Booklist Online: More than 130,000 book reviews for librarians, book groups, and book lovers - from the trusted experts at the American Library Association

On a recent vacation with my wife, I came across a sign in a flower shop that said “Put on your Big Boy pants and get over it.” I was reminded of that sage philosophy while reading That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo.  In this book, we meet Jack Griffin, a former L. A. screenwriter [...]

Last Sunday I watched the CBS television program Sunday Morning and caught an interesting piece on an unusual book club.  Steve Hartman, the reporter, told about Peter, a successful lawyer, who regularly took a morning stroll on the Boston Commons, where he often encountered a homeless man named Rob.  The two men engaged in conversation, and after they’d exhausted the [...]

In the late 1950s, Edward Abbey spent summers working in Utah’s Arches National Park, performing a variety of park services and sometimes escaping for backcountry hiking and rafting adventures or side work for local ranchers. The result is his 1968 book Desert Solitaire. Over 40 years later, his book is still relevant, poignant, and laced [...]

Why is Loving Frank by Nancy Horan such a good book for discussion? My book group met to discuss Loving Frank earlier this month and the room was packed. As soon as we got started, as the conversation progressed, as new voices entered the fray, I had a feeling that we had a really good [...]

Like many of us, President Obama has set an ambitious vacation reading agenda.  Here’s what he  took with him to Martha’s Vineyard: Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman John Adams by David McCullough Lush Life by Richard Price Plainsong by Keith Haruf The Way Home by George Pelecanos That’s a total of 2,300 pages to [...]

and the next guy, and the next guy, and the next one. That’s what this men-only book  group in Columbus, Ohio prides itself on. Oh, sure, there’s wine and cookies, but there’s also hefty sandwiches and conversation to go along with it. Now in its 11th year, this nameless book group reads many of the [...]

With the new Meryl Streep-Amy Adams film, Julie & Julia, lighting up the national box office and Julia Child’s classic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, back on the bestseller list, I’ve been wondering if book groups won’t take the hint and decide to plan some delicious discussion programs around 1) Julie Powell’s autobiographical [...]

Last week Neil posted about fiction trends, and mentioned in particular the current zombie and vampire fiction craze.  One title he called out was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an adaptation (or defilement, depending on your point of view) of Jane Austen’s classic. The publisher of P & P and Zombies is the aptly named Quirk [...]

Time for a little lesson in group dynamics: Great book groups are a joke. They are the kind of joke where a rabbi, a Martian, and a kindergarten teacher walk into a bar. As book group leader, you’re the bartender. Before you open for business, you can do what you can to create the right [...]

I have to admit that I was skeptical. Could a white woman in a debut novel write from the perspective of black maids in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s? Kathryn Stockett’s The Help begins with the voice of Aibileen in 1962. Aibileen has been a domestic worker most of her life. When we meet her [...]

Back in May I had bragged on a Milwaukee-area writer named Lesley Kagen and her book, Whistling in the Dark. Now I can do the same for her second effort, Land of a Hundred Wonders.  Kagen is one of those authors whose narrative voice is so solid that they make a very complex offering seem [...]

As a librarian, an endless stream of book titles washes past me, and I can only dip into a few, but there are other ways to follow the currents. Book groups have much to gain from the same kind of thinking. I’m responsible for the science fiction and fantasy collection at my library. Today, the [...]

For all you science fiction book discussion leaders, here is your winner from the 67th World Science Fiction Convention: Best Novel: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins) The other titles nominated were: Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow) Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen) Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross (Ace) Zoe’s Tale by John [...]

My colleague, Linda, who also writes children’s books, is convinced that Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me will be a Newbery contender, and with good reason. When You Reach Me is the kind of children’s book that sneaks up on you. Set in New York City circa 1979, it tells the story of Miranda, a [...]

Lately I seem to be on an Edith Wharton kick.  The film made in 2000 from her early novel, The House of Mirth, is one of my very favorites.  It stars Gillian Anderson (yes, she of The X-Files, and she’s sensational!) and Eric Stoltz, and it features a wonderful supporting cast, including Dan Aykroyd, Anthony [...]

I like to flip through reading memoirs, but I don’t really sink my teeth into them. Rather than read about what someone else has been reading, I’d rather be reading something new to me. Shelf Discovery by Lizzie Skurnick is the author’s memoir of the books that teenage girls were truly reading and talking about in [...]

Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife has been a popular choice for book groups, and the release of the movie should create even more book group buzz.  On Shelf Awareness, I found this idea for a TTW event from Magers and Quinn Booksellers in Minneapolis: During our book club discussion of Time Traveler’s Wife, we’re having our attendees [...]

The 2009 Man Booker Longlist has been announced. Here’s a sampling of titles that have been released in the U.S. The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey Brooklyn by Colm Toibin Love and Summer by William Trevor The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters Visit the Man Booker site to see the [...]

No, I don’t mean dividing into pairs and throwing down in the middle of the reading circle, although that might be entertaining. She body slams Updike! A folding chair across the back for your egregious interruptions! Jane Austen crashes down from the top rope with pride AND prejudice! Let’s see if I can bring this back [...]

Jean Hanff Korelitz’s novel Admission begins with a wonderful first sentence: “The flight from Newark to Hartford took no more than fifty-eight minutes, but she still managed to get her heart broken three times.” She is Portia Nathan, an admissions officer for Princeton University. Portia is dedicated to her work, and throws herself headlong into her [...]