Best for Book Clubs
Best books to read for a great book club discussion. Suggest books that your group has read that led to a lively discussion, whether people loved or hated them.
1 The Help
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4.44 of 5 stars 4.44 avg rating — 747,418 ratings
2 Water for Elephants
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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 630,056 ratings
3 The Kite Runner
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4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 877,625 ratings
4 The Book Thief
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4.35 of 5 stars 4.35 avg rating — 303,713 ratings
5 The Time Traveler's Wife
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 692,204 ratings
6 To Kill a Mockingbird
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4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 1,398,105 ratings
7 The Hunger Games (The Hunge...
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4.44 of 5 stars 4.44 avg rating — 1,582,468 ratings
8 A Thousand Splendid Suns
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4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 avg rating — 388,257 ratings
9 The Glass Castle
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4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 306,282 ratings
10 The Secret Life of Bees
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 577,788 ratings
11 My Sister's Keeper
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4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 444,938 ratings
12 Memoirs of a Geisha
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 782,697 ratings
13 The Lovely Bones
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3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 avg rating — 860,461 ratings
14 The Guernsey Literary and P...
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4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 215,374 ratings
15 The Red Tent
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 237,012 ratings
16 Pride and Prejudice
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4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 971,756 ratings
17 The Curious Incident of the...
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3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 425,260 ratings
18 Life of Pi
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3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 481,827 ratings
19 The Poisonwood Bible
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 354,270 ratings
20 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 156,071 ratings
21 Sarah's Key
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 171,056 ratings
22 Eat, Pray, Love
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3.4 of 5 stars 3.40 avg rating — 605,069 ratings
23 The Girl with the Dragon Ta...
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 782,023 ratings
24 Middlesex
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 306,675 ratings
25 The Handmaid's Tale
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 251,108 ratings
26 The Memory Keeper's Daughter
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3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 avg rating — 338,563 ratings
27 The Thirteenth Tale
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 122,738 ratings
28 The Diary of a Young Girl
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 904,183 ratings
29 Room
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 206,829 ratings
30 The Catcher in the Rye
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3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 1,096,110 ratings
31 Jane Eyre
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 648,091 ratings
32 1984
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 909,570 ratings
33 The Pillars of the Earth  (...
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4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 227,217 ratings
34 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 156,442 ratings
35 The Other Boleyn Girl (The ...
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 235,165 ratings
36 The Shadow of the Wind (The...
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4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 136,008 ratings
37 Three Cups of Tea: One Man'...
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3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 159,587 ratings
38 The Joy Luck Club
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3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 347,436 ratings
39 The Great Gatsby
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3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 1,157,699 ratings
40 Atonement
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3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 193,491 ratings
41 I Know This Much Is True
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 136,907 ratings
42 Bel Canto
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3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 107,016 ratings
43 Little Women (Little Women ...
by
3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 730,440 ratings
44 Tuesdays With Morrie
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 261,828 ratings
45 The Grapes of Wrath
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3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 268,350 ratings
46 The Road
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3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 274,467 ratings
47 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya...
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3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 311,225 ratings
48 A Dog's Purpose
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4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 avg rating — 20,513 ratings
49 The Alchemist
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3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 589,043 ratings
50 White Oleander
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3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 134,963 ratings
51 The Shack: Where Tragedy Co...
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3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 avg rating — 196,556 ratings
52 Of Mice and Men
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3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 796,448 ratings
53 Girl with a Pearl Earring
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3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 224,699 ratings
53 Cutting for Stone
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4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 128,205 ratings
55 Fahrenheit 451
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 514,167 ratings
56 The Color Purple
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4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 196,125 ratings
57 The Giver (The Giver, #1)
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4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 531,932 ratings
58 Breaking Dawn (Twilight, #4)
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3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 698,217 ratings
59 Rebecca
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 143,594 ratings
60 Wicked: The Life and Times ...
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3.44 of 5 stars 3.44 avg rating — 308,556 ratings
61 The Good Earth
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 106,795 ratings
62 The Namesake
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 107,036 ratings
63 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective...
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3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 avg rating — 96,611 ratings
64 A Prayer for Owen Meany
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4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 135,936 ratings
65 East of Eden
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4.3 of 5 stars 4.30 avg rating — 165,165 ratings
66 Midwives
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3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 72,451 ratings
67 Never Let Me Go
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3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 144,566 ratings
68 Extremely Loud and Incredib...
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 159,733 ratings
69 Hotel on the Corner of Bitt...
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 97,269 ratings
70 The Art of Racing in the Rain
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4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 156,517 ratings
71 The Immortal Life of Henrie...
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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 140,214 ratings
72 Lolita
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3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 284,969 ratings
73 Gone with the Wind
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4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 464,189 ratings
74 Loving Frank
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3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 avg rating — 39,918 ratings
75 The Host (The Host, #1)
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3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 352,188 ratings
76 Little Bee
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3.63 of 5 stars 3.63 avg rating — 101,492 ratings
77 Love in the Time of Cholera
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3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 180,581 ratings
78 Outlander (Outlander, #1)
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 197,039 ratings
79 Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) ...
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3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 avg rating — 124,093 ratings
80 A Million Little Pieces
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3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 avg rating — 118,334 ratings
81 Peace Like a River
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 36,442 ratings
82 Year of Wonders
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 56,515 ratings
83 Lord of the Flies
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3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 909,004 ratings
84 Slaughterhouse-Five
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 471,164 ratings
85 Freakonomics: A Rogue Econo...
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3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 270,173 ratings
86 The Five People You Meet in...
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3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 244,860 ratings
87 Still Alice
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4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 74,941 ratings
88 We Need to Talk About Kevin
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4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 44,137 ratings
89 Reading Lolita in Tehran
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3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 64,051 ratings
90 These Is My Words (Sarah Ag...
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4.39 of 5 stars 4.39 avg rating — 28,969 ratings
91 Atlas Shrugged
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3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 148,972 ratings
92 Angela's Ashes
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4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 212,063 ratings
93 Those Who Save Us
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4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 34,178 ratings
94 Blindness (Blindness, #1)
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 61,901 ratings
95 The House of the Spirits
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4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 73,798 ratings
96 My Name Is Asher Lev
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 19,272 ratings
97 Beloved
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3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 135,731 ratings
98 The History of Love
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3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 60,498 ratings
99 My Ántonia
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3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 58,332 ratings
100 Harry Potter and the Deathl...
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4.54 of 5 stars 4.54 avg rating — 909,276 ratings
2,659 books · 7,365 voters · list created June 13th, 2008 by Jessica (votes) .
 · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds.


