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Great Books for Fall Discussions
You have been great with suggestions for book groups in the past. I have a new challenge for you. I had lunch with a publishing colleague yesterday. She told me her dad is in a book group; they are trying to decide what to read next and can use suggestions. They read books like Amor Towles' A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW and are looking for that kind of accessible fiction. I recommend BENEATH A SCARLET SKY by Mark Sullivan (the hardcover even has the discussion guide that we wrote in it), but we want to hear what YOU have to say. Shoot me a note at [email protected] with the subject line “Men’s Book Club.”
Also, one of our readers, Mark, wrote looking for a book group in the Detroit area. I recommended that he start by checking in with his local library and local bookseller for direction. Now, I am fully aware that “the Detroit area” is a large swath of territory, but if any of you are looking to add a member to your group, let me know and I can connect you with Mark.
Speaking of connecting at a library, I just added an event to my calendar for Sunday, November 4th at 2pm at the White Plains Public Library in Westchester, NY. It’s open to book groups and enthusiastic readers, so if you're interested, please make note of this. My events calendar is here. I already am scheduling events for 2019, beginning with one on Sunday, February 24th at the Bernardsville Public Library in NJ.
The schedules for the Morristown Festival of Books (I am moderating panels at 10am with Fiona Davis and Kate Quinn and 12:20pm with Kate Morton and Diane Chamberlain), the Boston Book Festival and the Brattleboro Literary Festival are up!
Sarah Jessica Parker has selected SHE WOULD BE KING by debut novelist Wayétu Moore (one of this year’s Book Expo buzz books) as her latest ALA Book Club Central Pick. According to Parker, "This novel dazzles with beauty and transcendent, transformative humanity. Through the stories of Gbessa, June Dey, and Norman Aragon, Wayétu Moore illuminates what it means to be of and from places that are both faraway and inescapably familiar. I treasured every moment I spent in the pages of this book, and I’m thrilled to be able to share it with all of you." We have a discussion guide for the book here and our Bookreporter.com review here, where our reviewer, Maya Gittelman, had this to say: "Composed and compelling, brimming with devastating truths and sparkling with ferocity, this is a masterpiece of a debut. Moore's voice is at once vibrantly original and steeped in lineage. She brings us a story, eloquently told, that will sit with its readers and sink into them."
I interviewed Wayétu at Book Expo. I asked her about the writing of magical realism as part of the story. She said that it was natural for her as it was much like the stories that she was told as a child. I knew little about Liberia until I read this book and learned so much about its people. Wayétu lives in the United States, but she owns a bookstore in Liberia and travels there a few times a year.
I am listening to Sarah Smarsh's HEARTLAND: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, which is on the longlist for the National Book Award, and I just finished THE MARS ROOM by Rachel Kusner, which is nominated for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. THE MARS ROOM is a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection, and HEARTLAND will be as well. Both look at people who are struggling in the lower to low middle class, and are so well done. While I have had the worst commute this week (the UN General Assembly meeting and pouring rain have wreaked havoc on driving), HEARTLAND has kept me listening.
Our special contest for IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS is still up and running. In her latest New York Times bestseller, Danielle Steel tells the story of two World War II concentration camp survivors, the life they build together, and the son who faces struggles of his own as a first generation American determined to be his own person and achieve success. We’re giving three groups the chance to win 12 copies of the book; all you have to do is fill out this form by Wednesday, October 10th at noon ET.
There’s also still time to enter our current “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest, where we’re awarding 12 paperback copies of IN THE MIDST OF WINTER to three winning groups. Isabel Allende’s sweeping novel, an instant New York Times bestseller, introduces readers to three very different people who are brought together in a mesmerizing story that journeys from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, October 10th at noon ET.
IN THE MIDST OF WINTER is the September pick for Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites program. Two members of the S&S team talked about their love of the book in a Facebook Live chat, and although Isabel was unable to join them, she did answer a number of questions from readers about the book, her writing process and much more. Click here for the discussion and to read Isabel’s replies. October’s pick, which was announced at the end of the discussion, is BEARTOWN by Fredrik Backman.
We are happy to be featuring the guide for THE 7½ DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE, which was a Debut Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight title on Bookreporter.com. Here’s the unique premise of Stuart Turton’s first novel: Evelyn Hardcastle will die. Every day until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others. Along with the discussion questions, be sure to check out our review of the book and interview with Stuart.
