Category: In The Club

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

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This newsletter is sponsored by BookishFirst.

Be You. Be Bookish. Be BookishFirst.

Be the first to discover new books before they are published! Read excerpts, share your thoughts, earn points, and win FREE books. Get 500 points just for joining! Sign up at BookishFirst.com.

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Read like an ambassador: Condé Nast Traveler asked foreign ambassadors to the US to recommend one book to read before visiting their country, and here are the picks.
Book group bonus: if someone from your group has traveled to one of these places, read that one first and have them lead the discussion! Show and tell optional.

The stunt memoir is a real subgenre of memoir — and sometimes, the results are fascinating.
Book group bonus: have everyone share what their stunt memoir would be about.

Winter is still here but the Olympics are over, and here are some books to fill that void.
Book group bonus: Pair whichever book you pick with Youtube videos of a related event from the 2018 Winter Olympics! Extra bonus points for any viewings of Scott and Tessa.

Keeping up with the classics: In our never-ending quest to help bring more translated works to light, here are some modern classics in translation.
Book group bonus: Discussion of what makes something a true classic. I have never once failed to have a very interesting argument about this any time it comes up.

If you’re yearning for Spring, you might appreciate this round-up of books with “flowery” titles. (I love a good seasonal theme.)
Book group bonus: Any/all “Winter is coming” jokes.

Jazz hands! Here’s a must-read list of books for musical theater fans.
Book club bonus: Plan an outing to a theatrical production, or an at-home viewing, for your group — and, naturally, pair it with your book selection. Alternate idea: Everyone brings their favorite song from a musical to play for the group. (I wrote this one specifically for my good friend who hates musicals, sorry not sorry.)

Join the movement: This reading list for black liberation includes one of my recent favorites, Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper.
Book group bonus: There are many amazing podcasts by black creators, and Bustle has rounded up five. Assign one episode for listening and discussing alongside the book of your choice!

Get better acquainted with manga with this list of action and adventure titles by women.
Book group bonus: Follow up this discussion with the discussion of a graphic novel to compare and contrast the reading experience.

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.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Flatiron.

When five colleagues are forced to go on a corporate retreat in the wilderness, they reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking down the muddy path.

But one of the women doesn’t come out of the woods.

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Reading with Emma Watson: The latest pick for her Our Shared Shelf book club is Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot!

Get political: Want to really dig into some nonfiction with your group? Here are four books to get you started on international politics.

What books would Roxane Gay take to a desert island? She told Vulture, lucky for us! My book club suggestion: pick one of these to read, and then have everyone else prepare their list of 10 for discussion at the next meeting.

Listen while you work: If y’all have also been bitten by the spring cleaning bug (I swear I have never done so much laundry as I did last week) Sharifah has some audiobook story suggestions to get you through it. For discussion: pair with your least favorite chore and then let the group know how it went.

Armchair travel alert: The Ides of March were last week, and Kristen put together a reading list in its honor, specifically books set in Rome.

Read Harder continues! It’s a very personal task, “Read an assigned book you hated/never finished,” but we’ve got suggestions nonetheless.

Mermaid or princess or both: Here’s a fun meeting idea. Step 1: read The Merry Spinster, by Mallory Ortberg (who recently announced their transition to Daniel). Step 2: Take this quiz. Step 3: Meet and discuss!

And here’s a nice interview with the leader of a YA-focused group that includes both teens and adults.

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.

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This newsletter is sponsored by All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg.

Who is Andrea Bern? When her dippy therapist asks the question, Andrea knows the right things to say: she’s a designer, a friend, a daughter, a sister. But it’s what she leaves unsaid—she’s alone, a drinker, a former artist, a shrieker in bed, captain of the sinking ship that is her flesh—that feels the most true. Everyone around her seems to have a different idea of what it means to be an adult, though. But when Andrea’s niece finally arrives, born with a heartbreaking ailment, the Bern family is forced to reexamine what really matters. Will this drive them together or tear them apart? Told in gut-wrenchingly honest, mordantly comic vignettes, All Grown Up is a breathtaking display of Jami Attenberg’s powers as a storyteller and a whip-smart examination of one woman’s life, lived entirely on her own terms.

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For Read Harder-ers: Essay anthology suggestions! Strong cosign for The Fire This Time, which is amazing and full of discussion fodder.

