May 6, 2019
Do you need book club ideas?
Book Recommendations For Book Club
Some times my book club considers it challenging to find thoughtful, discussable books. Does your book club face that dilemma?
Often after finishing a book, I think: This would make a great book club selection. Usually, I base this opinion on the discussion possibilities and thoughtful themes or relevant issues.
If it would be helpful, here’s a list of books I’ve read that I can confidently recommend for my book club or yours (most suggestions are made with women in mind). The list is also heavily weighted toward historical fiction because I spend most of my reading hours in this genre. I hope you find this list a useful resource in choosing your next read!
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Grouped by Star Rating (in no particular order) and by Genre (Titles are Amazon affiliate links or links to my reviews):
Historical Fiction
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd 5+ Stars
The Gown by Jennifer Robson 5 Stars
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 5 Stars
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom 5 Stars
Beantown Girls by Jane Healey 5 Stars
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter by Hazel Gaynor 5 Stars
The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar 5 Stars
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys 5 Stars
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (and Netflix movie) 5 Stars
News of the World by Paulette Jiles 5 Stars
America’s First Daughter or My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray (both) 5 Stars
Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor 5 Stars
We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter 5 Stars
From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon 5 Stars
The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe 5 Stars
The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom 5 Stars
Learning to See by Elise Hooper 5 Stars
* * *
Woman 99 by Greer Mccallister 4 Stars
We Hope For Better Things by Erin Bartels 4 Stars
Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris 4 Stars
The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman 4 Stars
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan 4 Stars
The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff 4 Stars
The Lieutenant’s Nurse or Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers by Sara Ackerman (both) 4 Stars
A Fall of Marigolds or As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner (both) 4 Stars
The Secret Keeper or The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (both) 4 Stars
The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi 4 Stars
The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff 4 Stars
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See 4 Stars
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa Lee 4 Stars
The Baker’s Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan 4 Stars
Chilbury Ladies’ Choir by Jennifer Ryan 4 Stars
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate 4 Stars
The Beautiful Strangers or The Way of Beauty by Camille Di Maio (both) 4 Stars
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford 4 Stars
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 4 Stars
The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah 4 Stars
Literary Fiction
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane 5+ Stars
Virgil Wander (5 stars) or Peace Like a River (4 Stars) by Leif Enger
Light Women’s Fiction
Glory Road by Lauren K. Denton 4 Stars
How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry 4 Stars
* * *
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center 3 Stars
The Late Bloomers’ Club by Louise Miller 3 Stars
General Fiction
The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister 5 Stars
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 5 Stars
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce 5 Stars
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (plus the movie) 5 Stars
Beartown by Fredrik Backman 5 Stars
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 5 Stars
Castle of Water by Duane Hucklebridge 5 Stars
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (plus the movie) 5 Stars
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng 5 Stars
The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce 5 Stars
* * *
Hard Cider by Barbara Stark-Nemon 4 Stars
Eden by Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg 4 Stars
The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick 4 Stars
Meet Me At the Museum by Anne Youngson 4 Stars
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery (classic) 4 Stars
The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood 4 Stars
Still Alice by Lisa Genova (plus the movie) 4 Stars
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 4 Stars
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah 4 Stars
Mystery
The Dry or Force of Nature by Jane Harper (both) 4 Stars
Light Science Fiction
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker 4 Stars
The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain 4 Stars
Diversity
A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza 5+ Stars
The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar 5 Stars
The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas 5 Stars
* * *
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson 4 Stars
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann 4 Stars
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 4 Stars
The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray 4 Stars
Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda 4 Stars
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson 4 Stars
Non Fiction
Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin 4 Stars
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson 4 Stars
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann 4 Stars
Memoir
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (plus the movie) 5 Stars
In Pieces by Sally Field 5 Stars
* * *
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson 4 Stars
Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan 4 Stars
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance 4 Stars
Educated by Tara Westover 4 Stars
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (plus the movie) 4 Stars
Thriller
I rarely read thrillers, so I have only one title to offer. Fortunately, Nicki at The Secret Library Book Blog came to the rescue with some titles. (I have not read any of her titles, so reading the reviews is recommended) THANK YOU Nicki!
The River by Peter Heller 4.5 Stars
* * *
(from Nicki)
Need to Know by Karen Cleveland
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald
***I have made this list a tab on the menu and I am adding to it over time. I’m adding titles to that list (and not this post), so check the menu tab when you need some ideas! ***
Let’s Discuss
Do you have a book we can add to this list? What has been your favorite book that your book club has discussed?
Happy Reading Book Buddies!
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text
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***Blogs posts may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I can earn a small percentage of your purchase price.
Unless explicitly stated that they are free, all books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library.
Book Cover and author photo are credited to Amazon or an author’s (or publisher’s) website.
Thanks for sharing, which of these is your favorite?
You’re welcome! Oh my…,you’ve asked such a difficult question! I tried to choose books that would appeal to a group and to a wide variety of readers, and I tried to avoid books with a serious trigger warning (e.g. Beartown) or with troubling content (e.g. Lilac Girls). Each selection I like for different reasons. Anything that I give 5 stars to is one I have really really liked because I’m fairly stingy with 5 Star ratings. Invention of Wings is a long standing favorite for histfic……I also loved My Dear Hamilton……but there are so many other great ones! For family drama my fav is A Place For Us for its poignant and relatable themes….. closely followed by Ask Again, Yes. And Little Fires Everywhere. I’m not very good at identifying an absolute fav…..thus the long list!
Reading is such a personal experience and no 2 readers read the same book….I’m sure each reader would have a different fav on this list.
Wonderful list Carol!
Thanks Nicki! I’m afraid readers who are looking for thriller or crime fiction recs, etc will be disappointed! I’m devoted to my histfic, family drama, and occasional memoirs! If you have recs for another category I’d be happy to add them and link to you!
Ooh I’ll have a think and get back to you!
Great! 👍
Here’s a few from thrillers I’ve read so far this year Watching You by Lisa Jewell, Need to Know by Karen Cleveland, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh, My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing and The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald.
I’ll add them to the list! 👍
Brilliant! 😊
This is an extensive list! I’m not a member of any book club but I am sure will add some of this books on my TBR! Thank you for this amazing post!
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping in and commenting! 👍
I can not believe how many of these I’ve read! I’m wondering why you didn’t include The Lost Man by Jane Harper
I’m happy to hear we’re almost book twins!
Good question! Of the 3 it was my least fav although many others have listed it as a fav. Did you love it? I wasn’t too thrilled with the ending. Although it would make an excellent book club discussion topic!!!
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[…] See this post for my list of books that are likely to create great Book Club discussions. […]
Homegoing was a fantastic book club discussion!
I can imagine! 🙌😍