Category: In The Club

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

This feels like the right time to confess that every time I type the words “in the club,” I most definitely start rapping my very own remix of what was once a college party anthem:

You can find me in the club… of books so there’s no snubs
Look buddy I got the blurbs if you’re into bookish plugs
I’m into reading ARCs from the big and the indie pubs…

What’s that? I’m a loser? Right. Let’s get back to bookish things.

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Amazon Deals.

Save the best read for last. Finish your summer reading list with titles as low as $0.99.

---

Don’t forget to enter to win 16 of the awesome books featured on the Recommended podcast!  Enter here to win by August 31.

Library Love… Lots and Lots of Love: According to a survey by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, people visited public libraries more than a billion times in 2015. Yes folks: billion, as in 1,000,000,000 reasons why that Stupid McStupidface suggestion that Amazon should replace public libraries can go suck it.

• Book Club Bonus: If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere with multiple libraries within a reasonable distance, plan a library tour as a fun field trip (I totes did this on my own one day and had a total nerd blast). Explore each library’s reading/study rooms, outdoor spaces, and maybe find a good spot to hold your next meeting. If you come across a Friends of the Library book sale, maybe make a game of hunting for your next club read there.
• Related: If you should so happen to find any live snakes at your local library… eek. Thoughts and prayers.

Love Wins, Bitches! And Bookstores Too. In a feel-good update to a story of shitty people being shitty, over 500 booklovers showed up in a display of solidarity to support Bookmarks Bookshop, a socialist bookstore in London that was recently attacked by a group of crazies. 

• Book Club Bonus: If you usually (or just occasionally) buy your book club reads and want to do a little good with your purchase, consider getting your books from your favorite progressive, socially conscious indie (or discover a new one!). The store may already have a book club of their own going that your group can tack onto. The indie where I work offers a month-long discount on our current book club pick and will even offer a small discount to book clubs who want to place a bulk order for picks of their own.

Space Force: Nah. Astronomy: Yes! So that Space Force thing can pound sand. You know what doesn’t suck though? Science. If you too are on the side of science and looking to learn more about astronomy, I salute you. Get into some space science with this list of books on the subject for beginners. Also, I hope 45 steps barefoot on tiny LEGOs.

• Book Club Bonus: Gather your book club for an evening of stargazing! Discuss the most interesting facts you came across in your reading, or maybe draw up a quiz of fun astronomical facts, myths, etc. to test your club’s knowledge. Then stare up at the sky (an adult beverage might be nice here, just saying) and try to pinpoint a few constellations. Kudos if you have access to a telescope invitemepleasepleaseplease.

Rock Your Bookshelf: Justin Timberlake took to Instagram last week to announce the upcoming release of his book Hindsight: & All the Things I Can’t See in Front of Me. It’s a collection of pictures and stories from his life and I won’t lie: I’m into it. This Señorita is ready to bring SexyBack and you can Cry Me a River if you’ve got a problem I’M SORRY I CAN’T HELP MYSELF.

• Book Club Bonus: There are so many fantastic memoirs, biographies and autobiographies by and about music and musicians, so why not go for a music-themed book club? Pick a musician or musical genre that piques your interest and use related music as the soundtrack for your club meeting. I think it would be super interesting to listen with a new understanding of the music’s origin and historical context.
• Related: This list of fiction and non-fiction books about music will get you started.

So You Never Got Your Hogwarts Letter. I feel you, fam. It still stings. But how cool would it be to take a college course that uses Harry Potter to teach its curriculum? I’d take that consolation prize.

• Book Club Bonus: I heart the idea of crafting a curriculum around a book. Have everyone in your book group come to your club prepared to discuss what creative course they’d teach around the plot of your club pick.

---

That’s it for today, clubgoers. If you want to be friendly on the innanets, you can find me on el Twitter @buenosdiazsd or on the gram @buenosdiazsd. Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com if you have any feedback or just to say hola.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends. Till next time!