Jessica
Jessica
1805 books
91 friends
Jardley
Jardley
538 books
14 friends
amanda
amanda
146 books
27 friends
Colleen
Colleen
19 books
0 friends
Brandy
Brandy
983 books
30 friends
Donna
Donna
281 books
8 friends
M
M
1350 books
109 friends
Lindsey
Lindsey
457 books
36 friends

More voters…


Comments (showing 1-24 of 24) (24 new)

dateDown_arrow    newest »

message 1: by Jen (new)

Jen The author combines a love story, history and a gorgeous unusual setting to create a powerful novel that really makes you think and want to talk about.


message 2: by Deb (new)

Deb Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver


message 3: by Marla (new)

 Marla Knowledge of Angels by Jill Paton Walsh and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve and Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier were all big hits with our BBC Book Club. One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus and Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross were also favorites with excellent discussions.


message 4: by Travis (new)

Travis The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte is a great one for book clubs. She's the little known Bronte sister, compared to her far more famous siblings. Comparing her work to that of her sisters brought about quite a discussion in our group.


message 5: by Cat (new)

Cat Riley Home Repair by Liz Rosenberg and Open House by Elizabeth Berg were tops for my book club group. Excellent discussions ensued. We realized we all like books that make us laugh and cry. Laurie Colwin is up soon, and so is the Guernsey Literary Potato Pie book.


message 6: by Kono (new)

Kono Grant Cat-- your choices sound great! Recommend you also consider Dan Chaon's new novel after Home Repair and Open House when you are ready for something a bit darker. He's a great writer. Can't go wrong with jane Austen.


message 7: by Darienbo (last edited Oct 24, 2009 11:24am) (new)

Darienbo Had a great book discussion of HOME REPAIR with the author in Philly. So inspiring I had to pass it along. We all agreed it's good to have a book that makes you want to write, too, and has enough characters you can love.