We’ve added five more guides to this update: THE SECRETS WE CARRIED, Mary McNear’s sixth Butternut Lake novel; the aforementioned HEARTLAND, Sarah Smarsh's eye-opening memoir of working-class poverty in the American Midwest; THE REAL LOLITA (a Bets On selection), in which Sarah Weinman uncovers how much Vladimir Nabokov knew of the 1948 abduction of 11-year-old Sally Horner and the efforts he took to disguise that knowledge during the process of writing and publishing LOLITA; THE GLASS OCEAN by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White (another Bets On pick), which revolves around the lives and loves of three remarkable women --- two in the past, one in the present --- and the tragic final voyage of the HMS Lusitania; and THE HATE U GIVE, the award-winning young adult novel by debut author Angie Thomas, which will be coming to the big screen on October 5th in select theaters and will go wide on the 19th.
As I mentioned in the last newsletter, I will be interviewing the authors of THE GLASS OCEAN (known as Team W) for Book Club Girls' Night Out on Wednesday, October 17th at 6:30pm at the HarperCollins offices in New York City. If you’re interested in attending, tickets are still available (though they’re going fast!); click here for all the details and to reserve your seats.
Also, Barnes & Noble will hold a Young Adult Book Club discussion of THE HATE U GIVE in select stores next Thursday, October 4th at 7pm. A limited number of tickets to a free screening of the film will be given out to attendees from the discussion group, while supplies last. You can sign up here to see if your store is participating, or ask at your local B&N store. Take a look at the trailer for the film based on the book here.
Another book-to-screen adaptation that I am looking forward to is Beautiful Boy, which releases on October 12th and stars Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet. It is based on the memoirs BEAUTIFUL BOY: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff and TWEAK: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by David's son, Nic Sheff. Click here to watch the trailer.
What is the genre of the book that you are currently reading with your group? That continues to be our poll question; let us know by clicking here.
Read on, and have a great book group discussion this month.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, ReadingGroupGuides.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!
Special Contest: Enter to Win 12 Copies of
IN HIS FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS
by Danielle Steel for Your Group
Danielle Steel's latest novel, IN HIS FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS, tells the story of two World War II concentration camp survivors, the life they build together, and the son who faces struggles of his own as a first-generation American determined to be his own person and achieve success. We are celebrating its recent release with a special contest that will giving three groups the chance to win 12 copies of the book. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, October 10th at noon ET.
IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS by Danielle Steel (Historical Fiction)
When U.S. troops occupy Germany, friends Jakob and Emmanuelle are saved from the terrible fate of so many in the camps. With the help of sponsors, they make their way to New York. In order not to be separated, they allow their friendship to blossom into love and marriage, and start a new life on the Lower East Side, working at grueling, poorly paid jobs.
Decades later, through talent, faith, fortune and relentless hard work, Jakob has achieved success in the diamond business, invested in real estate in New York, and shown his son, Max, that America is truly the land of opportunity. Max is a rising star, a graduate of Harvard with friends among the wealthiest, most ambitious families in the world. And while his parents were thrown together by chance, Max chooses a perfect bride to start the perfect American family.
An opulent society wedding. A honeymoon in Tahiti. A palatial home in Greenwich. Max’s lavish lifestyle is unimaginable to his cautious old-world father and mother. Max wants to follow his father’s example and make his own fortune. But after the birth of children, and with a failing marriage, he can no longer deny that his wife is not the woman he thought she was. Angry and afraid, Max must do what he has never done before: struggle, persevere, and learn what it means to truly walk in his father’s footsteps, while pursuing his own ideals and setting an example for his children.
Moving from the ashes of postwar Europe to the Lower East Side of New York to wealth, success and unlimited luxury, IN HIS FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS is a stirring tale of three generations of strong, courageous and loving people who pay their dues to achieve their goals.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
Click here to enter the contest.
"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Enter to Win 12 Copies of IN THE MIDST OF WINTER
by Isabel Allende for Your Group
Each month, we ask book groups to share the titles they are reading that month and rate them. From all entries, three winners will be selected, and each will win 12 copies of that month’s prize book for their group. Note: To be eligible to win, let us know the title of the book that YOUR book group is CURRENTLY reading, NOT the title we are giving away.
