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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Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Unbound Worlds!

Build your library with a collection of classic science fiction and fantasy novels from Unbound Worlds! Fall is in full swing, and it’s the perfect time to cozy up with some classics. Unbound Worlds is giving away thirty-two books from timeless sci-fi and fantasy authors like Philip K. Dick, T.H. White, Anne McCaffrey, and Samuel R. Delaney, plus some bookish swag from Out of Print! Enter for a chance to win.

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Want to win $500 towards the bookstore of your choice? Of course you do!

Put some books in your books: novels about novelists writing a novel, a list. You might think this would be all literary fiction, but you’d be wrong! There’s a lot of range here, and a lot of potential.

The Women’s National Book Association has some picks for you! They’ve selected their favorite great group reads from 2017, with book clubs specifically in mind. If your group does hardcovers, there are a lot of amazing books to consider.

The more you know — about retellings, that is! Barnes & Noble put together a post on five books you might not know were remakes. (I did know two, but the other three were a surprise!) If you need an excuse to do some book pairings, here you go.

Ta-Nehisi Coates was pulling no punches when he wrote this post about books to read on the Civil War. He focused on readability and length, and if your group feels like it needs to beef up on our history there are a lot of good options here.

Ok but poetry: it’s having a moment right now, and I’m all for it. You might have heard of Rupi Kaur in particular — she’s young, accessible, and very good at social media — and here are some poets to pick up if you’re a fan.

As the year winds down and the holidays pick up, many book groups skip a regular discussion for December and do something a little more fun. You could just have a party and not talk about any books, but aren’t there enough of those in the world? Here are a few ideas:

– Trade books that you revisit! Pair off your members and exchange some of your personal favorites; you’ll learn a lot about each others’ tastes, and add some excellence to your TBR pile.
– How about a general book swap? This is a tradition with one of my groups, and basically just involves bringing in whatever you’re ready to part with in a big tote bag and then diving in.
– Play bookish games instead! May I suggest our new card game Lit Chat? You could also spend an enjoyable evening answering bookish quizzes — for example, this very entertaining and difficult Would You Rather.
– Back to book swaps: want to do something a little more targeted, but still fun? I highly recommended blind date with a book, courtesy of your fellow members. Perhaps play by White Elephant rules?

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 The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater.

One teenager in a skirt.
One teenager with a lighter.
One moment that changes both of their lives forever.

A single reckless act during an 8-minute bus ride leaves one teen severely burned and the other charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The 57 Bus is Dashka Slater’s true account of the case that garnered international attention and thrust both high school students into the spotlight.

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I decided to dedicate this week’s newsletter entirely to nonfiction. It’s definitely not the first genre you think of when you think of book clubs (is mystery anyone else’s first thought?) but I’ve talked to folks in Business Book Clubs, workplace groups that focus on nonfiction of all kinds, and been part of several groups that have incorporated nonfiction into their discussions. This year’s Read Harder Challenge even had two nonfiction-specific tasks! So whether your group has never read nonfiction or specializes in it, here are some great options.

I know it’s the day after Halloween, but one last Spooktober link for you:  7 nonfiction reads that’ll make you shiver.

Seriously though, nonfiction is super good for book groups! Sophia has the recs (25, to be precise) to prove it.

Looking to build some mindfulness habits? We’ve got a reading list for that! I speak from experience when I say that building a meditation practice is so much easier if you’ve got a buddy (or a whole group!) doing it with you.

Prefer a solid narrative? Here are 50 books of narrative nonfiction, split into categories like History, Science, Social Issues, and more.

Poetry counts as nonfiction, right? It’s a kissing cousin at the very least. Here are 12 poets for those of you who aren’t sure you actually like poetry.

To scratch that ER/House/Grey’s Anatomy itch: Here are some medical reads, most of which are nonfiction. (I can’t be the only one obsessed with the lives of surgical residents, can I?)

Ok, how about some pictures with that? Here are 5 true crime comics, for when your group is feeling brave.

And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! If you’re interested in 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 Renegades by Marissa Meyer.

