Book club pick help: YA or Non-fiction reccs

[Deleted]

I'm in a book club and we just rotate who picks the book. It's almost my turn again. My last pick was less that stellar (we try to pick stuff we haven't read before), so I want a good one this time. We read everything - we've read "The Rosie Project", we've read "1984". We haven't done a YA yet, and we usually do fiction so I thought a non-fiction one might be interesting. 

Is there a hot young adult series I'm not aware of yet? 

What's the most interesting non-fiction book you've read lately? I just finished "Modern Romance", which was pretty good and would give some good conversation. And Tidying Up is a possibility, just so there are more people in person to cheer on my minimalism. 

[Deleted]

So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Ron Johnson is pretty good. Lot of interesting food for thought.

[drloretta]

I have had really bad experiences with non-fiction. Although I am reading Carsick by John Waters and it's pretty funny, if rather raunchy in places. He hitchhiked across the US and chronicled his travels. It's mixed with fiction, because he does chapters on how he imagined the trip would go, both as best-case and worst-case scenarios. Instant Mom by Nia Vardalos was a good read, though it got preachy at the end and it's sort of a niche memoir (she adopted a daughter through foster care and describes her experiences)

My favorite book ever is YA fiction. It's called The Perilous Gard. The author wrote at least one other YA novel

[rootbeerfloat]

Aug 28, 2015 15:34:27 GMT -5 @vicmo said:

I really liked Kristin Cashore's Graceling series.

These also can stand alone, too, if that makes for a better book club pick.

I read the first two in The Winner's Curse trilogy by Marie Rutkoski (who dedicates the second book to Kristin Cashore!) based off a recommendation here. I liked the second book better (which often happens with triologies), but it's decent for YA fantasy romance.

[Deleted]

*adds all of these to my own "to read" goodreads shelf*

[pinotgrig]

Here are a few nonfiction books I've liked -

Still Alice - first person, fictional memoir of a woman diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. heartbreaking, but a great catalyst for conversation.

The Other Wes Moore - follows two kids with the same who go on to lead very different lives (Rhodes scholar vs prison). Reminds me a lot of the type of discussions we have on here.

birth - the surprising history of how we're born - not sure of your audience or if you're interested, but I read this several years before getting pg and found it interesting. Lots of Interesting stats and data.

the disappearing spoon - about the history of the periodic table of elements (sounds boring but was really good!)

[niq]

Where Are All The Customers Yachts is very accessible and entertaining. It's not a dry policy book about finance.

[hermione]

The Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver has been getting a lot of YA buzz this year.

[magpie]

YA that might work well for an adult book group:
Fangirl: really good about an introvert fan fiction writer who goes to college. Great characters and emotion.

Just One Day: Just graduated from high school girl on teen tour of europe breaks away from tour group and has the most romantic day ever with a boy she meets. Romantic and also sad in a tortured love story kind of way. It's the first book of a trilogy. I loved the whole series.

Annie on My Mind: This is an older one (published in early 80's), but it is a really good love story about two teen girls who fall for each other. It is an excellent example of realistic teen fiction in general, but really good example of teen LGBT literature. I read it somewhat recently and was surprised at how relevant it remains.

Code Name Verity: Historical fiction about young female pilots in WWII. It's sooooo good. Friendship, spies, Nazis and the whole thing is written so well. I can't say anything more than that. Adults I've recommended it to have enjoyed it too.

Hot new YA series:
An Ember in the Ashes (I'm just about finished with this and it's good, solid YA fantasy with lots of echoes of Game of Thrones)
Cinder (although this might skew a bit too young for an adult group, it's delightful though)

[magpie]

Aug 28, 2015 16:37:39 GMT -5 hermione said:

The Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver has been getting a lot of YA buzz this year.

Did you read this one?  I love Lauren Oliver, but I was disappointed by this one.  It's driving me crazy too because I can't discuss it without big spoilers and I don't know anyone else who has read it!

[Myrrhine]

Jellicoe Road is really good (YA), but the first 50 pages are slow.

[hermione]

Aug 28, 2015 16:42:47 GMT -5 magpie said:

Aug 28, 2015 16:37:39 GMT -5 hermione said:

The Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver has been getting a lot of YA buzz this year.

Did you read this one?  I love Lauren Oliver, but I was disappointed by this one.  It's driving me crazy too because I can't discuss it without big spoilers and I don't know anyone else who has read it!

I'm starting it tonight.

[Myrrhine]

Aug 28, 2015 16:42:47 GMT -5 magpie said:

Aug 28, 2015 16:37:39 GMT -5 hermione said:

The Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver has been getting a lot of YA buzz this year.

Did you read this one?  I love Lauren Oliver, but I was disappointed by this one.  It's driving me crazy too because I can't discuss it without big spoilers and I don't know anyone else who has read it!

I read it. Not my favorite of hers!

[scribellesam]

I've been recommending Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen to everyone. It's YA, kind of a Hunger Games feel. First in a trilogy.

[alexis]

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell made for a great discussion for my book club.

I recently read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. It's not YA, but it is a pretty fast read. I think it would be excellent for book club. Lisa See writes Chinese historical fiction with female characters, so there's good discussion topics in regards to history and feminism. She also creates very real characters with relatable flaws, so there's a lot to discuss in regards to friendship, empathy and societal expectations. It's a beautiful book.

