Thank you all for you responses. You've given me some good ideas, and some names of books that just might spark some discussion. I'm always a little leery of books about the Holocaust; I often find them too upsetting to read. But The Sunflower sounds like it goes beyond just relating the horrors to some deeper reflections on human nature. My library doesn't have a copy, nor a copy of A Thread of Grace, but I think I'll look elsewhere for them. I like the idea of the reading kits. I believe our local library has a few of those; I'm not sure how many. I went to one meeting of the library book club. We discussed Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth, a fabulous book, but I was disappointed in the discussion. It was dominated by a woman who wanted to discuss current-day politics, and the leader/librarian, couldn't seem to slow her down. The discussion ended exactly one hour after we started, even though we had lots more to discuss.

Hmm. I've been in several book clubs for over 20 years. A lot of what I'm reading here sounds familiar. I have a different point of view. I want to read well-written fiction. I don't care if it's depressing or delightful. I don't care if it's historical fiction or science fiction or fantasy or mystery. What I care about is that the author can string words together in a way that draws me in and makes me care about the characters and what happens to them. I hate to see discerning readers discard the Oprah picks just because they were downers...or just because Oprah picked them. I read a fair number of her choices before she ever discovered them, and I was glad to see those authors getting the recognition I felt they deserved. (Fall on Your Knees, by Ann-Marie MacDonald...an exquisitely written novel about an incredibly awful family. I didn't want it to end.) Stories without conflict....not much to write about. Not much to talk about. Shakespeare knew that dysfuntional families and star-crossed lovers brought out the audiences. Tragedy or comedy....there has to be a hook. Someone asked about Broken For You. Loved it; my book club loved it. A downer? In some ways, yes. But also a story to lift the spirits as well. I think the best writers do that. A writer who makes me think. A writer who gives me insight into the actions and motivations of others. A writer who gives me a new perspective on my own world, and on the worlds I will never experience. A writer who challenges my mind; a writer who delights my mind. These are the writers I want to read, in or out of a book club.

Hi Lisa - I've been in a book group since 1995, so we have read over a hundred books. I do try to keep some ratings of the books we read, but I'm not always up to date. And not all the books we've read have been rated. But according to my records, here are some of our favorites - based on how much we enjoyed reading them and how discussable they were (not necessarily in any order): A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver A Thousand Acres - Jane Smiley Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood A Yellow Raft in Blue Water - Michael Dorris The Girls - Lori Lansens Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks Some that haven't been rated but were group favorites were: Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner Because of Winn Dixie - Kate DiCamillo (a YA book) Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri Peace Like a River - Leif Enger To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee Also, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, received a perfect 5 out of 5 from all of those who read it. Much of this is pretty standard book club fare, which is what my book group seems to prefer. The above books were not necessarily my favorites, although I agreed with many of the ratings. If I were to list my faves, they would be (not in any order): Sarah Canary - Karen Joy Fowler (Surprise!) Cider House Rules - John Irving East of Eden - Steinbeck Smilla's Sense of Snow - Peter Hoeg Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Lethem House of Sand and Fog - Andre Dubus Montana 1948 - Larry Watson Life of Pi - Yann Martel (close to the top of my list) Each book group has it's own personality, just as individuals do. Over time, you will discover you group's personality and will learn the types of books that work and the type that don't work. Good luck ... and happy reading and discussing.

Our book club is a Mystery Book club. Last year we did something different, we picked a theme. We had to pick books that were either Hard-boiled detective or Medical mystery. We liked the theme idea, so this year we picked for our theme, International and Police Procedural mysteries. We don't usually pick a specific book, because there might not be enough books available at the public library for everyone. Instead we pick a series by a specific author. Last year our selections were: Linda Fairstein - Any Alex Cooper Any book by Elizabeth Becka/Lisa Black Walter Mosley - Any Easy Rawlins Michael Palmer - Any book Raymond Chandler Richard Stark - Any Parker novel Tess Gerritsen - Any Rizzoli & Isles Dashiell Hammett Ross Pennie - Dr. Zol Szabl Robert B. Parker - Any Spenser novel We haven't picked all the books for this year yet. So far we have: Michael Robotham - Say YouâÂÂre Sorry Jussi Adler-Olson - Any Alexander McCall Smith - No 1 Ladiesâ Detective Agency series - Any Michael Connelly - Harry Bosch series