Waffle, waffle, waffle…
27 January 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book clubs, Readalongs, The Broke and the Bookish, Top Ten Tuesday
This week over at the Broke and the Bookish the Topic for Top Ten Tuesday is:
Ten Books I’d Love to Read With My Book Club/If I Had A Book Club
I’ve split this into 5 books for a book club and 5 books for a readalong. Yes, there’s a difference. A book club you want a book that is going to provoke some thought and discussion (even if that’s heated) at your regular meetings. A readalong you need something to get your teeth stuck into so that after you’ve read a few chapters you’ve got questions to flirt around your group.
Book Club reads:
- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson – very intriguing, a sort of Sliding Door story of what ifs.
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett – absolutely compelling read!
- The Just City by Jo Walton – incredibly thought provoking and packed with ideas for discussion
- The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd this is a great book based on a real character from the deep South
- Sarah Pinsborough’s fairy tale retellings (Poison, Beauty, Charm) – these are three great books, all from the same world and interconnected and just beautifully written.
Readalong reads:
- Django Wexler’s Shadow Campaigns (The Thousand Names is No.1) – Flintlock Fantasy – who knew there was such a thing. The Thousand Names is excellent, deep and well thought out.
- Mark Lawrence’s Broken Empire and Red Queen’s War (No.1 in each: Prince of Thorns and Prince of Fools). I love these books – there’s lots going on and you could have a field day with a readalong.
- Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archives (Way of Kings and Words of Radiance). OMG – I read both books as readalongs and highly recommend doing so. You just get into all the detail that way.
- Robin Hobbs – So many books to choose from – I think they’re all set in the same world (Farseer Trilogy as a start). Such a master of fantasy. Great world building and a wealth of detail.
- Anthony Ryan – only two books out so far – Blood Song and Tower Lord – lots to get your teeth into here!
Books and travelling with Lynn 
I was in a book club years ago but the conversation kept moving away from the books to what everybody’s husband or children or next door neighbours were doing. Sigh. We read some really great books too, books that I would never have read otherwise.
Rose
Yep, I know exactly what you mean. I wasn’t enamoured with my book club – usually I’d already read the books and then there was very little book discussion. Don’t get me wrong, I like to socialise as much as the next person but it would have been nice to discuss content just a little bit! Still I gave it a shot. I’ve found readalongs more to my liking tbh.
Lynn 😀
I’ll agree with Mark Lawrence being great. I just finished up Prince of Fools and loved it.
Yay, so happy you loved it too!
Lynn 😀
I cant even finish Words of Radiance and you want me to read both books again?! You are cruel.
It seems to me as though The Help is a popular pick! I honestly think it would be a novel that would evoke all sorts of emotions; great list!
It’s a particularly tense read. I think it would make a great book club topic.
Lynn 😀
I like how you split up this topic. Oddly enough I haven’t heard of any of your book club books, but I have all of your read-a-longs. I just got Prince of Thorns and I have to read Way of Kings already. Assassin’s Apprentice has been on my list forever! I’m not sure about Thousand Names, one on my maybe list. Glad you liked it.
Thanks Molly. I really enjoyed the Django – it’s much more military than I’m used to so I wasn’t sure if I would or not. A nice surprise.
Lynn 😀
Great picks! I’d be interested in reading another one by Susan Monk Kidd. I loved The Secret Life of Bees.
Thanks for sharing.
I accidentally did next week’s post on accident, but still check it out please. mine’s here
The Secret Life of Bees was a really lovely book and would make a great book club read. You should check out the Invisibility of Wings – it’s a very interesting story and partially fact based.
Lynn 😀
So many good picks! Wish I’d read WoK as a group read. 🙂
I loved reading WoK and WoR as readalongs – it just made it so much more in depth of a read!
Lynn 😀
I think it’d be fun to join the 10-some-odd year journey of Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive (2 sets of 5 books? What a crazy fella!)
Cheers,
joey via. thoughts and afterthoughts
I know – a lot of books over a long period!! Very good though.
Lynn 😀
My book club read Life after Life and Invention of Wings last year (I didn’t read either of them) but yes the discussions were interesting to listen to.
And I still don’t think I’ve given “flintlock fantasy” a try yet !
Django Wexler is pretty good – my first flintlock!
Lynn 😀
Wow, I may have to do this even if it is quite late on Tuesday (since I help run a couple of online book clubs, this is quite up my alley). You have so many great picks, but I absolutely love your choice of The Just City, I think that would make an amazing book club choice for discussions!
You should definitely post for this – you must have loads of good choices.
My experiences have always been better in terms of readalongs rather than book clubs – I should check out your online clubs – do you have a link on your blog??
Lynn 😀
Finally finished. My list kept growing. And growing. And growing. Finally just had to cut myself off! There’s a link to the Fantasy Faction book club on the left side of my blog (the books will take you to goodreads, but above that there’s a link to the forum where we actually run the book club. 🙂
Woah, can’t wait to get my beady eyes on your list!
Lynn 😀
The Just City seems like a book with a lot of themes that would generate lots of interesting debate. That seems like the case with all of Jo Walton’s books, actually 😀
It would definitely be a good one for a book club. I’ve only read The Just City and Among Others – and Among Others wasn’t really for me, although I do seem to have gone against the flow with that particular one. The Just City I really enjoyed but it does have a different feel and similar to Among Others it was almost like a love story to all things classical (Among Others was similar in that it had lots of SFF references.)
Lynn 😀
My sister’s book club did read The Help. I’m not really familiar with any of the other books you mentioned though. I’ll have to check them out.
TTT
Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know
Depends what you’re into I suppose. The Help is a very gripping and tense book. You read it almost holding your breath because you’re anticipating something horrible happening!
Lynn 😀
I really want to read those Sanderson books… I just have to find the time. They look so interesting, and I enjoyed other books I read by him, so I will get to them. Someday.
I thought Way of Kings was good but then I picked up Words of Radiance and just loved it! I hope you find time for them at some point – they are rather chunky so it does really eat into your reading and blogging time!
Lynn 😀
I still need to read all of the fantasy books -the last 5 you mentioned. Which is ridiculous, because I adore fantasy and I haven’t read them yet! Same goes for the Help.
Great list!
Oh yes – the way to look at it I suppose is that you still have so much to look forward to!
Lynn 😀