This month's prize book is the paperback edition of IN THE MIDST OF WINTER by Isabel Allende, a sweeping novel about three very different people who are brought together in a mesmerizing story that journeys from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, October 10th at noon ET.
IN THE MIDST OF WINTER by Isabel Allende (Fiction)
An instant New York Times bestseller, IN THE MIDST OF WINTER is about three very different people who are brought together in a mesmerizing story that offers “a timely message about immigration and the meaning of home” (People).
During the biggest Brooklyn snowstorm in living memory, Richard Bowmaster, a lonely university professor in his 60s, hits the car of Evelyn Ortega, a young undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, and what at first seems an inconvenience takes a more serious turn when Evelyn comes to his house, seeking help. At a loss, the professor asks his tenant, Lucia Maraz, a fellow academic from Chile, for her advice.
As these three lives intertwine, each will discover truths about how they have been shaped by the tragedies they witnessed, and Richard and Lucia will find unexpected, long-overdue love. Allende returns here to themes that have propelled some of her finest work: political injustice, the art of survival, and the essential nature of --- and our need for --- love.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here to enter the contest.
New Guide: THE 7½ DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE
by Stuart Turton
THE 7½ DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE by Stuart Turton (Historical Mystery/Thriller)
At a gala party thrown by her parents, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed. Again. She’s been murdered hundreds of times, and each day, Aiden Bishop is too late to save her. Doomed to repeat the same day over and over, Aiden’s only escape is to solve Evelyn Hardcastle’s murder and conquer the shadows of an enemy he struggles to even comprehend. But nothing and no one are quite what they seem.
Deeply atmospheric and ingeniously plotted, THE 7½ DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE is the most inventive debut of the year that twists together a mystery of such unexpected creativity it will leave readers guessing until the very last page.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read our interview with Stuart Turton.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE SECRETS WE CARRIED by Mary McNear
THE SECRETS WE CARRIED: A Butternut Lake Novel by Mary McNear (Fiction)
Quinn LaPointe grew up on beautiful Butternut Lake, safe, secure, sure of her future. But after a high school tragedy, she left for college and never looked back. Becoming a successful writer in Chicago, she worked to keep out the dark memories of an accident that upended her life. But now, after 10 years, she’s finally returned home.
Butternut is the same, and yet everything is changed. Gabriel Shipp, once her very best friend, doesn’t want anything to do with her. The charming guy she remembers is now brooding and withdrawn. Tanner Lightman, the seductive brother of her late boyfriend, wants her to stick around. Annika Bergstrom, an old classmate who once hated Quinn, is now friendly. Everyone, it seems, has a secret.
Determined to come to terms with the tragedy and rebuild old relationships, Quinn settles into Loon Bay Cabins, a rustic but cozy lakeside resort, where she begins writing down her memories of the year before the accident. Her journey though the past leads her to some surprising discoveries about the present. As secrets are revealed and a new love emerges, Quinn finds that understanding the past is the key to the future.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: HEARTLAND by Sarah Smarsh
HEARTLAND: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh (Memoir/Sociology)
During Sarah Smarsh’s turbulent childhood in Kansas in the 1980s and 1990s, the forces of cyclical poverty and the country’s changing economic policies solidified her family’s place among the working poor. By telling the story of her life and the lives of the people she loves, Smarsh challenges us to look more closely at the class divide in our country and examine the myths about people thought to be less because they earn less. Her personal history affirms the corrosive impact intergenerational poverty can have on individuals, families and communities, and she explores this idea as lived experience, metaphor and level of consciousness.
Smarsh was born a fifth-generation Kansas wheat farmer on her paternal side and the product of generations of teen mothers on her maternal side. Through her experiences growing up as the daughter of a dissatisfied young mother and raised predominantly by her grandmother on a farm 30 miles west of Wichita, we are given a unique and essential look into the lives of poor and working class Americans living in the heartland. Combining memoir with powerful analysis and cultural commentary, HEARTLAND is an uncompromising look at class, identity and the particular perils of having less in a country known for its excess.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE REAL LOLITA by Sarah Weinman
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE REAL LOLITA: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman (True Crime/History)
Vladimir Nabokov’s LOLITA is one of the most beloved and notorious novels of all time. And yet, very few of its readers know that the subject of the novel was inspired by a real-life case: the 1948 abduction of 11-year-old Sally Horner.
