a cracking book to start a new book club any ideas?

never read any - do please elaborate as I have not a lot to read at the mo.

We are currently reading the new paperback by Kate Atkinson One Good Turn so far so good. I just love Kate Atkinson anyone else feel the same way? ;)

There you go Bella - Stop trying to nick my crown of thread killer!

Was it something I said?!

I'm new to MN but I take it it's not a good thing when your post ends a thread.....?! lol

I would add my vote to The Secret River, the Kite Runner and Small Island. Also loved A Fine Balance, but I get upset even thinking about it now a year after I finished it!! I personally loved Kevin but it might generate too much argument for a book group meeting for the first time!

I have just read A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Housseini's second novel and it would be a great book group pick. Equally as good as the Kite Runner, but the central characters are mostly female so I related to it even more than KR.

Would also recommend "KIte Runner". I wouldn't recommend Cloud Atlas as many people would find it difficult to read - particularly the "sci fi" bit and the last section in pidgeon English.

Can I add my vote to uptomyeyes' choices? Secret River fab and very readable for a Booker Prize shortlist read! And Handmaid's Tale really interesting and thoughtprovoking. How about Pat Barker's Regeneration? It's about the treatment of shellshock in WWI, and Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon feature in it. I taught it at AS level and there's plenty to say about it.

incredibly loud and unbelievably close
(about 9/11)

busy woman seeks wife
(very funny)

we always do two contrasting books (mind you we only meet every 6 weeks)

The memory keepers daughter

amazing book and plenty to discuss after xx

Avoid The Alchemist - load of toss

We did My Sister's Keeper too, and Time Travellers Wife

All the jodi picoult books are quite good as they have special sections in the back for book clubs. I preferred My Sister's Keeper, out of all of them.

Kite Runner was our book club's first one -was a big hit !

A secret river - Kate Grenville - we kicked off with this and all thoroughly enjoyed it.A novel about brits being transported to Australia and their attitudes and behaviour towards the native Aborignes.

Best book we have read and which provoked a whole evening of discussion and lots of drinking wine until 1.30 AM (AM!!) was The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Attwood - I thoroughly recommend it.

The Kite Ruuner by Khaled Housseni

hi-
we started with something about kevin - which was a good start as got lots of opinions and different views... have not really done as well since
time traveller wife- not good no one liked some actively hated....
secret life of bees really divided group half hated half loved
Great Gatsby- worked well as only a re-read for a couple in group and slim...lots to talk about as well

So would recommmend Theres something about Kevin or anything 'controversial' as gets the conversation going....

Helen Simpson's short stories are excellent - well written, witty and frighteningly accurate about what goes on inside women's heads - especially mothers trying to balance the whole life thing. Both "Hey Yeah Right Get a Life" and "Constitutional" I found really interesting - though afterwards quite depressing. They're also quite good for a new book club as if some people don't manage to read the whole book, they can still comment on the stories they've managed to read.

A couple more for you:
The Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
Small Island by Andrea levy

no book club here, but I need a new book

The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffeneger - classic reading group book!

useful link

'Kevin' a bit long and upsetting, might put people off.
I'll list some of the books my group has done:
The Island by Victoria Hislop - good
Girl with Pearl Earring- good
Lady & the Unicorn - same author, not so good
Plain Truth by Jodi Piccoult
Anita Shreve - several
Daphne DuMaurier - Rebecca, The House on the Strand

Ha ha MrsThierry Henry about the 'Kevin' book being wordy and pretentious ? that was definitely part of the discussion when the Stevenage Library book group got their teeth into it. Perfect reading group fodder.

Likewise the God of Small Things, which was a prize winner and had rave reviews and left me a bit cold. Have been a book group-er for years, and the only book everyone loved was Girl With a Pearl Earring.

Oooh, can I join? Not sure I'll be able to keep up with the reading, mind, but I'll give it a go.

Anyone read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (I think that's his name)? It's really varied and unusual, a fantastic read.

I also highly recommend The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy. It's about 10 years old, and is a real 'human stories' read - about family, societies, social unacceptability, rebellion and (if my memory serves me correctly) love. It's beautifully written; I thought it was amazing when I first read it and have just started reading it again because I loved it so much.

Oh and I loved We Need To Talk About Kevin as well (not so convinced about it being well-written though, I found it pretentiously word and at times predictable).

I've heard good things about Kite Runner - would love to read it one day.

Under the Skin by Michel Faber - not too long, absolutely brilliant - lots to think/talk about.

Agree with BBB. Kite Runner provoked a really good discussion in our group - is a moving read.