A prompt for a meeting: What was the first book to change your life? I can see this being not only a great discussion and an opportunity for everyone, even the habitual wallflowers, to share, but also a great way to build up your list of future reads.

For listener-readers: Here are Laura’s picks for perfect audiobooks. Listen and discuss!

It’s Women’s History month! And the NY Times has some book suggestions for you for women shaping literature today. (So less history and more contemporary, but work with me here.) As they acknowledge, this is just the tip of the iceberg, but it’s a good start!

Related: the Women’s Prize for Fiction (a.k.a the Bailey’s Prize, a.k.a. the Orange Prize) has released its 2018 longlist. Naomi Alderman’s The Power won last year, which was a win for genre fiction.

Reading the rainbow: The Mary Sue picked LGBTQ releases from February that are worth looking at. Several of them on my TBR, especially The Prince and the Dressmaker.

Have your cake and eat it too: Pick a romance novel and a dessert for your next group discussion, courtesy of these pairings from B&N! I cannot resist a good food theme.

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.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Finding Georgina by Colleen Faulkner.

What happens after you get what you’ve always wanted? In Colleen Faulkner’s thought-provoking and emotionally compelling novel, a mother is reunited with the daughter who was abducted as a toddler—only to face unexpected and painful challenges …

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The current big story in Book Club World: Barnes & Noble is starting one across their stores! It’ll be run by B&N booksellers and meet in-stores, and they’ll be having special content and promotion around them. The first pick is Meg Wolitzer’s The Female Persuasion, and I’ll be very interested to see what the next pick is like and if they’re sticking with hardcovers (which run counter to my sense of what format most book groups read in).

Almost as big: We’re starting a book club! It lives on Instagram it’s called Persist: A Feminist Book Club, and our first pick is Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud by Anne Helen Petersen. (And it’s a paperback!)

Speaking of Instagram Book Clubs: Reese Witherspoon has picked BR favorite The Widows of Malabar Hill for March!

Want something recent and overlooked? Here are 10 suggestions from writers, editors, and reviewers with books they feel could use more love, for the group that wants to read currently but is tired of bestseller lists.

Continuing in Read Harder suggestions: Genre books in translation! I cosign Invisible Planets, it’s an amazing anthology.

For completists and followers of O’Neal’s Razor: Here are some YA fantasy series that are either already done or will be finished in 2018. Enthusiastic cosign for the Nemesis series, Star-Touched Queen, and Wintersong! I do love a good duology, and there’s tons of world-building and character development to discuss.

For history buffs: Elisa put together a list of 10 books about the Cold War, including fiction and nonfiction. For my imaginary Page To Screen book club, we’d pair one of those with a viewing of the 2015 remake of The Man From UNCLE.

For horror enthusiasts: Horror manga, for the group that is not scared of the dark.

Sometimes, you just want to have feelings, and here are some comics that can help with that. Comics are a great choice if you want something quicker, and books that are heavy on feelings are always great discussion fodder.

Remember: you should enter our Instagram giveaway! We’re giving away $500 worth of gorgeous Penguin Clothbound classics.

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.

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This newsletter is sponsored by I Stop Somewhere by TE Carter.

Ellie Frias disappeared long before she vanished.

Tormented throughout middle school, Ellie begins her freshman year with a new look: she doesn’t need to be popular; she just needs to blend in with the wallpaper.

But when the unthinkable happens, Ellie finds herself trapped after a brutal assault. She wasn’t the first victim, and now she watches it happen again and again. She tries to hold on to her happier memories in order to get past the cold days, waiting for someone to find her.

The problem is, no one searches for a girl they never noticed in the first place.

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In Read Harder suggestions, we’ve got picks for a sci-fi novel with a female protagonist, by a female author.

What about one-sitting books? On it.

And here are some suggestions for a mystery by a person of color or LGBTQ author!

Speaking of mysteries, here are must-read suspense stories! And a reminder that we have a great podcast dedicated to the mystery/thriller genre, Read or Dead.

And why not one more: I dig this list of thrillers about families.

Why not spend a book group talking about how you read? Everyone approaches it differently; some of us keep TBRs on Amazon or Goodreads, some of us have spreadsheets, some of us have bullet journal spreads, some read as our moods dictate. I always love hearing about others’ approach to their unread stacks, and it might just help you refine your selection process!