Vanessa

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

First things first — I’m not Jenn! My name is Vanessa and I will be taking over this here newsletter. I’ve been writing for Book Riot for just shy of a year and am super jazzed to be the new bouncer of this club. Get it? Because clubs have bouncers. No? I’m sorry, I’ll stop.

My goal is to help you all be your most bad & bookish selves with inspiration for all of your book club endeavors. Get ready for awful book puns and a pretty solid chance that I’ll lapse into Spanish from time to time. You’ve been warned: prepárense.

Let’s get to it!

---

We’re giving away 16 of the books featured on Recommended! Click here, or on the image below to enter:

---

It’s Giveaway Time! How’d you like to be the proud owner of 16 awesome books featured on the Recommended podcast? Enter here to win by August 31.

Also — if you’re not listening to Recommended yet, porque??? Get your life together and give it a listen.

Hunt for Hidden Gems: Big, buzzy books are awesome, but I love discovering reads that have flown under the radar. This list of the best books you’ve never heard of is precisely that sort of awesomeness. It’s book treasure!

• Book Club Bonus: Make your next book club pick a read none or few of your club goers have heard of. Start with our list, or pick the brain of your local librarian or bookseller. Yours truly is one of the latter and I love matching customers up with the books they aren’t looking for.
• Related: This Twitter thread by Rebecca Makkai is another amaze-balls reading list of titles that haven’t gotten their due.

Are You There, Film Gods? In news that made me slow-clap unabashedly in the middle of a coffee shop, Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret might be adapted for the big screen. Anyone else crying nerd tears like me right now?

• Book Club Bonus: Go for throwback book club theme and pick a favorite childhood read. Chat about the ways the book was formative for you as a young reader, or even how it’s contents may now be problematic. (Spoiler: many of our faves are).

Adaptation Nation: Dios mio! The adaptation news train has been a-rollin’ steady all year and this week is no different. The Kiss Quotient, Parable of the Sower and Shrill are just some of the titles to be picked up recently. We’ve got especially emphatic Muppet arms for one adaptation in particular: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by BR contributor Karina Yan Glaser will be adapted by Amy Poehler!

• Book Club Bonus: Pick a book with an upcoming adaptation and have each group member make a list of their dream cast. My BFFs and I once did this for The Girl on the Train and it was so much fun to see how differently, and sometimes similarly, we envisioned each of the characters.

10 Minutes with Andy Weir: One of our Rioters recently got the chance to interview Andy Weir at Comic Con!

• Book Club Bonus: Reading about Weir’s different approaches to writing The Martian versus Artemis got me thinking that it would be fun to start a compare-and-contrast book club. Pick a few titles from an author’s repertoire and split them up between your book clubbers, then get together to chat about common themes, dissimilarities, growth and progression, etc.

Sweet, Sweet Fantasy Baby: Why yes, I am unnaturally obsessed with that Mariah Carey jam. But I digress! If you’ve been looking for some more inclusivity in your fantasy reading, this list of 50 must-read LGBT fantasies spans everything from epic/high fantasy to urban fantasy and everything in between.

• Book Club Bonus: What favorite fantasy reads would you love to see reimagined with an LGBT romance? Have everyone come up with at least one book they would remix and why.

A Little Shelf Care: In today’s No Shit, Sherlock revelation, Barnes & Noble says sales of books related to anxiety are up significantly compared to a year ago. *makes “duh” face in Spanish*

• Book Club Bonus: Introduce a self-care theme into your next book group gathering: light some candles, slap on a face mask and pamper thyselves whilst you talk about books and feelings. If books specifically about anxiety aren’t your bag, indulge in some escapist fiction. Oh, and bring wine. Or whiskey. Or both! Live your best life.
• Related: this Tweet:

---

Thanks for hanging with me today! If you want to be friendly on the innanets, you can find me on el Twitter @buenosdiazsd or on the gram @buenosdiazsd. Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com if you have any feedback or just to say hola.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends. Till next time!

