first book. I don't know the other mums' interests so we're a bit of a blank page really.
Thank you.

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seriouslytwisted · 01/03/2012 18:43

Most popular books in my bookclub (so far):
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte's classic
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (is there a bookclub that hasn't read this one?)
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters

And one which provokes endless discussion - and is going to be a choice for this year - The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

But it very much depends on the members of your bookclub - our members have quite a diverse range of tastes - but the majority of us hate chicklit or anything too light, and we don't do misery memoirs either.

FootballFriendSays · 26/02/2012 09:14

"The secret life of bees" is a good choice. Maybe a bit long but quite an unusual story.

wordfactory · 25/02/2012 18:08

Recent reads for my book group: The Help, Room, The Road, The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.

popflos · 25/02/2012 17:40

just finished me before you, i nice book that stays with you, basically a love story, .. a fast read tho, i dont have toddler to chase anymore but i devoured it in 2 days, personally i prefer books that last a bit longer!

northender · 25/02/2012 13:27

This thread is perfect. I'm in a book group and I'm choosing next. I'd plumped for The Help but apparently it was done early last year so thanks to this thread it's now a toss up between Before I Go To Sleep and Me Before You.

OllieinOrange · 25/02/2012 12:37

The one book we all agreed on in the 2 years I've been going to my Book Club was The Memory Keepers Daughter. We loved it.

We also enjoyed Nothing To Envy about life in North Korea - very different from our usual choices but really pleased I read it.

Currently reading A Fine Balance which is excellent too.

Original poster
Flubba · 23/02/2012 20:47

We've gone for The Secret Life of Bees as was a suggestion by the person who first thought of doing the book club.

I'll keep the suggestions here for my turn, which is in two books' time! Thanks again.

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theliverpoolone · 23/02/2012 13:55

Moon - please read it, it's not what you'd think of as chick-lit. It might seem, initially, that it's going to be quite "light" but it's one of the most powerful books I've read.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 23/02/2012 09:20

If you've got a Kindle or a kindle app you could always download the first 5% for free to see if you like it. I'm sure you'll be hooked Smile.

moonblushtomato · 22/02/2012 19:06

Thats interesting Jilted, might have another look!

JiltedJohnsJulie · 22/02/2012 09:22

Have a lovely time Smile.

Original poster
Flubba · 21/02/2012 20:52

Meeting with the others tomorrow evening, so will go armed with suggestions. I'll let you know what we decide... :)

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JiltedJohnsJulie · 21/02/2012 20:15

Our book club is doing it too moon and I had the same reservations but no, its not too chick lit at all. In fact one of my friends only reads chick lit and I warned her off it. Thought that the cover might appeal but know the story wouldn't be for her.

moonblushtomato · 21/02/2012 20:09

I saw Me Before You Go on amazon theliverpoolone but thought it looked a bit chick-lit? Am I wrong because I really liked the sound of the story?

JiltedJohnsJulie · 21/02/2012 19:50

Have you decided yet Flubba?

theliverpoolone · 21/02/2012 10:50

I can't recommend Me Before You (Jojo Moyes) highly enough. I've just finished it, and have not been so involved in and touched by the characters of a book for a very long time. Your book group will need a large supply of tissues!

JiltedJohnsJulie · 20/02/2012 19:04

The Help, Tiger Hills and A Sense of an Ending have all been popular.

Agree that taking along the Richard & Judy list or a book you've enjoyed is a good idea. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes is on the R&J list and it is very good.

ANTagony · 20/02/2012 19:03

How to tell when you're tired by Reg Theriault. Its outline is a brief examination of work. But for me it is more of an exploration of life/ balance/ priorities.

Original poster
Flubba · 20/02/2012 19:02

ooh yes, I loved A Thousand Splendid Suns.

I've barely read any books since DCs came along so am really looking forward to 'making' myself read again for pleasure.

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mrsharrycunningham · 20/02/2012 19:00

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Room by Emma Donoghue

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom

The Shack by Wm Paul Young

These have all been popular ones with my book club and all prompted big discussions.

moonblushtomato · 20/02/2012 18:54

The Help? My book group loved this and it created a lot of discussion, which is rare............Grin

Original poster
Flubba · 20/02/2012 13:32

Thank you for all your suggestions. I'll certainly put some of them forward (especially Before You Were Sleeping and The Soldier's Return), and I also like the idea of each bringing in a book we've read and taking it from there.

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lilibet · 20/02/2012 13:10

My book group has been running for eight years now and this is the best book we have read.

There is so much to discuss afterwards, especially if you are a group of mums, the characters are written incredibly well and it's the book that all seven of us still rate as the best book we have read, and if you bear in mind that we have read over a hundred that's pretty good going. We might have read books that were better stories or better written but as a page turning book that promoted discussion this one can't be beaten.

DuchessofMalfi · 20/02/2012 13:04

Forgot to mention The Paris Wife by Paula McLain - I've just finished reading that and loved it. That one could lead to discussions of/further reading of the novels of Ernest Hemingway, and F Scott Fitzgerald amongst others which are mentioned in the novel.

DuchessofMalfi · 20/02/2012 13:02

Maybe have a look at the Richard & Judy bookclub list - there's some good ones on there, inc Before I Go To Sleep (which I'm currently reading), My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young (set during WW1).

Also, you could have a look at the booklist for the More4 TV Book Club - interestingly Before I Go To Sleep is one of their choices too. A lot of people have really liked The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt, which I've got on my kindle to read. Another vote for Into The Darkest Corner - I've just bought that one to read too - looks really good.

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