Top 10 Books We Think Would Make Great Read-Alongs!

Question:  Top 10 Books We Think Would Make Great Read-Along Picks.

Answer:  Sorry, but we’re hijacking this week’s topic and turning it into an appeal for more read-alongs!  Yes, we’re taking a hard look internally as well, but we’d love to be involved in more read-alongs in 2012!  Below are the books we have on our radar that we think would be fun (less painful) to experience with other readers.  To be really clear, if we just so happened to come came across any events with the below titles included, we’d be forced to sign up..........

1.      The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien) – With the movie coming out later this year, a reread over the summer is a must.  What better way to visit Middle Earth than with a few friends. 

2.      House of Leaves (Mark K. Danielewski) – *Gulp* Our knees are shaking with this one and it would be helpful to utilize the whole strength in numbers thing for this read...

3.      Men at Arms (Terry Pratchett) – This one might be a little short for a read-along, but the Discworld is way too exciting to visit alone.  Any number of titles would work as we’re hoping to make several return trips to the Discworld this year.

4.      For Whom the Bell Tolls (Ernest Hemingway) – Anything by Hemingway has a menacing stigma attached to it, at least for us.  Plus, we’ve heard this book has plenty of weighty themes to discuss.   

5.      Dandelion Wine (Ray Bradbury) – We’ve been told time and again that this novel is a perfect spring read.  We’ve marked our calendars for April (in pencil) to host some kind of read-along... Yipeee!

6.      Insomnia (Stephen King) – We found this one at our local bookstore a couple months ago and lugging it home nearly gave us a hernia.  There’s got to be all kinds of good stuff to debate within this one.   

7.      The Adventures of Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra) – We really, really want to check this one off our list in 2012.  We know there’re windmills, but that’s it.  We’d be a lot less intimidated going through this with a group.

8.      Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) – The first time we read this novel our blood was boiling so much that we apparently missed all the “love” radiating from the main characters.    We’re quite frustrated with ourselves for missing a really fun read-along last year.  Nevertheless, we may need to partake in some serious Heathcliff venting when the time comes.

9.      Cold Comfort Farm (Stella Gibbons) – This book’s supposed to have us rolling on the floor laughing.  Laughing alone, while fun, is kind of weird...

10.  Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel) – The female Bibliomaniac did not like this one.  At all.  Like, she didn’t even finish it and it sent her off on a tailspin of book depression.  It could be very difficult for the male Bibliomaniac to try this one without large numbers... the whole misery loves company thing.

So what else?  We’re anxious to see if any other titles need to be added to our list.  Have a great week and head on over to The Broke and the Bookish to join the fun!