Vanessa

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

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

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Epic Reads.

Jennifer Gilmore deftly explores the role that chance and choice play in shaping the lives of two teenagers separated by sixteen years, but whose lives are intertwined.

BEFORE: When Bridget imagined her life at sixteen, it didn’t look like this. She didn’t think that her boyfriend would dump her for another girl. And she certainly didn’t think that she would be pregnant.

AFTER: Ivy doesn’t know much about her birth mother. She knows that she is now the same age Bridget was when she placed Ivy for adoption. She knows that Bridget was the one who named her. And she knows that fifteen years ago Bridget disappeared from Ivy’s and her adoptive moms’ lives.

---

August is Women in Translation month, and there are a bunch of ways you can participate.
Book group bonus: This is where I give a shout-out to Basma Abdel Aziz’s The Queue, translated by Elisabeth Jaquette. It’s short, it’s beautifully written and translated, and there is a TON of fodder for discussion!

Book club field trip! There are many book adaptations coming to theaters near you this summer. Related: did you know it’s common for writers to adapt other writers’ works for the screen?
Book group bonus: It blows my mind that Faulkner co-wrote the screenplay for The Big Sleep with one of the writers of The Empire Strikes Back. If ever there was a wacky read-along/watch-along to do, it’s that.

Adventure time: If you’re looking to have some armchair hijinks, this list of adventure novels can help you out.
Book group bonus: You can learn a lot about a person from their ideal adventure. Jungle treks, cave spelunking, the Grand Canyon, space? Have each member spill the details on theirs.

Read more plays: I just finished a reread of Twelfth Night, since it was this summer’s Shakespeare in the Park in my neighborhood, and it reminded me how much I enjoy plays. This list of Arab plays that read like novels is therefore perfectly timed!
Book group bonus: I cannot recommend highly enough reading a play and then going to see it performed. Find something in your area and dive in.

Read like writers: Emily Temple crunched 68 interviews with authors about which books they recommend, and tallied the top results.
Book group bonus: Here’s where I pitch our podcast Recommended, which is 100% interesting book people and authors talking about their own favorite books. You could have a lot of fun doing a read-along, and seeing how your group’s opinions match up to the recommender!

Simon and Schuster wants to help you out with book club — they’re hosting a bunch of discussions in various places online.
Book group bonus: Does your group ever read along with online programs? It might be an interesting thing to add to the mix — or to talk about why you don’t want to.

Gender is a spectrum, and if you’d like to read more authors who identify as non-binary then we’ve got a list for you!
Book group bonus: Here’s a piece from NatGeo outlining some of the recent science and cultural studies about gender; it’s a good starter-read for discussion.

And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations (including the occasional book club question!) you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

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

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

---

We’re giving away $500 of the year’s best YA! Click here, or on the image below to enter:

---

The highest rated books on Goodreads have been tabulated! Using a range of criteria, Tasha crunched the numbers and came up with a list of 20 of the best rated titles. It’s a really fascinating list, and could definitely be useful in book club selection.
Book group bonus: Do your members use Goodreads? Do they rate titles? Do they pay attention to others’ ratings when selecting a book? How legit is the five-star system for ratings? I could go on and on, and I bet your group can too.

The Man Booker longlist has been announced! It’s one of the biggest prizes in the literary world, and this year has an interesting mix.
Book group bonus: If you were going to pick just one of the listed titles to read as a group, I’d go with Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (out Sept. 18 in the US), which I’ve been hearing amazing things about, or perhaps Sabrina by Nick Drnaso, which is the first ever graphic novel pick. You could also do your own reading bracket and see what book your group picks for the winner, vs. whatever the judges decide!

