Book Club Books

I’ve seen an increase in people that are creating book clubs since the pandemic happened. I love that! Lots of people are turning to virtual book clubs in order to connect with friends and loved ones. I thought I’d share in today’s post the books that my in real life book club has read so far this year and whether its a good book club pick or not.

For me a good book club pick is a book that has lots of things to discuss. It doesn’t matter whether I personally love the book or not as long as we can have a great discussion I’d consider that a good book club pick.

Such a Fun Age

Synopsis – In the midst of a family crisis one late evening, white blogger Alix Chamberlain calls her African American babysitter, Emira, asking her to take toddler Briar to the local market for distraction. There, the security guard accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar, and Alix’s efforts to right the situation turn out to be good intentions selfishly mismanaged.

Genre – Contemporary Fiction

Is this a good book club pick? – This is a perfect book club pick in my opinion! I had already read this book when we picked it as our January book club pick and I knew there was a lot to discuss. I read it again for book club because I loved it so much.

Red, White and Royal Blue

Synopsis – First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations. As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

Genre – Contemporary Romance

Is this a good book club pick? – I think this is a good pick! We chosed this one because we wanted to read something lighter and this was perfect for that.

Wild Game

Synopsis – A daughter’s tale of living in the thrall of her magnetic, complicated mother, and the chilling consequences of her complicity. Wild Game is a brilliant, timeless memoir about how the people close to us can break our hearts simply because they have access to them, and the lies we tell in order to justify the choices we make. It’s a remarkable story of resilience, a reminder that we need not be the parents our parents were to us.

Genre – Non-Fiction/Memoir

Is this a good book club pick? – Yes! This is a great non-fiction book that reads like fiction and there were lots of things to chat about because this book is juicy! Check out my review here.

Weird but Normal

Synopsis – Navigating racial identity, gender roles, workplace dynamics, and beauty standards, Mia Mercado’s hilarious essay collection explores the contradictions of being a millennial woman, which usually means being kind of a weirdo. Whether it’s spending $30 on a candle that smells like an ocean that doesn’t exist, offering advice on how to ask about someone’s race (spoiler: just don’t, please?), quitting a job that makes you need shots of whiskey on your lunch break, or finding a more religious experience in the skincare aisle at Target than your hometown Catholic church, Mia brilliantly unpacks what it means to be a professional, absurdly beautiful, horny, cute, gross human.

Genre – Non-Fiction/Collection of Essays

Is this a good book club pick – I’d say there wasn’t much to chat about with this one. We all liked the book but it doesn’t lend itself to a lot of discussion in my opinion. Check out my review here.

If you want to make god laugh

Synopsis – An unforgettable story of three unique women in post-Apartheid South Africa who are brought together in their darkest time and discover the ways that love can transcend the strictest of boundaries.

Genre – Contemporary Fiction

Is this a good book club pick – This is a PERFECT book for a book club discussion. There are so many things to talk about and we all loved the book. We were lucky to have a zoom discussion with the author and that made it even more special! We picked another book from this author for later this year. Check out my review here.

The Book of Rosy

Synopsis – Compelling and urgently important, The Book of Rosy is the unforgettable story of one brave mother and her fight to save her family. In The Book of Rosy, with an unprecedented level of sharp detail and soulful intimacy, Rosy tells her story, aided by Julie Schwietert Collazo, founder of Immigrant Families Together, the grassroots organization that reunites mothers and children. She reveals the cruelty of the detention facilities, the excruciating pain of feeling her children ripped from her arms, the abiding faith that staved off despair—and the enduring friendship with Julie, which helped her navigate the darkness and the bottomless Orwellian bureaucracy.

Genre – Non-Fiction

Is this a good book club pick – Yes! This is an important book and we talked a lot about immigration in America. We also had a discussion with the authors for this one and loved it! Check out my review here.

All Adults Here

Synopsis – When Astrid Strick witnesses a school bus accident in the center of town, it jostles loose a repressed memory from her young parenting days decades earlier. Suddenly, Astrid realizes she was not quite the parent she thought she’d been to her three, now-grown children. But to what consequence? In All Adults Here, Emma Straub’s unique alchemy of wisdom, humor, and insight come together in a deeply satisfying story about adult siblings, aging parents, high school boyfriends, middle school mean girls, the lifelong effects of birth order, and all the other things that follow us into adulthood, whether we like them to or not.

Genre – Literary Fiction

Is this a good book club pick – Yes! I think literary fiction lends itself to a lot of things to discuss due to the heavy character development. This one was no exception. This book was also Jenna Bush Hager’s book club pick earlier this year. Check out my review here.

Other tips for book clubs

We’ve had our book club for a year now and one thing we found helpful was to pick books ahead of time. We typically know what the next 3-4 books are so that you give everyone plenty of time to get the books. Specially if you want to get them from the library!

We recently started using the website/app called Bookclubz and we love it so far! You can set up the meetings there, keep a list of books you want to read (each member can recommend books) and create polls to vote for the books to read. Check out Bookclubz here (its free!).

I hope this list of book club books helps you pick some books for your book club! I keep a list on bookshop.org with all the books we read for book club and I’ve included the ones we read last year and the ones we’ll be reading over the next few months. You can find them all here.