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Top Book Group Books and Authors• Good Reads• Links to more lists I assembled this list for book groups or book lovers looking for something new to read and discuss with an emphasis on the books being both readable and discussable. We enjoyed "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" by Alexander McCall Smith, for example, but it doesn't make for a great discussion. The titles are alphabetized by the first letter of the MAIN first word of the title, so you will find A Fine Balance in the F section, for example.
I've provided links below to other good lists from which to find book club selections. There's a particular emphasis in this list on fiction, although some nonficton is included. (At a "summit" of book groups at Politics & Prose, we noticed that men's groups tended to read more nonfiction; one men's group alternated nonfiction books one month with sports events the next.) If you google "study guide" and the name of a book, you may find useful guides to discussion -- as I did, for example, for Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. You can also find many discussion guides (by title, by author, and by genre) at Reading Group Guides Click on a title, in blue, below, to go to the Amazon.com reviews of the title. Achebe, Chinua, Things Fall Apart
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, Purple Hibiscus Adiga, Aravind. The White Tiger Akpan, Uwem. Say You're One of Them Albom, Mitch, Tuesdays With Morrie Alexie, Sherman, Reservation Blues Allende, Isabel, Daughter of Fortune Allende, Isabel, The House of the Spirits Alvarez, Julia, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Amis, Kingsley, Lucky Jim Angelou, Maya, The Heart of a Woman Atwood, Margaret, Cat's Eye Atwood, Margaret, Oryx and Crake Atwood, Margaret, The Blind Assassin Atwood, Margaret, The Handmaid's Tale Austen, Jane, Persuasion Bainbridge, Beryl, Master Georgie Baldwin, James, Go Tell It on the Mountain Banks, Russell, Cloudsplitter Banks, Russell, Continental Drift Banks, Russell, The Sweet Hereafter Barker, Pat, Regeneration Baum, L. Frank, The Wizard of Oz Benitez, Sandra, The Weight of All Things Berendt, John, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Berg, Elizabeth, The Art of Mending Berger, Thomas, Little Big Man Bernieres, Louis de, Corellis Mandolin Binchy, Maeve, Tara Road Blunt, Judy, Breaking Clean Bock, Charles, Beautiful Children: A Novel Bohjalian, Chris, Midwives Bohjalian, Chris, The Buffalo Soldier Bordewich, Fergus M., Washington:The Making of the American Capital Boyd, William, Armadillo Boyle, T. Coraghessen, The Tortilla Curtain Bronte, Emily, Wuthering Heights Brooks, Geraldine, March Brooks, Geraldine, The Year of Wonders: Novel of the Plague Brown, Dan, The Da Vinci Code Buchan, Elizabeth, Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman Buck, Pearl S., The Good Earth Buckley, Christopher, Thank You for Smoking Burroughs, Augusten, Dry Byatt, A.S., Possession Caldwell, Ian and Dustin Thomason, The Rule of Four Canin, Ethan, Carry Me Across the Water Carey, Peter, Oscar and Lucinda Carr, J. L., A Month in the Country Cather, Willa, My Antonia Chabon, Michael, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Chang, Jung, Wild Swans Chessman, Harriet Scott, Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper Chevalier, Tracy, The Girl with a Pearl Earring Chevalier, Tracy, The Virgin Blue Cleage, Pearl, What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day Coelho, Paulo, The Alchemist Coetzee, J., Elizabeth Costello Coetzee, J. M., Disgrace