Recommended For Discussion

Inspired recommendations for great discussions!

Below are some of our recommendations for reading groups. Also see our Staff Pick's for more ideas!

Check out Indiebound.org for more great picks:

 

A Thousand Cuts (Paperback)

By Simon Lelic
$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780143118619
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Penguin (Non-Classics), 1/2011
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In this riveting debut novel about sexism, bullying, and the horrific effects of random acts of violence, Detective Inspector Lucia May investigates a school shooting in which a teacher has killed three pupils, another teacher, and then himself-a tragedy that could not have been predicted. It should be an openand- shut case. Yet as Lucia begins to piece together the testimonies of the various witnesses, an uglier and more complex picture emerges, calling into question the innocence of others. Brilliantly interweaving the witnesses' accounts with Lucia's own perspective, A Thousand Cuts is a narrative tour de force from a formidable new voice in fiction.
Annie loves Duncan — or thinks she does. Duncan loves Annie, but then, all of a sudden, he doesn’t. Duncan really loves Tucker Crowe, a reclusive Dylanish singer-songwriter who stopped making music ten years ago. Annie stops loving Duncan, and starts getting her own life.
In doing so, she initiates an e-mail correspondence with Tucker, and a connection is forged between two lonely people who are looking for more out of what they’ve got. Tucker’s been languishing (and he’s unnervingly aware of it), living in rural Pennsylvania with what he sees as his one hope for redemption amid a life of emotional and artistic ruin — his young son, Jackson. But then there’s also the new material he’s about to release to the world: an acoustic, stripped-down version of his greatest album, Juliet — entitled, Juliet, Naked.

What happens when a washed-up musician looks for another chance? And miles away, a restless, childless woman looks for a change? Juliet, Naked is a powerfully engrossing, humblingly humorous novel about music, love, loneliness, and the struggle to live up to one’s promise.

Border Songs (Paperback)

By Jim Lynch
$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780307456267
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Vintage, 7/2010
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Set in the previously sleepy hinterlands straddling Washington state and British Columbia, Border Songs is the story of Brandon Vanderkool, six foot eight, frequently tongue-tied, severely dyslexic, and romantically inept. Passionate about bird-watching, Brandon has a hard time mustering enthusiasm for his new job as a Border Patrol agent guarding thirty miles of largely invisible boundary. But to everyone’s surprise, he excels at catching illegals, and as drug runners, politicians, surveillance cameras, and a potential sweetheart flock to this scrap of land, Brandon is suddenly at the center of something much bigger than himself.

One Amazing Thing (Paperback)

By Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
$13.99
ISBN-13: 9781401341589
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Hyperion Books, 12/2010
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Nine people are trapped in the Indian consulate's visa office after a devastating earthquake. As they start to melt down emotionally, Uma, a grad student, suggests they each tell a story about one thing in their lives. The stories they tell are incredible, and you will feel as though you have known and understand each character as they wait for rescue or death. An amazing read

So Much for That (Paperback)

By Lionel Shriver
$14.99
ISBN-13: 9780061458590
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Harper Perennial, 3/2011
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Shep Knacker has long saved for "the Afterlife," an idyllic retreat in the Third World where his nest egg can last forever. Exasperated that his wife, Glynis, has concocted endless excuses why it's never the right time to go, Shep finally announces he's leaving for a Tanzanian island, with or without her. Yet Glynis has some news of her own: she's deathly ill. Shep numbly puts his dream aside, while his nest egg is steadily devastated by staggering bills that their health insurance only partially covers. Astonishingly, illness not only strains their marriage but saves it.