Just need a good laugh? We’ve got recommendations both for print and audio.
Book group bonus: Biggest of cosigns on Tara Clancy, Allie Brosh, and Samantha Irby. I’ve always wanted to do Hyperbole and a Half with a group — it’s an amazing memoir. It’s funny (the pet sections, OMG), heart-breakingly insightful about depression, and a graphic memoir in a very particular style, and that’s a fascinating combination to look at.

Speaking of graphics and lit! Do you love hockey? We have comics for you.
Book group bonus: Plan ahead! Hockey season is October through April, so you’ve got plenty of time to pick a GN (may I recommend Check, Please) and then decide on a game to attend with your club.

Here’s a musical I didn’t see coming: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is in development for a stage musical.
Book group bonus: Summer/early fall is the perfect time for a fun YA reread and rewatch. How does the movie stand up to the book? How would you turn it into a musical? Or do you object to the very notion? Discuss!

And speaking of YA: We talk a lot about YA crossovers these days, both in terms of YA books that adults read and adult books that teens are interested in. Here’s a post of recommendations for anyone who wishes their adult fiction felt like their YA favorites.
Book group bonus: For the readers in your club who love both adult and YA: do you look for different reading experiences from these categories? For those who only read one or the other: why/why not?

For those planning a Spooktober read, the NY Times asked a bunch of writers what books scared them — and the answers are gold.
Book group bonus: I will not be reading any of these books, thank you very much (I am a horror lightweight), but a brave group might do a read-along of one of these pairings.

And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations (including the occasional book club question!) you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

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

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

---

Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Book Riot Insiders.

Wishlist upcoming releases you’re dying to read. Get exclusive podcasts and newsletters. Enter to win swag. Do it all when you join Insiders. And you can get a free 14-day trial to the Novel level when you subscribe now!

---

Need more go-to book club questions? Here are some options!

I’ve come to love celebrity memoirs, possibly because so many interesting celebrities are writing them. If you’ve also been bitten by the bug — or just want a good starting point, here are some coming out this fall to have on your radar.
Book group bonus: Pair with a viewing of interviews or a performance by the celeb in question! How well does their page-presence match with their screen presence?

What is the difference between hardboiled and noir? Megan Abbott has some opinions!
Book group bonus: There are a lot of fascinating bits in this interview; no matter which book of Abbott’s you might pick to read, it’s a great addition.

Controversy strikes! The woman who helped create the Richard and Judy Book Club has called them out on their new relationship with WH Smith.
Book group bonus: There are layers and layers of paid promotion in publishing. How much does it matter to the readers in your group whether a recommendation is “supported” by dollars from the publisher?

Read like Francine Prose: She picked five classics as personal favorites, ones you may or not be surprised by.
Book group bonus: Her newest book, What to Read and Why, is a book club discussion starter and potential guide in and of itself.

More poetry! Ever since I signed up for the Pome Tinyletter, I’ve found it a much more accessible medium. Here are some Native American poets to add to your group’s TBR the next time you’re ready to tackle some poetry.
Book group bonus: Here’s where I pitch you Bojan Luis, whose work I adore.

Looking for #ownvoices reads? We’ve got a list of transgender fiction by transgender authors!
Book group bonus: Here’s an exercise for your meeting. Go over the last however-many group-selected reads. How many of them are about a specific community and written by someone from that community? For example, Celeste Ng is Asian-American and writes about an Asian-American family in Everything I Never Told You; Friend (With Benefits) Zone by Laura Brown has deaf/hard of hearing protagonists and is by a HoH author. Use your results as an opportunity to think about who and what you might read next!

Related: This piece by Jordy Rosenberg is a thoughtful and interesting discussion of what it means for a work of fiction to be trans lit.

Listen while you work (or do the dishes, or whatever): Here’s a round-up of great sci-fi and fantasy audiobooks for your listening and discussing pleasure!
Book group bonus: This would be a fun opportunity to compare an author-read audiobook (e.g. Half-Resurrection Blues) with a narrator-read audio (e.g. The Goblin Emperor).

And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations (including the occasional book club question!) you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

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

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

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Flatiron Books and If You See Me Don’t Say Hi by Neel Patel.

