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It's based on Hamlet and you'll think about it for weeks after you finish.

I definitely could NOT put The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins down! This particular book made the series my favorite.

The story is from the perspective of 16 year old Katniss Everdeen, as she lives in the future. In this future, the world is divided upon 12 districts and the capitol (government) has complete rule over everyone. Each year, two tribute are pulled from each district, varying from ages 12-18, and are forced into an arena to kill each other. The victor becomes rich and famous. The hunger games has two sequals: Ccatching Fire, and Mockinjay, both by Suzanne Collins.

Reader recommended by Jose.

Our book group just finished reading Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert; also the author of Eat Pray Love. My recommendation is to not waste your time and money reading Committed.

Many of our book club members had mixed opinions about Eat Pray Love; and since some of us really enjoyed it, we decided to give her new book a try. The results were that everyone in our group despised it. The author's story just didn't seem to go anywhere. She seemed to keep circling back to the same question "shoud I get married?" over and over again.

She tried a creative approach by seeking out women from different cultures to gain an understanding about their views, opinions and customs of marriage. Even still, as a reader you didn't come away with any deep, thought provoking ideas.

Throughout the entire story the author wondered about getting married and why to do it. I expected some grand epiphany on Elizabeth Gilbert's part and held out hope that she would have learned to appreciate something about marriage. But it never happened.

She still leaves you with the question of why she bothered to marry again. And basically leaves you frustrated and annoyed as a reader.

A little bit Kafka, a little bit "Geek Love", The Convalescent by Jessica Anthony looks at the people living on the outside of society with an oddball tenderness and lyricism that's truly amazing. It's unpredictable and touching, romantic and skewball all at the same time. Makes you really think about what beauty is!

Submitted by: Elizabeth Platt

If you somehow got through high school without an English teacher having this book on a required reading list you've missed out on one of the greatest books ever written. Pick up a copy and get started. J.D. Salinger is a brilliant author. He will capture your imagination from the first page and take you on a literary journey you won't soon forget. Enjoy!

Submitted by: MJ

Lit by Mary Karr is the third in a series of memoirs. The first book in the series, The Liars Club, was widely acclaimed. The second in the series, Cherry, was also well received. Each of the books deals with a different era in Mary's life.

Surviving a childhood filled with alcoholism, mental illness, and violence set the stage for a life of challenge for this very talented woman. Her talent for writing was her salvation. Lit deals with her own battle with alcoholism. It is one of the most honest accounts I have ever read of the journey from the jaws of death to recovery.

I love the fact that she doesn't blame her childhood or her marriage for her problems but takes responsibility for her own recovery. Her life as a single mother and aspiring writer makes for a very compelling story. Best of all, the writing is amazing. I loved this book.

Submitted by: Sharon Booher Johnson

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I looked forward to reading this book at night. I would definitely recommend it as a book to read.

You know the saying "You never know what goes on behind closed doors"; well this is exactly what this story is all about. The author slowly brings you into the intimate world of a well-to-do family's darkest secrets. The details are divulged slowly. They become more and more tragic and haunting as you step through the story. The characters are mysterious and eerie and yet you can't wait to find out more about them.

I enjoyed the book to its end. The ending kept true to the mood of the story and was not over the top. The postscriptum? Not sure about that though. But I suppose the author had to close that part of the story because of all the references that were made throughout the book. I don't want to give anything away.

I do think that this book would be a great story to tear apart in book club. Especially to figure out who knew what and when. This book also used a lot of symbolism to tell the story. It would be interesting to hear the varied interpretations and perspectives from other book club members. I think it would spark some intriguing conversation.

I searched the web and it's seems as if the author's website (www.thethirteenthtale.com) is currently unavailable. I did however find an interview with Diane Setterfield if you are interested in finding out more about her and The Thirteenth Tale.

