February 25, 2023

February 25, 2023

Love It When You Chime In…and My Debacle

My last newsletter, where I talked about how I read books wondering how they will resonate with my book group, definitely struck a chord. Here are some comments from readers.

Joyce wrote, “Yes, I do think about possible discussion choices while I’m reading, even though my club does not read typical choices --- rarely a bestseller, but frequently classics. This month we read THE CODE BREAKER by Walter Isaacson, which has heavy science and is a heavy book (over 500 pages). We have been together for many years, and all who have stuck with the club are perceptive readers and great at discussion. I told them recently that if I gave them a phone book, they would discuss it for an hour at least! Nevertheless I’m always looking and appreciate everything you do to bring books onto my ‘radar.’”

Beth wrote, “Since I began to facilitate a book club for fellow retirees, I absolutely think of every book I read as a possible choice for a future session. We select our books way ahead of time (we have our titles through July 2023) to give members plenty of time to fit the reading in with the rest of their lives! There are great books that aren’t book club choices for various reasons, and every book club has a certain personality.”

Muriel wrote, “Like you, when I read books I think about whether the book would be a good one for my book club and what topics might spin off from our discussion of the book.  Since I choose most of the books and my favorite genre is historical fiction, I have to be careful to find a balance in what I suggest. After one of the members commented that we were discussing too many books that contained sadness and tragedy, I decided I need to make sure I’m including books that are lighter in nature also.

“Another consideration with my group is availability of the book. I always check with the metro area online catalog to see how many library copies are available since some in the group prefer not to buy copies. Fortunately, there are many good selections to choose from, and it’s nice that libraries do furnish book club kits for many of the popular books. We’ve made use of those kits.

“As others have mentioned in the past, I appreciate the write-ups you do for Bookreporter. You give some great information about upcoming books. You are my main source for the books I later read, and I look forward to the newsletters each week.”

Rosemary wrote, “My friend and I lead a book club, and almost every book we read, we refer it to each other and ask: 'Wouldn't this be a good book club book?' It doesn't even matter if we like it or hate it...as long as it'll lead to a good discussion. We use the system of having a host each month who chooses the book and leads the discussion. We reside in a 55-and-over community, read constantly, and one of the few rules we impose is that no one can criticize a member for their pick. You can attack the book, but not the host! By the way, we range from late 50s to one member who is 94!"

In my version of “My Dog Ate My Homework: The Online Edition,” I pulled together all of your comments about online book clubs. I put them in one document for Tom, our Editorial Director, and I to review and saved it on my desktop. Then I spilled water on my desktop (which is the size of a small cigar box), just a teaspoonful as I grabbed a glass, but it quickly went poof and went to desktop heaven. I am going to go back through our “Bookaccino Live” chat to recreate the list. But I thought you could help out with this as well by filling out this form.

When we featured the guides that you accessed the most in 2022, we were asked to share the most popular titles from earlier years. The links to those lists (dating back to 2013) can be found on this page.

I also had the pleasure of chatting with Hank Phillippi Ryan about her new thriller, THE HOUSE GUEST, which is a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. Hank offers insight into her characters, Alyssa and Bree, and explains how she created the cat-and-mouse game in which they find themselves. As she wrote she upped the stakes, and we discuss how the last quarter of the book is full of one twist after another. And yes, how did she do that? Hank is a multi-Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter and also is known as a superb interviewer of mystery and thriller authors. I joke that it was a challenge to interview her as I have admired her moderating many an event and panel. We also talk about something that Hank does whenever she reads a book, a habit that readers definitely will have an opinion about. Click here to watch the video or here to listen to the podcast.

Last Chance to Enter Our Monthly Contest
You have until Wednesday, March 8th at noon ET to enter our current “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest. Three groups will win up to 12 copies of Allison Pataki’s national bestseller, THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST, a Bets On pick that is now in paperback. The aforementioned Fiona Davis has this to say about the book: “Allison Pataki takes the reader on a luxurious ride filled with jet-setting locales and opulent mansions, while deftly revealing how Marjorie Post’s humble beginnings fed her desire to become a new kind of heiress, forging her own way through the world and keenly aware of her legacy.”