A Vanity Fair Ultimate Fiction Pick for summer and a bookseller favorite, If You See Me Don’t Say Hi is a modern story collection that Behold the Dreamers author Imbolo Mbue calls “a joy to read, reminiscent of Jhumpa Lahiri and David Ebershoff.”

---

Let’s start a dinner club! This post about fiction related to food has me both hungry and ready to read.
Book group bonus: I grew up wanting to eat all the woodland animal foods in the Redwall books (sugared violets!) so this would 100% be an excuse for me to finally get The Redwall Cookbook. Plus, reading middle-grade books in the summertime is always a nice way to give your brain a break.

The Golden Booker has been chosen, and the winner is Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient.
Book group bonus: You could do a (re)read, but there’s also a lot of interesting discussion to be had about the whole Golden Booker program, the judge selections, and the public voting!

What is gothic fiction? (As opposed to goth fiction, which is definitely separate.)  We have answers and suggestions!
Book group bonus: I would like to add The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff to this list as well, and submit it for your consideration — it has a ton of great plot points to discuss.

Get crafty: Got crafters in your group, and/or people interested in learning? Here’s a round-up of crochet books!
Book group bonus: The best Easter I ever spent was in the company of several bookish friends learning how to cross-stitch, so I highly recommend doing some form of “learning to craft” meeting, crochet or otherwise!

Related to last week’s playlist link, here are 50 must-reads about music.
Book group bonus: Combine these ideas! For example: read Toni Morrison’s Jazz and have everyone come ready with a favorite jazz song to play for the group.

From the headlines: Here’s a round-up of all our posts on books around immigration and the immigrant experience (there are a lot).
Book group bonus: In case you’re wanting to read timely/politically relevant books, which I bet many of you are.

Want more takes on the best books of 2018 so far? Here are the picks from EW, and here are the bestsellers from Publishers Weekly.
Book group bonus: Do a compare and contrast between these and Book Riot‘s, or any other’s you’ve come across. Double bonus: What’s on your group’s best-of list so far?

And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations (including the occasional book club question!) you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

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

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

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Portrait of a Sister by Laura Bradford.

Two Amish sisters, who made vastly different choices in life, are forced to come together after the death of their mother. One sister has chosen the Amish life, while the other enjoys the freedoms of an “English” lifestyle. National bestselling author Laura Bradford delivers a poignant novel of what it means to be torn between two worlds, the duty of family, and the desires of one’s own heart.

---

Announcing our latest giveaway! Want to win $500 worth of this year’s best YA books (so far)? You can enter right here.

Speaking of best: Our Best Books of 2018 So Far is live!
Book group bonus: Which of these has your group read? Which are on your list? Which will you add?

The Tonight Show is starting a book club, and the first pick is Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone!
Book group bonus: This is a great example of how book group voting can work on a large scale; Fallon originally picked 5 books and let his audience choose. If you’ve never done a book group vote, there’s no time like the present!

Put all this sunshine to good use: Susie picked the top beach reads of 2018.
Book group bonus: Poll your club for their top beach reads and then plan a trip to the beach with a book swap!

Let’s talk about neurodiversity! Jaime put together 50 must-reads across both fiction and nonfiction.
Book group bonus: If you want to tick two boxes with one read, Talia Hibbert’s A Girl Like Her is not only an #ownvoices novel about a woman on the autism spectrum, it’s a lovely feminist romance with a ton of fodder for discussion. Traditional male and female roles, relationship dynamics, family dynamics, small-town situations, it’s really got it all.

And speaking of how brains work, June was Brain Awareness Month and I forgot I was sitting on this round-up.
Book group bonus: The adaptation of Brain on Fire is now on Netflix, so you could do a great Page-to-Screen discussion for this one!