Coetzee, J. M., Waiting for the Barbarians Conlon, Edward, Blue Blood Conroy, Pat, The Great Santini Conway, Jill Ker, Road from Coorain Coomer, Joe, The Loop Cortazar, Julio, Hopscotch Cotton, Eddie Joe, Hobo: A Young Man's Thoughts on Trains and Tramping in America Courtemanche, Gil, Sunday at the Pool in Kigali Cunningham, Michael, The Hours Danticat, Edwidge, Breath, Eyes, Memory Danticat, Edwidge, The Dew Breaker Davies, Robertson, Fifth Business Deane, Seamus, Reading in the Dark DeLillo, Don, Libra DeLillo, Don, Underworld DeLillo, Don, White Noise Desai, Anita, Fasting, Feasting Desai, Kiran, The Inheritance of Loss Diamant, Anita, The Red Tent Diamond, Jared, Guns, Germs, and Steel Didion, Joan, The Last Thing He Wanted Didion, Joan, The Year of Magical Thinking Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee, The Mistress of Spices Doctorow, E. L., The March Doctorow, E.L., Loon Lake Doerr, Harriett, Stones for Ibarra Doig, Ivan, Bucking the Sun Doig, Ivan, Dancing at the Rascal Fair Dorris, Michael, Yellow Raft in Blue Water Drehle, David Von, Triangle: The Fire That Changed America Dubus III, Andre, House of Sand and Fog Dufresne, John, Louisiana Power and Light Duncan, David James, The Brothers K Duras, Marguerite, North China Lover Ebershoff, David, The Danish Girl Edwards, Kim, The Memory Keepers Daughter Eggers, Dave, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Ehrenreich, Barbara, Nickel and Dimed: on (not) getting by in America Eliot, George, Middlemarch Elkin, Stanley, Mrs. Ted Bliss Ellis, Joseph J., Founding Brothers Enger, Leif, Peace Like a River Englander, Nathan, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges Eprile, Tony, The Persistence of Memory Erdrich, Louise, Love Medicine Erdrich, Louise, The Beet Queen Erdrich, Louise, The Master Butchers Singing Club Esquivel, Laura, Like Water for Chocolate Eugenides, Jeffrey, Middlesex Faulkner, William, As I Lay Dying Faulkner, William, Light in August Finney, Jack, Time and Again Fitch, Janet, White Oleander Fitzgerald, F. Scott, The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald, Penelope, Blue Flower Foer, Jonathan, Everything Is Illuminated Forster, E.M., A Passage to India Fowles, John, The French Lieutenant's Woman Fox, Paula, Desperate Characters Franklin, Miles, My Brilliant Career Franzen, Jonathan, The Corrections Frazier, Charles, Cold Mountain Freed, Lynn, House of Women Fremont, Helen, After Long Silence Gaines, Ernest J., A Lesson Before Dying
Gautreaux, Tim, The Clearing Gautreaux, Tim, The Next Step in the Dance Glass, Julia, Three Junes Godwin, Gail, Good Husband Goldberg, Myla, Bee Season Golden, Arthur, Memoirs of a Geisha Golding, William, Lord of the Flies Goldstein, Jan, All That Matters Goodman, Allegra, Intuition Goodwin, Doris Kearns, Team of Rivals Gowdy, Barbara, The White Bone Green, Graham, The Quiet American Greene, Graham, A Burnt-Out Case Greene, Graham, Brighton Rock Greene, Graham, The End of the Affair Greene, Graham, The Heart of the Matter Greene, Melissa Fay, Praying for Sheetrock Greenway, Alice, White Ghost Girls Grossman, David, Be My Knife Gruen, Sara, Water for Elephants Gunther, John, Death Be Not Proud Guterson, David, Snow Falling on Cedars Haddam, Jane, Skeleton Key Haddon, Mark, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Halprin, Mark, Winter's Tale Hamilton, Jane, A Map of the World Hamilton, Jane, The Book of Ruth Hansen, Ron, Mariette in Ecstasy Hardy, Thomas, Jude the Obscure Haruf, Kent, Eventide Haruf, Kent, Plainsong Hay, Elizabeth, A Student of Weather Hegi, Ursula, Stones from the River