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Discussion Questions

1. Much of the novel takes place in two grand estates -- Angelfield and then Miss Winter's. How are the houses reflections of their inhabitants?
2. As the story unfolds, we learn that Margaret and Miss Winter are both twins. What else do they have in common?
3. Margaret and her mother are bound by a singular loss -- the death of Margaret's twin sister. How has each woman dealt with this loss, and how has it affected her life? If her parents had told her the truth about her twin, would Margaret still be haunted?
4. Books play a major role in this novel. Margaret, for example, sells books for a living. Miss Winter writes them. Most of the important action of the story takes place in libraries. There are stories within stories, all inextricably intertwined. Discuss the various roles of books, stories, and writing in this novel.
5. Miss Winter asks Margaret if she'd like to hear a ghost story -- in fact, there seem to be several ghost stories weaving their way through. In what ways is The Thirteenth Tale a classic, gothic novel?
6. Miss Winter frequently changes points of view from third to first person, from "they" to "we" to "I," in telling Margaret her story. The first time she uses "I" is in the recounting of Isabelle's death and Charlie's disappearance. What did you make of this shifting when Margaret points it out on page 204?
7. Compare and contrast Margaret, Miss Winter, and Aurelius -- the three "ghosts" of the novel who are also each haunted by their pasts.
8. It is a classic writer's axiom that a symbol must appear at least three times in a story so that the reader knows that you meant it as a symbol. In The Thirteenth Tale, the novel Jane Eyre appears several times. Discuss the appearances and allusions to Jane Eyre and how this novel echoes that one.
9. The story shifts significantly after the death of Mrs. Dunne and John Digence. Adeline steps forward as intelligent, well-spoken, and confident -- the "girl in the mists" emerges. Did you believe this miraculous transformation? If not, what did you suspect was really going on?
10. Dr. Clifton tells Margaret that she is "suffering from an ailment that afflicts ladies of romantic imagination" when he learns that she is an avid reader of novels such as Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and Sense and Sensibility. What do you think he means by drawing such a parallel? What other parallels exist between The Thirteenth Tale and classic 19th century literature?
11. When did you first suspect Miss Winter's true identity? Whether you knew or not, looking back, what clues did she give to Margaret (and what clues did the author give to you)?
12. Margaret tells Aurelius that her mother preferred telling "weightless" stories in place of heavy ones, and that sometimes it's better "not to know." Do you agree or disagree?
13. The title of this novel is taken from the title of Miss Winter's first book, Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation, a collection of twelve stories with a mysterious thirteenth left out at the last minute before publication. How is this symbolic of the novel? What is the thirteenth tale?
14. When do you think The Thirteenth Tale takes place? The narrator gives some hints, but never tells the exact date. Which aspects of the book gave you a sense of time, and which seemed timeless? Did the question of time affect your experience with the novel?

This is a great reading experience. The author, Jeannette Walls also wrote The Glass Castle, which was wonderful. Half Broke Horses is the story of her grandmother's life. It is one of those books that really makes you think about what is important in life. It is such a pleasure to read that it just flows without effort. I really loved this book.

Sumitted by: Sharon Booher Johnson

Overall, I would say that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a solid read. However you have to get through the very slow moving first half of the book to figure this out. If you can go into this book knowing that you have to be extremely patient before it really picks up, then I think the long wait will be worth it.

The plot was intense and very well contrived. There were many characters in the book and were difficult to follow in the beginning since so many were being introduced. The relationships between all of the characters were extremely complex, intertwined and suspensful. Such dynamics made for interesting complications and twists within the story. 

I think I can relate my lack of interest with the book  to the fact that the author seemed to give description upon description of mundane, day to day happenings which made it hard for me to keep my mind on the story itself. I ended up skipping around a lot to get to the more interesting points of the story, well into pgs. 200. I did like the way that Stieg Larsson ended the book. I thought the author did a great job envisioning the entire course of events right through to the end of the story. It read like it was well thought out and planned, despite the long stalled beginning.

Stieg Larsson follows the ending with an excerpt from his follow up book, The Girl Who Played With Fire and it is just jaw dropping. A friend of mine has already read The Girl Who Played With Fire and says that from the beginning it is gripping and way better than The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Despite the slow moving beginnings of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I would read The Girl Who Played With Fire.

I finished Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson and I wouldn't recommend the book at all. It was one of the worst books I have read so far.

I was browsing for new books at the book store and saw the cover and title of this book and gravitated toward it immediately. What convinced me to buy it was the small round New York Times "One of the 10 best books of the year" symbol. I don't know why it received this honor. I would be very interested to know what the reviewers based their criteria on to give this book that kind of award.

While reading, I kept thinking that at any moment the book was going to "get" really good. I kept waiting and waiting for the book to make it's point. Nope. Never did. The ending was just as plain and boring as the rest of the book. I am so aggravated that I wasted my money on Out Stealing Horses.

If anyone has read Out Stealing Horses and enjoyed it can you please let me know why? I would like hearing about this book from another perspective.