Do you read anything other than the MFP boards?

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  • mspoopoo
    mspoopoo Posts: 500 Member
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    Try
    The Psychology of Everyday Things
    Donald A. Norman

    or Freakanomics
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
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    Red Dragon- Thomas Harris

    Unless cannibalism makes you squeamish, then maybe not...
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
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    Nobody's suggested Starting Strength?

    Your book club would love that one.

    Otherwise, Mrs. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was a decent read.
  • elryn
    elryn Posts: 12 Member
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    One thing to think about is sometimes a really good book doesn't necessarily make for a good book discussion! for your first few books it may be wise to avoid picking books that may lead to *too* much controversy and arguments (i.e. if you have club members who are socially very conservative and other members who are very liberal - be careful! lol) One of our guidelines is to avoid books that are longer than about 400 pages or so. That guideline came up after someone nominated a 1100 page novel.

    Some books we really enjoyed and had good discussions:
    The Help - Kathryn Stockett (fiction)
    Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt (memoir)
    The Color of Water - James McBride (kind of a memoir)
    The Unthinkable - Who survives when disaster strikes and why (non-fiction)
    The Things that Keep Us Here - Carla Buckley (fiction)
    Silas Marner - George Eliot
    Rocket Boys (aka October Sky) - Homer Hickam (memoir)


    Has your group decided how the reading list will be decided? I've seen:

    - group where whoever hosts picks the book
    - group that makes a list for the entire year
    - The small group I'm in discusses the current month's book, then at the end we have a nomination & vote for the next book. We typically have 3 to 5 books nominated. In the 1st round of votes each person votes for 2 titles that most appeal to you, and if there's a "tie" of finalists then we have a 2nd vote where you get to vote for only 1 title.
  • wamydia
    wamydia Posts: 259 Member
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    World War Z -- Max Brooks
    Snow Crash -- Neil Stephenson
    The Dark Tower series -- Stephen King (although this is actually several books)
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- Douglas Adams
    Dune -- Frank Herbert

    Sorry, having trouble thinking of anything not SciFi right now. . . .
  • _KrisMarie_
    _KrisMarie_ Posts: 146
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    Thanks everyone! I'll check out some of the suggestions.

    I was thinking about World War Z; heard it's way better than the movie, though I haven't seen that either.


    So far, we've read the following books in the club:

    50 Shades of Gray
    Cloud Atlas
    Beyond the Beautiful Forevers
    The Perks of Being a Wallflower
    Gone Girl


    Whoever is hosting gets to pick; I just wasn't expecting to be up so soon. I'm taking over for one of the ladies who is about to give birth. :smile: I wanted to read The Lovely Bones, but too many of us have already read it.

    Our group ranges from conservative to liberal, and we're everything from engineers to medical spa employees and one of us even has a PhD in medieval literature. So yes, the conversations can get rather animated. :tongue:

    Thanks again!!
  • yinkyo
    yinkyo Posts: 78 Member
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    I'm partial to the Kushiel's series by Jacqueline Carey, though they can be a bit too graphic for some people, though from what I hear of 50 shades (having never read it) you may not have a problem.

    Also JPOD by Douglas Coupland is a really fun cute book, that may seem crazy at first, but it's written like a bunch of memos from an office building, with a story stuck in between. It's about some crazy characters who all get stuck in a special division office in a game development company all because their surnames begin with the letter J (all thanks to a Y2K bug in the system that sorts the divisions).

    Also American Gods by Neil Gaiman has always been a favorite of mine, and Neverwhere (if you like a more dystopian fantasy) or Stardust (for a more traditional quest fantasy) Also by Neil Gaiman.

    Lastly, for a dark mysterious fantasy, Faerie Tale by Raymond E Feist is AMAZING. Especially if you still believe in Faeries ^_^

    ETA: also I agree with the person who said Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, I think everyone should read this series, it's just brilliant.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    Beyond 5/3/1
  • peopletalk
    peopletalk Posts: 519 Member
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    honestly? "white oleander"

    oh sweet baby jesus! that book is too good.

    or "night"
    that one's amazing aswell :)
  • Nicolee_2014
    Nicolee_2014 Posts: 1,572 Member
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    The Perks of Being A Wallflower was good but slightly depressing.

    She's Come undone - Wally Lamb
    I Am Legend - Richard Matheson
    The Help
    Scar Tissue - Anthony Kiedis. I really felt like I knew the man after reading the book.

    I'm currently reading Enders Game (going to be a movie this year) by Orson Scott Card
  • joanthemom8
    joanthemom8 Posts: 375 Member
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    I am 2/3 of the way through Girl Gone. It's great so far. I also read recently The Help. I just finished The Bridges of Madison County, but it wasn't my favorite.
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
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    Anything by Joshilyn Jackson. Gods in Alabama, The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, and A Grown Up Kind of Pretty are the ones I've read so far and they are great!
  • CheekyBrahette
    CheekyBrahette Posts: 441 Member
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    Master of the Mountain - Cherise Sinclair
  • Nicolee_2014
    Nicolee_2014 Posts: 1,572 Member
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    I really enjoyed the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo books, The Kite Runner & A Thousand Splendid Suns. I wouldn't normally read these books but they were recommended to me & I couldn't put them down.
  • ElBence
    ElBence Posts: 291 Member
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    All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy - Western type novel. You've probably seen the movie, but the book is better.

    Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy - Late Victorian novel which is atypical of the era

    Tropic of Orange by Karen Tei Yamas hi ta (The last name has spaces because MFP censors the word s-h-i-t even when a part of somebody's last name) - Magical realism novel that explores racial/class differences

    Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - One of my very favorite African American novels

    This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - A Fitzgerald book not named Gatsby that every American should read. (For the record, every American should also read Gatsby, and most who completed reading assignments in high school have.)



    Wind Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint Exupery - A true story of a pilot who survived a plane crash in the North African desert. The author also wrote The Little Prince which every parent should read to their child.
  • _KrisMarie_
    _KrisMarie_ Posts: 146
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    Ok, got one picked out, but making sure no one's read it yet. We shall see.


    Thanks for all the suggestions! I wish I had more time to lounge around and read all these good books. It wouldn't be too shabby! :wink:

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