Helprin, Mark, A Soldier of the Great War Hemingway, Ernest, The Sun Also Rises Hersey, John, A Bell for Adano Hillenbrand, Laura, Seabiscuit Hoffman, Alice, Here on Earth Hornby, Nick, How To Be Good Hosseini, Khaled, The Kite Runner Hosseini, Khaled, A Thousand Splendid Suns Hulme, Keri, The Bone People Hurston, Zora Neale, Their Eyes Were Watching God Huxley, Aldous, Brave New World Irving, John, A Prayer for Owen Meany Irving, John, The Cider House Rules Ishiguro, Kazuo, Never Let Me Go Ishiguro, Kazuo, The Remains of the Day James, P.D., Original Sin Japrisot, Sebastien, A Very Long Engagement Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer, Heat and Dust Jin, Ha, Waiting Johnson, Charles, Middle Passage Johnson, Denis, Jesus Son Johnson, Diane, Le Divorce Jones, Edward P., The Known World Junger, Sebastian, The Perfect Storm Kanon, Joseph, The Good German Karr, Mary, The Liars Club Kaysen, Susanna, Girl, Interrupted Kernan, Michael, The Lost Diaries of Frans Hals Kesey, Ken, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Kidd, Sue Monk, The Secret Life of Bees Kincaid, Jamaica, Autobiography of My Mother Kingsolver, Barbara, Pigs in Heaven Kingsolver, Barbara, Prodigal Summer Kingsolver, Barbara, The Bean Trees Kingsolver, Barbara, The Poisonwood Bible Krakauer, Jon, Into Thin Air Krakauer, Jon, Under the Banner of Heaven Krauss, Nicole, The History of Love Kundera, Milan, The Unbearable Lightness of Being Kureishi, Hanif. The Buddha of Suburbia L'Engle, Madeleine, A Wrinkle in Time Lahiri, Jhumpa, Interpreter of Maladies Lahiri, Jhumpa, The Namesake Lamb, Wally, I Know This Much Is True Lamb, Wally, She's Come Undone Lamott, Anne, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life Lamott, Anne, Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year Landvik, Lorna, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons Larson, Erik, The Devil in the White City Lawrence, D.H., The Rainbow Lawson, Mary, Crow Lake Laxness, Halldor, Independent People LeBlanc, Adrian Nicole, Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx Lee, Chang-Rae, A Gesture Life Lee, Harper, To Kill A Mockingbird LeGuin, Ursula, A Wizard of Earthsea Lehane, Dennis, Mystic River Leiner, Katherine, Digging Out Leonard, Elmore, Stick Lessing, Doris, The Grass Is Singing Letts, Billie, Where the Heart Is Lewis, C.S., The Screwtape Letters Lively, Penelope, The Photograph Lodge, David, Therapy Gaines, Ernest J., A Lesson Before Dying Gautreaux, Tim, The Clearing Gautreaux, Tim, The Next Step in the Dance Glass, Julia, Three Junes Godwin, Gail, Good Husband Goldberg, Myla, Bee Season Golden, Arthur, Memoirs of a Geisha Golding, William, Lord of the Flies Goldstein, Jan, All That Matters Goodman, Allegra, Intuition Goodwin, Doris Kearns, Team of Rivals Gowdy, Barbara, The White Bone Green, Graham, The Quiet American Greene, Graham, A Burnt-Out Case Greene, Graham, Brighton Rock Greene, Graham, The End of the Affair Greene, Graham, The Heart of the Matter Greene, Melissa Fay, Praying for Sheetrock Greenway, Alice, White Ghost Girls Grossman, David, Be My Knife Gruen, Sara, Water for Elephants Gunther, John, Death Be Not Proud Guterson, David, Snow Falling on Cedars Haddam, Jane, Skeleton Key Haddon, Mark, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Halprin, Mark, Winter's Tale Hamilton, Jane, A Map of the World Hamilton, Jane, The Book of Ruth Hansen, Ron, Mariette in Ecstasy Hardy, Thomas, Jude the Obscure Haruf, Kent, Eventide Haruf, Kent, Plainsong Hay, Elizabeth, A Student of Weather Hegi, Ursula, Stones from the River Helprin, Mark, A Soldier of the