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Original poster

Help with my snobby bookclub

255 replies

HeartsTrumpDiamonds · 05/02/2015 12:16

It is my turn to pick our next book for our book club and I am stumped. And a bit scared TBH.

It needs to be fairly highbrow and literary I'm afraid. I don't know the other women all that well (apart from the friend who introduced me to the group) and they have all been picking books that are either literary classics or modern winners of Nobel and Pulitzer prizes. So no chick lit - I think I would be kicked out of the group Grin

I'd like to do something English or British because our current book is Runaway (Alice Munro) set in Canada.

I've already read lots of classics myself but don't really mind a repeat. I just want a book that won't make me look stupid.

So wise MNers - any recommendations?

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BlueEyeshadow · 05/02/2015 23:20

I'm amazed nobody's mentioned Kate Atkinson yet. Readable but lots to talk about and prize winning too.

Mind you, maybe they're all picking classics and prize winners 'cos they're scared too - break the mould and they might be grateful...

AndHarry · 05/02/2015 23:14

Someone else said Cloud Atlas: brilliant book. It's written as a set of concentric, linked stories so you start with the first part of the story from the most long ago, have a few getting more modern and then in the middle is the one in the distant future before you start reading the ends of the other stories, which all make the others make sense. It sounds confusing but it really works.

The one I was going to suggest is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, about a missionary family who go out to the Congo in 1959, told from the perspectives of the 5 women in the family. It was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and definitely a modern classic.

katienana · 05/02/2015 23:04

white noise by don delillo. read it for American lit module, lots of good discussion points as it is very ambiguous if a little lacking in narrative.

lollygagger · 05/02/2015 23:01

Ooooo, excited to find out what you choose htd !
I'm also excited to hear that you love RD. This thread has inspired me to reread the cornish trilogy after 10 yrs.

SconeRhymesWithGone · 05/02/2015 22:58

I have a friend who was in a book club that eventually banned meetings in people's homes because the settings promoted more frivolous and less focused discussions. They had to meet in a room in the local public library where no alcoholic beverages were allowed. Shock

RosyAuroch · 05/02/2015 22:57

The City and The City by China Mieville. About two cultures that live side by side in one city and rarely interact. Very cleverly done, well plotted, good themes, nods to magical realism but also a very British sensibility. Could be linked to a discussion about what is happening socially/economically in London at the moment.

EATmum · 05/02/2015 22:30

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day which is charming and beautiful - and YY to previous recommendation for Longbourne. Loved it.

YAsoNBU · 05/02/2015 22:06

I recommend Neil Gaiman's 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane'

Original poster
HeartsTrumpDiamonds · 05/02/2015 21:51

anyways, back to the books.

I have actually gone back and compiled a list of all the books / authors mentioned on here and it runs to 4 pages can you believe it? It's on my other computer so I'll see if I can post it (not all at once though, don't want to break MN) tomorrow

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Original poster
HeartsTrumpDiamonds · 05/02/2015 21:42

Someone upthread said that (paraphrasing) I have a problem because I equate "snobby" with "highbrow" and what that says about me.....

TBF I have to admit I used the word snobby because I thought it would get quite a few clicks Grin

We are so far from snobby it's not even funny... three single mums (not that single mums can't be snobby), a nurse, and two of us work in schools. The only one I am sort of intimidated by is this high-powered IT exec who flies around all over the world. She is the one who shows up with comments scribbled in the margin and yellow stickies on every other page. The one time she wasn't there we got through about double the amount of wine and barely talked about the book at all.... Grin

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Lindt70Percent · 05/02/2015 18:10

I've just finished The Miniaturist - really enjoyed it.

How about Maus by Art Spiegelman. Most people haven't read many if any graphic novels. It's a really amazing book and the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer prize. So much to talk about as well.

SkaterGrrrrl · 05/02/2015 18:09

Come join my book club instead! Plenty of wine and a range of books. Such a laugh!

Twocoatsstolen · 05/02/2015 18:04

My Dear I Wanted To Tell You by Louisa Young - it's a relatively recent and serious book about the First World War that is also a cracking good read.

www.amazon.co.uk/My-Dear-Wanted-Tell-You/dp/0007361440

MatildaTheCat · 05/02/2015 17:57

The Children Act by Ian McEwan is an excellent read with loads of discussion points. It's the current Times Bookclub read. Sorry if repetition, I haven't read the whole thread.

It is also very easy to read and quite short.

I hate it when someone suggests an 800page book I suspect I won't enjoy. Good literary books are surely meant to be enjoyable Hmm?

And wine, don't forget wine. And crisps GrinAll very necessary for a good book club meeting.

Lemondrizzletwunt · 05/02/2015 17:34

Iris Murdoch - the Bell

Anything by Susan Hill.

Original poster
HeartsTrumpDiamonds · 05/02/2015 16:40

And the only one I haven't read is 50 shades. Not sure whether that should be a Blush or not!

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Original poster
HeartsTrumpDiamonds · 05/02/2015 16:39

I am thinking of turning up with three books and saying, "Ok, let's choose amongst these three."

  • The Story of O
  • 50 Shades
  • Lolita

That should raise some eyebrows Grin Grin

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SunnyBaudelaire · 05/02/2015 15:12

lol wol, v funny. Can u imagine turning up with that in your hand? er no.

wol1968 · 05/02/2015 15:10

Going with the 50 Shades theme, what about The Story of O by Anais Nin? That should, er, make them think...

johngrady · 05/02/2015 15:08

Try under the skin by Michel Faber.
My group has been going for years and it's still refered to.
Throw some scifi in the mix to confuse them.
Ps our group likes to think we're highbrow but we're still fun Hmm

IsadoraQuagmire · 05/02/2015 15:07

SunnyBaudelaire Whenever I see your posts on here, I feel as though you're my sister (I'm Violet Baudelaire on a few other forums!) Grin

hiddenhome · 05/02/2015 15:05

The Trial by Franz Kafka

SunnyBaudelaire · 05/02/2015 15:02

waves at Isadora

IsadoraQuagmire · 05/02/2015 15:01

No idea what's considered highbrow, but as other people have said Angela Carter's always great.
I just read Jeanette Winterson's "Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?" Not highbrow, rather depressing in parts, but enjoyable.
Probably also not highbrow, but I do love Rumer Godden. My favorite is probably "The Peacock Spring."

BOFster · 05/02/2015 15:00

The David Lodge suggestion is brilliant- do it!