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    The Reading Group: A Novel
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    The Reading Group: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Reading Group: A Novel
    Ebook571 pages8 hours

    The Reading Group: A Novel

    By Elizabeth Noble

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    The Reading Group follows the trials and tribulations of a group of women who meet regularly to read and discuss books.Over the course of a year, each of these women become intertwined, both in the books they read and within each other's lives.

    Inspired by a shared desire for conversation, a good book and a glass of wine-Clare, Harriet, Nicole, Polly, and Susan undergo startling revelations and transformations despite their differences in background, age and respective dilemmas.

    What starts as a reading group gradually evolves into a forum where the women may express their views through the books they read and grow to become increasingly more open as the bonds of friendship cement.

    In The Reading Group, Noble reveals the many complicated paths in life we all face as well as the power and importance of friendship.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061854262
    Unavailable
    The Reading Group: A Novel
    Author

    Elizabeth Noble

    Mystery, action, chills, and thrills spiced with romance and desire. ELIZABETH NOBLE lives by the adage "I can't not write." She doesn't remember a time when she didn't make up stories and eventually she learned how to put words on a page. Those words turned into books and fan fiction that turned into a genuine love of M/M fiction. A part of every day is spent living in worlds she created that are filled with intrigue and espionage. She has a real love for a good mystery complete with murder and twisty plots as well as all things sci-fi, futuristic, and supernatural. When she's not chronicling the adventures of her many characters, Elizabeth is a veterinary nurse living in her native Cleveland, Ohio. She has three grown children and now happily shares her little, brick house with two spunky Cardigan Welsh Corgis and their feline sidekicks. Elizabeth is a fan of baseball, basketball (go Cavs and Guardians) and gardening. She can often be found working in her 'outside office' listening to classic rock and plotter her next novel waiting for it to be dark enough to gaze at the stars. Elizabeth has received a number of amateur writing awards. Since being published, several of her novels have received Honorable Mentions in the Rainbow Awards. Jewel Cave was a runner-up in the Gay Mystery/Thriller category in the 2015 Rainbow Awards. Ringed Love was a winner in the Gay Fantasy Romance category of the 2016 Rainbow Awards. Code Name Jack Rabbit and The Vampire Guard series placed third in The Paranormal Romance Guild 2022 Reviewer Awards in the LGBT/ROMANCE/ACTION ADVENTURE/MILITARY individual book and series categories.

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    Reviews for The Reading Group

    3.5/5

    25 ratings18 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      I read some pages and they were very good, I am looking forward to see how the characters will change their story.
      The Reading Group follows the trials and tribulations of a group of women who meet regularly to read and discuss books.Over the course of a year, each of these women become intertwined, both in the books they read and within each other's lives.

      Inspired by a shared desire for conversation, a good book and a glass of wine-Clare, Harriet, Nicole, Polly, and Susan undergo startling revelations and transformations despite their differences in background, age and respective dilemmas.

      What starts as a reading group gradually evolves into a forum where the women may express their views through the books they read and grow to become increasingly more open as the bonds of friendship cement.

      In The Reading Group, Noble reveals the many complicated paths in life we all face as well as the power and importance of friendship.
    • 1/5
      The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble - poor

      This is currently my worst book of the year.

      I picked this up at Bookcrossing last month to use in one of my giveaways. As I was looking for something quick & easy to read at Dad's I decided to give it a whirl.

      Ostensibly, this is about a book group. Each section is titled by the reading groups book of the month & they all meet at one of their houses to discuss it. Really, this is just an excuse to drink wine, eat cake & have girly chats about their husbands/children/lives. Rarely do they discuss the book & often they haven't even read it. What little they do discuss about the books really annoyed me in that they loved ones I'd hated, and hated one that I loved.

      Really this book seems to be just about how wonderful it is to have children and how your life couldn't possibly be fulfilled or happy without them. It was all dreadfully trite.