Ella Minnow Pea (say it out loud) by Mark Dunn is a fast, fun read. The story takes place on an island where the government is gradually banning letters of the alphabet. As the letters are banned, the author stops using them. It's so fun and silly and creative and we had a great discussion about it. Plus the kindle edition is like 3 dollars.

Last I love The Ghost Bride. It's about a girl who gets lost in the Chinese afterlife and must navigate her way out. I don't know how much it has to discuss for a book club, but it was one of the most enjoyable things I've read in recent years.

And now I just a remembered a YA series I really like. Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians. Alcatraz and his family members have super powers but they are things that we usually consider flaws. For example, Alcatraz is always breaking things by accident, but that means if someone tries to shoot him, the gun breaks. The story is fun and the books are hilarious.

[walrus]

For YA I like Rainbow Rowell. Her most popular is Eleanor and Park but I also loved Fan Girl and Attachments.

[smock]

Tritto to Fangirl, I really liked it, too!

[gibbinator]

If you want something set in Canada, "the book of Negroes". It's super popular here because it's set in NS but maybe you haven't read it out there yet. It's a really great piece of historical fiction.

[5kcandlesinthewind]

Aug 28, 2015 16:52:43 GMT -5 Myrrhine said:

Jellicoe Road is really good (YA), but the first 50 pages are slow.

This is one of my all time favorite books. Jonah Griggs is my forever book boyfriend. It's definitely a little odd in the beginning, but it's beautiful and heartbreaking and awesome and amazing. I love it so hard.

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets is another great book. It has a very similar feel to I Capture the Castle, (which would also be a great read).

[nachos]

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian" is a great YA book.

[stretchad]

A couple non-fiction ones to consider:
Man in the Rockefeller Suit: Hard to believe it's nonfiction, and there's a cheesy lifetime movie to go along with it that my book club got a kick out of watching.
The Devil in the White City: Another one that's hard to believe it's nonfiction...It's kinda creepy and fascinating, but interesting and leonardo dicaprio is turning it into a movie with Scorcese.
Gang Leader for a Day: Takes a look of a sociologist who basically embeds himself into a gang in the Chicago projects and seeks to understand their economy, hierarchy, what drives them and their challenges while also exploring the friendship between the writer and the actual gang leader..

[darnkatz]

I love the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. It's YA. I would really enjoy reading that and discussing it with a group, so that is my pick.

Non-fiction pick would be Secrets from the Eating Lab, which I'm currently reading and loving.

[Myrrhine]

Aug 28, 2015 17:49:43 GMT -5 5kcandlesinthewind said:

Aug 28, 2015 16:52:43 GMT -5 Myrrhine said:

Jellicoe Road is really good (YA), but the first 50 pages are slow.

This is one of my all time favorite books. Jonah Griggs is my forever book boyfriend. It's definitely a little odd in the beginning, but it's beautiful and heartbreaking and awesome and amazing. I love it so hard.

It's amazing! It's my go-to YA rec. I think it would be a great book club book... Although it might get boring if everyone just takes turns raving about it.

[underwaterrhymes]

It's written for fifth graders, but Wonder by RJ Palacio is wonderful.

I also loved The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth.

[magpie]

Aug 28, 2015 16:52:43 GMT -5 Myrrhine said:

Jellicoe Road is really good (YA), but the first 50 pages are slow.

I ready loved this one too! Another one of her books Saving Francesca is one of my favorites.

[schmidt]

For YA, my book club unanimously loved (which never happens) the strange and beautiful sorrows of Ava lavender.

It's so beautifully written and a really different story.

[waterchurch]

Aug 28, 2015 15:38:34 GMT -5 drloretta said:

My favorite book ever is YA fiction. It's called The Perilous Gard. The author wrote at least one other YA novel

Who's the author? I tried searching at the library and it hasn't heard of this one.

[Deleted]

I loved The Graveyard Book (Newberry medal by Neil Gaiman) and Molokai (about a leper colony in Hawaii) if you're looking for YA that you can discuss. I think about Feed (dystopic view about media) almost weekly and read it years ago. Guilty pleasure YA is Anna and the Frech Kiss. I know @vicmo has recommended it.

[drloretta]

Aug 28, 2015 23:44:36 GMT -5 waterchurch said:

Aug 28, 2015 15:38:34 GMT -5 drloretta said:

My favorite book ever is YA fiction. It's called The Perilous Gard. The author wrote at least one other YA novel

Who's the author? I tried searching at the library and it hasn't heard of this one.

Elizabeth Pope

[dulcemariamar]

Aug 28, 2015 15:26:15 GMT -5 @this said:

I think non-fiction always leads to the best discussion. At least in my book club experience.

The best book club I ever went to was actually a book about Jonestown - Seductive Poison (stupid name, I realize) by Deborah Layton who was a Jonestown survivor. It was absolutely FASCINATING.

www.goodreads.com/book/show/9038807-seductive-poison

Other great NF:

Nothing to Envy - www.goodreads.com/book/show/6178648-nothing-to-envy
fathermothergod - www.goodreads.com/book/show/10625275-fathermothergod
Ask Me Why I Hurt - www.goodreads.com/book/show/8754849-ask-me-why-i-hurt

I feel like I have to read Seductive Poison now that I have been scrolling through the reviews . I hope it doesn't give me nightmares.