Read Across America: 11 Obscure Titles For Adventurous Book Clubs

Looking for your book club's next read? Don't waste your time with the hottest new titles -- half your club has already read 'em. Instead, try these 11 suggestions from Brad Bigelow, editor of The Neglected Book Page.

And if these 11 books aren't for you, try one of the hundreds of other titles on these 18 lists of Book Club Recommendations.

1 of 11

"The Lake" by George Moore

1 of 12

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

The Lake by George Moore The novelist Kay Boyle once said that throughout her life, this book gave her courage as an artist. The story of a frustrated priest trapped in a little Irish town, it's also a parable about the cost of settling for less and the rewards of taking a chance. Anyone who ever thought about living their life over should read this quietly powerful novel. -Brad Bigelow

The Queen and the U.S.A.: The Future of the Special Relationship

The Origins Of 7 Popular Slang Words

Self-Diagnosis Book: 11 Nasty Ailments You Might Have (PHOTOS)

The 10 Most Common Phobias (PHOTOS)

On the Resurgence of Occupy Wall Street: Five Must-Read Books

11 People You Don't Want To Be Friends With

The Lake by George Moore

The novelist Kay Boyle once said that throughout her life, this book gave her courage as an artist. The story of a frustrated priest trapped in a little Irish town, it's also a parable about the cost of settling for less and the rewards of taking a chance. Anyone who ever thought about living their life over should read this quietly powerful novel. -Brad Bigelow

comments(13)

Total comments: 13 | Post a Comment

1 of 12

This Pick

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

I'll pass on this one I'm using this for my book club!

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Top 5 Obscure Book Club Picks

loading...

Top 5 Obscure Book Club Picks

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

 

Follow Peter Steinberg on Twitter: www.twitter.com/flwbooks

Comments

[kareemachan]

11:22 AM on 03/04/2011

I'm not sure I'd call "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" all that obscure.

[John Dav]

01:43 PM on 03/04/2011

Or Wharton, or Zweig, or Auchincloss, or O'Hara. HuffPo isn't exactly an intellectual bunch. What do you expect?

[Jamie Larson]

11:00 AM on 03/16/2011

Yes, my college required it in a 100 level intro to lit class.

[namewithheld]

07:28 PM on 03/02/2011

Hmmm...I read a lot, and I have read zero of them.

[John Dav]

01:44 PM on 03/04/2011

Yeah, it's too bad the things you read, like Dan Brown and Stephen King, aren't on the list.

[zaglossus]

11:40 AM on 03/02/2011

Gee, I wish I had the time to read all these books the media keeps recommending.

[Super Nic]

10:53 AM on 03/02/2011

Thank you for this list! My book club doesn't do new releases, because not everyone wants to shell out money for a hardcover, and they're hard to get from the library depending on the book's popularity. I'm jotting some of these titles down as it's almost my time to pick the selection.

[The Revolving Diet]

10:40 AM on 03/02/2011

Great ideas....I listen to audio books while in my car and working out. I am always looking for new writers to explore...Thanks for info!!

[bjbold]

10:24 AM on 03/02/2011

This looks like a wonderful list! Thanks!

[luziannagirl]

09:56 AM on 03/02/2011

Why , thank you, HuffPo and Peter Steinberg!

These suggestions came in handy, since the demise of our favorite locally owned bookstore whose owner acted as our personal literary consultant.

I'm always searching for just the right reading material for hubby, who enjoys only certain types of what I call "manly" writing, but of the highest quality. Like, Jack London, Hemingway, Forrest Carter. Hard to find. Got some good-sounding titles to check out!

[Peter Steinberg]

10:32 AM on 03/02/2011

You're welcome, though really the thanks should go to Brad at The Neglected Books Page. Make sure to stop by his site and see all the great books he covers.

[eric14]

09:09 AM on 03/03/2011

Peter, Could we have neglected genre novels? Neglected sci-fi. thrillers. adventure yarns. Thanks for these.

[midwesthousewife]

12:57 PM on 03/02/2011

For your husband, has he ever read The Virginian by Owen Wister? The first western as we know it today. Wonderfully fun, and very wise, too, about cowboys in Wyoming, written over a hundred years ago. I just recommended it for my bookclub this month. I happen to prefer "manly" books, full of action--like the Horatio Hornblower series--so if your husband has any he'd recommend, I'd appreciate it.