Hip or not, if you belong to a book club, you are definitely trendy. With over a million book groups nationwide, it’s clear that book clubs are — to reference “Zoolander” — so hot right now.
Five years ago, Rachel Jacobsohn, author of “The Reading Group Handbook” and founder of the Association of Book Group Readers and Leaders, estimated that 7 to 8 million Americans were involved in book clubs. And the popularity of reading groups has only grown since then.
Increasingly, book club members are themselves the subjects of popular books. Not only have countless guides been published for book clubs, but novels, memoirs and mysteries about book clubs have surged, often landing on the best-seller lists.
If the idea of reading a book about a book club isn’t too trendy for you, check out these titles.
If you’ve already read one (or more), did it make you proud or embarrassed to be in a book club?
Books about book clubs
“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows. 2008.
“The Girls Who Saw Everything.” Sean Dixon. 2007.
“Real Murders” (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries). Charlaine Harris. 2007.
“The Romance Readers Book Club.” Julie L. Cannon. 2007.
“Summer Reading.” Hilma Wolitzer. 2007.
“Dinner with Anna Karenina.” Gloria Goldreich. 2006.
“González & Daughter Trucking Co.: A Road Novel with Literary License.” María Amparo Escandón. 2005.
“The Jane Austen Book Club.” Karen Joy Fowler. 2004.
“Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons.” Lorna Landvik. 2003.
“The Bronxville Book Club.” Pamela Hackett Hobson. 2003.
“The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo.” Paula Huntley. 2003.
“Pure Fiction.” Julie Highmore. 2003.
“The Reading Group.” Elizabeth Noble. 2003.
“Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books.” Azar Nafisi. 2003.
“Murder in Volume.” D. R. Meredith. 2000.
“Playing with Light.” Beatriz Rivera. 2000.
“The Book Club.” Mary Alice Monroe. 1999.
“Mother-Daughter Book Club: How Ten Busy Mothers and Daughters Came Together to Talk, Laugh and Learn Through Their Love of Reading.” Shireen Dodson. 1997.
“And Ladies of the Club.” Helen Hooven Santmyer. 1982.
Great selection of titles! I’ve read just a few and I wouldn’t say it made me proud to be in a book club – just wanting to be in more (or, at least talk about the books with others who love them as much as I do).
DallasNews.com likes our list too.
See “Books on book clubs — is your favorite listed?” at http://booksblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/09/books-on-book-clubs—-is-your.html
Made me proud, but tsk,tsk,tsk….I just don’t know how ya’ll didn’t mention the very best book club (and the most fun too!) of all: the Pulpwood Queens Book Club, the largest “meeting and discussing” book club in the world!
Kathy Louise Patrick owns and operates Beauty and the Book, the only Hair Salon/Book in the country, and is the founder of the Pulpwood Queens Book Club. She owns and operates Beauty and the Book, the only Hair Salon/Book Store in the country in Jefferson, Texas.
Check out Kathy Louise Patrick’s book, “The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing Guide to Life”, Grand Central Publishing
Kathy L. Patrick’s book “The Pulpwood Queen’s Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing Guide to Life” definitely belongs at the top of this ‘books about book clubs’ list. But it’s much more than that. It’s…a book about books, a self-help book, a memoir and a cookbook! Her clubs are a celebration of the tremendous joys and benefits of shared reading. With Kathy at the helm, life just keeps getting better…a lot more fun and interesting! I’m extremely proud to be a member of one of her 250+ book clubs!