Secret Identities.
Extraordinary Powers.
She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone . . . except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to the villains who have the power to end them both.

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Today’s Spooktober link: horror books for when you prefer less sunshine in your reading. I myself am a total wimp but I hear tell some folks like to be scared out of their gourds, so godspeed!

Take this poll with your group: do you read like other readers? You might be surprised at some of the answers that come up!

You know what makes for great discussions? Books with inventive narrative structures! Here’s a list, and it’s one I love because many of these books are new to me! A Visit From the Goon Squad is definitely a book-group must, though; you’re guaranteed arguments about character, the use of PowerPoint, and much more.

Speaking of novels with different structures, how about trying a novel in verse? Whatever your group’s familiarity with poetry, we’ve got a list of works that should work for you. I love these in particular because they’re good for young adults as well as grown-ups; if you’ve got a group of teens, try ’em out!

We could all probably use some more stories of togetherness: here are great books from the past year about female friendships.

Spotlight on: The 2017 Man Booker Award

And this year’s Man Booker Award goes to …. drumroll … Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders! There are a few interesting things about this year’s award beyond the choice of book. Let’s dig in a little, shall we?

The Man Booker (which is a prize for the best novel in the English language for the given year) was opened up to include American novels in 2014, and many have argued that it has since become too dominated by American works — including Ron Charles of the Washington Post.

Related: Paul Beatty was the first American to win the Man Booker, for The Sellout.

Want to know more about Saunders as a writer? Here’s an illustrated look at his work and development as an author on Signature Reads.

Who has influenced Saunders? He talked to the Center for Fiction about how Hemingway made him a reader.

For my audiobook fans: the audio of Lincoln in the Bardo had a bonkers extended cast. There’s a lot of discussion fodder right there in terms of narrator choice, not to mention the perennial audio vs. print debate.

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 The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe.

Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust.

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First and foremost: you could buy your group a whole lot of books by entering our giveaway for a $500 bookstore gift card of your choice.

Spooktober continues! Here are seven new TV/film adaptations of scary books, complete with Scare Factor ratings. I’ll be over here hiding under my covers, thanks very much.

If your Spooktober needs more paranormal and supernatural phenomena, here’s a list of 50 paranormal romances that can help. Vampires, shifters, dragons, and more await you.

What makes your group automatically quit a book? Rioters shared their own DNF rules. This is a discussion I’m definitely going to bring up in my next book group meeting — you can learn more about a person’s reading habits from their DNF pile than almost anything else!

We talked about surreal workplaces; now how about making your work-life better? We’ve got a list for that! I’ve done a couple small, one-off book groups around titles like these and they’ve been incredibly helpful.

Read like librarians! One Rioter-librarian put together a list of 100 staff picks from her public library and there is a TON of good stuff here.

Thrillers, but not just any thrillers: Jamie put together a list of mysteries in which the past catches up with the protagonist. This is a trope I had never thought of before but totally love!

New releases, but not just any new releases: Lit CelebrAsian has a list of October new releases to have on your radar, and I am delighted to cosign Forest of a Thousand Lanterns and Not Your Villain by C.B. Lee, particularly if you’re looking for solid YA picks.

Heads did, in fact, roll: Here’s a list of recommended nonfiction about Henry VIII’s six wives, for those of you looking to get historical with your next pick.

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.

Listen to your book club’s next pick. Visit TryAudiobooks.com/bookclub for suggested listens and for a free audiobook download of The Knockoff!

With fall ramping up, it’s back to juggling busy school and work schedules with social engagements like date nights, yoga with friends, and book club. Luckily, you can listen to your book club’s next pick so you can stay on top of it all.

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It’s Spooktober! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays — candy and costumes, how can you go wrong? So expect lots more links of this sort in the coming weeks. For today, I’ve got two:

Have some haunted house stories, which are truly a mainstay of creepy fiction.

Kristen Bell, RuPaul, LeVar Burton, and several more amazing actors are part of a new murder mystery podcast! It’s called Deadly Manners, and it’s a 1940s-style radio drama. The first three episodes are live right now, and might make a good change of pace for your group this month.

