Great Group Reads 2012

For the past several years in the fall, National Reading Group Month has released a selection of books that they consider to be great choices for book discussion groups. I have found these selections to be not only interesting discussion ideas for book groups, but also wonderful suggestions when I'm simply looking for a good book to read.

The 2012 selections below feature 20 titles--19 novels and 1 memoir. The books chosen are all intended to initiate "lively conversations about a host of timely and provocative topics, from the intimate dynamics of family and personal relationships to major cultural and world issues....All are books with strong narratives peopled by fully realized characters; books which perhaps have flown under the radar of reviewers and reading groups overwhelmed by the sheer number of new releases each year."

The Absolutist by John Boyne
An Age of Madness by David Maine
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan‐Philipp Sendker
Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall
Boleto by Alyson Hagy
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
Equal of the Sun by Anita Amirrezvani
Faith by Jennifer Haigh
A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash
I Married You for Happiness by Lily Tuck
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
The O'Briens by Peter Behrens
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
The Right-Hand Shore by Christopher Tilghman
Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeannette Winterson