Discussible Choices: What Are You Reading?
May 2009

Congratulations to Lucy and the The Footnotes for winning the random drawings for this month’s Discussible Book Choice! 

We enjoy hearing from book club members who share with everyone the book choices that made for lively discussions.. Please let us know what about the book contributed to your great discussion – you may win a book-related prize for every member of your reading group!

“Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland generated a great discussion. The painting came alive as we read about the lives of the artists and models. We also learned a lot about the time period as the author shared her vast amount of knowledge on the subject.”
Lucy, The Footnotes, The Villages, FL

More Discussible Book Choices

“We just read House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. We used the publisher’s suggested book discussion questions. It was such a lively discussion. Twelve were present. Before the discussion, eight liked the book and four did not. After the discussion, seven liked the book and five did not. Of all the questions and partial questions suggested by the publisher, we only had a consensus on five questions. Some kept away, because they had heard the book was depressing. Those who attended enjoying expressing their like or dislike about the characters. We did concur that each character expect the boy who was shot was clinically depressed. Only one person had seen the film, and she recommended we all now try to see the movie.”
Carol, The Bookers, Henrico, NC

“Loving Frank by Nancy Horan was the perfect book to start our new faculty book club. The book is a work of historical fiction about a woman caught between her times and her love for a man who is not her husband!”
Martha, GPS Faculty Book Club, Chattanooga, TN

“Our newly formed neighborhood book club chose The Necklace by Cheryl Jarvis as our first selection. Since this is a relatively new book, there is no discussion guide; so we decided to expand upon the friendships & bonds that the women formed together. A perfect first book so that we could also hope for the same results with our book club.”
Ruthie, Carpenter Village Book Club, Cary, NC

“We have enjoyed discussing The Year of LIving Biblically by A.J. Jacobs; Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver; Luncheon of the Boating Party By Susan Vreeland; The Faith Club: a Muslim a Christian a Jew by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver and Priscilla Warner; A Thousand Splendid Suns byKhaled Hossseini; and many others."
Ellen, Lone Tree Readers, Central City, NE

“We read The Cradle by Patrick Somerville. It was a literary novel with family relationships beset with foster care pitfalls and the absence of parents. The story of the search for the cradle ends up tying ends together for two families. We had a great discussion of family heirlooms and families.
Sally, Oak Harbour Book Club, Saint Johns, FL

“Discussible choices for 2008 in our Unshelved group were Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards, and Goodbye to the Mermaids by Karin Finell.”
Katie, Unshelved, Quincy, IL

“Our favorite & most discussable book for 2008 was Three Cups of Tea. We were able to hear the co-author (Mortenson I think) speak about the project to build schools for girls in Pakistan. It was an uplifting positive story of hope for women in this underprivileged environment.”
Sally, The Retired Readers, Clatskanie, OR

“The Glass Castle—an awesome read, everyone in the book club enjoyed it, and the relationship between the author and her mother sparked a BIG discussion!”
Ann-Marie, Women Who Love To Read, Churchville, NY

“My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult inspired lots of lively discussion.  The choices the parents made throughout the book provided the inspiration for much discussion—pro and con.”
Cara, Paxton Book Club, Paxton, IL

“The book that generated the best discussion for us was Fall on Your Knees by Anne Marie MacDonald. It was a difficult read because of the subject matter, but the writing style was unique. We still want to discuss it months after the meeting.”
Kristi, Between the Covers, Abington, VA

“Our book group recently read An Inconvenient Wife by Northwest author Megan Chance. We found it to be a riveting read and were lucky to have the author visit the library to talk about the book.  She is a very entertaining speaker.  We're looking forward to her next historical fiction book, which will be about an New York City opera singer in the Gilded age.”
Lois, Between the Covers, Maple Valley, WA

“Last month we discussed The Yiddish Policemen's Union.  Some hated the book, and others loved the book. It made for lively discussion!”
Margo, I Love A Mystery Book