Can’t (or don’t want to) make time for an IRL book club? Join a Goodreads group! We’ve put together a guide to help you find the right one.

The National Book Award finalists have been announced! While you could wait for the winners, I love mining the shortlist. Whether you want Young Adult, fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, this is an excellent year to pick up a nominee.

What is a mystery Skype? It’s a thing that book clubs do apparently! I had no idea. It’s a bit like 20 Questions, in which you pair up with another book group and try to guess where in the world each other are. If you want to skip a book discussion and just do something fun, this might be a perfect choice.

For all my foodies: Here’s a list of memoirs from the culinary world, all written by women. There are several on here that I’d never heard of, alongside standards like Blood, Bones, & Butter and Tender at the Bone, and I now have a bunch on my TBR. Many of these also include recipes, in case your group is feeling inspired to cook!

Spotlight On: Kazuo Ishiguro

Last week Kazuo Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize for Literature, which was a bit of a surprise since he didn’t make it onto the betting list. He’s most famous for Never Let Me Go — which was adapted not once but twice — and Remains of the Day, but he’s the author of six other books. There’s no time like the present to pick him for your next discussion! Here are a few other links to help you out.

Not sure where to start? We can help.

Why is this an important win? A bookseller rejoices and explains.

The NYT is throwing some mild shade. “Formidable and not uninteresting,” really???? That’s what you’re going with? Well ok.

Slate discusses Never Let Me Go and The Buried Giant in particular.

And here’s an interview with Ishiguro from the Daily Beast’s archives.

And that’s a wrap! 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 A Place in the Wind by Suzanne Gates.

On a frigid night, a school girl walks out of an English class she tutors for immigrants—and vanishes. Suspicion quickly falls on the men she was teaching, many of whom are undocumented. As disturbing evidence trickles in, news of the incident spreads beyond the scenic town of Lake Holly, New York, unearthing deep-seated fears and enflaming cultural tensions. For county police detective Jimmy Vega, the situation is personal. His girlfriend, Harvard-educated attorney Adele Figueroa, heads the immigrant center where the teen volunteer disappeared. Someone wants to destroy far more than Vega’s career. And no matter which way he turns, every step will put him and his family in the killer’s cross-hairs.

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The 9 to 5 slog can be weird, but here are five books with surreal workplaces that might put things into perspective, from academia to temping.

It’s October, which means it’s time for witchy reads! (Well, it’s always time for witchy reads in my life, but I know others prefer seasonal.) Here are 16 books on the Salem Witch trials, both fiction and nonfiction, that will give your book group a lot to talk about.

Today’s fun pairing: K-Pop (a.k.a. Korean pop music) for your ears and matching book recs for your brain!

I’m not sure anyone really wants to read/talk about money, but a lot of us could use a nudge to get better at it, and what is book group for if not to nudge us? Here’s a list of personal finance books that might be worth adding to your club’s TBR.

Been watching HBO’s The Deuce and/or trying to get your club members on board? Here are some crime novels about NYC that might help that along.

To further that mystery fix: here’s a round-up of this fall’s mystery/thrillers with an inclusive bent!

Bi Visibility Day was September 23, and in case you missed it here are 100 must-read books about bisexuality.

And finally, some food for discussion and thought: This conversation, courtesy of PEN America, with Jamaica Kincaid, Marlon James, Valeria Luiselli, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and Colum McCann, is great reading. They start out talking about the word “expatriate” and touch on immigration, diversity and racism in publishing and in America, the writing life, and so much more. It made me want to start a book group, to read one of their books each and then talk about this conversation. Maybe you’ll want to, too.

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 A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess.

Henrietta Howel doesn’t need a prophecy to know that she’s in danger. She came to London to be named the chosen one, the first female sorcerer in centuries, the one who would defeat the Ancients. Instead, she discovered a city ruled by secrets. And the biggest secret of all: Henrietta is not the chosen one. In the seductive and explosive second book in the Kingdom on Fire series, Jessica Cluess delivers her signature mix of magic, passion, and teen warriors fighting for survival.

