Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Complete List of Book Club Picks

I have kept an ongoing list of what I have read with my book club on the main page of my blog. I have decided to just start a separate post for this that I can add to and link my reviews, as the list is only getting longer! We have been together for almost 5 years now and I love all of these ladies like sisters. We always have a great time and even if we didn't particularly enjoy the book, we have found it always makes a great discussion!
This last year we have started rating the books that we read on a scale of 1 to 5(1 being the lowest), so the rating that I include in this post is the Average Rating (will be indicated as BC Rating) from our members. We originally started meeting in September, so our calendar basically follows the school year since we do not regularly meet in the summer.

2014/2015
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, BC Rating: 4.5
The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, BC Rating: 5
An Unexpected Grace by Kristin von Kreisler, BC Rating: 1.5
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini, BC Rating, BC Rating: 3
Christmas Jars by Jason Wright, BC Rating: 4.5
The Prime of Miss Jean Brody by Muriel Spark, BC Rating: 1
The Saturday Night Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith, BC Rating: 4
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, BC Rating: 4.5
Still Life With Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen, BC Rating: 3
Stella Bain by Anita Shreve, BC Rating: 4.5

2013/2014
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski, BC Rating: 3
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, BC Rating: 3.5
In the Land of Blue Burqas by Kate McCord, BC Rating: 4.5
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, BC Rating: 5
A Wedding in Decmeber by Anita Shreve, BC Rating: 3.5
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker, BC Rating: 4.5
The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith, BC Rating: 4
The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley, BC Rating: 3.5
Wonder by R.J. Palacio, BC Rating: 5
Carrie and Me: A Mother-Daughter Love Story by Carol Burnett: BC Rating: 2.5



2012/2013
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, BC Rating: 4
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, BC Rating: 5
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, BC Rating: 3.5
Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore, BC Rating: 4
The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson, BC Rating: 2
Home Front by Kristin Hannah, BC Rating: 4
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith, BC Rating: 4
Another Piece of My Heart by Jane Green
Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys
The Sisters by Nancy Jensen


2011/2012
The Help by Kathryn Stockett, BC Rating: 5
Angel Sister by Ann Gabhart, BC Rating: 4
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, BC Rating: 4.5
House Rules by Jodi Piccoult, BC Rating: 4.5
A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg, BC Rating: 3.5
Night Road by Kristin Hannah, BC Rating: 3.5
The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith, BC Rating: 4
The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran, BC Rating: 5
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, BC Rating: 1
Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin, BC Rating: 3.5



2010/2011
Home in Carolina by Sherryl Woods, BC Rating: 2
Things I've Been Silent About by Azar Nafisi, BC Rating: 3
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent, BC Rating: 4
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith, BC Rating: 4
Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah, BC Rating: 5
Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas, BC Rating: 5
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran, BC Rating: 5
The Guersey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, BC Rating: 5
They Almost Always Come Home by Cynthia Ruchti, BC Rating: 2.5
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, BC Rating: 4.5


2009/2010
Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith, BC Rating: 3.5
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, BC Rating: 5
Made in the U.S.A.  by Billie Letts, BC Rating: 4
'Tis the Season by Lorna Landvik, BC Rating: 4
My Antonia by Willa Cather, BC Rating: 3.5
Matrimony by Joshua Henkin, BC Rating 2
The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani, BC Rating 4.5
The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini, BC Rating 4
Where Grace Abides by BJ Hoff, BC Rating 3
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons, BC Rating 4

2008/2009
Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons, BC Rating: 4
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Housseini, BC Rating: 5
The View from Mount Joy by Lorna Landvik, BC Rating: 2
Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas, BC Rating: 4
Peony in Love by Lisa See, BC Rating: 3
Finding Noel by Richard Paul Evans, BC Rating: 4
Names My Sisters Call Me by Megan Crane, BC Rating: 4.5
Open Secrets: A Memoir of Faith and Discovery by Richard Lischer, BC Rating 2
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, BC Rating: 5
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith, BC Rating: 5

2007/2008
Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston
Beyond Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, BC Rating:4.5
Gardens of Water by Alan Drew, BC Rating:4.5
The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard, BC Rating:5
Midnight Before Christmas by William Bernhardt, BC Rating:1
Resistance by Anita Shreve, BC Rating:3
The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith, BC Rating:4
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Mark Haddon, BC Rating:3
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, BC Rating 4

2006/2007
One Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury
Breakfast With Tiffany by Edwin Wintle
The Christmas Train by David Baldacci
My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
Oh My Stars by Lorna Landvik
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

2005/2006
A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Good Earth by Pearl Buck
Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts
Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
Light on Snow by Anita Shreve
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

2004/2005
A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler
Crazy Ladies by Michael Lee West
Where Trouble Sleeps by Clyde Edgerton
The Honk and Holler Opening Soon by Billie Letts
Tall Pine Polka by Lorna Landvik
My Darling Elia by Eugenie Melynk
The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald

7 comments:

Serena said...

Cool...I can't wait to see what your club reads next

Anonymous said...

You've had some great choices - there are a few I've never read or heard about before.

Ti said...

I keep track of my book club's picks on my blog too. It's so satisfying to add another one to the list. Really makes me feel like an accomplished reader.

Anonymous said...

It's so nice when you find a great book club. We've been here 9 years and I've tried a few different book clubs, but none have been worthwhile.
Great book selection!

Lezlie said...

It looks like your club reads some good stuff!!

Lezlie

Jess said...

My favorite book club book of all time is THe Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard, so glad your group gave it a 5.

Jo-Jo said...

Serena: Our summer pick is Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith-We are all looking forward to that one!

Lynne: That is what I just love about being in a book club-someone can suggest a book that others haven't even heard of!

Ti: It sure is satisfying! It's fun to reminisce over some of the past books and remember the conversations that they sparked.

Stacy: I am so thankful for my group because I have definitely heard horror stories about some clubs. We have decided that we don't want to get any bigger at this time, so we always tease each other about our 'waiting list'. lol

Lezlie: We really try to read a little bit of everything. We haven't read many mysteries yet, but we have been making sure we read at least one memoir a year now.

Jess: Yes, we all enjoyed the Virgin of Small Plains. I think my favorites so far would be Housseini's books. He is just an amazing author!