<p>I think that book groups and the like help one remember books. I’ve tried to keep book lists over the years, not always too successfully. Currently I am using an app on my facebook page. </p>
<p>I am a big fan of rereading books I love. I think I read The Lord of the Rings every year for about 20 years. The last time I read it though I thought, “Nope, not the best book in the world any more.” I’ll probably reread it sometime again though. What surprises me is that some classics I read and loved as a teen I’ve had a hard time rereading as an adult. I am slogging through War and Peace currently and I gave up on I]Middlemarch* even though I had loved it in college. Other books though just get better and better on rereading. One of the great pleasures of having kids was being able to read my favorite children’s books out loud to them.</p>
<p>I had a lot of trouble with War and Peace when young (well, actually, just the last 100 pages, the rest was fine. It took me one week to read the first 6-700 and another week to read the last 100.) I don’t think I’d tackle it again.</p>
<p>I adore Middlemarch and reread it every few years. So far, still works for me. OTOH, I’ve tried several times to read Anna Karenina again after loving it when young, but I can’t get through it now. Sigh. I think my brain cells are tired.</p>
<p>Wow, one would hope that a teacher for an AP Lit course would come up with a much better assessment method for exams.</p>
<p>I, too, love to reread my favorites but, like some of you, I’ve had difficulty enjoying some books that I loved when I was younger, Anna Karenina being one of them, garland! I’ve also found similar issues with a favorite author or two. I used to truly enjoy Pat Conroy’s books but I found South of Broad almost insufferable. I don’t know if I’m the one who has changed or if it is Conroy.</p>
<p>^^^ And I just finished South of Broad and liked it a lot! But, this was the first of his books I’ve read, so, IMO, that makes a big difference. Quite a few years ago I was on an Anne Rivers Siddon kick. After the first several the “charm” wore off. I still liked the books, but the “wow!” factor was gone.</p>
<p>Help…I just joined my neighborhood book club and it now has approx. 18 members in it.
I think this is waaaay too large for a book club and it often turns into a noisy social group without much structure. I am all for the socializing, but before and after we have talked about the books. </p>
<p>I personally think we should split into two groups but folks need a way to meet new neighbors and form friendships. No one wants to be left out. My neighborhood is made up of many corporate relo folks needing to make friends.</p>
<p>This works well if you meet during the day: organize the club around lunch. People bring their own sandwich/salad, and the host provides beverages and fruit/dessert. Everyone can socialize over the meal for a while, and those who really want to discuss the book can stay afterwards to do so. </p>
<p>If you meet in the evening it gets more problematic with people’s schedules, but perhaps you could do dessert/socializing and then book discussion?</p>
<p>I keep track of my books on Shelfari.com . It evens lets you write a brief review (which is good because I never remember what I’ve read 2 months later) and shows the cover of the book.</p>
<p>I just finished Bill Bryson’s At Home. It was wonderful. I love Bryson, he is such an enjoyable author.</p>
<p>At Home is up next for me; can’t wait. I thought the Steig Larsson books were poorly written, but the stories and the Salander character were so compelling that I read them all. Most enjoyable novel for the year for me was probably The Invisible Bridge, which others have mentioned. Loved The Help, too, but wasn’t that 2009? </p>
<p>And for pure fun escapism, Helen of Pasadena, the first novel by one of the Satellite Sisters, Lian Dolan. It’s particularly fun for parents who are going through admission issues, since it skewers the private-school admissions obsession in upscale communities.</p>
<p>Warhorse by Michael Morpurgo. He is a children’s author and I love his work. Just finished this one. Brought to me by a parent from UK. I want to see the theater production of it now. It is coming to Broadway and is in post production as a Spielburg film. This is a chance to read the book first. :)</p>
<p>Well, the question was the best book you read, not the best book published that year. Some years, the best book I’ve read is a hundred years old.</p>