Favorite Book Club Choices
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Annie Fiery Barrows and Mary Ann Fiery Shaffer
In January 1946, letters between writer Juliet Ashton, and her correspondent on the island of Guernsey just after World War II, give her insight into how the island residents coped during the German occupation. Through other members of the GLandPPP Society, Juliet learns about their island and their taste in books as well. - Sarah's Key
, by Tatiana De Rosnay
This popular book club read is told in two sections. One takes place during the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, the most notorious act of French collaboration with the Nazis. The other takes place in contemporary times as a reporter searches for Sarah and her family to tell them they are not forgotten. - Room: A Novel
, by Emma Donoghue
Five-year-old Jack and his mother live their lives in an 11 X 11 foot room held captive by a terrifying man called "Old Nick". - Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
, by Jamie Ford
After Pearl Harbor, a Chinese boy in Seattle meets a Japanese girl at school before her family is interned in a camp. Prejudices between races play a major part in this story as well as relationships between parents and children. Very popular book for book group discussions. - Water for Elephants: A Novel
, by Sara Gruen
Told in flashbacks, nursing home resident, Jacob, remembers times spent living with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth and the people and animals he encountered. Movie starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson opens on April 22. - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
, by Stieg Larsson
This first novel in the Dragon Tattoo trilogy sets the stage for suspense involving Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist and the multipierced and tattooed Lisbeth Salander, a superhacker extraordinaire. - Nineteen Minutes
, by Jodi Picoult
Another great read for book groups by the very popular author of My Sister's Keeper: A Noveland The Tenth Circle: A Novel
. A high school shooting takes place in a small town in New Hampshire and the town is stunned by this tragedy.
- Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: A Novel
, by Helen Simonson
Sixty-eight year old Major Pettigrew retires in his beloved village of Edgecombe St. Mary, England where he enters into a relationship with a Pakistani woman who shares his love of literature. There is lots going on in this story; domestic comedy, late-life romance, culture clash. Another popular read for book clubs. - The Help
, by Kathryn Stockett
This first novel by Stockett follows the lives of black maids in 60's Jackson, Mississippi and the white women they work for.
- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel (Oprah Book Club)
, by David Wroblewski
In this tale reminiscent of Hamlet, a mute boy and his dogs go on the run after realizing his uncle is responsible for the death of his father. An Oprah book club pic. - Cutting for Stone
, by Abraham Verghese
This first fiction work by Stone follows the plot as it spans the lifetime of twin boys, of Indian descent, in Ethiopia and America. The boys grow up to become doctors as well and the author weaves the practice of medicine into this story.