Clubing - Book Style

Book Clubs have proliferated around the world. I understand why because seven or eight years ago a friend and I formed one. We both enjoyed reading and loved the idea of a high-brow excuse to get some gals together every other month. We started meeting in women's homes and quickly decided with all the kids in diapers among the members that we needed a night out! We stormed restaurants all over with our discussions and laughter. Now that most of the member's kids are well beyond diapers, even feeding themselves and some driving, we decided to return our meetings to member's homes.


Last year we changed up our whole system. We brainstormed a whole list of books and fought to the bitter end on the final six for the year...oh, how I kid...no fighting, as far from fighting as you could imagine. We drank wine, jabbered and laughed our way to the final six book selections.


Our system worked so well last year, we repeated it again in December to make our selections for 2009. How do we pick? Do we have a system? Well, sort of...

Enthralling story, controversial topic, exquisite writing style, a little romance...sometimes. We do try to pick one classic, one non-fiction, and one funny read. The rest...just memorable fiction. We usually stick by a rule that at least one member needs to have read the book, but occasionally we stray for a much-talked-about book.


Here are our selections for 2009 (Do I recommend the books with large pictures more? Aaah... no. The pictures just imported into this blog in different sizes and when you have 111 things you should be doing, you just can't worry about such things):

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Worst Hard Times by Timothy Egan

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

The Shack by William Young

Here are the books we considered but did not select:

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquival*
Life of Pi by Yann Martel*
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Last Voyage of the USS Pueblo by Ed Brandt
The Lost by Daniel Mendelsohn*
Enslaved by Ducks by Bob Tarte
Fifty Acres and A Poodle by Jeanne Marie Laskas
Flamingos on the Roof by Calif Brown
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Pope Jane by Donna Cross
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

I've read the three with astericks and recommend them!

Happy Reading!