Great War Hemingway, Ernest, The Sun Also Rises Hersey, John, A Bell for Adano Hillenbrand, Laura, Seabiscuit Hoffman, Alice, Here on Earth Hornby, Nick, How To Be Good Hosseini, Khaled, The Kite Runner Hosseini, Khaled, A Thousand Splendid Suns Hulme, Keri, The Bone People Hurston, Zora Neale, Their Eyes Were Watching God Huxley, Aldous, Brave New World Irving, John, A Prayer for Owen Meany Irving, John, The Cider House Rules Ishiguro, Kazuo, Never Let Me Go Ishiguro, Kazuo, The Remains of the Day James, P.D., Original Sin Japrisot, Sebastien, A Very Long Engagement Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer, Heat and Dust Jin, Ha, Waiting Johnson, Charles, Middle Passage Johnson, Denis, Jesus Son Johnson, Diane, Le Divorce Jones, Edward P., The Known World Junger, Sebastian, The Perfect Storm Kanon, Joseph, The Good German Karr, Mary, The Liars Club Kaysen, Susanna, Girl, Interrupted Kernan, Michael, The Lost Diaries of Frans Hals Kesey, Ken, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Kidd, Sue Monk, The Secret Life of Bees Kincaid, Jamaica, Autobiography of My Mother Kingsolver, Barbara, Pigs in Heaven Kingsolver, Barbara, Prodigal Summer Kingsolver, Barbara, The Bean Trees Kingsolver, Barbara, The Poisonwood Bible Krakauer, Jon, Into Thin Air Krakauer, Jon, Under the Banner of Heaven Krauss, Nicole, The History of Love Kundera, Milan, The Unbearable Lightness of Being Kureishi, Hanif. The Buddha of Suburbia L'Engle, Madeleine, A Wrinkle in Time Lahiri, Jhumpa, Interpreter of Maladies Lahiri, Jhumpa, The Namesake Lamb, Wally, I Know This Much Is True Lamb, Wally, She's Come Undone Lamott, Anne, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life Lamott, Anne, Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year Landvik, Lorna, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons Larson, Erik, The Devil in the White City Lawrence, D.H., The Rainbow Lawson, Mary, Crow Lake Laxness, Halldor, Independent People LeBlanc, Adrian Nicole, Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx Lee, Chang-Rae, A Gesture Life Lee, Harper, To Kill A Mockingbird LeGuin, Ursula, A Wizard of Earthsea Lehane, Dennis, Mystic River Leiner, Katherine, Digging Out Leonard, Elmore, Stick Lessing, Doris, The Grass Is Singing Letts, Billie, Where the Heart Is Lewis, C.S., The Screwtape Letters Lively, Penelope, The Photograph Lodge, David, Therapy MacDonald, Ann-Marie, Fall on Your Knees
Macleod, Alistair, No Great Mischief MacMillan, Terry, Waiting to Exhale Mafouz, Naguib, Palace Walk Maguire, Gregory, Wicked Mallon, Thomas, Dewey Defeats Truman Malouf, David, Remembering Babylon Mann, Thomas, The Magic Mountain Marquez, Gabriel Garcia, Love in the Time of Cholera Marquez, Gabriel Garcνa, One Hundred Years of Solitude Martel, Yann, Life of Pi Mason, Daniel, The Piano Tuner Matthiessen, Peter, At Play in the Fields of the Lord Maugham, Somerset, Of Human Bondage Maugham, W. Somerset, The Razors Edge Maxwell, William, So long, see you tomorrow Maxwell, William, Time Will Darken It Mayes, Frances, Under the Tuscan Sun Maynard, Joyce, The Usual Rules McBride, James, The Color of Water McCarthy, Cormac, Blood Meridian McCarthy, Cormac, Cities of the Plain McCarthy, Cormack, The Road McCourt, Frank, Angelas Ashes McCrumb, Sharyn, Sharyn McCrumb mysteries McCullers, Carson, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter McCullough, David, 1776 McCullough, David, John Adams McDermott, Alice, Charming Billy McDonald, Ann Marie, The Way the Crow Flies McEwan, Ian, Atonement McEwan, Ian, Enduring Love McEwan, Ian, Saturday McGovern, Cammie, Eye