Weaving together suspenseful crime narrative, cultural and social history, and literary investigation, THE REAL LOLITA tells Sally Horner’s full story for the very first time. Drawing upon extensive investigations, legal documents, public records and interviews with remaining relatives, Sarah Weinman uncovers how much Nabokov knew of the Sally Horner case and the efforts he took to disguise that knowledge during the process of writing and publishing LOLITA.
Sally Horner’s story echoes the stories of countless girls and women who never had the chance to speak for themselves. By diving deeper in the publication history of LOLITA and restoring Sally to her rightful place in the lore of the novel’s creation, THE REAL LOLITA casts a new light on the dark inspiration for a modern classic.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE GLASS OCEAN
by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE GLASS OCEAN by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White (Historical Mystery)
May 2013
Her finances are in dire straits, and bestselling author Sarah Blake is struggling to find a big idea for her next book. Desperate, she breaks the one promise she made to her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother and opens an old chest that belonged to her great-grandfather, who died when the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1915. What she discovers there could change history. Sarah embarks on an ambitious journey to England to enlist the help of John Langford, a recently disgraced Member of Parliament whose family archives might contain the only key to the long-ago catastrophe.
April 1915
Southern belle Caroline Telfair Hochstetter’s marriage is in crisis. Her formerly attentive industrialist husband, Gilbert, has become remote, preoccupied with business, and something else that she can’t quite put a finger on. She’s hoping a trip to London in Lusitania’s lavish first-class accommodations will help them reconnect --- but she can’t ignore the spark she feels for her old friend, Robert Langford, who turns out to be on the same voyage. Feeling restless and longing for a different existence, Caroline is determined to stop being a bystander, and take charge of her own life.
Tessa Fairweather is traveling second-class on the Lusitania, returning home to Devon. Or at least, that’s her story. Tessa has never left the United States, and her English accent is a hasty fake. She’s really Tennessee Schaff, the daughter of a roving con man, and she can steal and forge just about anything. But she’s had enough. Her partner has promised that if they can pull off this one last heist aboard the Lusitania, they’ll finally leave the game behind. Tess desperately wants to believe that, but has the uneasy feeling there’s something about this job that isn’t as it seems.
As the Lusitania steams toward its fate, three women work against time to unravel a plot that will change the course of their own lives, and history itself.
- Click here to read Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas
Now a Major Motion Picture
THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas (Fiction)
The acclaimed, award-winning novel is now a major motion picture starring Amandla Stenberg, Russell Hornsby, Regina Hall, Anthony Mackie, Issa Rae and Common.
This hardcover edition features the movie poster art, full-color photos, and Angie Thomas in conversation with Amandla Stenberg and director George Tillman Jr.
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: What really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does --- or does not --- say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
And don't miss ON THE COME UP, Angie Thomas' powerful follow-up to THE HATE U GIVE, which releases on February 5, 2019.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to visit the official movie site.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New September Releases of Interest to Book Groups
Below are a number of books releasing in September for the first time (which we aren't currently featuring on the site) that we think will be of interest to book groups.
THE CLASS: A Life-Changing Teacher, His World-Changing Kids, and the Most Inventive Classroom in America by Heather Won Tesoriero (Science/Education)
THE CLASS documents an unforgettable year in the life of a visionary high school science teacher and his award-winning students, as they try to get into college, land a date for the prom…and possibly change the world.
A FORGOTTEN PLACE: A Bess Crawford Mystery by Charles Todd (Historical Mystery)
Though the Great War has ended, battlefield nurse Bess Crawford finds herself caught in deadly circumstances on a remote Welsh headland in this 10th entry of Charles Todd’s bestselling historical mystery series.
HIPPIE by Paulo Coelho (Fiction)
Drawing on the rich experience of his own life, Paulo Coelho takes us back in time to relive the dreams of a generation that longed for peace and dared to challenge the established social order. In HIPPIE, he tells the story of a young Brazilian man, Paulo, and Karla, a Dutch woman in her 20s, who share a journey of self-discovery aboard the Magic Bus, as it travels from Amsterdam to Kathmandu in 1970.
KATERINA by James Frey (Fiction)
KATERINA is a sweeping love story alternating between 1992 Paris and Los Angeles in 2018. At its center are a young writer and a young model on the verge of fame --- both reckless, impulsive, addicted and deeply in love. Twenty-five years later, the writer is rich, famous and numb, and he wants to drive his car into a tree, when he receives an anonymous message that draws him back to the life, and possibly the love, he abandoned years prior.
