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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.”

One of the pleasures of a book group is discussing books in person. Reading is wonderful, but it’s such a solitary experience. It still surprises me how many people do not read or talk about books. When I do live book events, I enjoy introducing people to books and authors with whom they are not familiar. I recently spent my vacation week reading. I would grab one of my pool floats and a book, and just read all day. One day I clocked six hours in the pool. I moved from float to float as I could sit differently in each one. I left my phone on the side of the pool; if my phone is around, I find myself grabbing it to look up random things that pop into my head. A recipe for dinner. A map of a place in a book. The weather for the rest of the week. Being untethered as I floated, it was truly the most relaxing time. To find out what I read, see last week’s Bookreporter.com newsletter here.