I think the best gift is a book, it’s my favorite gift to both give and receive. When I’m giving a book, I like to find one that is a good fit for the recipient; when someone gives one to me, I enjoy discovering something I haven’t heard of before. This holiday season we’re putting up a series of posts with lists of good books to give as a present. I’ve asked two book group moderators for suggestions using their experience with reading the book and discussing it with a group. Julie Robinson, of Literary Affairs, leads dozens of book groups a month, a literary lunch series every fall and spring, author events every month, literary trips and is starting a new TV venture. I attend as many as I can.
Barbara Bilson is a book group moderator for several groups and has taught literature. I met Barbara in my former life as an attorney. I loved meeting with her because when we finished discussing business, I could ask her about books. Now we run into each other at our favorite restaurant and at literary events around town.
Both have thought about what books were meaningful over the last several years and recommend the following for book group junkies or anyone who loves good literature.
One of Julie’s favorite sayings is “some books are great to read but terrible to discuss, some are not as enjoyable to read but result in a great discussion, and a few are both.” Over the last ten years, these are some of the “few” that stand out:
- American Pastoral by Philip Roth
- House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
- Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith by Gina Nahai
- Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (Barbara recommended this book also)
- A Gesture Life by Chang-rae Lee (Barbara recommended this book also)
- Atonement by Ian McEwan (Barbara recommended this book also, and it’s one of my favorites)
- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
- The Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel
- The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
- Birds Without Wings by Louis De Bernieres
- The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Barbara recommended this book also)
- Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
- The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
- The God of War by Marisa Silver
Barbara listed four books that have illicited the most passionate discussion and that readers have felt enriched by, the first four listed below, and then others that her groups have particularly enjoyed:
- Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth
- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
- Evidence of Things Unseen by Marianne Wiggins
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- Song of Solomon and Beloved by Toni Morrison
- March by Geraldine Brooks paired with Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- The Master by Colm Toibin paired with Daisy Miller by Henry James
- Everyman by Philip Roth (which Julie paired with Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich)
- Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
- Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Print the list, head to your nearest independent bookstore and give a gift that provides hours of enjoyment at a reasonable cost.
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