TRANSCRIPTION by Kate Atkinson (Historical Fiction)
In 1940, 18-year-old Juliet Armstrong is reluctantly recruited into the world of espionage. Ten years later, now a radio producer at the BBC, Juliet is unexpectedly confronted by figures from her past and finds herself once more under threat. A bill of reckoning is due, and she finally begins to realize that there is no action without consequence.
WASHINGTON BLACK by Esi Edugyan (Historical Fiction)
George Washington Black, or "Wash," an 11-year-old field slave on a Barbados sugar plantation, is terrified to be chosen by his master's brother as his manservant. To his surprise, the eccentric Christopher Wilde turns out to be a naturalist, explorer, inventor and abolitionist. But when a man is killed and a bounty is placed on Wash's head, Christopher and Wash must abandon everything.
Recent Bookreporter.com Bets On Selections
THE DINNER LIST by Rebecca Serle (Fiction)
One of the oft-asked questions is “What five people would you invite to a dinner party?”
For Sabrina, in THE DINNER LIST by Rebecca Serle, she arrives at dinner on her 30th birthday to find her best friend, her estranged father, her college professor, her former boyfriend of nearly a decade, and Audrey Hepburn. Why those five guests? Each has something to share with Sabrina that will bring insight to her life on this milestone birthday. They are gathered together for one dinner --- and one dinner only, which will end at midnight --- so in these few hours, many stories will be told, truths will be uncovered, coincidences will be rewound, and Sabrina will make sense of so many things that she never quite understood.
- Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
LAKE SUCCESS by Gary Shteyngart (Fiction/Humor)
In Gary Shteyngart’s LAKE SUCCESS, hedge-fund manager Barry Cohen is coping --- well, actually he is not coping well at all --- with an SEC investigation and his three-year-old son Shiva’s diagnosis of autism. So what does he do? He flees town. But he does not take a private jet, helicopter or Maserati like his typical bros might. No, he jumps on a Greyhound bus after disposing of not just his black American Express card, but all of his credit cards. He also trashes his cell phone. He is a man with a plan --- to track down his college sweetheart and a time when life was simpler, leaving behind his wife, Seema, who is smart and wise (there is a difference).
- Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
THE MARS ROOM Audiobook written and read by Rachel Kushner (Fiction)
I listened to THE MARS ROOM by Rachel Kushner, which is also narrated by her. The print copy had been on my shelf for a while, so I was happy to have an opportunity to listen to it on audio, a medium that has allowed me to augment my reading time. In fact, I think the book was even more powerful to me for having listened to it.
- Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.
- Click here to read a review of the hardcover on Bookreporter.com.
THE REAL LOLITA: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman (True Crime/History)
I confess that I do not remember reading LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov, though I know I did at some point. That took nothing away from my reading Sarah Weinman’s THE REAL LOLITA. I have long respected Sarah as a journalist, and I know her reporting and interviews are always thought-provoking and in-depth. So when I read this book to interview her for the Author Buzz panel at BookExpo, I knew I was in for both strong storytelling and a no-holds-barred investigation in this true-crime work.
- Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
THE GLASS OCEAN by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White (Historical Mystery)
If you read a book about the Lusitania, you can be pretty sure that at least one plotline is not going to have a happy ending. That said, I can imagine some very happy times when three bestselling authors --- Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White --- got together to plot and write THE GLASS OCEAN. Each wrote a section, and they are not sharing who wrote which, so it will be up to you to figure it out, should you so desire.
- Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
Click here for more books we're betting you'll love.
Bookreporter.com's
Fall Preview Contests and Feature
Fall is known as the biggest season of the year for books. The titles that release during this latter part of the year often become holiday gifts, and many are blockbusters. To celebrate the arrival of fall, we are spotlighting a number of outstanding books that we know people will be talking about in the days and months to come.
We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days in September and October, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
Enter Our Ongoing Bookreporter.com Contests:
"Word of Mouth" and "Sounding Off on Audio"
We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
THE 7½ DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE by Stuart Turton (Historical Mystery/Thriller)
What happens when you mix an Agatha Christie-esque mystery with a Groundhog Day loop, then add a dash of "Quantum Leap"?
