May is supposed to bring flowers – instead it is bringing several best sellers and a great love story.  I am particularly excited to read Little Bee by Chris Cleave for the Little Shop of Stories Catch-All Book Group.  Cleave, the best selling author of Incendiary and The Other Hand, doesn’t want to give away much about this book.  I can’t wait to crack the cover, for now here is what the back of the book has to say:

“We don’t want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don’t want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it, so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again–the story starts there…Once you have read it, you’ll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don’t tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds.”

Later in the month the A-List Literates will be reading The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. We hear the movie isn’t so great, but this personal favorite was voted unanimously onto the spring book club list and endorsed by several contributors.  (Have you checked out the contributors page?)  I have been discussing this book with anyone who will have me since I read it, so indulge me at Eddie’s Attic, May 24th at 7:30.

Here are some of our usual favorites hitting it out of the park again in May:

Little Bee, by Chris Cleave, Catch-All Book Group, hosted by Little Shop of Stories on May – at 7PM.

Then We Came To The End, by Joshua Ferris, Pub Fiction, hosted by DeKalb County Public Library meeting at Karavana on May 20 at 7PM.

The Black Dahlia, by James Ellroy, Monthly Book Club, hosted by Bound to Be Read Books on May 20 at 7PM.

Sinfest v.1, Pinnochio the Vampire Slayer, Graphic Novel Club, meeting in Decatur at Raging Burrito on May 31 at 7PM.

A Mercy, by Tony Morrison, Decatur Library Book Club, meeting at Decatur Public Library on May 26 at 7PM.

Rainwater, by Sarah Brown, Lithonia-Davidson Library Book Club, meeting at Lithonia-Davidson Public Library on May 28 at 6:30PM.

By Yankee Rose

March flew by and here we are in April with ample reading before us! The A-List Literates will be reading The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga, winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize. Jef at Bound to Be Read in EAV introduced me to The White Tiger almost a year ago. We posted a gushing review of it here and I have ranted and raved about it ever since. Rube liked it so much he even named it one of his Best Books of the Decade.

A novel that takes place in modern India, The White Tiger educates the reader on the current struggles within India while entertaining them with a great plot and easy prose. We will be meeting on the back patio at Eddie’s on April 26 at 7:30 PM.

Here is what some of our other favorite local book clubs are reading in April:

Straight Man, by Richard Russo, Pub Fiction, hosted by DeKalb County Public Library meeting at Karavana on April 15 at 7PM.

Freakonomics: A Rouge Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Monthly Book Club, hosted by Bound to Be Read Books on April 15 at 7PM.

Assassination Vacation, by Sarah Vowell, Guys Who Read, hosted by Little Shop of Stories meeting at The Brick Store on April 22 at 7PM.

Forever Amber, by Kathleen Winsor, Scandalous Book Club, hosted by Bound to Be Read Books on April 25 at 3PM.

Kiss-Ass, by Chris Ryall and Ben Templesmith, and Freak Angels, Episode 1 Page 1, Graphic Novel Club, meeting in Decatur at Raging Burrito on April 26 at 7PM.

Suite Francaise, by Irène Némirovsky, Decatur Library Book Club, meeting at Decatur Public Library on April 28 at 7PM.

Finally, if can’t make any of those you can pull out your Breeze card, take a ride and join the Marta Book Club.

By Yankee Rose

If you haven’t heard the news yet – Atlanta’s A-List has founded a book club!  The A-List Literates will be meeting to discuss Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan at Eddie’s Attic at 7:30 PM on February 22nd.  Our selections for the coming year are varied, and include books for music fans as well as classic selections and new fiction.  If you have any questions (or reading suggestions!) please contact us.  Besides our own, we recommend the following local book clubs to drop in on in February:

Loving Frank, by Nancy Horan, The Catch-All Book Club, hosted by Little Shop of Stories on February 8th at 7PM.

Train, by Pete Dexter, Pub Fiction, hosted by DeKalb County Public Library meeting at Karavana on February 18th at 7PM.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak,  Monthly book Club, hosted by Bound to Be Read Books on February 18th at 7PM.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, by Haruki Murakami, Guys Who Read, hosted by Little Shop of Stories meeting at The Brick Store on February 18th at 7PM.

