The first year of the Los Angeles Times Book Club was eventful. Hundreds of Angelenos gathered monthly to hear from such bestselling authors as Susan Orlean, George Takei, Laila Lalami and Ronan Farrow. The discussions were meaningful, the questions were sharp and the conversation flowed.

Our book club embraces the idea of the community read — that when we all read the same book we have a common point of reference to start a discussion. We might have different opinions, but we can share the common experience of reading a meaningful book. Then we bring Times readers together to listen, talk and ask questions.

