Discussible Choices: What Are You Reading?
January 2010

Congratulations to Renee and The Tuesday Night Book Club 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!

“I have the Reading Group Choices books for 2009 and 2010 and I LOVE them!  I received them at the Southern Festival of Books WNBA breakfasts for the past 2 years, and they are my favorite thing in my goody bag can't wait for this years edition!  I truly look forward to it.  I'm actually writing for the Favorite Books Survey. Some we have read in my bookclub, and some I have read on my own and wish they would get drawn for book club reads.  But here's my list for 2009: 
The Help: Kathryn Stockett (my favorite!)
My Enemy's Cradle: Sara Young
Serena: Ron Rash
Time of My Life: Allison Winn Scotch
Shanghai Girls: Lisa See
Miscarriage of Justice: Kip Gayden
The Weight of Silence: Heather Gudenkauf
The Reliable Wife: Robert Goolrick”
Renee, The Tuesday Night Bookclub, Burns, TN

More Discussible Book Choices

“The Help really provoked a great area of divergent opinions between the Northerners and the Southerners, because the south felt they were so kind to their help when because some of them grew up with them "as family" while the north looked at it as more patronizing so we really got into it.  Great book for Carolinians whether native or transplants. Some even had pictures of their nannies and even grampies who were blacks.  It was a fun evening and I recommended it to another book club in the area.”
Agnes, Sandhills Book Club, Whispering Pines, NC

“Based on the discussions of the books, the most discussable were:
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips
The Reader by Bernard Schlinck
A Sense of Honor by James Webb
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan.”
Susan, Kent Island Book Babes, Stevensville, MD

“Three books that sparked conversation and some controversy in our group over the last year were City of Thieves by David Benioff, Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan, and Crossing the Yard by Richard Shelton.

City of Thieves sparked interest in what for us was a not well-known chapter of the Second World War (i.e. the Siege of Leningrad). Someone in the group had even tackled the historic tome The 900 Days, so they could learn more about the event. Lest anyone think this book would be too depressing for your group, rest assured that Benioff prefers comedy, tragedy and absurdity in equal portions, making this a wild but thoroughly enjoyable literary ride.

There was much debate over Evening is the Whole Day, with some of us loving the rather convoluted tale of a dysfunctional Malaysian family in 1980 and others confused and frustrated. The characters are multifaceted, and it's not easy to tell the heroes from the villains, since everyone seems to assume a different role depending on the circumstances.

Finally, the non-fiction work Crossing the Yard by Richard Shelton led our group to a thoughtful discussion about prisons, the criminal justice system and the amazingly transformative power of language and literature. Shelton's book isn't big, but the impact it made on many of us was significant, lasting long after we'd turned the final page.”
Rebecca, The Literary Salon of Note, Tucson, AZ

“Our group loved Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.  Although the dialogue was difficult for some the story was so uplifting and heartwrenching. We rate the book at the end of each meeting, and this book received the highest ratings of any book we have read in our three year life.”
Christine, StARS, Brooklyn, NY

“Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. We had our biggest turn-out for this book.  Everyone was fascinated by Frank Lloyd Wright's personal story--which most of us didn't know about.  Everyone was very passionate about whether they liked Frank, and/or his mistress.  There was a lot of discussion about whether we could imagine doing what his mistress did or doing what his wife did.  Was a great discussion book.”
Lisa, Desperate Book Wives, Glenview, IL

“The Hunger Games and Catching Fire are our first two books.  Great for discussing the relevance to today's culture and the impact complacency can have on a country.”
Saydi, The Book Club, Savoy, TX

“We just had a discussion of The Book Thief, and all members of the group thoroughly enjoyed the book--that is unusual for a real 'eclectic' group of people!  We each had our favorites among the characters but agreed that Liesel was a very courageous--and intelligent-- little survivor.  Our discussion lasted more than 1 1/2 hours and we could have continued for longer, but we try to keep our meetings to that length of time.  It was one that all would recommend to other book groups.”
Marian, New Windsor Book Group, New Windsor, MD