For awards trackers: The PEN Awardwinners for 2018 have been announced, and there are some great book club titles on here, including the poetry collection Whereas and short story collection Sour Heart.

Looking for more Native authors to read? Author Elissa Washuta put together a great list in this Twitter thread, and PW compiled 10 essential novels for us.

Last but certainly not least, in my humble pop-culture opinion: Here are the books you could read if you want to do an America’s Next Top Model theme for book club. (Please let me know if you do, so I can be jealous.)

Don’t forget! We’re running an amazing Instagram giveaway for $500 worth of Penguin Clothbound classics, and you should enter.

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.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Penguin Random House Audio.

Love is in the air when you play an audiobook. Find your perfect match for your next Galentines Day book club pick with some great listening suggestions. Get started at PenguinRandomHouseAudio.com/bookclub.

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Instagram giveaway alert! Want a shot at completing your classics collection? You could win $500 in clothbound Penguin Classics; may the odds be ever in your favor.

Get techy: What better place than book club to explore the many nuances of the tech world, and women’s role in it? Here are 5 books about women in tech (cosign on Reset by Ellen Pao, there’s a ton of discussion fodder in that).

For your Read Harder challenge: Our recommendation posts continue, this time with books about social science, and YA/MG series suggestions!

Speaking of YA: If you wanted to break away from Gone Girl comps but still love a good crime story, how about some YA thrillers? (Big fan of Liar over here.)

Speaking further of YA and relevant to those looking forward to the film adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, here are some mixed race YA heroines.

Who’s nostalgic for the 90s? (Raises hand.) Here are books for us! And Gabrielle Union’s We’re Going To Need More Wine is great for so many reasons in addition to hearing about the set of 10 Things — she’s not afraid to be messy and complicated on the page. Note: trigger warning for discussion of rape.

Dark books for the dark of winter: If you want to lean into the bleakness of February/March, we’ve got some picks for you — and in translation, no less.

Speaking of dark, you can get even more atmospheric with these gothic winter tales.

A new favorite and an interview: We’re all in love with new all-ages graphic novel The Prince and the Dressmaker, and Jen Wang sat down with us to talk about gender expression, fashion, illustration, and more. Interviews are one of my favorite discussion-starters for book club, especially with a book that might seem very simple on the surface!

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.

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This newsletter is sponsored by I’ll Stay by Karen Day.

How much do we owe the people we love?

In this compelling, emotionally complex novel, a college friendship sparks a life-changing sacrifice that connects two women forever–even as it shatters their closeness…

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It’s Black History Month! There are lots of classics you could read (Toni Morrison! James Baldwin!) but there are also lots of good new ones that should be on your radar. Here’s a round-up of new and upcoming books by black authors.

Pick your own winners: I read this piece about holding a Mock Caldecott (actual Caldecott winners and more for this year here), and now I want an annual Mock National Book Awards in my book group!

You could start right here: Casey has picked her five best audiobook narrators; you could nominate and roll your own Audie Awards in your club!

Looking for a love story (but not a romance)? It’s a category that can be hard to find, but we’ve got suggestions. Bonus idea: read a love story AND a romance, and compare/contrast them structurally!

‘Tis the nomination season: Here’s the Stella Prize longlist, which is for books by Australian women.

More short reads for a short month: LitHub rounded up short books by acclaimed authors, which is a great way to dive into contemporary classics.

I wish every series had this: Jamie put together a “previously on” post for Jane Harper’s The Dry, in case you forgot what happened and want to dive into Force of Nature!

Anyone else obsessed with the Olympics? Because we have recommended reads for you!

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.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Here We Lie by Paula Treick DeBoard, new from Park Row Books.

Megan Mazeros is a girl from a modest Midwest background, and Lauren Mabrey is the daughter of a senator from an esteemed New England family. Complete opposites on paper, the two become roommates at a private women’s college and forge a strong friendship. The summer before senior year, Megan joins Lauren’s family on their private island off the coast of Maine, as a last hurrah before graduation. But late one night something unspeakable tears their friendship apart. Many years later, Megan publicly comes forward about what happened, revealing a horrible, long-buried truth.

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The Read Harder recs continue! Here are suggestions for celebrity memoir and Oprah Book Club selections.

Speaking of Oprah: The latest Book Club pick is Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage 🎉.

Need some positive lit? Here are 10 books about overcoming the odds to inspire you and brighten your day/month/year.

