Popular Book Club Picks

Searching for study guides on books selected by some of the nation's top book clubs, curated by Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, the PBS NewsHour, the New York Times, and the American Library Association? Look no further. This collection covers critically-acclaimed classics like Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez to contemporary, buzzworthy novels like Girl, Woman, Other. We hope this compilation of study guides provides your own book club with lively discussion topics and keen insights.

The Family Remains

by Lisa Jewell

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Safety & Danger, Justice, Siblings, Family, Place, The Past, Mental Health, Memory

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction

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The Fifth Season

by N. K. Jemisin

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Gender Identity

Tags Fantasy, Gender & Feminism, Science Fiction, LGBTQ+

The Fifth Season is the first installment of author N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy—a “science fantasy” series that blends scientific explanation with the magical or supernatural elements of the fantasy genre. After its publication in 2015, the novel received the 2016 Hugo Award recognizing excellence in science fiction or fantasy writing. Jemisin was the first black woman to win the prize, and went on to break another record when her sequels to The Fifth... Read The Fifth Season Summary

The Forgotten Garden

by Kate Morton

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags British Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance

The Forgotten Garden is the second novel by Australian author Kate Morton. First published in 2008, the book is classified as a historical mystery and won the Australian Book Industry Award for General Fiction in 2009. It later became a New York Times Best Seller. The Forgotten Garden is heavily influenced by the Gothic novel genre and pays homage to The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Events in the story were inspired by the... Read The Forgotten Garden Summary

The Foundling

by Ann Leary

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Friendship, Femininity, Equality

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, World History, Mental Illness

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The Frozen River

by Ariel Lawhon

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Gender Identity, Indigenous Identity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Birth, Animals, Family, Mothers, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Equality, Justice, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Gender & Feminism

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The Gathering

by Anne Enright

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Memory, Death, Family

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Irish Literature

The Gathering by Anne Enright is a novel about family history, grief, and the ways we learn to live with our pasts. Published in 2007, The Gathering was awarded the prestigious Man Booker Prize. The Gathering is Anne Enright’s fourth novel. Enright is the author of seven novels and is a major figure in contemporary Irish literature. This guide is based on the following 2007 Black Cat edition of The Gathering.Content Warning: This guide summarizes... Read The Gathering Summary

The Girl On The Train

by Paula Hawkins

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Conflict, Fear, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love, Memory, Masculinity, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Truth & Lies, Marriage

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Trauma & Abuse, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction

Paula Hawkins wrote The Girl on the Train over the course of six months in 2014. Hawkins, an Oxford-educated journalist and writer, drew on her experience as a reporter in London to structure the novel and describe its locations. Drawing immediate comparisons to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Girl on the Train had similar performance, debuting at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in 2015, and remaining there for 13 consecutive weeks... Read The Girl On The Train Summary

The Girls

by Emma Cline

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Power & Greed

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Psychological Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

... Read The Girls Summary

The Girl Who Fell From The Sky

by Heidi W. Durrow

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Coming of Age

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Dramatic Literature, Race & Racism, Crime & Law, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Depression & Suicide, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky is Heidi Durrow’s debut novel. Published in 2010 by Oneworld Publications, the novel won the PEN/Bellweather Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, an award that recognizes work by a previously unpublished author that explores a social issue. The Girl Who Fell from the Sky explores the impact of racism and loss on a young girl whose mother is a White woman from Denmark and whose father is a Black... Read The Girl Who Fell From The Sky Summary

The Girl with Seven Names

by Hyeonseo Lee

Publication year 2015

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Tags Politics & Government, Korean Literature, Asian Literature, World History, Biography

The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story, is Hyeonseo Lee’s 2015 autobiography. Lee leaves North Korea shortly before her eighteenth birthday. She does not intend to defect. She has received a lifetime of propaganda and truly believes her country is the best in the world. She is simply a curious child who wanted to see China, and intends to return to North Korea within days. Once in China, however, she is exposed... Read The Girl with Seven Names Summary

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Stieg Larsson

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Family, Social Class, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an international bestseller by writer and journalist Stieg Larsson. The crime thriller was published in Sweden shortly after his death in 2005 with the original Swedish title, Män som hatar kvinnor, or Men Who Hate Women. The book won the 2006 Glass Key Award for best crime novel in its native Sweden, and after the English translation was released it received the 2008 Boeke Prize (South Africa), Crime... Read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Summary