52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Find Great Books You've Never Heard of!, July 15, 2001
This review is from: The Readers' Choice: 200 Book Club Favorites (Paperback)
"What have you read that's good?" We've all asked that question of our best-read friends. Now, The Readers' Choice lets you find out the answer to that question from a variety of book clubs in California, Oregon, Colorado, and New York.
The book is organized to provide around one page (often a little more) on each book. This information includes a brief summary of the book, its appeal, how it differs from the movie (if it is a novel), and the author's background. A section in italics at the end gives you questions to guide a book club discussion or to illuminate your own reading of the book.
In a separate section, Ms. McMains also describes how to start and run a book club, in case that appeals to you. As she points out, you like to visit your friends. A book club can give you more chances to do that, and something new to talk about.
The book has a helpful index so that you can locate books by subject, in order to more quickly locate titles that match your needs. About three-quarters of the books are novels.
Since I read a lot, I assumed that this book would not tell me much. Boy, was I wrong! Of the 200 titles, I had only read 7. I had only heard of another 4 more. So these are books I would never have considered.
As the author points out, these are well-written books that seldom reached a broad audience. They are for people who want high quality writing and thinking.
I checked out the 7 books that I have read, and found the material on them to be accurate and useful. So I have to assume that it is also for the other books on the list.
So I'm looking forward to reading many more outstanding books as a result of this valuable reource.
Since the book clubs who contributed these ideas are mostly in the western United States, you'll find many novels with western themes in them. If you are looking for that, you'll find the book all that much more helpful. If you are not, give one a try. You may find that you like western-oriented books.
If you are already so backlogged with reading that you won't get to another book for some time, obviously this resource won't do you much good.
Do realize that this book was published in mid 2000, and was based on reading that occurred before that. So the offerings will mostly be of books written in 1999 and earlier.
After you finish reading this book, I suggest that you think about why you read. Having understood that, are there other reasons to read? For example, can reading people who express themselves well make you a better communicator?
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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A helpful book, but not for everyone., August 20, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: The Readers' Choice: 200 Book Club Favorites (Paperback)
This is a guide for book groups and other serious readers. It lists 200 worthy selections, giving a page-long description of each book, some info about its author, and some questions for discussion. Many of the books sound really interesting, and the guide should be very helpful for a lot of readers.
However, be warned that it's not quite as comprehensive as it seems. The back-cover copy says the book contains recommendations from "reading groups nationwide," but the introduction reveals that the groups are really only from California, Oregon, Colorado, and New York. As a result, West Coast authors and books are over-represented. This isn't a bad thing--you'll learn a lot about authors you may have never heard of before. Still, a bit more balance would have been nice.
Regardless, this is a useful book. If you're like me, you'll find a lot that interests you here, and a lot of good suggestions for your reading group.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very highly recommended for book enthusiasts., September 4, 2000
This review is from: The Readers' Choice: 200 Book Club Favorites (Paperback)
The Reader's Choice is a treasury of 200 book club favorites and provides a set of 'top picks' by over 70 reading groups and clubs across the country, from Oprah and NPR to regional book clubs. Selections avoid best-seller top lists and provide 'midlist', thoughtful books in a range of themes and subjects. Recommended for book enthusiasts seeking something other than the Top 10.
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