I have been asked to begin a Book Club in my ward (I think as one of those optional Relief Society Enrichment groups). This is good because it combines reading (something I love and am good at) with the opportunity to get to know other people (something I need to do and am NOT good at).
The bad news:
I have been asked to begin a Book Club in my ward. I've never been in a book club, let alone in charge of one!
Thank goodness for the Internet, because I'm finding all sorts of helpful Book Club (caps? no caps?) information all over the place, HOWEVER (and this is where the call for help comes in):
WHAT BOOK DO WE START WITH?????
I have rather specific preferences and, therefore, no idea of widely-appealing books out there. Therefore, if you have a favorite book and/or one you think a variety of people would enjoy, please share!
3 comments:
I love Of Mice and Men. One you might want to consider is Pride and Prejudice. I've done both of these in book clubs and after we read the book, we got together and watched the movie, then discussed how they were different and similar, and what we liked better about each. I would stay away from the big stuff, like Gone With the Wind, for awhile. You don't want to start with something too epic and scare people away. But if you want a good series, I recommend the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman, trilogy. It is Mr. Darcy's side of Pride and Prejudice, in three books (each one is fairly small and a quick read). Plus, that gives you three months worth of books.
How about "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. It's a very small book, easy to read, super-inspiring, and would make a gentler introduction for your group than a full-length novel, I think. Our ward book group did it a couple of months ago. I read it quite a while earlier and even bought it to be loaded on my Kindle, I was so impressed with it.
I watched the video of "The Last Lecture" several months ago and I still think about it. And it has motivated me to change.
Anyways, here's a list of books I like.
The Host-- Stephanie Meyer
Its not like the Twilight series at all which although I read the whole series was pretty sick of by the end. The Host is pretty sci-fi with aliens but the setting is familiar so I don't think to out there for non-sci-fi people.
Ender's Game -- Orson Scott Card
Loved this book. Basically about a kid that is summoned by the govt to play/train with war games except with a twist at the end. Pretty sci-fi...didn't realize I like sci-fi so much.
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency-- Alexander McCall Smith
Pretty good. Easy read. Set in Africa a woman receives an inheritance at father's passing and she starts a detective agency. Mystery as she solves various cases. And kind of comical too. This is my least favorite that i'm listing.
My Antonia-- Willa Cather
An immigrant family in Nebraska...I had to read this for a class and loved it. Of course, I always loved Little House on the Prairie, too. Ha. Its been awhile but it was a pretty easy read and I loved it. In fact I might read it again.
Foe-- J.M. Coetzee
Another school book. Pretty easy and its a retelling of the Robinson Crusoe story...that I would think most people have heard of.
The Chosen-- Chaim Potok
Basically a coming of age story of a young Jewish boy. Kind of long and sometimes tedious but an excellent book.
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