Here is a list and a short summary of the books my Real Life Book Club has read since we began meeting in March 2007:
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
This amazing book was our first group selection, and the gold standard by which we measure all other books we select! Historical fiction at it’s best, this story is about the life-long friendship between two women in 19th Century China. The footbinding section is particularly gruesome, but fascinating. All members of our book club loved this book.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid
This was our 2nd selection. An easy read. Most liked it, some loved it, some thought it was just ok. Can easily imagine it as a movie. We had a great discussion about race relations and family secrets.
Eating Heaven by Jennie Shortridge
This was our 3rd selection. We had an interesting book club meeting, with the author calling in on speaker phone. Lively discussion about food, eating disorders, family ties, secrets and lies, caring for a loved one with a terminal illness. It’s all there. Great book for a book club.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Our 4th selection. Everyone in our club really enjoyed it. Set in 1931 during the depression and prohibition, an old man in a nursing home reflects on his past as a veterinarian in a travelling circus. Very well written and entertaining.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Our 5th selection. Set in Afghanistan, and in the US, and back.. it is the tale of a friendship between Amir and Hassan, a wealthy man’s son and the son of their servant, raised like brothers until a terrible twist of fate pulls them apart. We had a great discussion about loyalty, class differences, politics, love, etc. The reading guide/discussion questions at the back of the book were excellent. Even though there were a couple of very brutal scenes, this is one of my all time favorite books, a modern day classic. Can’t wait for the movie.
Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
Sept. 2007. This book is a delightful, very quick, easy read. The parents of 27 year old Tami send her to America from Iran in the hopes of finding a husband before her visa runs out. We loved the romantic ending. Many funny, laugh out loud moments. The author got the “voice” of Tami just right. We talked about cultural differences between Iran and the US, parental expectations, marraige, OCD, stereotypes, etc. We had a fun meeting which included the author by speakerphone. Highly recommend.
1.000 White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, reviewed HERE
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory, reviewed HERE
2008:
Summer People by Brian Groh, reviewed HERE
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler, reviewed HERE
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, reviewed (sort of) HERE
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, discussed HERE
The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski, reviewed HERE
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, reviewed HERE and discussed HERE
The Sweet Potato Queens First Big Ass Novel by Jill Conner Browne, reviewed HERE
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, with a book club wrap-up HERE
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace.. One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Relin, reviewed HERE
Peony in Love by Lisa See, reviewed HERE
Kandide and the Secret of the Mists by Diana Zimmerman
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, reviewed HERE
2009:
Chez Moi by Agnes Desarthe, reviewed HERE
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, reviewed HERE
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay 320 pages, reviewed HERE
The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein 336 pages, reviewed HERE
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 432 pages, reviewed HERE
Still Alice by Lisa Genova, reviewed HERE
Life of Pi by Yann Martell
Lottery by Patricia Wood
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
Bold Spirit by Linda Lawrence Hunt
2010:
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, reviewed HERE
The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Clapton, the Autobiography by Eric Clapton
City of Refby Tom Piazza
Honolulu by Alan Brennert
Dracula, My Love by Syrie James
People of the Book by Geraldine March
2011:
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathon Tropper
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Imperfectionists
Wench
Beneath a Marble Sky
Little Bee
The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry
Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman
The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
2012:
Digging to America by Anne Tyler
My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Faith by Jennifer Haigh
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
Mudbound by Hilary Jordan
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
2013:
The Gap Year by Sarah Bird
Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson, reviewed HERE
Waiting by Ha Jin, reviewed HERE
The Magic Room by Jeffrey Zaslow
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Steadman
Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
Trans-Sister Radio by Chris Bohjalian
Evidence of Life by Barbara Taylor Sissel
2014:
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
The Dinner by Herman Koch
I Couldn’t Love You More by Jillian Medoff
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Fallen Beauty by Erika Robuck
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Serena by Ron Rash
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
2015:
The Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (of all the books we’ve read together, this is my least favorite)
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
The All Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg
China Dolls by Lisa See
How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
The Undertaker’s Daughter by Kate Mayfield
The Martian by Andy Weir
Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? by Raymond Carver
2016:
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud
When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde
My Fat Dad by Dawn Lerman
Nothing To Envy by Barbara Demick
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
2017:
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Heart by Maylis de Kerangal
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
Second Helpings at the Serve You Right Cafe by Tilia Klebenov Jacobs
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
The Girls by Emma Cline
Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by David Levithan
2018:
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty
Beartown by Fredrik Bachman
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
800 Grapes by Laura Dave
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
The Dry by Jane Harper
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin
2019:
Less by Andrew Sean Greet
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
The Gown by Jennifer Robson
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
Jazz by Toni Morrison
Winterdance by Gary Paulsen
2020:
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
The Bride Test by Helen Huang
Books on the Brain 
I love that you list your book club selections here on your blog – I may have to steal this idea!
What a great idea to post your book club’s book choices on your blog! My real life book club read a lot of these titles in 2007 also. I’m on to read your 2008 picks next 🙂
Great blog! I would like to suggest a few more books that your club might enjoy:
The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain is terrific, as is her most recent novel, Before the Storm.
I also thoroughly enjoyed “The Year of Fog” by Michelle Richmond.
[…] Book Club Picks […]
I had no idea that you read Loving Frank in the book club. I’m reading that right now.
Did you like it?
Great list! What did your group make of Life of Pi?
Greetings,
How would I go about offering or submitting a book?
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It is for sale on the book title website, Google Books, and Dightmans Bible Book Center.
After over 5,000 readers, “LIES a preacher told me?” has been getting rave reviews, from clergy and congregations alike.
Thank you for your help, Shalom and God bless,
Peter Nagy
I have read almost every one of these books either by my own choosing or the book clubs I belong to.
Great idea to post them for new ideas….I see a few I need to “check” out.
THANKS.
I found several of your reviews were spot on with what our book club thought about the books! Thanks for posting the reviews. I can’t help but notice that your club reviews ended in July of 09. Will you be posting more reviews?
[…] Book Club Picks […]
I love your choices.
Where are you located and are you open to new members?
Robin Savitt