Book Club Recommendations: The Most Popular Reads of 2008 from the Editors of Reading Group Guides

It gives a great impression of Nazi Germany without being preachy, condescending, or particularly depressing. And with Death as the Narrator and a voracious reader as the protagonist, what bookworm could resist?

I finished this last night and I cried like a baby (and books rarely generate that reaction from me). While it's geared to a toward a “tween” audience, I would recommend this to anyone.

Its ending is haunting: “And that’s the end of the story about Bruno and his family. Of course all this happened a long time ago and nothing like that could ever happen again. Not in this day and age.”

And yet, I thought, it does.

This is a book about how we make a difference, even when we're not looking; about how other ordinary people we never met make a difference in our lives. Just a little girl, half guessed through the smoke and the fire of war, a child with no name, no face, not even an outline. Or maybe a boy running across the street, gone again in less than a second. They can and do change lives.

Beautifully written, this version of Heaven has very little to do with religion, and very much to do with who we are inside, that person unknown often even to ourselves.

Atheist that I am, I enjoyed it thoroughly and recommend it to anyone who has a few hours to consider the impact they have in the world around them.

Such a beautiful but disturbing novel; the impact of this amazing book stayed with me long after I'd turned the last page.

Set in Afghanistan and America, this is the story of the intertwined lives of Hassan and Amir, from their close childhood friendship to adulthood, with some powerful twists and turns along the way.

Heart-wrenching, harrowing, poignant and moving — this is one of my top-ten all-time favourite books.

Overlook the insipid title and you'll be richly rewarded by the depth of this delightful novel set in Botswana. (Yes, Botswana!) Suffused with its culture and evocative of its searing climate, a marvelously adroit combination of detective cases and interpersonal relationships makes this book a great read.

A young girl grows up with an alcoholic father, brilliant, charismatic and destructive. Her mother, a free spirit, abhors domesticity and responsibility. It is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption within a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant.

This book gives us a beautiful glimpse into a period of history that is generally mentioned only in passing in the majority of classrooms. But even more lovely is the insight it gives us into the strength, beauty and tenacity of women and the enduring nature of their relationships.

Anna was conceived as a bone marrow donor for her older sister who has leukemia. After countless medical procedures with plans for her to donate one of her kidneys, Anna has had enough and sues her parents for medical emancipation. As you can imagine, there are all kinds of moral implications at play in this story.

Because this book had received rave reviews and was on the best sellers list for quite some time, I was delighted when I could finally set aside time to read it. The characters are well-developed and each has his or her own story that is interesting — not because the individual character is particularly compelling, but rather because their lives are much like those of anyone you might already know.

Although I very much enjoyed the book, I was disturbed by the unexpected, abrupt manner in which the book ended, particularly since this is not the first book that I've read by this author. That said, this element of surprise, even if it's unpleasant and rather abrupt, may be exactly what makes the book so appealing to some.

Following up to the critically acclaimed debut The Kite Runner, Hosseini paints a heart-wrenching portrait of the choices we have to make and asks the reader if they are willing to give up what they love for who they love. It's an excellent novel that deals with the facets of life that add color to our world.

I'd always wanted to be in the circus growing up. Reading this book made me feel like I was a part of the carnival life when such a life was perhaps the most difficult. This story made me fall in love with the circus all over again. This is a beautiful story with characters so well-developed, I found myself cheering out loud at every calamity that befalls the villain.

I read "The Space Between Us" because someone in book club recommended it to us. I was reluctant at first — I don't know why. Anyway, I was quickly drawn in by the characters, and fascinated with the vivid images of India. The story of an upper-class woman and her "help" trying to understand each other is riveting and kept me glued to the book until the last page. Now I'm on a bit of an India kick, reading "The Toss of a Lemon" by Padma Viswanathan.

Atwood insists on categorizing The Handmaid's Tale as speculative fiction as opposed to science fiction since she feels no technological breakthroughs are needed to make this story a reality. This book is a landmark in feminist dystopian literature and tackles the issue of religious fascism. However, I felt The Handmaid's Tale required a greater suspension of disbelief than other dystopian stories in this list. Nevertheless, Atwood raises a spectre that sticks in the mind.

This book was one of the most touching love stories I have ever read. You're swallowed, tossed around through time, and continually mindful of the impossibility and paradox of their love, but you hope for the best. Make sure you have a big box of tissues for this one, it will leave you in both smiles and tears.

When I was working at a volunteer operation in India I met a lovely librarian (doesn’t that just roll off the tongue?) named Heather who told me of all the thousands of books she’d ever read, this was her favorite. I can see why. Not only is this compelling writing with a strong narrative, it also sums up life in Mumbai in the 1970s more succinctly than any history book you could ever hope to read.