I love the book about friendship Ann Patchett (sp?) wrote and think it would make a great discussion book. Also, to me Dostoevsky scares too many people away and should not. There is so much there to talk about!


message 8: by Shelby (new)

Shelby Harper The Hand that First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell


message 9: by Gerrie (new)

Gerrie Finger Prodigal Summer, yes.


message 10: by Sheryl (new)

Sheryl The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke


message 11: by Ðɑηηɑ (new)

Ðɑηηɑ A very good list, all my favs in one place :)


message 12: by Katie (new)

Katie I've just discovered this list. Is there anyway to search this very extensive list? I would love to be able to look at it in alphabetical order. Or is it solely based on votes. There is no way to go through so many pages and vote with any kind of rationality! Just wondering.


message 13: by Darbi (new)

Darbi Simmons This is just a random list of books that are featured in PEOPLE magazine! this is the worst list ever! No one put any thought into it at all.


message 14: by Tammy (new)

Tammy Corbett A great book to add to this list is The Sixth Extinction by d. leonard freeston. Couldn't put it down!


message 15: by Carla (new)

Carla Foft "Addressing Spirits" by Carla Foft would be a good choice for a book club. It's by a new author, so it has some really different perspectives. It's short, so the club can finish it quickly and get down to discussing it faster. Carla Foft discusses Spirits' Rights on her website and it has started some lively discussions. The book is fun and has received great reviews.


message 16: by Jim (new)

Jim Finished "Rare & Endangered Species" by Richard Bausch 1994. Every short story in this collection is top-drawer and insightful into the human condition. The characters and their thoughts/actions ring true and signify life's lessons. Writing this great should not go out of style


message 17: by Kim (new)

Kim There are so many books that I want to read! Time to prioritize!


message 18: by Leanne (new)

Leanne Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. Lots of issues...great book!


message 19: by Paula (new)

Paula Darbi wrote: "This is just a random list of books that are featured in PEOPLE magazine! this is the worst list ever! No one put any thought into it at all."

Maybe your taste is different. It fits into my interests quite well.


message 20: by Paula (new)

Paula Leanne wrote: "Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. Lots of issues...great book!"

Her bks were big about 12 yrs ago here. I liked them. Poisonwood had to be restarted due to the negative pic of missionaries, but there have been many like that and there is improvment these days.
Issues in Animal Dreams? Been a long time.


message 21: by Teri (new)

Teri Thomas The Sparrow The first book our Book Club ever read; outstanding writing and moral issues that beg great discussion.


message 22: by Andre (new)

Andre Io Deceneus Journal of a Time Traveler
This book will give a lot of things to argue about: a living universe, quit a strange way of time traveling and a lot of controversies related to cultural, politic, social, and finace phenomena.


message 23: by Marla (last edited Jan 29, 2013 12:38pm) (new)

 Marla Why are That Girl Started Her Own Country and The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club in the top 55 on this list?! I think someone is padding their votes to get them high on this list.

I use this list as a reference for our book club and this isn't the platform for authors' self promotion. Argh!


message 24: by Jack (new)

Jack Hi everyone,

I have created a new group called Goodreads All Sorts and I'd love for people to join it or just even just give it a look. It's a group that discusses anything and everything. There will be monthly group reads, movies, and music. There is a folder for everything you could think of. I'd really like if people could spread the word because I'd love for the group to be a success. Here is the link to the group:

http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/9...

Thanks very much,
Jack :-)


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