# Book Club Suggestions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582 "2009-04-28T02:27:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Unkempt\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Unkempt\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Unkempt_One)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/1 "2009-04-28T02:27:59Z")
My wife started a book club that currently has ten members, and it is now her turn again to pick the book to read this month. So far they have read seven books, which have ranged from serious dramas to more lighthearted reading. For example, so far they have read The Secret Life of Bees, Water for Elephants, The Glass Castle, and Private Entrance, plus a few others. By tomorrow night my wife has to come up with another book for the club to read, and she is looking for suggestions. So, what are some interesting books that would make for good book club reading and discussion? Any genre is ok, so long as it is an interesting book! Thanks for the input! ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/2 "2009-04-28T02:55:46Z")
**The Time Traveler’s Wife** by Audrey Niffenegger **A Briefer History of Time** by Stephen Hawking & Leonard Mlodinow **Iron Kissed** by Patricia Briggs (warning werewolf fiction – however my book club spent more time discussing the way the rape was handled than anything paranormal) ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/3 "2009-04-28T03:03:14Z")
Four books I’ve read recently and loved: [The Help](http://www.amazon.com/Help-Kathryn-Stockett/dp/0399155341/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240887593&sr=8-1) [Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society](http://www.amazon.com/Guernsey-Literary-Potato-Peel-Society/dp/0385340990/ref=pd_sim_b_2) [Still Alice](http://www.amazon.com/Still-Alice-Lisa-Genova/dp/1439102813/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240887673&sr=1-1) [Lost City of Z](http://www.amazon.com/Lost-City-Deadly-Obsession-Amazon/dp/0385513534/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240887759&sr=1-1) Let us know what she ends up picking! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Unkempt\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Unkempt\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Unkempt_One)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/4 "2009-04-28T03:37:07Z")
> [@Glory](#): > > Four books I’ve read recently and loved: > > …snip… > > [Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society](http://www.amazon.com/Guernsey-Literary-Potato-Peel-Society/dp/0385340990/ref=pd_sim_b_2) > > …snip… > > Let us know what she ends up picking! Without giving too much away, what can you tell me about this book? We have read the reviews on Amazon, but wanted to know what you thought about it. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/5 "2009-04-28T04:30:31Z")
[QUOTE=Glory] Four books I’ve read recently and loved: … Lost City of Z Let us know what she ends up picking! [/QUOTE] I clicked on this thread to suggest _Lost City of Z_. I’m reading it right now and it’s fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/6 "2009-04-28T13:42:57Z")
[Animal, Vegetable, Miracle](http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Vegetable-Miracle-Year-Food/dp/0060852569/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240926089&sr=1-1) by Barbara Kingsolver is a good one. My book club is doing _The Enchanted April_ this month. ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/7 "2009-04-28T13:44:28Z")
My mother’s book club recently enjoyed [The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher](http://www.amazon.com/Suspicions-Mr-Whicher-Victorian-Detective/dp/080271742X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240926026&sr=8-1) and Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus (although I prefer Wise Children). The Time traveller’s Wife is a good suggestion, as there’s a lot of different ways to discuss the book. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/8 "2009-04-28T14:35:52Z")
[Pride and Prejudice and Zombies](http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Classic-Ultraviolent/dp/1594743347/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240928971&sr=1-1) It might be a help if you read the Original, Zombie Free book first. [The book of Ebenezer LePage](http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Classic-Ultraviolent/dp/1594743347/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240928971&sr=1-1). Very good, recommended, IRRC by **Auntie Pam**. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/9 "2009-04-28T14:37:46Z")
Anytime “suggest me a book” threads come up, my amazon wish list swells considerably. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/10 "2009-04-28T14:45:07Z")
[Population 485: meeting your neighbors one siren at a time](http://www.amazon.com/Population-485-P-S-Michael-Perry/dp/0061363502/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=IWFFYUPS1XMQX&colid=327JHLGM8SLFZ) is worth looking into. ---
**Author:** ![Amazingrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Amazingrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazingrace)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/11 "2009-04-28T15:42:47Z")
I read and loved [Devil in the White City](http://www.amazon.com/Devil-White-City-Madness-Changed/dp/0375725601/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240933105&sr=8-1), but it’s pretty popular at this point, so I’d be concerned that a member may have already read it. It’s a meticulously researched non-fiction book that reads like a novel. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/12 "2009-04-28T16:04:23Z")
I would also second the nomination of Audrey Niffenegger’s _The Time Traveler’s Wife_, which led to a very interesting discussion in our book club (which has now been meeting for almost eleven years). Some other favorites of ours, over the years: _The Perfect Storm_ by Sebastian Junger - gripping adventure and tragedy at sea _Last Chance to See_ by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine - a tragicomic travelogue about endangered species _In the Lake of the Woods_ by Tim O’Brien - a creepy, Vietnam-influenced mystery _The Hot Zone_ by Richard Preston - fascinating nonfiction about a near-outbreak of the Ebola virus in the U.S. _The Reader_ by Bernhard Schlink - quiet novel about love, guilt and betrayal _The Great Santini_ by Pat Conroy - novel about a domineering Marine and his family _Angela’s Ashes_ by Frank McCourt - deeply moving novel about growing up poor in Depression-era Ireland _Everybody Smokes in Hell_ by John Ridley - scabrously funny novel about a suicidal rock star and a beautiful assassin _My Dark Places_ by James Ellroy - nonfiction; the author investigates the murder of his own mother _Tuf Voyaging_ by George R.R. Martin - sf comic (!) novel about ecological engineering, overpopulation, absolute power and war _Fatherland_ by Robert Harris - chilling alt-history about a murder investigation in 1964 Nazi Germany _Into Thin Air_ by Jon Krakauer - true story of a Mount Everest climbing expedition gone horribly awry _Founding Brothers_ by Joseph Ellis - masterful, Pulitzer-winning history of the Framers and their dealings with each other _First Among Equals_ by Jeffrey Archer - an engrossing political novel, tracing the lives, loves and careers of three rising British politicians who eventually vie to become prime minister _The Killer Angels_ by Michael Shaara - another Pulitzer winner, a powerful novel about the Battle of Gettysburg _Everybody Smokes in Hell_ by John Ridley - scabrously funny novel about a suicidal rock star and a beautiful assassin \* A Long Way Down\* by Nick Hornby - comic novel about four would-be suicides who meet on a London rooftop OK, I’ll stop now. Except to add… my wife’s book club read _The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society_ and liked it very much; I haven’t read it. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-club-suggestions/494582/13 "2009-04-28T16:54:39Z")
We’ve had good luck with Margaret Atwood - Robber Bride, Handmaids Tale, Alias Grace in particular. Also Michael Chabon - Wonder Boys, Kavelier and Klay, Yiddish Policeman’s Union. The discussion around Lolita is always facinating - we still come back to that. We tend to read in cycles - three books with a common theme. Sometimes three from the same author, but more often we do three thematic books - Yiddish Policeman’s Union was part of “Alaska.”