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In The Club

In the Club April 5

Welcome back to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met and well-read.


This newsletter is sponsored by Cage Match.

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When is a book club not just a book club? When it’s an event. Publishers put together gala ticketed nights, libraries do speed-dating, sometimes an author shows up! Here are a few that caught my eye recently, in case you are looking for ideas and are feeling highly motivated:
– Simon & Schuster decided to do a full Book Club Matinee at the Ed Sullivan theatre! The actual fanciest.
– It might not technically be a book club, but back when I was a bookseller staffing the first one there were a ton of book club folks in attendance at Random House’s Open House.
– Libraries not only host book clubs, they sometimes host speed dating to help you decide what to read next! Lawrence Public Library’s includes mocktails.
Well Read Black Girl has both online and in-person components, and one time Naomi Jackson came to brunch.

Speaking of Well Read Black Girl! Founder Glory Edim recently gave Ebony Magazine a list of five books that celebrate black womanhood, and the list is aces. Her picks include YA, fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, so there is something for every group here.

Got themes? Here’s some fodder for your next pick meeting:
– Novels you can read in a day.
– Novels that will make you cry.

And now for this week’s Read Harder Challenge recommendations! Here are round-ups of themed lists for a couple tasks, plus a shout-out each to a personal favorite.

For: read a nonfiction book about technology.

You Are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier, which is cuckoo-banana-pants as well as highly thought-provoking, and my book club had an excellent time arguing about it.
The Best Books about Innovation, courtesy of the Smithsonian
– MIT’s Technology Review picks the best of 2016 (shout-out to Lab Girl!)
Forbes liked a lot of the same books, which tells you about what’s buzzy.

 

For: read a book about war.

– Shani Boianjiu’s The People of Forever Are Not Afraid is about both the drudgery and the violence of military service from a female perspective, and is a rare and fascinating read. Multiple narrators, strong voices, and a ton of discussion material.
48 Excellent World War II Novels, if you’re feeling historical
– Also historical: 100 Must-Reads about the Civil War
Canadian reads on war
Women who write about war

Read on, friends!

More Resources: 
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page