Contact McGregor, Elizabeth, A Road Through the Mountains McMurtry, Larry, Lonesome Dove Messud, Claire, The Last Life Miller, Arthur, Death of a Salesman Miller, Arthur, The Crucible Miller, Sue, The Distinguished Guest Miller, Sue, While I Was Gone Min, Anchee, Wild Ginger Mistry, Rohinton, A Fine Balance Mitchard, Jacquelyn, The Deep End of the Ocean Mitchell, Margaret, Gone With the Wind Moore, Lorrie, Anagrams Moriarty, Laura, The Center of Everything Morrison, Toni, Beloved Morrison, Toni, Jazz Morrison, Toni, Paradise Morrison, Toni, Song of Solomon Morrison, Toni, Sula Morrison, Toni, The Bluest Eye Mulisch, Harry, The Assault Munro, Alice, Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage Murakami, Haruki, A Wild Sheep Chase Murakami, Haruki, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Myers, Kent, The Work of Wolves Nabokov, Vladimir, Lolita Nabokov, Vladimir, Pale Fire Nabokov, Vladimir, Pnin Nafisi, Azar, Reading Lolita in Tehran Naipaul, V. S., A Bend in the River Naipaul, V. S., A House for Mr. Biswas Nemirovsky, Irene, Suite Franηaise Niffenegger, Audrey, The Time Traveler's Wife Noor, Queen, Leap of Faith O'Brien, Tim, The Things They Carried O'Dell, Tawni, Back Roads Oates, Joyce Carol, The Tattooed Girl Oates, Joyce Carol, Them Oates, Joyce Carol, We Were The Mulvaneys Obama, Barack, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream Obama, Barack, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance Okri, Ben, The Famished Road Oliver, Mary, New and Selected Poems Ondaatje, Michael, The English Patient Orlean, Susan, Orchid Thief Oufkir, Malika, Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail Oz, Amos, To Know a Woman Ozeki, Ruth L., My Year of Meats OBrien, Tim, In the Lake of the Woods OReilly, Mary Rose, Barn at the End of the World Pamuk, Orhan, Snow Parkhurst, Carolyn, The Dogs of Babel Patchett, Ann, Bel Canto Patchett, Ann, Truth and Beauty: A Friendship Paton, Alan, Cry, The Beloved Country Patterson, James, Sam's Letters to Jennifer Pears, Ian, The Dream of Scipio Pedersen, Laura, Beginner's Luck Percy, Walker, The Second Coming Picoult, Jodi, My Sisters Keeper Picoult, Jodi, The Pact Pirsig, Robert M., Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Plato, The Republic Pollan, Michael, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Potok, Chaim, My Name is Asher Lev Powell, Dawn, A Time to Be Born Powers, Charles, In the Memory of the Forest Powers, Richard, The Time of Our Singing Pratchett, Terry. The Color of Magic Prejean, Sister Helen, Dead Man Walking Prose, Francine, Blue Angel Proulx, Annie, The Shipping News Pynchon, Thomas, The Crying of Lot 49 Quindlen, Anna, Black and Blue Quindlen, Anna, One True Thing Radish, Kris, The Elegant Gathering of White Snows Rand, Ayn, Atlas Shrugged Reynolds, Sheri, The Rapture of Canaan Robinson, Marilynne, Gilead Robinson, Marilynne, Housekeeping Roth, Philip, American Pastoral Roth, Philip, Everyman Roth, Philip, The Human Stain Roth, Philip, The Plot Against America Rowling, J.K., Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Roy, Arundhati, The God of Small Things Rubio, Gwyn Hyman, Icy Sparks Russell, Mary Doria, The Sparrow Russert, Tim, Big Russ and Me: Father and Son--Lessons of Life Russo, Richard, Empire Falls Russo, Richard, Nobodys Fool Russo, Richard, Straight Man Russo, Richard, The Risk Pool Rφlvaag, O.E., Giants in the Earth Sackville-West, Vita, All Passion Spent
