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.

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes The Past, Family

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

Written by the best-selling author Ann Patchett, Commonwealth was published in 2016 and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. Commonwealth tells the story of two families: the Keatings and the Cousins. In a nonlinear fashion, the novel follows their stories over fifty years from multiple points of view, although the dominant point of view comes from Franny Keating. The novel explores the burdens and joys of children and old... Read Commonwealth Summary

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Politics & Government, Friendship

Tags Romance, LGBTQ+, Irish Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Conversations with Friends is Irish writer Sally Rooney’s debut novel, published in 2017. Rooney wrote the novel when she was 25 and followed it up quickly with Normal People in 2018 and Beautiful World, Where Are You in 2021. All three works have garnered award nominations, and the first two have been adapted into television series. Conversations with Friends tells the story of Frances and Bobbi— college students, best friends, and former girlfriends—and Nick and... Read Conversations with Friends Summary

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Race, Justice, Appearance & Reality

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Survival Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Publication year 1987

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Friendship

Tags American Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Crossing to Safety is a 1987 semi-autobiographical novel by Wallace Stegner. Using a series of flashbacks in the mind of a writer, Larry Morgan, throughout a single day, the novel is a reflection on youth, idealism, and the often unarticulated but lifelong process of compromise one must endure while seeking a stable place in the world. Stegner’s novel explores these themes via Larry’s perspective on two academic couples: Larry and his wife, Sally Morgan, and Sidney... Read Crossing to Safety Summary

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Family

Tags Gender & Feminism, Modern Classic Fiction

Crow Lake is a 2002 Canadian bildungsroman set in a rural farming community in northern Ontario. It is author Mary Lawson’s debut work and earned her the Books in Canada First Novel Award and the UK McKitterick Prize. The novel focuses on the Morrison siblings, who are orphaned when their parents are killed by a logging truck. Kate, the second-youngest member of the family, narrates the novel in first person. Her narrative alternates between the... Read Crow Lake Summary

Publication year 2017

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Fear, Loneliness, Revenge, Disability, Gender Identity, Language, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Appearance & Reality, Family, Marriage, Social Class, Economics, Justice

Tags Horror & Suspense, Magical Realism, Science Fiction, Korean Literature

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Immigration, Religion & Spirituality, Siblings

Tags Historical Fiction, Health, African Literature

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese was published in 2009. Verghese, an Indian American doctor born in Ethiopia, interrupted his medical career to attend the University of Iowa’s Writing Workshop and wrote two memoirs before publishing this novel. The book is notable for its incorporation of medical knowledge and its intimate portrayal of the lives of medical doctors. The novel spans several decades, weaving a deeply personal story with the complex 20th-century history of Ethiopia... Read Cutting for Stone Summary

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Music, Fathers, Fame

Tags Historical Fiction, Music, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s historical fiction novel Daisy Jones & The Six, published in 2019, is a contemporary work of fiction that explores the rich music culture of the 1970s in the United States. This time was known for rock ’n’ roll, partly as a cultural response to the strict rules of the 1960s and the disaster of the Vietnam War. The California dream world of hard partying, no rules, and freedom persists as a major... Read Daisy Jones & The Six Summary

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Fathers, Race, Daughters & Sons

Tags Race & Racism, Poverty, African American Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction

Deacon King Kong was published in 2020 and written by American author James McBride. It is an example of near-historical fiction written about American cities and social issues. McBride’s 1995 memoir about growing up in a mixed-race family in Brooklyn, The Color of Water, was both a commercial and critical success, and his own life experience aligns with some of the narratives and issues in Deacon King Kong.McBride’s novel The Good Lord Bird won the... Read Deacon King Kong Summary

Publication year 2013

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Memory, Language, Death, The Past, Climate, Environment, Place, Teamwork, Nation, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Russian Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Biography, European History, Crime & Law, Action & Adventure, Travel Literature

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Hate & Anger, Love, Death, Self Discovery, Safety & Danger

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Romance, Gothic Literature

Dead Until Dark (2001) is an urban fantasy novel by American author Charlaine Harris that blends contemporary supernatural elements with the traditions of Southern Gothic literature. The first installment in The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Harris’s 13-book series, the story introduces Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress living in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps. Her life is irrevocably altered when she becomes involved with a local vampire, drawing her into a dangerous new world and... Read Dead Until Dark Summary

Publication year 2015

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Tags Politics & Government, World History, World War I, European History, US History, Military & War, Biography

In Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, writer Erik Larson traces the Lusitania’s final journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The Lusitania is a British passenger liner owned by the Cunard Steamship Company. First sailing in 1907, the Lusitania quickly sets records for the fastest journey across the Atlantic Ocean, stealing the coveted Blue Riband away from Germany.Dead Wake follows the Lusitania’s final journey, which took place during the first week of May 1915... Read Dead Wake Summary