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February 1st was the 50th anniversary of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Ken Kesey was just out of the Stanford creative writing program, trying to make ends meet, when he took a job as a night orderly at a mental ward. The time there inspired Cuckoo, his epic novel of individualism and oppression that [...]

Let’s continue looking at the top vote-getters in the 2011 ABBC, today examining the speculative fiction category. I’ll focus on the top four, perhaps returning to this category at a later date, as it seems to be receiving more attention than ever in this year’s best-of-the-year lists and awards. As usual, the latest full ABBC [...]

The Downtowners book group at Kansas City Public Library is the fastest growing book group at Central. The group members do a great job of talking up the group among coworkers and friends, and they are very welcoming to new readers. They are an eclectic group of readers and have always been open to anything [...]

Has your book group discussed Abraham Verghese’s big, drama-stuffed novel, Cutting for Stone, yet?  From what I’ve been hearing, it’s currently a very popular choice with book clubs, even though it weighs in at well over 600 pages.  Because of the book’s length, I assigned it to my group in November for our January selection [...]

Some writers manage to capture our present in a timeless way and one such writer is Stewart O’Nan.  Last Night at the Lobster envisioned America’s economic collapse and celebrated the quiet, unsung struggle of so many to make their way in a time of uncertainty before the recession really hit. Stewart O’Nan’s latest novel, The Odds, is [...]

Here are the top five vote-getters so far in historical fiction from the 2011 All-the-Best-Books Compilation. You can see all 91 titles in this genre that have received votes or review any of the other genres by downloading the full ABBC spreadsheet via Blogging for a Good Book at Williamsburg Regional Library. Tied for fourth [...]

The Women Who Dare book group at Kansas City Public Library likes to discuss books that are written by women and that focus on women’s relationships, concerns and issues. This is a group that reads women’s fiction with depth and literary quality. Here’s the list for the coming year. January: When She Woke by Hillary [...]

Facilitators looking to add some international flavor to their reading groups should have a look at the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. This prestigious award will be presented at the annual Jaipur Literature Festival. The award’s short list was announced last October and on January 21, the second annual prize will be given in [...]

I don’t think I understood how much work goes into selecting discussion group titles until this year. I had to put together lists for three different book groups and do my best not to duplicate titles since some of the book group members like to drop in on all the book groups. However, I do [...]

I just discovered a Canadian book award that I think I’ll be following closely from now on. The ReLit Award recognizes the best new work in three categories, Fiction, Poetry, and Short Story, released by independent publishers. The award was founded by Kenneth J. Harvey, a biblio-Renaissance man, and the prize is given at the [...]

While trolling around for older books I could suggest to community book groups I recalled a book blog I enjoyed very much. The Neglected Books Page. A recent visit reminded me of a classic author I’ll be sure to dust off and start promoting to library patrons. This blog has been in operation since 2006 [...]

Maggie Stiefvater’s new book The Scorpio Races may be a young adult fantasy, but it has everything I look for in serious adult fiction. Stiefvater takes the various Irish and Scottish myths about water horses and turns them into a page-turning, atmospheric novel. In the book, the capaill uisce are dangerous, flesh-eating horses that emerge [...]

Usually it’s the other way around. Readers will ask for nonfiction that reads like fiction. True stories that are dubbed narrative nonfiction, creative nonfiction, journalistic nonfiction, faction, etc. But a reader of nonfiction recently wrote to Dear Book Lover at The Wall Street Journal asking for fiction that reads like nonfiction. What does this type [...]

On the first day of a fresh year, I’m offering up three debut novels that have book group appeal. Compelling stories, discussable points, and realistic characters make these books fine choices for a reading group. Gardens of Water by Alan Drew—Two families of differing faiths and cultures come together in Turkey in the aftermath of [...]

If there’s still room on your 2012 reading group lists, give some consideration to these outstanding titles on audio. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson and narrated by Graeme Malcolm. A layered literary mystery full of dark charm and dry wit. Malcolm’s voicing of an aging actress on the verge of dementia is [...]

The majority of my reading during a year is for book groups. I manage three regularly scheduled groups and guest facilitate for community groups, local businesses and area libraries whenever asked. As Mary K. Chelton likes to say, “Have mouth, will speak.” I’ll add this addendum, “Have eyes, will read.” At the end of each [...]

When Yeine Darr is summoned from the far north to the city of Sky, she learns she is heir to the throne of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Every young girl’s dream, yes? Well, not so much… Yeine quickly learns that only the truly ruthless survive the political infighting in Sky, and to win the battle [...]

I’ve posted the link to the first edition of my 2011 All the Best Books Compilation (ABBC). This is my fourth year of compiling all of those different best books lists and awards into one convenient sortable spreadsheet where you can see how many different mentions each book received from over 150 authoritative sources. The [...]

The Seattle Reads 2012 selection was recently announced–Amy Waldman’s debut novel, The Submission. The Submission has garnered much praise in the past year and was named as Esquire’s Book of the Year. Here is what Esquire had to say: I have no idea how Amy Waldman came to write her first novel, The Submission (Farrar, [...]

It’s my favorite time of year! Year-end best of lists! Books, movies, television, music, websites, fashion faux pas and anything else folks care to list. While they’re probably not the first to post their best list, the Kansas City Star posted their Best Books of 2011 list over the weekend. What I liked about this [...]