Thelxinoe Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Hi, I was hoping you could all help me! I'm currently helping to set up a book club/lit soc at my university and it's proving a bit difficult for us to choose the books! Preferably we're looking for a mixture of relatively short and relatively easy books, as everyone has so much work to do! We want a bit of substance though, so there's something to discuss. Anyway, I was thinking that you are the perfect people to help, so any ideas? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilywhite Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 For substance and discussion but not too long I would recommend Jodi Picoult. They read easily and are always great discussion starters due to the moral implications of her main characters. My favourite so far is My Sisters Keeper but all her books are a great read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Evelyn Waugh is quite short, easy style but things to talk about, as is Scott Fitzgerald, the Great Gatsby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 I very recently read a very short novel called Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman and it was wonderful. It also raises all kinds of questions that might be great for book group discussion. Other excellent shorter books to consider: Life of Pi by Yann Martel Q&A by Vikas Swarup The Graduate by Charles Webb The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Perfume by Patrick Suskind Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See I've read and enjoyed all of these - none of which are particularly heavy and all of which stir up lots of questions. Some of them have actually been chosen for either the reading circle here, or for the other reading group I'm part of here in Aberdeen (The Posh Club) - we had some excellent discussions about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 As it is one of my very favourite books I would recommend A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oblomov Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 If you like sexist, gloriously politically incorrect and very cliched thrillers from the 50s & 60s, go for books by James Hadley Chase. All are under 200 pages and ridiculously easy and enoyable reads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelxinoe Posted September 23, 2007 Author Share Posted September 23, 2007 Thanks everyone, you've been so helpful! Any other ideas are still appreciated, but I think I've got enough to keep the society going for a long time already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted September 23, 2007 Share Posted September 23, 2007 How short do you want them? There are some great short classics out there The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is about 200 pages Animal Farm by Goerge Orwell is just over a hundred pages Of mice and men by John Steinbeck is about a hundred pages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiceguyEddie Posted September 23, 2007 Share Posted September 23, 2007 Ian McKewen is a bit of a specialist in short novels. Incidentally, does anyone know the definition of a novella? When does a short novel become a novella? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted September 23, 2007 Share Posted September 23, 2007 Incidentally, does anyone know the definition of a novella? When does a short novel become a novella? According to Wikipedia: "A novella is a narrative work of prose fiction longer than a shortstory but shorter than a novel. While there is some disagreement of what length defines a novella, the Science Fiction and FantasyWriters of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000 or 60 to 130 pages." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiceguyEddie Posted September 23, 2007 Share Posted September 23, 2007 But that's why I think the term is superfluous, because who decides the word count of a novel? I heard an interview with Peter Robinson in which he said that his aim was 300 pages. Great, except it all depends on font size & spacing. Some of the classics reprints have tiny fonts and 500 pages. Does that make them le grande novele? Apologies to any French speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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