Does your summer reading have a playlist? Thanks to this post, I’m now inspired to make one.
Book group bonus: This would be a fun exercise both to do as a group and to do separately and then discuss! Plus you get to argue about what your book group’s theme song would be. And then maybe stage a slow-motion walk towards a camera while playing it. (What, y’all don’t do that?)

Spotlight on: Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro

I first met Mark at LeakyCon (before it was GeekyCon), and was so impressed with his humor and thoughtfulness as he spoke on various panels. And then I fell down the rabbithole of Mark Reads, which is one of the most interesting interactive fan projects I’ve had the pleasure to see. Then he came to Book Riot Live, both years! So to say that I was excited when his debut novel came out was an understatement — and then I read it.

I could summarize it for you, but I’ll let Mark do that with this great video. You can immediately see why I think it will make a great book club pick — there’s so much to talk about both within the novel itself, and in terms of the connections Mark is drawing to what’s going on in the present-day United States. And to help you out a bit more with discussion points, here’s an interview with Mark from Book Riot.

Mark mentions in the interview that he originally conceived the novel as sci-fi. We didn’t get that (and I can see why he changed it), but we did get a short sci-fi story Mark wrote as part of the Future Tense project. Using that as a writing sample, you could talk about his style with sci-fi verses contemporary fiction as well.

And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations (including the occasional book club question!) you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

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

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

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Those Other Women by Nicola Moriarty.

Nicola Moriarty weaves another stunning domestic novel in this story of working women whose Facebook group, designed to forge a connection and solidarity among childless women, quickly descends into something much more sinister when one of the members starts leaking secrets. Those Other Women is a story of privilege, unspoken rivalries, and small acts of vengeance with huge repercussions.

---

Cheese club! Here’s a round-up of five books about cheese, to which I would like to add The Telling Room by Michael Paterniti.
Book group bonus: Obviously, you need the right cheese pairing depending on the book!

More Pride recs!
– LGBT Authors pick books to read during Pride month
– How about some LGBTQ YA?
– Prefer historical fiction? We’ve got 28 queer reads for you.
– For the audiobook fans, here are memoirs written AND read by their LGBTQ authors.
– And for those who want nonfiction, here are 50 must-reads about LGBTQ history.

The World Cup continues, and perhaps you would like read-alongs? Here are book recs organized by competing country!
Book group bonus: My new dream is to do a book group “bracket” during a World Cup, either with soccer-related books or with regional novel picks, with votes taken at each meeting to move the books along until there is an ultimate winner. Someone steal that please.

File under “highly anticipated”: Here are CrimeReads’ summer picks for mystery/thrillers.
Book group bonus: I am personally so excited to see Cara Black and Aya de Leon on there, if you’re looking for a particular place to start since 72 is A LOT.

Want something current? A Book Rioter rounded up 2018 books that she thinks are must-reads for book clubs.
Book group bonus: I love that this list has multiple genre options as well as nonfiction!

Page and screen alert: Some romances to pair with your Ocean’s 8 viewing.
Book group bonus: Whether or not you want to read a romance, a heist-focused book club pick is bound to be a fun one. And then you could plot your own imaginary heist! (Totally imaginary. Obviously. Ahem.)

Need shorter options? Here are some famous authors’ first published stories.
Book group bonus: If you’re nervous that discussing a short story won’t generate enough to talk about, you could do multiple stories for one meeting, or pair one of these author’s short stories with a novel you’ve already read, or plan to read.

And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations (including the occasional book club question!) you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

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

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

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Epic Reads and Mariam Sharma Hits the Road by Sheba Karim.

With the heartbreaking honesty of Julie Murphy’s Dumplin’ and the smart snark of When Dimple Met Rishi, this remarkable road-trip story is about questioning where you come from—and choosing the family that chooses you back.

The summer after her freshman year of college, Mariam is looking forward to hanging out with her best friends: irrepressible Ghazala and religious-but-closeted Umar.

