January 10
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_B/behind_the_scenes_at_the_museum1.asp
Ruby, born in York, England, in 1959, relates the story of her family living above shops in the 1960s and of her grandmother and mother living through the earlier wars.
February 14
Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
http://www.ken-follett.com/bibliography/eye_of_the_needle.html
One enemy spy knows the secret to the Allies' greatest deception, a brilliant aristocrat and ruthless assassin -- code name: "The Needle" -- who holds the key to ultimate Nazi victory. Only one person stands in his way: a lonely Englishwoman on an isolated island, who is beginning to love the killer who has mysteriously entered her life.
March 14: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace -- One School at a Time by Gregg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_T/three_cups_of_tea1.asp
One day in 1993, high up in the world's most inhospitable mountains, Greg Mortenson wandered lost and alone, broken in body and spirit, after a failed attempt to climb K2, the world's deadliest peak. When the people of an impoverished village in Pakistan's Karakoram Himalaya took him in and nursed him back to health, Mortenson made an impulsive promise: He would return one day and build them a school.
April 11
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcom Gladwell
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/books/review/16COVERBR.html
Drawing on recent cognitive research, Gladwell concludes that those who quickly filter out extraneous information generally make better decisions than those who discount their first impressions.
May 9
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_F/fugitive_pieces1.asp
After witnessing his parents' murder and being rescued by Athos, a Greek geologist who smuggles him out of Poland, Jakob Beer looks back on his life as a fugitive.
June 13: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/water_for_elephants1.asp
An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of "Riding Lessons."
July 11
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_B/brave_new_world1.asp
Huxley's classic prophetic novel describes the socialized horrors of a futuristic utopia devoid of individual freedom.
August 8
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Quinn
A man and a great ape conduct a series of philosophical conversations in a work that presents a new vision of evolution and humankind and asks the question: does the Earth belong to humans, or do humans belong to the Earth?
September 12
Innocent Man by John Grisham
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/innocent_man1.asp
Sometimes the truth can be stranger than fiction ... In his first work of non-fiction, John Grisham delivers his most extraordinary thriller yet: the account of an innocent man sent to death row.
October 10
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/orgs/kcfb/cb/discussion_questions.htm
With the publication of this book, Capote permanently ripped through the barrier separating crime reportage from serious literature. As he reconstructs the 1959 murder of a Kansas farm family and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, Capote generates suspense and empathy.
November 14
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/thousand_splendid_suns1.asp
Two women born a generation apart witness the destruction of their home and family in war torn Kabul, losses incurred over the course of thirty years that test the limits of their strength and courage.
December 12
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_L/loving_frank1.asp
Fact and fiction blend in a historical novel that chronicles the relationship between seminal architect Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney, from their meeting, when they were each married to another, to the clandestine affair that shocked Chicago society.