Salinger, J.D., The Catcher in the Rye Saramago, Jose, Blindness Saramago, Josι, All the Names Schlink, Bernhard, The Reader Schlosser, Eric, Fast Food Nation Schwarz, Christina, Drowning Ruth Scliar, Moacyr, The Centaur in the Garden Sebold, Alice, The Lovely Bones See, Lisa, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Seth, Vikram,An Equal Music (wonderful in the audio version, in which you hear the music) Seth, Vikram, Suitable Boy Shaara, Michael, The Killer angels Shaffer, Mary Ann, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Shapiro, Dani, Family History Shields, Carol, Larrys Party Shields, Carol, The Stone Diaries Shreve, Anita, The Pilot's Wife Shriver, Lionel, We Need to Talk About Kevin Sijie, Dai, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Slovo, Gillian, Red Dust Smiley, Jane, A Thousand Acres Smiley, Jane, Good Faith Smith, A. McCall, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Smith, Alexander McCall, The Full Cupboard of Life Smith, Betty, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Smith, Dodie, I Capture the Castle Smith, Haywood, The Red Hat Club Smith, Lee, Fair and Tender Ladies Smith, Wilbur, When the Lion Feeds Smith, Zadie, White Teeth Stegner, Wallace, Angle of Repose Stegner, Wallace, Crossing to Safety Steinbeck, John, East of Eden Steinbeck, John, Of Mice and Men Steinbeck, John, The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck, John, The Pearl Stone, Robert, Damascus Gate Strout, Elizabeth. Amy and Isabelle Strout, Elizabeth. Olive Kitteridge (interrelated stories about secrets and small-town Maine) Styron, William, The Confessions of Nat Turner Sunley, Christina. The Tricking of Freya Suri, Manil, The Death of Vishnu Suskind, Patrick, Perfume Swift, Graham, Last Orders Szpilman, Wladyslaw, The Pianist Tademy, Lalita, Cane River Tartt, Donna, Secret History Taylor, Peter, A Summons to Memphis Tolle, Eckhart. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose Tolstoy, Leo, Anna Karenina Trevor, William, Felicias Journey Trigiani, Adriana, Lucia, Lucia Trollope, Anthony, Barchester Towers Tsukiyama, Gail, The Samurai's Garden Twain, Mark, Innocents Abroad Tyler, Anne, A Patchwork Planet Tyler, Anne, Back When We Were Grownups Tyler, Anne, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant Tyler, Anne, Ladder of Years Tyler, Anne, The Accidental Tourist Umrigar, Thrity, The Space Between Us Updike, John, Rabbit, Run and the other Rabbit novels Vonnegut, Kurt, Slaughterhouse Five Vreeland, Susan, Girl in Hyacinth Blue Walker, Alice, The Color Purple Walls, Jeannette, The Glass Castle: A Memoir Warren, Robert Penn, All the Kings Men Wells, Rebecca, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Welty, Eudora, One Writer's Beginnings West, Dorothy, The Wedding West, Nathaniel, Day of the Locust Wharton, Edith, Custom of the Country Wharton, Edith, The House of Mirth White, E.B., Charlotte's Web Wiesel, Elie, Night Wilder, Thornton, The Bridge of San Luis Rey Winchester, Simon, The Professor and the Madman Wolfe, Tom, Bonfire of the Vanities Wolitzer, Meg, The Wife Wood, Barbara, The Blessing Stone Woolf, Virginia, Mrs. Dalloway Wright, Richard, Black Boy Wroblewski, David, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle Wynd, Oswald, The Ginger Tree Zafσn, Carlos Ruiz, The Shadow of the Wind Lit Blog Co-op (Powell's links to MANY book groups, book group reading lists, and literary bloggers)
Reading Group Guides (an online community for reading groups) offers various helpful pages for book groups. Reading group discussion guides can be found by title, by author, or by genre, for example. You can check out the most requested guides, you can read interviews with a long list of book groups, or look at the lists of ongoing favorites.