Oprah’s latest Book Club pick is BITTERSWEET: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, a #1 New York Times bestseller that released last year. In her bestselling phenomenon QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain urged our society to cultivate space for the undervalued, indispensable introverts among us, thereby revealing an untapped power hidden in plain sight. Now she employs the same mix of research, storytelling and memoir to explore why we experience sorrow and longing, and how embracing the bittersweetness at the heart of life is the true path to creativity, connection and transcendence.

Oprah says, “This book has the power to transform the way you see your life and even the world. I have started to look at my own life in the world differently.” Susan writes, “If we realize that all humans know --- or will know --- loss and suffering, we can turn toward each other. We're never going to love or even like the bad things that happen to us, but the more we see it all as part of life, the more we can get to the richest form of happiness we can possibly know.”

Be sure to join Oprah, Susan and four Oprah's Book Club readers for a special discussion of the book and its themes on Thursday, March 9th at 7pm ET on OprahDaily.com. In the meantime, you can see the discussion guide here.

In stores now is I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU, Rebecca Makkai’s eagerly anticipated new novel. Her previous book, THE GREAT BELIEVERS, was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

Set at a New Hampshire boarding school, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU follows professor and podcaster Bodie Kane as she returns to her old boarding school and is pulled back into the investigation of the murder of her former roommate. As she reflects upon her teenage years spent as an outsider at the elite Granby School, new details in the case begin to emerge. Bodie wonders if, back in 1995, she knew something that might have held the key to solving the crime. Be sure to check out the guide here.

We also have added guides for these three books:

• THE WRITING RETREAT: Julia Bartz’s debut novel is the LibraryReads Top Pick for February. Exploring the dark side of female friendships and fame, this claustrophobic and propulsive thriller revolves around a young author whose time at an exclusive writer’s retreat descends into a nightmare.
   
• THE WOMAN WITH THE CURE: In 1940s and ’50s America, an invisible killer is on the loose: polio. No one’s life is untouched by this disease that kills or paralyzes its victims, particularly children. The man who can find a cure will be seen as a god. Enter Dr. Dorothy Hortsmann, whose remarkable story is retold in Lynn Cullen’s riveting new novel.
   
• A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS: In her breathtaking second novel, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ --- the celebrated author of STAY WITH ME --- shines her light on Nigeria, the gaping divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the shared humanity that lives in between.

I’m Betting You’ll Love…
THE HOUSE OF EVE by Sadeqa Johnson, which is February’s Reese’s Book Club selection and Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites pick, is my latest Bets On title. Click here for my commentary. Please keep in mind that Sadeqa will be joining members of the S&S team to talk about the book this Monday, February 27th at 1pm ET. Click here to RSVP. I am looking forward to chatting with Sadeqa soon for a “Bookreporter Talks To” interview, which we we plan to share with you in our next newsletter.

Announcing Bookreporter’s Spring Preview Contests
Yesterday we launched our 12th annual Spring Preview feature on Bookreporter. We will be spotlighting a number of new and upcoming releases that we think people will be talking about this spring --- and beyond. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these books on select days through mid-April; five readers will be awarded the book that we are giving away that day. You can sign up here for alerts so you will be notified as soon as these giveaways are up. The first contest will go live on Tuesday, March 7th at noon ET.

This is your last ReadingGroupGuides newsletter reminder to sign up for our upcoming “Bookaccino Live” preview event, which will take place on Wednesday, March 8th at 2pm ET. The focus will be on titles releasing between March 7th and April 4th, in addition to a few from May, that I would like to get on your radar. Click here to register. Those attending the live event will be asked to answer a survey about the books from the presentation that they are most interested in reading and will be eligible to win a prize.

My book group moved our February meeting to March; we all just had too much going on this month. There are so many books coming out in the next few months that look interesting to me. Once again, this is shaping up to be a great year of reading.

Have a fabulous discussion with your group!

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!

