Monday, January 30, 2012

Top 10 Fantasy Books for Book Club Picks (TTT #11)

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly book blogger meme hosted by


This week's list topic is...

 
TOP 10 FANTASY BOOKS FOR BOOK CLUB PICKS

  • Sorry, this time I could only come up with 9 books.
  • These are all just MY opinion. So many others would quality for sure...
     
1. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

I've always thought this series would be great for a book club discussion. It probably already has been discussed many times, but I never participate in book clubs, so I wouldn't know. I love all the political themes as they are definitely important for our day and age.

2. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

It's so well-written and bound to be a timeless classic, how could it not make a great book club pick? I loved the first book for its narrative voice and classical author influence, besides the great storytelling.

3. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

This classic definitely gets classroom discussion already, so of course there is much to discuss in a book club. Themes like man's relationship with God, the ethics of science, man's responsibility to his own invented abominations, etc. etc. 

4. (and by extension) This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

This prequel takes on pretty much the same themes as the original, but stars a more responsible Victor Frankenstein. He trades in his avoidance of personal accountability for a growing obsession with playing God. That is a weighty theme in and of itself. 

5. Iron Druid Chronicles series by Kevin Hearne

There are a lot of social and religious issues within each of these books, and people have already had a field day with them. It's easy to pick up on a lot of its intense themes and discuss them at length, even though one would hardly imagine these books could contain anything but pure fun. A nice perk...

6. The Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare

I think because these books are historical, they naturally lend themselves to gender role discussion and the topic of old fashioned misogyny. Since the main character is a marriageable 16-year-old female, we modern day folks have to tolerate the disparity between how much freedom women have earned during the 20th century, and how very much further they had to go during the late Victorian era. 

7. Vampire Empire trilogy by Clay & Susan Griffith

Issues of prejudice play out in full force in this series as humans and vampires struggle with each other over dominance of the world's land masses. Main character Adele grows up with all sorts of prejudices against vampires, and learns through a close relationship with one that they are not all the beastly blood suckers she heard about. She grows as a character as she overcomes her preconceived notions.
  
8. Death Note manga series by Tsugumi Ohba

I've also always thought this Japanese manga series would make a fabulous book club, if not classroom, discussion pick for its obvious MacBethan themes. Light Yagami is the poster child for psychopathic serial killers being the absolute LAST people you'd ever imagine. It's truly frightening, and for those who love to discuss such a character would have more than a little fodder to work with.

 9. Bleach manga series by Tite Kubo

Another Japanese manga series that has surprising depth to it once you get past the first arc or two (which takes a while). Contained within are themes of man's struggle with the self and his devilish impulses, the dual nature of man, the bad inherent in all good people and societies, and man's struggle to contain his baser instincts for battle and destruction. Who knew all that was in Bleach? (It's LONG. That's why...)


These are my kind of fantasy book club discussion picks. What are yours?

16 comments:

  1. When I saw the topic, I KNEW The Iron Druid Chronicles and The Infernal Devices series would be on there! I've never participated in a book club. I would love to, but am afraid I would get twitchy if I didn't like the book chosen.
    These are great picks, Cathy!

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    1. @Andrea: I'm just getting too predictable with my Top 10 lists! I'm with you on book clubs. I might not always want to read what we're supposed to and might not like it. But, that was what college was like.

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  2. Yep we can be in a book club together, I like your list! Vampire Empire and Iron Druid have had me curious for a while now.

    http://kristina-worldofbooks.blogspot.com/2012/01/top-10-tuesdays-9.html

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    1. @Kristina: Thanks! You should read those books. They are great, even without a book club.

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  3. This is a weird topic! I would imagine all books would be good for book clubs! I haven't ever been part of a proper book discussion either. Iron Druid would totally be awesome to discuss. And Death Note is right up there as well. This is making me want to start a book discussion on my blog!

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    1. @Lan: Yeah, what would be good for a book club is so subjective, it's hard to narrow it down. I just figure listing the books that seem to have the most going for them issue-wise.

      You ought to do some book discussion on your blog! Make a survey to see what people want to discuss. That'd be totally win!

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  4. Oooo I've never even heard of "This Dark Endeavor" by Kenneth Oppel! I shall keep my eyes open for it!

    My Top Ten

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  5. Including manga is definitely a new approach! I think it'd be great to have a book club discussion on Fruits Baskets or Sailor Moon!

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  6. How did I forget Harry Potter or Iron Druid Chronicles? I love the idea of doing manga especially Death Note...so much freaky crap to talk about. Great choices!

    Jennifer @ Feminist Fairytale Reviews
    http://feministfairytalereviews.blogspot.com/2012/01/top-ten-tuesday-11-book-club-picks.html

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  7. I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE the Hunger Games trilogy! I can't wait to see the movie. The trailer made me cry!

    I also love the Mortal Instruments (better than Infernal Devices, though I know I am a minority there).

    Have you read Divergent by Veronica Roth? That's a great YA fantasy.

    Do you ever read Lois McMaster Bujold? She's got some great fantasy books, too.

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    1. @Camille: Yes, I've read Divergent and it is really awesome! I didn't include it because I don't see it as being great for discussion, but that's just my opinion. It's a very exciting read, though.

      And, I've never heard of Lois McMaster Bujold, but I'll have to look into the fantasy books she writes. Thanks for the rec.

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  8. Hunger Games is on my list too! And I went with The Mortal Instruments series over ID but I love them both! I just love Jace more than anyone! Great list! Going to have to check some of these other books out!

    New follower! I knew I'd like your blog as soon as I saw the title!

    Here's my Top Ten

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  9. Other than Frankenstein, I have not read any of the books on this list. I will have to dig through and find something new to read. Thank you for your suggestions.

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  10. Yay Vampire Empire! I think as a book club it would be helpful to have other people to talk about the magical element. I still don't get the whole rift thing.

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    1. @Alison: Yeah, I need to read The Rift Walker still, so I don't understand the rift thing, either.

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  11. I really think I need to get Harry Potter for my school library. I think it would be a great book for those strong second grade readers. And what a wonderful book for discussion.

    Here is my Top Ten Books I Think Would Make Great Book Club Picks. And I hope you will sign up for my February Giveaway! Win All Kinds of Kisses or a $25 Amazon gift card!

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