But when a scandalous photo of Ghaz appears on a billboard, Mariam and Umar come up with a plan to rescue her from her furious parents. And what could be better than a spontaneous road trip down to New Orleans?

---

If you’ve been running a book group for a while, you likely already know these tips — but a reminder never hurts, and maybe your group is new!

Want to read romance but don’t want to carry around a cover with abs? Trisha has some recs for you!
Book group bonus: The covers of romances are definitely among the top reasons I personally don’t love to read physical copies in public — the looks you get on trains are something else. (Ebooks for the win!) Take a poll: for the readers in your group who resist romance, are covers part of the issue?

Go big or go home with this list of daring literary ladies!
Book group bonus: Follow up discussion of one of those titles with each member’s personal character kryptonite. What’s an instant-sell for your group?

Not all of us have destination vacations planned; for those of us sticking closer to home, here’s a reading list.
Book group bonus: As you’ll see, that list is very community-focused. Has your group ever done a community activity? If not, plan to attend one — or create one yourselves!

Page and screen alert! Here are books to pair nicely with your Killing Eve binge-watch.
Book group bonus: If this isn’t an opportunity to share your favorite “Single White Female” story (personal or otherwise!), I don’t know what is.

More Southern reads! Here’s a list of Southern writers that the curator believes you probably haven’t read.
Book group bonus: This is where I give an extra pitch for Long Division by Kiese Laymon; it’s a novel within a novel, written in a unique style, that’s begging for a group discussion.

Mystery is getting more inclusive, and here are the writers making it happen.
Book group bonus: Does your group track its reading stats? This might be a good opportunity to take a look at your track record and think about areas you could diversify more, including but certainly not limited to mystery.

Last call for the $500 gift card giveaway! It ends tomorrow, 6/21, so make sure you enter for your chance to win a gift card to the bookstore of your choice.

And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations (including the occasional book club question!) you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

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

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

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Kensington Publishing Corp and Firefly Cove by Davis Bunn.

Internationally bestselling author with more than 7 million novels in print, Davis Bunn welcomes readers to Miramar Bay, a special seaside town of hope and renewal, where even a man with a fatal heart defect can get a second chance at life and love.

---

Persist is back! Our next feminist book club pick is Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper, the discussion will run June 18 – July 9, and you can participate on Instagram!

Bolster your Pride month and/or general LGBTQ reading with the Lambda Award winners!
Book group bonus: I can personally vouch for Her Body and Other Parties and Autonomous, both of which are difficult and complicated reads — perfect for an in-depth discussion.

Related! Here’s a list of LGBTQ+ poets.
Book group bonus: When was the last time you picked a poetry book for discussion? How did it go? There’s an opportunity here for the poetry-shy and -resistant members to be in conversation with the poetry-fluent members of the group about what the medium means to them, what their struggles are, and different approaches for reading poetry.

And speaking of award winners, Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire has won this year’s Womens Prize For Fiction.
Book group bonus: You could get a lot of mileage out of the list of past winners as well.

Wedding season is in full swing, and we have a list for that.
Book group bonus: Not only do I feel like everyone has a favorite wedding novel, but I bet they also have a favorite wedding movie! Have a discussion focused around those, and/or add a screening. Related: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again will be in theaters in July.

Love history and Southern literature? Here are eight novels that combine them.
Book group bonus: This is a great opportunity to look through your previous picks and see what your geographic distribution is like. Do you tend to stick to certain areas? Why/why not?

Have you read a kids’ book lately? If not, here’s a great starting point: middle grade books about the immigrant experience.
Book group bonus: I’ve mentioned before how interesting it can be to see a certain issue handled in fiction for various target audiences, and this is a great one to dig into.

We’ve also got a list of books about the refugee experience, specifically in comic/graphic novel form.
Book group bonus: Same as above, except substitute format for target demo!

Here’s a reminder that our bookstore gift card giveaway is still open, and you can enter here to win a $500 gift card to the bookstore of your choice!

And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations (including the occasional book club question!) you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

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