Try a theme. For example, in September our book group is reading any book(s) we want about the King Arthur legend, which could include · The Once and Future King by T.White · The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley · A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain · In search of myths & heroes: exploring four epic legends of the world by Michael Wood (based on his PBS series; in 60 pages you get a good overview of King Arthur) · The Search for King Arthur, by David Day · The video, King Arthur, with Clive Owen and Keira Knightley, directed by Antoine Fuqua (and don't miss the Wikipedia entry about same) Then your discussion can center on how the various treatments differ, and whether and how much the legend is based on fact, etc. |
Books, articles, and moreWriting or telling life stories
What is an ethical will? A legacy letter
A loving testament, or legacy letter, sharing your life experiences and lessons with the next generation Michael Kilian's message of hope for a newborn
Read aloud at a memorial service decades later Telling your story
Everyone has a story to tell. What's keeping you from telling yours? Become a storykeeper or personal historian or find one. Pat's writing workshops and presentations
Learn to write articles, reports, ethical wills, or life stories (memoirs and beyond). Eulogy for Eleanor
Mom hardworking, sassy, and full of surprises Washington Biography Group
Mutual support and discussion An American Biography
Social history through the life of an ordinary Midwestern businessman. Medical mysteries, patient stories, and practical links
The boy in the plastic bubble
John Travolta played the boy in the movie. The real story ended far differently. A bad heart and housemaid's knee
Thin little Marian had a cholesterol problem most people have never heard of. The NIH Clinical Center
You've probably never heard of this national research hospital and clinic. But someone you know may be able to benefit from it directly and all of us do, indirectly. Anatomy of medical error
Prepare for skill-based slips and rule- and knowledge-based errors Dancing, food, good books, and other diversions
Book Groups, Recommended Titles
Favorites of several book groups Bag lunches (attention, parents!)
What is the single lunch-bag item most hated by all children? Caviar
What heightens the caviar experience is the price of those little gray or black sturgeon eggs. Dancing: A Guide to the Capital Area
Links to dancing venues and calendars for the Washington, D.C. area. Dating -- again!
Midlife "first dates" Love at First Waltz (by Cheryl Kollin)
Did she fall in love with the man or the waltz? Swing, lindy, jitterbug, and shag
Also related: jive, hustle, hand-dancing. Buffalo Gap Dance Camp
All the dancing your feet can take Ballroom dance
Choosing a school of dance Portobello mushrooms
The big ones, with dirty stems Contemporary Latin American Short Stories
A rich, varied, and highly rewarding collection, says Joyce Carol Oates Ceilis
Ceilis (Irish dancing) Dying, mourning, and other inevitable events
Dying: A Book of Comfort
This remarkable collection, coming from personal experience and wide reading, will help many find the potential of growth through loss. Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the hospice movement Selections from Dying: A Book of Comfort
For those dying, for caregivers, and for the bereaved Music for funerals and memorial services
Music some have chosen Girls and science
Cool science sites
Cool science sites Why Janie Can't Engineer: Raising Girls to Succeed
Attention: parents, teachers. New Formulas for America's Workforce:
Girls in Science and Engineering
Best practices for teaching science--to strengthen the science workforce. Chicks in academia take on Larry Summers
Some links and a selection A Latina mini-revolution in the computer classroom
File under "things that worked." Practical matters
Learning Styles
Identify children's learning styles and improve their ability to learn. Homework without tears
Six weeks to hassle-free homework. Teens and alcohol
Why parents should be concerned. Scared speechless? Join Toastmasters
Public speaking is a craft, not an art. It can be learned. The truth about dry cleaning
Can you wash it if it says "dry clean"? Selling your diamonds
Fact vs. fantasy Starting a small business
One woman's story. How to buy upholstered furniture
Don't focus on the fabric. Organizational histories
YPO: The First 50 Years
A frank history of the Young Presidents Organization. By Design (Crown, the BMW of forklifts)
The little lift truck that could a story of brilliant marketing in America's heartland. Online Shopping
Great and Unusual Online Shopping
Best places to shop online |