From informal get-togethers with friends to groups at bookstores and chat rooms on the Internet, people everywhere are talking about books. Vintage and Anchor Books invite you to discover today's best selections for reading groups and access useful resources to facilitate your group discussion here at the Reading Group Center.

On Chesil Beach
by Ian McEwan
bestselling author of Atonement

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

In 1962, Florence and Edward celebrate their wedding in a hotel on the Dorset coast. Yet as they dine, the expectation of their marital duties weighs over them. And unbeknownst to both, the decisions they make this night will resonate throughout their lives. With exquisite prose, Ian McEwan creates in On Chesil Beach a story of lives transformed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken.

  • Read an excerpt.
  • Print our free Reading Group Guide.
  • Buy the book.

    (Featured Selections are updated monthly. For more information on upcoming selections, visit our Monthly Planner section.)




    • New England White
    A Novel
    by Stephen L. Carter
    author of the #1 bestseller The Emperor of Ocean Park

    "An absolute don't-miss...page-turning mystery."
    --The Plain Dealer

    Read an excerpt and an interview with the author, and print our free Reading Group Guide.
    Buy the book.

     



    Black & White
    A Novel
    by Dani Shapiro
    author of Family History

    "Spellbinding...provocative, hypnotic...spot-on authentic. A cool depiction of a mother and daughter's fraught and fiery relationship."
    --USA Today

    Read an excerpt and print our free Reading Group Guide.
    Buy the book.

     



    A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers
    A Novel
    by Xiaolu Guo

    "What makes this novel winsome is hearing the authentic voice of a young woman--bewildered, self-deprecating, funny, wise--as she navigates the world on her own."
    --USA Today

    Read an excerpt and an interview with the author, and print our free Reading Group Guide.
    Buy the book.

     



    The Great Man
    A Novel
    by Kate Christensen
    author of The Epicure's Lament

    PEN/Faulkner Award Winner

    "Mischievous...funny, astute.... As unexpectedly generous as it is entertaining.... Christensen is a witty observer of the art universe."
    --The New York Times

    Read an excerpt and an interview with the author, print our free Reading Group Guide, and visit the author's official Web site at katechristensenbooks.com for recipes from the book and more.
    Buy the book.

     



    The Big Girls
    A Novel
    by Susanna Moore
    bestselling author of In the Cut

    "Devastatingly accurate.... Engrossing and beautifully rendered."
    --The New York Times Book Review

    Read an excerpt and an interview with the author, and print our free Reading Group Guide.
    Buy the book.

     



    Divisadero
    A Novel
    by Michael Ondaatje
    bestselling author of The English Patient

    "Ravishing and intricate.... So unforgettable that it's hard, on finishing, not to turn back to the opening page and start all over."
    --Pico Iyer, The New York Review of Books

    Read an excerpt and an interview with the author, check out Michael Ondaatje's tour, and print our free Reading Group Guide.
    Buy the book.

     



    The Sirens of Baghdad
    A Novel
    by Yasmina Khadra
    author of
    The Swallows of Kabul and The Attack

    "Compelling.... Khadra brings us deep intot he hearts and minds of people living in unspeakable mental anguish."
    --Los Angeles Times

    Read an excerpt and print our free Reading Group Guide.
    Buy the book.

     



    The Rope Walk
    A Novel
    by Carrie Brown

    "Beautifully written.... Captures the dignity and grace of a young woman coming into knowledge of herself and the world."
    --Chicago Tribune

    Read an excerpt and print our free Reading Group Guide.
    Buy the book.

     


    Check out these great reads to share with your book club, then see the films in theaters or on DVD!

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    Fugitive Pieces
    by Anne Michaels

    #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
    A New York Times Notable Book
    Winner of the Lannan Literary Fiction Award
    Winner of the Guardian Fiction Award

    "Extraordinarily magical."
    --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

    Read an excerpt, print our free Reading Group Guide, watch the movie trailer, and visit the movie site to find out more.
    Buy the book.

     



    No Country for Old Men
    by Cormac McCarthy

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER

    "Profoundly disturbing and gorgeously rendered.... The most accessible of all his works."
    --The Washington Post

    Read an excerpt, print our free Reading Group Guide, watch the official movie trailer, and visit the movie site to find out more.
    Buy the book.

     



    Atonement
    by Ian McEwan

    "A tour de force.... Every bit as affecting as it is gripping."
    --The New York Times

    Read an excerpt, print our free Reading Group Guide, watch the official movie trailer, and visit the movie site to find out more.
    Buy the book.

     

    Into the Wild
    by Jon Krakauer

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER

    "Terrifying.... Eloquent....
    A heart-rending drama of human yearning."
    --The New York Times

    Read an excerpt, print our free Discussion Resources for Reading Groups, and visit the movie site to find out more.
    Buy the book.

     

    		 
    On the Big Screen
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    Reading Group Guides:
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    Or print our Discussion Resources to facilitate discussion no matter which book you choose.

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    • Find out about community-wide reading programs across the country.

    Bookseller materials including Anniversary promotion logos, merchandising ideas, special programs and events for reading group outreach.

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    From Sharon B. of Queensland, Australia:

    "We've been meeting once a month for about 6 years now and a few years ago the meeting seemed to lose something and conversation was no longer primarily about books. So I chose each person's name at random, they each have their own month and its their call. They choose the book, venue and how the meeting will run. I feel that this has given ownership back to each member, applied a tiny amount of pressure (which is healthy) and we never know how the meeting is going to pan out until we are there."
    Read more....

    What is your group up to? Share your novel ideas here.