Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Self Discovery, Marriage, Science & Technology
Tags Historical Fiction, Science & Nature, Gender & Feminism, Women`s Studies, World History, Romance
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 Other Einstein
The Other Side of the Bridge
The Other Wes Moore
The Overstory
The Pale Horse
The Paper Palace
The Paris Apartment
The Paris Architect
The Paris Bookseller
The Paris Wife
The Patron Saint of Liars
The Pearl That Broke Its Shell
The Pecan Man
The People in the Trees
The People We Keep
The Perfect Marriage
The Personal Librarian
The Pilot's Wife
The Poet X
The Poppy War
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Self Discovery, Marriage, Science & Technology
Tags Historical Fiction, Science & Nature, Gender & Feminism, Women`s Studies, World History, Romance
Publication year 2006
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Grief, Fate, Family
Tags World History, Historical Fiction, Relationships
Mary Lawson’s 2016 novel, The Other Side of the Bridge, tells the dual stories of Arthur and Ian, two men separated by a generation but in love with the same woman: Arthur’s wife, Laura.Odd-numbered chapters are told from the point-of-view of Ian Christopherson, the son of a doctor who takes a job on Arthur Dunn’s farm, chiefly to be near Laura Dunn. Even-numbered chapters follow Arthur Dunn. The older of the two Dunn brothers, Arthur... Read The Other Side of the Bridge Summary
Publication year 2010
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Fate
Tags Race & Racism, Sociology, Education, Education, Biography
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates (2010) is a narrative nonfiction story that chronicles the lives of two young black men who share the same name: Wes Moore. The author was inspired to write this story because of this fact and their similar start in Baltimore, Maryland. While one Wes Moore was sentenced to life in prison, the writer Wes Moore became a Rhodes Scholar and a best-selling author. Moore’s purpose in writing... Read The Other Wes Moore Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Environment
Tags Science & Nature, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction
The Overstory is a 2018 novel by Richard Powers. Weaving together numerous character narratives, it is the story of a collection of environmental activists and their struggles to make their protests heard by society. It won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.Content Warning: The source text and this guide include depictions of violence, specifically police brutality, as well as discussions of ableism and suicide.Plot SummaryThe Hoel family are descended from Norwegian immigrants who moved from... Read The Overstory Summary
Publication year 1961
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Justice
Tags British Literature, Classic Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Mothers, The Past, Truth & Lies, Perseverance, Family
Tags Relationships, Romance, Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Guilt, Family
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction, French Literature
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Good & Evil
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History, French Literature
Queen Elizabeth I enacted laws that persecuted Catholics in England; in response, some daring inventors created secret hiding places within Catholic homes to hide the priests from raids. In the 2013 novel, The Paris Architect, Charles Belfour transposes this real historical event into a new context: hiding Jewish people from German forces in Occupied France. The story centers on an architect in Paris who undertakes the dangerous work of designing invisible hiding places, makes new... Read The Paris Architect Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Literature, Community, Friendship
Tags Historical Fiction, The Lost Generation, LGBTQ+, Women`s Studies, World History, French Literature
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Marriage, Forgiveness, Love, Self Discovery, Art, Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction
Paula McLain’s 2011 novel, The Paris Wife, is a work of biographical historical fiction that reimagines the marriage of the writer Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. Narrated largely from Hadley’s perspective, the story chronicles their passionate courtship and their life as American expatriates in Jazz Age Paris as part of the “Lost Generation.” The novel explores themes such as The Competing Demands of Love and Artistic Ambition, Defining the Self in a... Read The Paris Wife Summary
Publication year 1992
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Mothers, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
The Patron Saint of Liars (1992) is Ann Patchett’s debut novel. Since its publication, Patchett has written seven more novels that feature multifaceted characters and plots that explore ambiguous moral dilemmas. These aspects of her work are present in The Patron Saint of Liars as well, which follows the story of Rose, a pregnant young woman who flees her unhappy marriage to live at a home for unwed mothers. The novel was a bestseller and... Read The Patron Saint of Liars Summary
Publication year 2014
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Mothers, Fate
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Arts & Culture
The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, first published in 2014, is the debut novel by Afghan-American novelist Nadia Hashimi. Set in Kabul in 2007, it centers on a girl named Rahima and her sisters, who struggle in a family run by their drug-addicted father, Arif. With no brothers, their ability to leave the house, attend school, or earn money is limited. Rahima finds hope in the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows her to... Read The Pearl That Broke Its Shell Summary
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, The Past, Family
Tags Race & Racism, World History, Historical Fiction, Southern Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Colonialism, Science & Technology, Power & Greed, Community, Loneliness
Tags Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Trauma & Abuse, Science Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Fantasy
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Music, Family, Love
Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Modern Classic Fiction, Music
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Marriage, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Loyalty & Betrayal, Femininity
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Gender Identity, Art, Appearance & Reality
Tags Historical Fiction, Arts & Culture, Race & Racism, World History
Publication year 1998
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Marriage
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Romance, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature
The Pilot’s Wife, by Anita Shreve, was first published in 1998 by Little Brown, and was Oprah’s Book Club selection for March of 1999. Shreve, who died in 2018, was also the author of the bestselling novel, The Weight of Water, adapted into a film starring Sean Penn and Sarah Polley. Shreve’s work is known for its depth, interiority, and examination of women’s emotional lives. The Pilot’s Wife is the third novel of four in... Read The Pilot's Wife Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction
Themes Music, Shame & Pride
Tags Music, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, LGBTQ+
Elizabeth Acevedo’s award-winning 2018 young adult novel, The Poet X, brings to life the inner world of protagonist Xiomara Batista. Xiomara is 15 years old, and from her bedroom in Harlem, she writes poetry in order to put on the page all the feelings and ideas she cannot seem to be able to say out loud. Xiomara resigns herself to writing in her notebook and sharing her thoughts with only a few trusted individuals until... Read The Poet X Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Revenge, Hate & Anger, Social Class, War, Colonialism, Good & Evil
Tags Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Military & War, Race & Racism, World History