It's book club tonight! We just finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and this evening we get to sip on a glass of chardonnay, munch on nibbles and rattle on. Hopefully about the book! (FYI: loved GLAPPPS, a bit predictable at times, but a very comforting read. I felt really happy after and wanted to move to Guernsey and join their society!)
Part of the fun of book club is coming up with suggestions for the next read. Being the social media whizz that I am (ahem), I put out a note on twitter (sorry, I can't bring myself to use the term "tweet") and within a FEW MINUTES I got some really good suggestions. Have a look, it's a varied list with some fab reads.
1. A Million Little Pieces is a semi-fictional memoir by James Frey. It is story of a young alcoholic and drug user and how he deals with it in a 12-step programme. (thanks Double Trouble).
2. The Time Traveller's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger's novel that shot her to fame. A love story about a man with a "time travel" disorder and his artistic wife who has to deal with his mysterious disappearances. I've read it, but it's the kind of novel you could read again and get a new insight each time. (via Geeky Mummy and The Mother of All Adventure).
3. Vegemitevix suggested The Girl Who Played with Fire, the second novel in the hugely popular Millennium Trilogy by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson. Perhaps we should start from the beginning, with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?
4. The Space Between Us -- Thrity Umrigar's poignant novel about a wealthy woman and her servant, it is a revealing look at class and gender in modern day Bombay (thanks Urban Mum).
5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Nazi Germany, death, and books. A haunting combination (thanks again Urban Mum).
6. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Booker Prize 2009. Tudor England. Cromwell, Henery IIIV. Described as a "truly great English novel that crosses th intersection of individual psychology and wider politics" (courtesy of Exmoor Jane).
7. Snaffle Mummy suggests "anything by Jodi Picoult" -- she writes about families, relationships and love.
8. The Dickens classic: Little Dorrit. A serial novel and satire on the shortcomings of Victorian government and society. (It's A Small World After All)
9. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It's non-fiction, but Mumby said it might make good book club fodder. I think I have to agree with her. Described as "a cross between the Dalai Lama's The Art of Happiness and Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Loveand seamlessly buttressed by insights from sources as diverse as psychological scientist, novelists, poets and philosophers, Rubin has written a book that readers will revisit again and again..."
10. Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin is a warm story of family life and friendship (via Sophie4Sophie).
11. Lindsey Kelk's I Heart Hollywood -- light hearted chick lit (from and one more means four).
12. Heaven Can Wait by Cally Taylor. About a woman that is about to marry her soul mate, then dies suddenly. Debut novel. (Living With Kids).
13. The Road by Cormac McCarthy. A classic. Won the 2007 Pullizer Prize. About a journey taken by father and son after an unidentified apocalypse. (Living With Kids).
14. The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes. "A mysterious visitor has just landed at 66 Star Street and big changes are on the way. Old secrets are working their way to the surface, bringing love, tragedy and an unexpected optimism. And life will be different for everyone..." (Living With Kids).
So there you have it, 14 great suggestion from women who read (and write) a lot. Print it out for your next book club (I am!)
And if you have any more suggestions for great reads, leave them below.
Photo credit: Vicky's Pics