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The Book Riot contributors got inspired by “fall”s of many different kinds, leading to this list which includes everything from Reichenbach Falls to falls from grace to Things Fall Apart. Enjoy!

5 Under 35 is an award that goes to (you guessed it) 5 debut authors, all under the age of 35, and this year’s list is very very good. If your group is interested in contemporary fiction, buzzy books, and doesn’t mind hardcover, all of these would be excellent choices.

‘Bees’ might not be the first theme you think of for your next discussion, but maybe it should be! Here’s a list of five books about bees (including poetry, fiction, AND nonfiction) that might give you some starting points.

What does membership in 10 book clubs look like? Pretty great, actually, if you believe Laura (and I do). The most I’ve ever done at once was seven, so I salute her! There are also great ideas for different styles of book club — themed, classic, two-person. For the record, I too want to join her mother’s book club.

Does your book club need a soundtrack? Well here you go: seven songs with literary references embedded in their lyrics.

For those feeling ambitious about their fall reading, one Rioter put together a Back To School reading list for grown-ups. It’s full of classics across genres that you might have missed in your school days (or might want to revisit).

Is your group into audiobooks? Here are 11 places to find free (and legal) ones!

Read it before it’s on-air: Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (which is a contemporary retelling of Pride and Prejudice) is getting a “soapy” adaptation from AMC, with a team that includes an executive producer from Pretty Little Liars. I can’t decide if Jane Austen would be delighted or horrified??

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 You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins.

Told in alternating voices across three generations, You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture—for better or worse.

From a grandmother worried that her children are losing their Indian identity to a daughter wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair to a granddaughter social-activist fighting to preserve Bengali tigers, award-winning author Mitali Perkins weaves together the threads of a family growing into an American identity.

Here is a sweeping story of five women at once intimately relatable and yet entirely new.

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Amy Stewart is visiting book clubs, digital-style! You can get a Skype visit and a set of books from the Kopp Sisters series for your group by entering here, while supplies last. Having read the first book in a mini-club with my mom, I can personally recommend them — they’re fun, well-researched, female-forward historical novels with action and family drama.

Want to start a teen book club at your local library? We’ve got a group leader with four years of experience under his belt giving you some how-to tips.

Interested in adding some graphic novels to the mix? Here’s a list of a few that will give you all the feels. Allllllll of them.

Differing viewpoints are what book group is all about. So why not get multiple POVs from the characters as well as your group members? Here are four novels to start with.

Always take the cannoli! If you need more of the Cosa Nostra for your group, Liberty’s got a list of 10 Mafia reads.

Want to read something outside of the Big 5 publishing houses? Even if you’re not sure what publishers you’re usually reading, it’s always great to explore a bit. Get indie-er with this list of 100 must-read books from indie presses.

Spotlight: “Wait, What Just Happened??” Books To Read With A Group

There have been several books in my life I have read with a group, and only because I could read them with a group. One of the beautiful things about a discussion is that you can sit down and hash out what ACTUALLY happened, which can make some bananapants books that much more accessible. Here’s a list of books that are confusing, “What just happened?”, WTF-inducing reads, with thanks to the Book Riot contributor corps for suggestions.

Ship of Theseus by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

The Devourers by Indra Das

Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delaney

Ghost Summer by Tananarive Due

The Blue Girl by Laurie Foos

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

The Hike by Drew Magary

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

The Man in My Basement by Walter Mosley

White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

 

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.

Listen to your book club’s next pick. Visit TryAudiobooks.com/bookclub for suggested listens and for a free audiobook download of The Knockoff!

With fall ramping up, it’s back to juggling busy school and work schedules with social engagements like date nights, yoga with friends, and book club. Luckily, you can listen to your book club’s next pick so you can stay on top of it all.

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Get recommended by awesome authors: we just launched our newest podcast, Recommended, in which interesting people talk about books that matter to them. The first episode has authors Samantha Irby and Robin Sloan pitching two all-time favorites, both of which would make excellent book club picks! Go find out what they are in Episode 1.

