Booklist – November 2023
Book clubs have a history that goes back almost 400 years when a group of women organized themselves to discuss sermons and texts aboard a ship going to the newly settled Massachusetts Bay Colony. Humans are social creatures and for the literary minded getting together to share your thoughts about the books you are reading is the best way to get together! So, whether you participate in a book club in your neighborhood, or follow a celebrity book club online, here are some of our favorite books about book clubs.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Saffer
London, 1946. Writer Juliet Ashton corresponds with Dawsey Adams and other members of a literary society created as a front during the Nazi occupation of the British channel island Guernsey.
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
Chronicles the conversations he had with his mother as he accompanied her on treatments for advanced pancreatic cancer.
Bloodhounds (Peter Diamond Mystery #4) by Peter Lovesey
During a meeting of the Bloodhounds, a crime-novel book club, Milo Motion finds a stolen rare stamp in his book. Soon after, another member’s corpse is found in Milo’s padlocked houseboat. But Milo has an airtight alibi.
The Cherry Cola Book Club by Ashton Lee
Librarian Maura Beth Mayhew must increase her small Cherico, Mississippi, library’s circulation or face closure. To convince the town council that the library is viable Maura Beth starts a book club.
The Complete Mother-Daughter Book Club Collection by Heather Vogel Frederick
A six-book series featuring the adventures in a book club of four sixth-grade girls and their mothers.
Olivia (Newport Ladies Book Club #1) by Julie Wright
First in a series by various authors with Utah ties. Determined to make changes, Olivia joins a book club, where she nurtures new friendships and explores new ideas.
Thinking of starting a book club, these titles could help!
The Reading Group Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Start Your Own Book Club by Rachel W. Jacobsohn
A comprehensive guide to starting a book club; suggestions range from selecting books to serving refreshments.
The Book Club Cookbook: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club’s Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman
Each of one hundred entries includes a synopsis of a popular book club selection, an explanation of the role food plays that book, recipes based on those foods, and a profile of the recommending book club.
Image Description: A colorful cartoon drawing of a group of five smiling women sitting in a library in front of shelves full of books and tall windows with a matching set of open books in their hands.