An indispensable guide for anyone who runs or participates in a book group, this title provides the structure and fun facts needed to examine the genre of women’s fiction.
Women's fiction comprises at least 40 percent of adult popular fiction and 60 percent of adult popular fiction paperbacks in the United States. It’s no wonder, when one considers that the subjects covered are those to which women so easily relate. The sense of personal identification makes these titles ideal for book group discussions—and reinforces the need for a guide to facilitate them.
Women's fiction covers numerous topics of importance in the lives of women—friendship, love, personal growth, and familial relationships. For this reason, the genre is a hotbed of engaging subjects for book group discussions. Reading Women: A Book Club Guide for Women's Fiction brings together information on over 100 women’s fiction titles, providing everything a book group needs to encourage focused, stimulating meetings.
Reading Women marshals information that has been, up to this point, either nonexistent or scattered in book club guides. Readers will learn the difference between women’s fiction, romance, and chick lit, as well as why these genres provide a rich trove of discussion topics for book groups. Specific entries cover titles from all three genres, offering an author biography, a book summary, bibliographic material, discussion questions, and read-alike information for each book. An additional 50 titles suitable for book group discussions are listed with brief summaries.
Features
• Each entry provides an author biography, a book summary, bibliographic material, discussion questions, and read-alike information for each book
• Includes discussion questions not found elsewhere
Highlights
• Gathers and provides information on over 100 women’s fiction titles published in the last 10 years
• Describes the differences between women's fiction, romance and chick lit, and details why these titles are good choices for book discussion
• Offers brief summaries of an additional 50 titles
• Focuses on some of today's most popular women's fiction titles and authors--such as Elizabeth Berg, Lorna Landvik, Jennifer Weiner, and Barbara Kingsolver
Nanci Milone Hill is director of the Boxford Town Library, Boxford, MA. She coedits the Perspectives column for Public Libraries magazine, writes the Christian Fiction column for Library Journal, and is a regular contributor to NoveList.
Reviews
"Any book-group leader who ever despaired of finding a discussable romance title at the suggestion of a member need fret no longer. Milone Hill has compiled an admirable list of women’s fiction, chick lit, and romance titles suitable for discussion. . . . A welcome addition to the canon of book-group resources and especially helpful for book groups looking for cheerier selections."—Booklist