Get medieval on your reading list: we’ve got 100 Must-Reads of medieval historical fiction for you! Not going to lie to you, Sharon Kay Penman’s novels about the English monarchy got me through several college history courses, and The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth was one of the weirdest and also most satisfying reading experiences I had last year.

Tis the season to get sporty, and I love this piece about tennis reads not by David Foster Wallace. But honestly, almost any list that has both Abraham Verghese and Claudia Rankine on it is bound to get my thumbs-up.

For when you need your reading to be louder: here’s a list of 17 read-alouds for grown-ups! Whether or not you read them out loud in your group, there’s great discussion material here.

What if you need some quiet? I love this piece on the benefits of Silent Reading Groups, particularly this line: “Here was an opportunity to be social but to also reconnect with my reading life.”

Poetry is often a struggle for groups, so here’s a great list for you! Diversify your options with 10 contemporary poets of color.

Do you have Tulip Fever fever? We have a reading list for that.

Spotlight: Nisi Shawl’s Crash Course in Black SF

Among the last few books I’ve read and been unable to stop talking about were Mama Day by Gloria Naylor and Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson — both recommended by Nisi Shawl in various places on the Internet. And then I remembered that back in 2015, she put together a whole list of black science fiction writers for Black History month. Whether you start at the beginning and work your way on or pick at random, that list and the resulting blog series are well worth your group’s consideration.

– A Crash Course in the History of Black Science Fiction
– The Expanded Course at Tor.com
– Here’s an interview with Shawl we did in advance of Book Riot Live
– Shawl’s own book Everfair is a great addition to this canon, and it was reviewed on NPR, LARB, and The Washington Post among many others.

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 Pretty, Nasty, Lovely by Rosalind Noonan.

They may your sisters…but they’re not your friends.

Pledging a sorority at Merriwether University seemed to offer Emma Danelski a passport to friendship, fun, and popularity. But the excitement of pledge training quickly fades, as does the warmth of her so-called sisters. What’s left is a stifling society filled with petty rules, bullying, and manipulation. Most haunting are the choices Emma makes in the wake of another sorority sister’s suicide . . .

It doesn’t matter that no one else needs to know what Emma did, or how vastly different life at Theta House is from the glossy image it projects. Emma knows. And now, with her loyalties tested, she must decide which secrets are worth keeping and how far she’ll go to protect them—and herself . . .

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I love actors who read, and I love Yara Shahidi — so it is with great pleasure that I point you to this list of Shahidi’s ten favorite books! All would make for a great discussion, which you could then pair with a few episodes of Black-ish.

For those who didn’t get enough travel into their summer vacations: here are 100 travel narratives! Rebecca even organized them by region for you.

Maybe your group’s wallets could use a break. Here are 15 places to find free — and legal — ebooks.

For Sens8 and Stranger lovers: five Korean novels for fans of actress Doona Bae. I strongly cosign the Han Kang and Suah Bae recommendations.

Need to keep your kids reading? Here are 20 ideas for starting a kids’ book group! On a personal note, one of my favorite jobs as a bookseller was running a summer reading group for local teens — we had one of the best discussions I’ve ever participated in, about The Arrival by Shaun Tan.

For nonfiction fans: want something easy to pick up and put down as you have time? Let us introduce you to these six excellent essay collections.

 

Spotlight: Foodie Books and Groups

You might have noticed that one of my favorite things is books and [insert food or beverage here], possibly because so many of the book groups I’ve belonged to have had very strong snack game. If you need more side dishes (ahem) with your reading, here are some links that might offer inspiration!

– A cookbook club is one of my dreams — and if it’s yours too, here’s how to make one happen.
– Need vegetarian inspiration for your group? Here are some cookbooks even carnivores will love.
– Betcha didn’t think about pairing boba with books before this.
– Many of these will be in paperback now or soon: the 20 best food books of 2016, courtesy of The Guardian.
– Looking for something surprising? Paste has you covered with 14 books about food you probably haven’t read.
– Want more pictures? Here are 5 comics with characters who cook!

And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! If you’re interested in 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