Chew Volume 1: Taster’s Choice, by John Layman, Graphic Novel Club, meeting in Decatur at Raging Burrito  on February 22 at 7PM.

What Is the What, by Dave Eggers, Decatur Library Book Club, meeting at Decatur Public Library on February 24th at 7PM.

See you at Eddie’s!

By Yankee Rose

December is an exciting month for bookclubs here in the ATL, with the quarterly appearance of the Scandalous Book Club, holiday themed classics, and the addition of a new (to us) book club.

So some of us here at the A-List have a thing for graphic novels (but he prefers to remain anonymous). We were thrilled when Bound to Be Read chose The Watchmen for its June book club, and we may make occasional trips to Criminal Records to stock up on those plastic sleeves that store our old comic books, but we never imagined that we would find a grown up comic book club right in our backyard. Alas, we have discovered such a book club! Meeting the last Monday of each month at the Brick Store Thinking Man Tavern Raging Burrito, check in here for selections and dates.  (Note they will be meeting the first Monday in December to accommodate the holiday.)

In addition to the normal book club list, we have to highlight some special book club activities. Little Shop of Stories Catch All Book Group will be having a little holiday cheer with their book club this month. Anyone who wants to participate can bring a wrapped new or gently used book for the book group swap on December 15th (and come prepared to discuss the hilarious Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris).  Pub Fiction, hosted by Dekalb County Library, will be selecting their books for the new year in the December meeting.  So bring your favorite book and come prepared to make everyone else want to read it too.

Here are a few of our December favorites; we hope to see you there!

Peyton Place, by Grace Metalious, hosted by Bound to Be Read Books on December 6th, at 3PM.

The Last Christmas, by Brian Posehn and Rick Remender, meeting at Raging Burrito on December 7th, at 7 PM.

Holidays on Ice, by David Sedaris, hosted by Little Shop of Stories on December 15th, at 7PM.

The John Varley Reader, by John Varley, hosted by Charis Books on December 9th, at 7:30PM.

Bring your own book!, hosted by Pub Fiction meeting at Karavana on December 17th at 7PM.

Slamming Open the Door, by Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno,  hosted by Bound to Be Read Books on December 17th at 7PM.

Your Inner Fish, by Neil Shubin, hosted by Little Shop of Stories meeting at The Brick Store on December 19th at 7PM.

As always, if you want to grab any one of these titles, please consider your local independent bookstore first.

By Yankee Rose

Often we get so excited about a book club we feel the need to tell everybody -  our friends, family, people we run into at the library, and yes, you.  (Of course if we forget to post it here chances are you can still find it on our calendar.)  This month there are so many unique book clubs meeting inside the perimeter we just needed to lay them all out.  Here are some of November’s favorites (with November 19th being entirely too popular along book club organizers):

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart, hosted by Little Shop of Stories on November 9th, at 7PM.

Genders, by David Glover and Cora Kaplan, hosted by Charis Books on November 11th, at 7:30PM.

Geek Love, by Katherine Dunn, hosted by Pub Fiction meeting at Karavana on November 19th at 7PM.

My Name is Will, by Jess Winfield, hosted by Little Shop of Stories meeting at The Brick Store on November 19th at 7PM.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, hosted by Bound to Be Read Books on November 19th at 7PM.

If you want to grab any one of these titles, please consider your local independent bookstore first.

[P.S. Check out Yankee Rose's Reading List to keep up with our favorite literary bug - Rube]

UPDATE:  

We told you the what and the when.  Now we’re going to tell you the where and the why.  The second edition of the DeKalb County Public Library (or DCPL, again to save keystrokes) sponsored event, Pub Fiction, will be held Thursday, October 15. The location is Karvana, an über-cool coffeehouse/wine bar that is a great place to read and catch local bands.  (It really captures all of our addictions.)  The book to be discussed is Lolita.  We’ll say it again…”Hmmm, very popular among local book clubs lately.” (We love to qoute ourselves.)

Moderated by the local library staff and attended by a diverse group, you can be assured that there will be a place for you at this book club.  Lolita is either the greatest love story of all time, or the timeless tale of a deranged pedophile.  You decide.  If you missed the chance to talk about this salacious tome at the Scandalous Book Club, then you need to show for this one (which will have beer wine for the unduly inhibited).