New Guide:
I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU
by Rebecca Makkai

I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU by Rebecca Makkai (Fiction)
A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past --- the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the murder of her former roommate, Thalia Keith, in the spring of their senior year. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia’s death and the conviction of the school’s athletic trainer, Omar Evans, are hotly debated online, Bodie prefers --- needs --- to let sleeping dogs lie. But when the Granby School invites her back to teach a course, Bodie is inexorably drawn to the case and its increasingly apparent flaws. In their rush to convict Omar, did the school and the police overlook other suspects? Is the real killer still out there?

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.

Click here for the discussion guide.

New Guide: BITTERSWEET by Susan Cain
Oprah’s Latest Book Club Pick

BITTERSWEET: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain (Psychology/Personal Growth)
With QUIET, Susan Cain urged our society to cultivate space for the undervalued, indispensable introverts among us, thereby revealing an un­tapped power hidden in plain sight. Now she em­ploys the same mix of research, storytelling and memoir to explore why we experience sorrow and longing, and how embracing the bittersweetness at the heart of life is the true path to creativity, con­nection and transcendence. Cain shows how a bittersweet state of mind is the quiet force that helps us transcend our personal and collective pain, whether from a death or breakup, addiction or illness. If we don’t acknowledge our own heartache, she says, we can end up inflicting it on others via abuse, domination or neglect. But if we realize that all humans know --- or will know --- loss and suffering, we can turn toward one another.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to see why the book is Oprah's latest Book Club pick.

Click here for the discussion guide.

"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Enter to Win Up to 12 Paperback Copies of
THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST
by Allison Pataki for Your Group

New Guide: THE WRITING RETREAT by Julia Bartz
A LibraryReads Top Pick for February

THE WRITING RETREAT by Julia Bartz (Psychological Thriller)
Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement. But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell --- they all must complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

Click here for the discussion guide.

New Guide: THE WOMAN WITH THE CURE by Lynn Cullen

THE WOMAN WITH THE CURE by Lynn Cullen (Historical Fiction)
In 1940s and ’50s America, polio is as dreaded as the atomic bomb. Some of the world’s best minds are engaged in the race to find a vaccine. The man who succeeds will be a god. But Dorothy Horstmann is not focused on beating her colleagues to the vaccine. She just wants the world to have a cure. Applying the same determination that lifted her from a humble background as the daughter of immigrants, to becoming a doctor, she hunts down the monster where it lurks: in the blood. This discovery of hers, and an error by a competitor, catapults her closest colleague to a lead in the race. When his chance to win comes on a worldwide scale, she is asked to sink or validate his vaccine --- and to decide what is forgivable, and how much should be sacrificed, in pursuit of the cure.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.

Click here for the discussion guide.

New Guide: A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS
by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (Fiction)
Eniola is tall for his age, a boy who looks like a man. Because his father has lost his job, Eniola spends his days running errands for the local tailor, collecting newspapers, begging when he must and dreaming of a big future. Wuraola is a golden girl, the perfect child of a wealthy family. Now an exhausted young doctor in her first year of practice, she is beloved by Kunle, the volatile son of an ascendant politician. When a local politician takes an interest in Eniola and sudden violence shatters a family party, Wuraola's and Eniola’s lives become intertwined. In A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ shines her light on Nigeria, the gaping divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the shared humanity that lives in between.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

Click here for the discussion guide.

New February Releases of Interest to Book Groups

Below are a number of books that released in February for the first time (which we aren't currently featuring on the site or in the newsletter) that we think will be of interest to book groups.

BLACK CANDLE WOMEN by Diane Marie Brown (Fiction)
This warm and wry family drama with a magical twist is about four generations of Black women, a family curse, and one very complicated year of heartache, miscommunication and learning to let go.

CODE NAME SAPPHIRE by Pam Jenoff (Historical Fiction)
A woman must rescue her cousin's family from a train bound for Auschwitz in this riveting tale of bravery and resistance from the bestselling author of THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS.

COLD PEOPLE by Tom Rob Smith (Dystopian Thriller/Science Fiction)
From the brilliant, bestselling author of CHILD 44 comes a suspenseful and fast-paced novel about an Antarctic colony of global apocalypse survivors seeking to reinvent civilization under the most extreme conditions imaginable.

