Book club titles for busy moms

My friend wrote me and asked:

Since I know you're in multiple book clubs and get to read books as part of your job description, I was wondering if you could recommend any titles for a new book club. This group will consist of moms who are looking for some adult conversation and mental stimulation (but also don't have an over-abundance of time). We are primarily interested in fiction, but an engaging non-fiction title would do. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Here are some suggestions for Kristin and my thoughts:

Title	Author	My thoughts
The Invention of Wings	Kidd, Sue Monk	Author of The Secret Life of Bees; about the Grimke sisters (abolition and female rights)
A History of the World in Six Glasses	Standage, Tom	A new favorite. Nonfiction. Maybe too serious for your group.
The Rosie Project	Simsion, Graeme	Lighthearted. Popular book today. Be sure to watch the Bill Gates video.
The Light Between Oceans	Steadman, M.L.	Pretty serious book. A decision that changes everything.
Whistling Season	Doig, Ivan	I love this book. About one-room school house. You would love this book, Kristin. Set in Montana in 1910.
Language of Flowers	Diffenbaugh, Vanessa	The gals in my club REALLY got in to this book. Based on the Victorian tradition of assigning meaning to different flowers.
Wild	Strayed, Cheryl	If everyone has seen the movie, skip this one, if not it is a good discussion book. Memoir.
Wonder	Palacio, RJ	A junior book. About acceptance and friendship.
Half Broke Horses:  A True Life Novel	Walls, Jeannette	Based on the life of Jeannette Walls grandmother. She was a character.
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt	Hoffman, Beth	If family fails you redefine family as those women who do love and accept you.
Paris Wife	McLain, Paula	A fictional account of Hemingway’s first wife; based on real events.
Physick Book of  Deliverance Dane	Howe, Katherine	Salem/Witches past and present. I enjoyed the look back at our history.
Sarah's Key	De Rosnay, Tatiana	Set in France during Nazi occupation. A shameful event in history that has just recently come to light. Shocking.
Still Alice	Genova, Lisa	If your group are all young moms this book might not speak to them the way it did in my group; about early onset Alzheimer.
Housekeeper and the Professor	Ogura, Yoko	The math professor has an 80 second memory the housekeeper has to reintroduce herself every day yet they forge a friendship. Short and lots to discuss. (I even learned a little math.)
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks	Skloot, Rebecca	I wouldn't start with this book but it is a treasure trove of information to discuss about medical ethics. Nonfiction.
Shanghai Girls	See, Lisa	Set in both Shanghai and in California. This would be an excellent book to start with; lots to discuss.
A Northern Light	Donnelly, Jennifer	YA; based on a real event from history; a mystery.
Esperanza Rising	Munoz, Pam	Junior; lots to discuss about cultural difference, migrant workers, poverty
City of Thieves	Benioff, David	Set in Russia during WWII about the siege of Leningrad; horrifying and yet humorous.
The Art of Racing in the Rain	Stein, Garth	Set in Seattle, narrator is a dog
The Shack	Young, William P.	If you have Christian gals in your group, do this book sometime. We loved it.
The Thirteenth Tale	Setterfield, Diane	A mystery with plenty of twists and turns.

Some of my favorite books aren't good book club selections because there is nothing to discuss or debate. The Rosie Project appeared to be one of those book but we did find quite a bit to discuss.

Have fun. Keep me posted.