      I think the most telling thing about it was, when I came to register it, I discovered I read it in 2005 and left it at a hotel in Turkey. Not one single word remembered. In contrast, I can tell you that on that particular holiday I also read The Time Travellers Wife, Cloud Atlas and Boiling a Frog. Say no more!
    • 3/5
      I've always been a huge fan of chick-lit and when I saw that this book was a #1 british best seller and it was a book about one of my favorite things in the world; books! I knew I wanted to read it. I really was at the point in my reading that I wanted something light, and comedic, and not serious.Unfortantely I thought this book would be more about discussing the books more so then them discussing the problems of their lives. It was about 80% about their personal melodramas and maybe 20% about books and/or reading, and I guess I wanted much more from a book called The Reading Group, and that's why it's only getting three stars. It's not a bad book, just not what I thought it would be at all, and I personally didn't find the characters that interesting, most of them came off whiny and in my opinion boring. If you like chick-lit, I can definitely see the appeal, I just wanted more talk about books, and discussion of their opinions of the books, and less about their personal problems. This book just wasn't a favorite of mine, it did the opposite of what I wanted it to be, which was a quick read.
    • 3/5
      Generally a good story, but I kept getting confused by all the different characters and having to flip back to remember which woman was married to which man and what her particular circumstances were. When I eventually got them all sorted out it was a bit better.
    • 3/5
      NEW BEGINNINGS A glass of wine, a gossip and a good book - the reading group is born.When I first picked up this book and read the above on the back I expected a light hearted chick lit probably funny kind of book but to be honest the very opposite was true. Overall I was left empty and the whole feel of the book was an incredible sadness. I felt for each and every one of the female main characters in the book and it certainly worked for me.I would recommend reading this book although not a favourite it was good to read.I liked Harriet and her lesson about the grass not always being greener and seeing/having what is under your nose. I liked the contrast of her story with that of her close friend Nicole who has a jerk of a husband.With Susan's character this made me think about my own relationship with my mother and mortality issues.Cressida's story and her involvement with Caroline and Elliot was very well thought out and I admired Polly her mother for being there for Cressida. I think I liked Polly the most as this is how I would and hope to be with my young daughter.I thought the way a book was read each month and discussed by the group was very original of the writer. The way each book's themes interweaved with the story of each person's lives was very clever.Overall a good read.
    • 3/5
      I must admit that chick-lit really isn't my cup of tea and at the beginning of the book, when all the characters and their problems were introduced, I was a bit disheartened. It does improve however, and the characters are likeable and easy to relate to. I did find however, that a few of the more interesting characters - usually, the secondary characters - didn't really get chance to shine. I'm not convinced if I'll ever read something like this again, there wasn't enough adventure or interest for me, but It is well written and I'm sure those more interested in this genre will enjoy it.
    • 3/5
      I am not used to reading this type of multi-character book with lots of personal drama. I found it a little confusing keeping the characters straight and often referred to the character list at the front of the book. By the time I finished the book, I was finally able to keep them straight but I found that this confusion detracted from the fluidity of the novel. I did like the list of books that the Reading Group chose and it made me want to join a reading group just for the camaraderie. The sections involving the actual group meetings and their conversations were the most interesting to me. Of course, truth would probably not be as good as this fiction. I think that the appeal of a group of people with similar interests forming these types of relationships is something I would enjoy. The author provides some good resources on ways to create reading groups for those who are interested.All in all, an enjoyable book.
    • 4/5
      This was classic chick lit all the way through, but still enjoyable for the most part. I do like that each character is dealt with individually as well as within the group without focusing too much on just one or two. The story covers a year in the lives and the books chosen , without them realizing, are significant to different members at different times. I did like that Noble does not give much away about the books as they were discussed as there are a few that are in my TBR pile.
    • 2/5
      This was our first read when we started our bookclub and I must say I was not impressed. I could not really relate to any of the characters. When discussing we tried to talk about which of the ladies we most like and we all had a rather tough time with this. I was not a fan of the writing style either. I know I will not pick up another book by this author. There are far better books about women and bookclubs.
    • 3/5
      Chick lit with an edge. Harriet, Nicole, Susan, Polly, and Clare start a book group, and the book follows the dramatic turns their lives take in the next year and the books that they read. Some of the plot turns are a little far-fetched, and the ending is too pat, but it was a nice, light read.
    • 1/5
      I have very mixed feelings about this book. It was easy reading, and yes, I did get drawn in by the characters, but I thought they were a little too formulaic. (Although reading the author's puff piece at the end, it seems to be intentional. She'd call it 'representative', I expect. ) And while I concede that most women could relate to at least one of the events happening in at least one of the women's lives, I found some of the ways that some situations were resolved or turned out to be quite unlikely. (They're probably the ones that the author could cite as being true.) I shan't spoil it for future readers by being specific. And everything was tied up so neatly at the end: life may not be like that, but it's the way this type of book would go, so I sighed at its predictability, but I would have been disappointed had any thing been left unresolved. I rather liked the device of using the book the women were reading each month as a pointer to the narrative.I thought the men were all quite one dimensional, even though they were central to the women's concerns. For all that, I did like the book for its gossipy, Maeve Binchy feel, and the central theme of the importance and strength of women's friendships. I felt most of the end matter was a tad patronising and bossy: I mean really, telling us how to set up our own reading group!
    • 4/5
      Interesting book for sure. I have to admit that it felt a bit fake with the way some of the plot lines ran and I really felt that some of the characters should have made different choices, but ti was a nice read about a good reading group (and of course made me wish I had one, except of course, our lives wouldn't be quite as rocky as the women in this story!)
    • 1/5
      Possible Spoilers in this reviewI didn't enjoy this book and found it hard to identify with or be sympathetic to the characters. I initially bought it because I had joined a reading group and so the title caught my eye and then when I had a quick look the chapters are split into the months and books that the group are reading. I'd read eight of them so I was hoping that they would be discussed a lot more than they were. They weren't, or at least not enough for my liking.Finally, and I suppose partly unfairly, I really hated the character Cressida. Firstly (and this is the unfair bit) because she was called Cressida and her name really irritated me and secondly because she was a thoughtless little marriage wrecking cow who broke infertile Clare's heart by getting pregnant to Clare's husband. I wanted horrible things to happen to her just for being called Cressida without her complicating things by doing that.Anyway, apologies to anyone called Cressida, this book is not for me and has put me off reading anything else by this author (unless it comes free with something else, which has happened before).Anyway, as a final proof (if I needed any more) I gave this book to my sister in law about six months ago and today she gave it back because she didn't like it either. If she likes a book she usually steals it.
    • 2/5
      Pure fluff, unmemorable characters and loose writing.cp
    • 4/5
      Part of the "women's book club" genre. The women have all these shocking things happen to them and there is minimal discussion of the books (the thing that connects them is supposedly their book club). Entertaining, but not particularly memorable.
    • 3/5
      Slow to start, then it picked up.
    • 5/5
      Very good novel about the lives of the members of a reading group, their friends and families. Nicely organized with the cast of characters in the front (very very helpful at first!), with the theme of the month's book for each section. I only wished they discussed the books more, as I also did in my own short-lived reading group.
    • 4/5
      A group of women come together to talk about books and in the meantime find out about live and love, living through children, grandchildren, marriages, love, lust, divorce, childbirth and abortion. The dialogue about the books reflects real bookclub debates. Enjoyable.