THE DAUGHTERS OF MADURAI by Rajasree Variyar (Fiction)
THE DAUGHTERS OF MADURAI is both a page-turning mystery and a heartrending story of the fraught family dynamics and desperate choices that face a young mother in India.

DON'T FEAR THE REAPER by Stephen Graham Jones (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
On December 12, 2019, Jade returns to the rural lake town of Proofrock the same day as convicted Indigenous serial killer Dark Mill South escapes into town to complete his revenge killings, in this riveting sequel to MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW from New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones.

GO AS A RIVER by Shelley Read (Fiction)
Set amid Colorado’s wild beauty, GO AS A RIVER is a heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a resilient young woman whose life is changed forever by one chance encounter.

IT'S ONE OF US by J.T. Ellison (Psychological Thriller)
Everybody lies. Even the ones you think you know best of all. This twisting, emotionally layered thriller explores the lies we tell to keep a marriage together --- or break each other apart.

MAUREEN: A Harold Fry Novel by Rachel Joyce (Fiction)
Ten years ago, Harold Fry set off on a 600-mile walk to save a friend. But the story doesn’t end there. Now his wife, Maureen, has her own pilgrimage to make.

NEVER NEVER by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher (Romance/Mystery)
Colleen Hoover, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of IT STARTS WITH US, joins forces with Tarryn Fisher, the New York Times bestselling author of THE WIVES. Together, they have created a gripping, twisty, romantic mystery unlike any other.

ON THE SAVAGE SIDE by Tiffany McDaniel (Fiction)
Six women --- mothers, daughters, sisters --- gone missing. Inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six, this harrowing novel tells the story of two sisters, both of whom could be the next victims.

STARS IN AN ITALIAN SKY by Jill Santopolo (Historical Romance)
From the New York Times bestselling author of THE LIGHT WE LOST comes a sweeping story of two star-crossed lovers in post-World War II Italy, and a blossoming relationship generations later that will reveal a long-buried family secret.

WE SHOULD NOT BE FRIENDS: The Story of a Friendship by Will Schwalbe (Memoir)
From the bestselling author of THE END OF YOUR LIFE BOOK CLUB comes a warm, funny, irresistible book that follows an improbable and life-changing college friendship over the course of 40 years.

Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE HOUSE OF EVE by Sadeqa Johnson
Reese’s Book Club Selection and Simon & Schuster's
Book Club Favorites Pick for February

THE HOUSE OF EVE by Sadeqa Johnson (Historical Fiction)
A couple of years ago, Sadeqa Johnson wrote YELLOW WIFE, her first work of historical fiction, which I made a Bets On pick. Her writing of character, place and story was so well done --- and I loved interviewing her about her inspiration for the book. I looked forward to what she would do next…and wow, THE HOUSE OF EVE delivers again. While her previous novel took place during the days of slavery, her latest is set in the 1950s.

The inspiration for this book was personal for Sadeqa. Her grandmother was just 14 when she got pregnant with her mother. Until she was in the third grade, her mother never knew that the woman she thought of as her sister was actually her mother. It got Sadeqa to thinking about what that would have been like for a woman.

» THE HOUSE OF EVE is this month’s pick for Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites. On Monday, February 27th at 1pm ET, members of the S&S team will talk to Sadeqa Johnson about the book. Click here to sign up.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to visit the Reese's Book Club website.

Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.

Announcing Bookreporter.com's 12th Annual
Spring Preview Contests and Feature

Spring is in the air (or will be very soon)! We’ve already caught the fever --- and it’s being fueled by some wonderful new and upcoming releases. Our 12th annual Spring Preview Contests and Feature spotlights many of these picks, which we know people will be talking about over the next few months. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through mid-April. You will need to check the site to see the featured book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce each title, which you can sign up for here.

Our first prize book will be announced on Tuesday, March 7th at noon ET.

This year's contest titles include:

• THE GIFTS by Liz Hyder
• THE GOLDEN DOVES by Martha Hall Kelly
• THE LOST ENGLISH GIRL by Julia Kelly

Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.