CAN DEMOCRACY WORK?: A Short History of a Radical Idea, from Ancient Athens to Our World by James Miller (Political Science/History)
In CAN DEMOCRACY WORK?, James Miller traces the lively, surprising saga of democratic aspirations, beginning with self-rule in ancient Athens and proceeding through bloody uprisings and mob rule in Europe and the evolution of Jeffersonian democracy.
THE GLASS OCEAN by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White (Historical Mystery)
From the New York Times bestselling authors of THE FORGOTTEN ROOM comes a captivating historical mystery, infused with romance, that links the lives of three women across a century --- two deep in the past, one in the present --- to the doomed passenger liner, RMS Lusitania.
THE GOLDEN STATE by Lydia Kiesling (Fiction)
THE GOLDEN STATE is a gorgeous, raw debut novel about a young woman braving the ups and downs of motherhood in a fractured America.
THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas (Fiction)
THE HATE U GIVE is a groundbreaking, thought-provoking debut novel inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, about a teen girl who is the only witness to her friend's fatal shooting by a police officer.
HEARTLAND: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh (Memoir/Sociology)
Combining memoir with powerful analysis and cultural commentary, HEARTLAND is an uncompromising look at class, identity and the particular perils of having less in a country known for its excess.
IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS by Danielle Steel (Historical Fiction)
Bestselling author Danielle Steel tells the story of two World War II concentration camp survivors, the life they build together, and the son who faces struggles of his own as a first-generation American determined to be his own person and achieve success.
MEMENTO PARK by Mark Sarvas (Fiction)
A son learns more about his father than he ever could have imagined when a mysterious piece of art is unexpectedly restored to him.
THE PIRANHAS: The Boy Bosses of Naples written by Roberto Saviano, translated by Antony Shugaar (Crime Fiction)
Set in Naples, Italy, THE PIRANHAS is the saga of a city under the rule of a criminal network, and the Neapolitan boys who create their own gang.
THE REAL LOLITA: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman (True Crime/History)
Very few readers know that the subject of Vladimir Nabokov’s LOLITA was inspired by a real-life case: the 1948 abduction of 11-year-old Sally Horner. Weaving together suspenseful crime narrative, cultural and social history, and literary investigation, THE REAL LOLITA tells Sally Horner’s full story for the very first time.
THE SECRETS WE CARRIED: A Butternut Lake Novel by Mary McNear (Fiction)
A young woman travels home to Butternut Lake, confronting her past and the tragedy she and her friends have silently carried with them for over a decade while also facing an unknown future.
SEVERANCE by Ling Ma (Post-Apocalyptic Satire)
Maybe it’s the end of the world, but not for Candace Chen, a millennial, first-generation American and office drone meandering her way into adulthood in Ling Ma’s offbeat, wryly funny, apocalyptic satire, SEVERANCE.
SHE WOULD BE KING by Wayétu Moore (Historical Fiction/Magicial Realism)
Wayétu Moore’s powerful debut novel --- Sarah Jessica Parker's newest ALA Book Club Central pick --- reimagines the dramatic story of Liberia’s early years through three unforgettable characters who share an uncommon bond.
THE STYLIST by Rosie Nixon (Fiction)
Get ready to meet Amber Green! Rosie Nixon's debut novel follows a young woman who is thrown into the fast-paced world of fashion and glamour, and must navigate the treacherous Hollywood red carpets, while finding a fairytale love of her own.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
A HUNDRED SMALL LESSONS by Ashley Hay (Fiction)
A HUNDRED SMALL LESSONS is a journey through the memories of two women from two different generations, who inhabit the same house and each discover what it means to be a mother, a wife and a woman.
IN THE MIDST OF WINTER by Isabel Allende (Fiction)
An instant New York Times bestseller, IN THE MIDST OF WINTER is about three very different people who are brought together in a mesmerizing story that offers “a timely message about immigration and the meaning of home” (People).
This Month's Poll:
The Genre of Your Latest Book Group Selection
What is the genre of the book that you are currently reading with your group? Please check all that apply.
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Autobiography/Memoir
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Biography
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Current Events
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General Fiction
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Historical Fiction
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History
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Literary Fiction
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Mystery
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Politics
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Romance
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Science Fiction/Fantasy
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Suspense/Thriller
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Women’s Fiction
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Other (Please specify)
Click here to vote in the poll by Wednesday, October 10th at noon ET.
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