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.

War and Peace
by Leo Tolstoy
Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

From the award-winning translators of ANNA KARENINA and THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV comes this magnificent new translation of Tolstoy's masterwork.

War and Peace broadly focuses on Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the most well-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men. As Napoleon's army invades, Tolstoy brilliantly follows characters from diverse backgrounds--peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiers--as they struggle with the problems unique to their era, their history, and their culture. And as the novel progresses, these characters transcend their specificity, becoming some of the most moving--and human--figures in world literature.

  • Visit the official Web site at www.warandpeace-book.com to submit yuor own questions to the translators and find exclusive resources, including a chapter summary, list of principal characters, expanded reading group guide, and much more.
  • Buy the book.

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



    • Musicophilia
    Tales of Music and the Brain
    Revised and Expanded
    by Oliver Sacks
    Author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER
    A Best Book of the Year:
    Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Financial Times

    "Powerful and compassionate.... A book that not only contributes to our understanding of the elusive magic of music but also illuminates the strange workings, and misfirings, of the human mind."
    --The New York Times

    Browse inside the book, watch video clips of the author discussing the book, read an excerpt print our free Reading Group Guide, and visit the author's Web site at www.oliversacks.com.
    Buy the book.

     


    Suite Française
    A Novel
    by Irène Némirovsky

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER

    "Stunning.... A tour de force."
    --The New York Times Book Review

    A Special Event:
    Irène Némirovsky and the Jewish Question
    Monday, December 8, 7 p.m. at the Museum of Jewish Heritage--A Living Memorial to the Holocaust

    Join a panel of literary critics and scholars for a fascinating discussion about the enigmatic and complex Irène Némirovsky, a novelist whose death in Auschwitz left behind not only an epic unfinished novel but heated controversies that continue to cast shadows over her life and work. Find out more about the event and the exhibit Woman of Letters at www.mjhnyc.org

    Online Resources available for Suite Française:
    Browse inside the book, read an excerpt, go Behind the Book to read from the preface to the French edition, and print our free Reading Group Guide.
    Buy the book.

     


    Going Hungry
    Writers on Desire, Self-Denial, and Overcoming Anorexia
    edited by Kate Taylor

    AN ANCHOR ORIGINAL

    "Revealing.... Lends remarkable texture to a subject that has been too often sensationalized and oversimplified."
    --The New York Times

    Browse inside the book, read an excerpt, browse the table of contents, and print our free Discussion Resources for nonfiction, and visit the official book site at www.goinghungry.com.
    Buy the book.

     


    The Tenth Muse
    My Life in Food
    by Judith Jones

    "Engrossing.... Lets you pull up a chair at the table where American gastronomic history took place."
    --O, The Oprah Magazine

    Browse inside the book, read an excerpt and an interview with the author, and print our free Discussion Resources for memoir.
    Buy the book.

     


    The Careful Use of Compliments
    An Isabel Dalhousie Novel
    by Alexander McCall Smith
    Bestselling author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER

    "Delightful.... McCall Smith's talent for dialog is matched only by his gift for characterization."
    --Chicago Tribune

    Browse inside the book, read an excerpt, check out Alexander McCall Smith's tour, print our free Reading Group Guide, and visit the author's official Web site at www.alexandermccallsmith.com to join the fan club and find out more about this and other books in the Isabel Dalhousie series.
    Buy the book.

     


    Brother, I'm Dying
    by Edwidge Danticat
    Bestselling author of The Dew Breaker

    NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER
    National Book Award Finalist

    "Remarkable.... A fierce, haunting book about exile and loss and family love."
    --The New York Times

    Browse inside the book, 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!

    Visit our Screening Room Web site to watch movie trailers, view movie art, and find out more.


    The Reader
    by Bernhard Schlink

    #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER
    A New York Times Notable Book

    "Moving, suggestive and ultimately hopeful.... Speaks straight to the heart."
    --The New York Times Book Review

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

    Enter the contest!
    Enter to win a trip to New York City to meet Bernhard Schlink. Find complete contest entry details and rules at www.thereader-movie.com/contest.

     


    Choke
    by Chuck Palahniuk
    Author of Fight Club

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER

    "Sheer, anarchic fierceness of imagination.... Raw and vital."
    --The New York Times

    Browse inside the book, read an excerpt, go Behind the Book to read the story behind Choke, watch the movie trailer, visit the official movie site at www.chokeonthis.net, and visit Chuck Palahniuk's Web site.
    Buy the book.

     


    The Dying Animal
    by Philip Roth
    Puliltzer Prize-winning author of American Pastoral

    The Inspiration for the Major Motion Picture ELEGY

    "A disturbing masterpiece."
    --The New York Review of Books

    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.

     

    		 
    On the Big Screen
    Check out the books that inspired the latest movies! Find out more at the Screening Room.

    Fan Club
    Join the official Alexander McCall Smith Fan Club.

    Mystery Lovers
    Click here for everything from classic crime to the latest in suspense from Black Lizard.

    Para lectores de español

    Award Winners:
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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.


    Read more. . .


    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.