I was disappointed in that it wasn't so much about the books read by th group as it was about the personal lives of the readers. Not more than three pages, if that, were allocated to discussing the selection of the month. The purpose the reading group served was these people as a group would not have gotten to know each otherwise. Perhaps that is the value of belonging to a group. Again I am interested in learning viewpoints of others rather than in forming relationships. The bigger disappoint ment was that all readers ended the year happily. Not Real! ( )

Five British women -- all with a host of individual problems, lifestyles and family dynamics -- meet once a month for a reading group, where they discuss books ranging from Nora Ephron's Heartburn to Paulo Coehlo's The Alchemist. Though each friend begins the novel in one particular place in her life, by the end of The Reading Group, it seems as if absolutely no one ended up where they began. And that's probably a good thing.

This is a long book -- a long and complicated book. Harriet, Nicole, Polly, Clare and Susan are five women dealing with difficult issues -- infidelity, an aging parent, divorce, pregnancy, etc. -- but they turn to each other for guidance and support. Though it took me an easy 200 pages to be able to get everyone's storylines straight and to have a keen grasp on everything that was unraveling, once I did, I was very absorbed in this one!

What I loved about a book called The Reading Group was that it actually discussed the reading group. The characters talked about the books they were reading -- one chapter for each month of the reading club -- and talked about the plot, the themes and the "morals" of the story, if you will. Unlike Karen Joy Fowler's The Jane Austen Book Club, which I found very disappointing, we actually get a glimpse of the books the characters are perusing each month. Yes, this novel is less about the books and more about the individuals reading them, but I needed to know what they were reading! I wasn't disappointed about that.

And I did feel quite a bit for the characters . . . whether it was annoyance (Cressida), sympathy (Susan), anger (Harriet), and so on, I didn't feel cold and indifferent to everyone's plights. That's the immediate making of a three or four star book for me! But I have to admit that by the end of The Reading Group, I felt a sense of relief -- my own problems could never compare to the trials of these ladies! Overall, a swift and enjoyable read -- though a bit emotionally draining. Make sure you have some time to sit with this one. ( )

I found this to be a difficult book to get into - but I had the same problem with another book of Noble's (Alphabet Weekends) and that turned out to be good - so I persevered with this one. It was way past my normal 50 page limit before I started to enjoy it.

The main problem for me was that there were too many characters for me to keep track of. I will really have to start having a notebook beside me when I read, so I can record who is who. I understand some copies have a character list in the front - but mine didn't. none of the characters really stood out for me, and none of them really developed as a person. I lost the plot of some of the characters on more than one occasion as I got confused who was having what drama.

Basically the plot is this: five women get together to form a reading group, they form friendships that support them through the rough times, which they all have, and help them celebrate their successes, which not many of them have.

The novel is divided into twelve sections, one for each month that the reading group meets. At the start of each section is a summary of the book the group will discuss.

It turned out to be an OK read - once I cottoned on to who was who and what their problem was. ( )

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. ( )

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! ( )