Nature writing from the female perspective: This interview with Blair Braverman and Emily Ruskovich explores women’s nature writing, both nonfiction and fiction, and is a great discussion starter!

Downton Abbey book club! We’ve got a list of diverse reads for Downton Abbey fans, and this is a golden opportunity to discuss one of your favorite shows alongside a book that expands on its world and timeline. I want to do this yesterday.

For awards trackers: The PEN America Literary Award finalists have been announced, and it’s a hell of a list. The Debut Fiction category in particular is calling my name! The Bram Stoker nominees have also been announced, if horror is your group’s jam.

Get regional: Kelly put together a Latinx YA reading list, organized by country! It includes both fiction and nonfiction, and has a ton of great picks for a group 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.

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Here We Lie by by Paula Treick DeBoard, new from Park Row Books.

Megan Mazeros is a girl from a modest Midwest background, and Lauren Mabrey is the daughter of a senator from an esteemed New England family. Complete opposites on paper, the two become roommates at a private women’s college and forge a strong friendship. The summer before senior year, Megan joins Lauren’s family on their private island off the coast of Maine, as a last hurrah before graduation. But late one night something unspeakable tears their friendship apart. Many years later, Megan publicly comes forward about what happened, revealing a horrible, long-buried truth.

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And the nominees are: The National Book Critics Circle finalists for 2017 have been announced! If you like reading from award lists, and you want awards that include nonfiction, fiction, etc., then this list is one to check.

Need something quick and crime-filled? We’ve got some short mystery audiobook recommendations for your group.

What are colonial and post-colonial literature? We break it down for you in this Read Harder recommendations post.

Also for your Read Harder challenge: We’ve got suggestions for romances by/about POC!

And while we’re talking about romance, Lacey paired romances with The Good Place characters. What more do I need to say?

Page to screen and beyond: Call Me By Your Name has all of the buzz, both for the novel and the movie. You could build a book club around those two, but why not expand? We’ve got a reading list for after you’ve seen the movie.

Love unusual narrators? So does Rioter Steph, and here are some of her favorites. (May I add The Tusk That Did the Damage by Tania James, which is partially narrated by an elephant?)

How about some poetry? Here are a few collections that will broaden your expectations of what the medium can be like.

And speaking of poetry, here are some LGBTQ poets we believe are unmissable.

Last but not least, here’s a reminder that this is your last week to enter our library cart giveaway, in honor of our new library-focused newsletter Check Your Shelf.

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.

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This newsletter is sponsored by It Should Have Been You by Lynn Slaughter.

Living in her sister’s shadow has never been more dangerous.

Five months ago, Clara Seibert’s twin sister was murdered. Struggling under the weight of newfound and unwanted attention, the only thing that makes Clara feel normal is ghostwriting an advice column for her school’s newspaper—until she starts receiving threatening emails in her staff inbox.

“It should have been you…but soon.”

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Calling current (and/or aspiring) librarians! We’re giving away a library cart, in honor of our new library-focused newsletter Check Your Shelf, and you can enter here.

More Read Harder picks! Here are some recommended comics written or illustrated by a person of color.

For the mystery fans: The Edgar Award nominees have been announced, and it’s a bang-up list. The award categories cover a ton of ground including Best Novel, Best Fact Crime, Best Juvenile, and more, so whatever flavor of mystery your group is looking for, there are options here.

Got some parents in your group? We’ve got a Books About Parenting post that might have some good discussion fodder for you!

Want to read outside the lines? If your group isn’t tied to a genre, or would like to break out of it, we’ve got a list of books that break genre rules that has some REALLY GREAT BOOKS on it. I’ve been to book clubs for In Cold Blood, In The Woods, and Visit From the Goon Squad and can cosign. (I also really need a book group for Gnomon.)

Speaking of genres, want to read more hard sci-fi? If you’ve never had a group debate about the definitions of various kinds of sci-fi, let me tell you that that alone could fill an hour. Here’s a primer on hard sci-fi, complete with classic and contemporary picks.

Read like Mindy Kaling: Christy collected some of Mindy’s favorite reads from her Twitter/Instagram, you’re welcome. Discussion idea: pair one of these with one of her memoirs, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? or Why Not Me?, and see if you can’t find some through-lines or connections!

Read Latina: PW has an excellent post recommending Spanish-language female authors, many of whom might be completely new to you.

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