Book Club

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danole

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HELP!! I've got to pick a book for our next book club & can't seem to get a good 'un........can anyone suggest anything?Thanks!
 
def a thouand splendid suns or the kite runner..i'm now reading the bookseller of kabul. also v good. let us know what you decide.
 
Rubicon or Persian Fire by Tom Holland - non fiction but very approachable entry to ancient history

Also in a similar ancient history vein, but are historical fiction, are Pompeii and Imperium by Robert Harris
 
I don't know what your usual choices are like but I read 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie recently and thought it was very good. It's a very well-written novel following the lives of a couple of sisters around the time of the Biafran conflict. It really brought home the horror of that time without being overly worthy. And it dealt really well with love/fidelity, post-colonialism and race/tribal issues without forcing it down your neck so I'd imagine there'd be oodles of themes for discussion in a book club. I saw it in Tesco for 5.95 - a complete steal IMHO.
 
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennet. Very short but good fun and well written.

A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry. Beautifully written account (fictional) of the Dubs in Flanders during WWI and also the experiences of some of the regiment who were home on leave during Easter 1916.
 
Does it have to be recent or just any texts?

Probably preferable that something is unusual and not too long. In general I think crime thrillers, despite their popularity are a bad idea as they leave little to discuss really except the plot.

For book clubs, it was my understanding that discussion/debate revolves more around writing style, character development, literary devices etc?

The Outsider (Albert camus) is short, and on the surface uncomplicated, but has emotional and philisophical depths and features an unusual, direct writing style.

1984 (George Orwell) is relatively short too and comparison with the imagined and actual future should provide endless discussion.

Longer, but crammed with unusual characters and events, and a real emotional rollercoaster is John Irving's The World According to Garp.

Kazuo Ishiguru's The Remains of the Day is a beautifully written, well observed poignant novel.

Some ideas anyway...
 
We need to talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver. A book about nature v nuture. A provoking, angry, sad and compelling read that will stay in your thoughts long after you have put the book down.
 
Try "The God Delusion" - guaranteed to cause an evening of rows and never-ending heated arguments !!!
 
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