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.

We Were the Mulvaneys

by Joyce Carol Oates

Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Trust & Doubt

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

We Were the Mulvaneys is a novel by American writer Joyce Carol Oates, originally published in the US in 1996. Set largely in the rural Northeastern United States in the 1970s, this story deals with the myth of the ideal American family and the ruinous effects it can have when real-life events threaten the appearance of familial unity. After having been featured as an Oprah Book Club selection in January 2001, the novel became a... Read We Were the Mulvaneys Summary

What Is The What

by Dave Eggers

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

What Is the What is a 2006 novel by Dave Eggers. The story follows Valentino Achak Deng, one of tens of thousands of boys displaced and/or orphaned during the Second Sudanese War, which spanned nearly two decades, from 1987 to 2005. While a novel, What Is the What has been called by Eggers a “fictionalized autobiography.” As Deng explains in his introduction to the text, they decided that it should be considered a novel, because... Read What Is The What Summary

What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky

by Lesley Nneka Arimah

Publication year 2017

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Mothers, Equality

Tags Magical Realism, Fantasy, Modern Classic Fiction

Lesley Nneka Arimah is a Nigerian writer who has lived in the United Kingdom and the United States. What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky is her debut collection of short stories, many of which have received literary awards, such as the O. Henry Prize and two awards for African writers: the Caine Prize and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. At the heart of her stories, both realistic and speculative, are relationships... Read What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky Summary

What Moves the Dead

by T. Kingfisher

Publication year 2022

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Gender Identity, Death, Plants, Place, Social Class, War, Science & Technology, Trust & Doubt

Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Historical Fiction, Gothic Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction

... Read What Moves the Dead Summary

When Crickets Cry

by Charles Martin

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Christian, Modern Classic Fiction, Inspirational, Religion & Spirituality

Winner of the 2007 Christian Book Award, Charles Martin’s 2006 novel, When Crickets Cry: a Novel of the Heart, is a work of Christian fiction set in rural Georgia. It tells the story of Reese, a former heart surgeon who’s hiding from his past and his relationship with Annie, a hopeful little girl with a failing heart. When these two characters unexpectedly cross paths, their stories become intertwined, bringing healing to Reese’s past and hope... Read When Crickets Cry Summary

When the Elephants Dance

by Tess Uriza Holthe

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags World War II, Military & War, Asian Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism

When the Elephants Dance is Filipino-American writer Tess Uriza Holthe’s first novel. Published in 2002, it is based on Holthe’s father’s experiences growing up in the Philippines during World War II. The novel centers around a group of friends and neighbors seeking shelter in a cellar and sharing traditional moralistic Filipino legends that illustrate their resilience and the importance of stories for survival. The title is taken from a saying offered by one of the... Read When the Elephants Dance Summary

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

by Maria Semple

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mothers

Tags Humor, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Where’d You Go, Bernadette, published in 2012, is the second novel by Maria Semple, a former television writer who worked on shows such as Mad About You and Arrested Development. A bestseller praised by numerous critics as one of the best books of the year, Where’d You Go, Bernadette is a fast-paced comic novel with a complex narrative structure. The book follows an epistolary format, meaning the text is largely composed of letters, emails, and... Read Where'd You Go, Bernadette Summary

Where the Crawdads Sing

by Delia Owens

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age

Tags Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance

Where the Crawdads Sing is the debut novel of Delia Owens. Set in the marshes of coastal North Carolina from the 1940s to the 2000s, the novel is Southern literary fiction that tells the story of Kya, a little girl who comes of age alone after her family abandons her.  Published in 2018 by Putnam, the novel was a New York Times bestseller and a selection of Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine book club. In 2022 it... Read Where the Crawdads Sing Summary

Whisper Network

by Chandler Baker

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Teamwork, Social Class, Gender Identity, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Masculinity, Femininity

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Business & Economics, Bullying, Trauma & Abuse, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Whisper Network Summary