From left to right: Emilia Hart, Rebecca Makkai, Julia Kelly

Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events

As many book and author events are still happening online these days, we are highlighting a number of them that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links below for more info and to register.

Every Monday night at 7:30pm ET: “Lisa Live!”: Join Lisa Scottoline every Monday night as she hosts her weekly “Talking LOYALTY” video series and Facebook Live events leading up to the publication of her historical novel, LOYALTY, on March 28th. And be sure to enter the LOYALTY Pre-order Sweepstakes!

Monday, February 27th at 1pm ET: Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites: Sadeqa Johnson will join members of the Simon & Schuster team to discuss her new novel, THE HOUSE OF EVE, which is February's pick for S&S's Book Club Favorites.

Monday, February 27th at 7pm ET: Books & Books, Midtown Scholar Bookstore, Prairie Lights Books, and Print: A Bookstore: Join award-winning author Rebecca Makkai for a virtual discussion of her new novel, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU. Makkai will be in conversation with actress and award-winning audiobook narrator Julia Whelan.

Wednesday, March 1st at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- will talk to Hank Phillippi Ryan about THE HOUSE GUEST and Jessica George about MAAME (the latter is February's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club pick).

Wednesday, March 1st at 8pm ET: "Bookaccino Live" Book Group: Carol Fitzgerald will talk to Fiona Davis about her novel, THE MAGNOLIA PALACE, which is now in paperback. Fiona also will answer questions from guests who will be "on stage," as well as from other members of the audience. If you would like to be one of our featured audience guests and ask Fiona a question on camera, please send Carol an email with the subject line “Magnolia” by Wednesday the 1st at noon ET. Please note: This event was rescheduled from February 22nd due to tech issues.

Tuesday, March 7th at 3pm ET: Warwick's: Warwick’s, in partnership with Book Carnival, Novel Neighbor, and Roundabout Books & Cafe, will host Emilia Hart as she discusses her debut novel, WEYWARD, with Abigail Dean. Hart has penned an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

Wednesday, March 8th at 2pm ET: "Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books": Carol Fitzgerald will present titles releasing between March 7th and April 4th, along with a few from May, that she would like to get on your radar.

Wednesday, March 8th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Jennifer Rosner and Julia Kelly about their latest historical novels, Rosner's ONCE WE WERE HOME and Kelly's THE LOST ENGLISH GIRL.

Thursday, March 9th at 8pm ET: Blue Willow Bookshop: Join Alice Winn in celebration of her book, IN MEMORIAM, a haunting, virtuosic debut novel about two young men who fall in love during World War I.

Saturday, March 11th at 1pm ET: Warwick's: Warwick's will host Julia Kelly as she discusses her new book, THE LOST ENGLISH GIRL, with Hazel Gaynor. The acclaimed author of THE LIGHT OVER LONDON has penned an epic saga of love, motherhood and betrayal set against World War II.

Tuesday, March 14th at 3:30pm ET: Barnes & Noble Book Club: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Paula Lichtarowicz for a live book club event to discuss THE SNOW HARE, February's B&N Book Club pick. She will be in conversation with Shannon DeVito, the Director of Category Management at B&N, and Miwa Messer, B&N’s Editorial Director.

"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts

“Bookreporter Talks To” is a video and podcast series that delivers a long-form, in-depth author interview every week. For years, Carol has moderated book festivals and author events around the country. But we know that readers often do not live where they can attend an author event. Our goal is to bring these author interviews to readers, wherever they may be. Watch on video, or listen as a podcast. (The podcasts include audio excerpts.)

Here are our latest interviews:

• J.T. Ellison (IT'S ONE OF US) Video | Podcast
• Hank Phillippi Ryan (THE HOUSE GUEST) Video | Podcast

Other authors we've interviewed include:

• Alli Frank and Asha Youmans (NEVER MEANT TO MEET YOU) Video | Podcast
• Bonnie Garmus (LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY) Video | Podcast
• Allegra Goodman (SAM) Video | Podcast
• Jane Harper (EXILES) Video | Podcast
• Jamie Fiore Higgins (BULLY MARKET: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs) Video | Podcast
• Jennifer Hillier (THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK) Video | Podcast
• Sally Koslow (THE REAL MRS. TOBIAS) Video | Podcast
• Lynda Cohen Loigman (THE MATCHMAKER'S GIFT) Video | Podcast
• Clare Mackintosh (THE LAST PARTY) Video | Podcast
• Meg Mitchell Moore (VACATIONLAND) Video | Podcast
• Deborah Goodrich Royce (REEF ROAD) Video | Podcast
• Katie Runde (THE SHORE) Video | Podcast
• Dani Shapiro (SIGNAL FIRES) Video | Podcast
• Casey Sherman (HELLTOWN: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod)
  Video | Podcast
• Thrity Umrigar (HONOR) Video | Podcast

Upcoming interviews include:

• Sadeqa Johnson (THE HOUSE OF EVE)
• William Kent Krueger (THE LEVEE)
• Susan Patterson and Susan DiLallo (THINGS I WISH I TOLD MY MOTHER)
• Shelley Read (GO AS A RIVER)

Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.

Our Latest Guides

We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

BITTERSWEET: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain (Psychology/Personal Growth)
Sadness is your superpower. In her new masterpiece, the author of the bestselling phenomenon QUIET explores the power of the bittersweet personality, revealing a misunderstood side of mental health and creativity while offering a roadmap to facing grief in order to live life to the fullest.

THE HOUSE OF EVE by Sadeqa Johnson (Historical Fiction)
From the award-winning author of YELLOW WIFE comes a daring, beautiful and redemptive novel that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal.

I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU by Rebecca Makkai (Fiction)
Award-winning author Rebecca Makkai has crafted her most irresistible novel yet: a stirring investigation into collective memory and a deeply felt examination of one woman’s reckoning with her past, with a transfixing mystery at its heart.

MAAME by Jessica George (Fiction)
Smart, funny and deeply affecting, Jessica George's MAAME deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism, to female pleasure, the complexity of love and the life-saving power of friendship.

RIVER SING ME HOME by Eleanor Shearer (Historical Fiction)
Rare. Moving. Powerful. This beautiful, page-turning and redemptive story of a mother’s gripping journey across the Caribbean to find her stolen children in the aftermath of slavery is a remarkable debut.

THE SNOW HARE by Paula Lichtarowicz (Historical Fiction)
In Paula Lichtarowicz's novel of love and consequences, a woman dreams of becoming a doctor until World War II leads her instead into an astonishing love --- and a fateful choice.

SOMEONE ELSE'S SHOES by Jojo Moyes (Fiction)
A story of mix-ups, mess-ups and making the most of second chances, this is the new novel from Jojo Moyes, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ME BEFORE YOU and THE GIVER OF STARS.

A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (Fiction)
A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS is a dazzling story of modern Nigeria and two families caught in the riptides of wealth, power, romantic obsession and political corruption, from the celebrated author of STAY WITH ME.

THE WOMAN WITH THE CURE by Lynn Cullen (Historical Fiction)
She gave up everything --- and changed the world. From the bestselling author of MRS. POE comes a riveting novel based on the true story of the woman who stopped a pandemic.

THE WRITING RETREAT by Julia Bartz (Psychological Thriller)
THE PLOT meets PLEASE JOIN US in this psychological suspense debut about a young author at an exclusive writer’s retreat that descends into a nightmare.

Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:

CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson (History/Sociology)
The Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling author of THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.

FRENCH BRAID by Anne Tyler (Fiction)
From beloved Pulitzer Prize–winning author Anne Tyler comes a funny, joyful and brilliantly perceptive journey deep into one Baltimore family’s foibles --- from a boyfriend with a red Chevy in the 1950s up to a longed-for reunion with a grandchild in our pandemic present.

THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST by Allison Pataki (Historical Fiction)
From the New York Times bestselling author of SISI comes an epic reimagining of the remarkable life of Marjorie Merriweather Post, the American heiress and trailblazing leader of the 20th century.

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