List
What to Read with Your Book Club
Staff share their favorite titles for book clubs to discuss.
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How to Say Babylon
2023 by Sinclair, SafiyaGet this itemIn this outstanding memoir, the author recounts her turbulent childhood in Jamaica and her complicated relationship with her parents. Author Safiya Sinclair, also an accomplished poet, has a way with words, and the result is a breathtakingly emotional read about trauma, religion, colonialism, and so much more. Suggested by Brenna.
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Finding Me
2022 by Davis, ViolaGet this itemThis is not your ordinary celebrity memoir. It is a heart-wrenching, raw, candid, yet uplifting book about how Viola Davis found her voice and ultimately herself through the pain and the trauma of her childhood. It is also a commentary on poverty and Blackness in America. The audiobook, which is narrated by Davis herself, is a must listen. Suggested by Rummanah.
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Afterlives
2022 by Gurnah, AbdulrazakGet this itemYou’ve won the Nobel Prize in Literature, what do you do for an encore? You write an epic yet strangely intimate novel about the country that will become Tanzania during the first half of the 20th Century. You make it about war and colonialism and economics, but also about the way small acts of compassion transform lives. Suggested by Andrew.
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Tom Lake
2023 by Patchett, AnnGet this itemThis reflective and moving novel is pleasantly paced and is set in beautiful Northern Michigan. Ann Patchett's brilliance is on full display as she manages to juggle multiple timelines and complex issues with nuance and grace. Audiobook highly recommended! Suggested by Paul.
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The Echo Wife
2021 by Gailey, SarahGet this itemA sci-fi thriller centering nature versus nurture and cycles of violence, The book has a lot worth discussing. Scientist Evelyn finds out her husband is stealing her cloning technology only when she discovers he is having an affair with Martine, a softer, less threatening clone of her. When an altercation between her husband and Martine turns deadly, Evelyn and Martine decide to cover up his death together using the very same cloning technology. Suggested by Amy G.
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The Berry Pickers
2023 by Peters, AmandaGet this itemIn 1962, a four-year-old Indigenous girl goes missing while picking blueberries. Fifty years later, the mystery of her disappearance starts to unravel. A character-driven story about family secrets that seamlessly hops between different perspectives. Suggested by Brenna.
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The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and A Dangerous Obsession
2023 by Finkel, MichaelGet this itemThis book presents the amazing story of Stephane Breitwieser, his obsession with beauty, and how he stole artwork from more than 200 museums across Europe. Richly detailed and highly researched, this nonfiction book very much reads like fiction. Suggested by Paul.
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The Verifiers
2022 by Pek, JaneGet this itemSometimes, you find a book about being in your 20s that reminds you of the way you experienced being in your 20s--and sometimes everyone else in your book club completely disagrees. This is a very modern mystery book whose protagonist is a comfy-mystery-reading, boutique dating, profile investigator who finds herself digging into a client’s mysterious death. Suggested by Amy G.
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Cassandra in Reverse
2023 by Smale, HollyGet this itemThe third-worst day of Cassandra Penelope Dankworth’s life is also the day she discovers she can (within certain parameters) alter the past in this hilarious fantasy inspired by the author’s journey to an autism diagnosis. The more Cassandra tries to salvage her romantic relationship, her job and her living situation, the clearer it becomes how ill-suited she is to all of them. Suggested by Andrew.
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Where They Last Saw Her
2024 by Rendon, Marcie R.Get this itemAn intense slow-burn mystery/thriller that shines a necessary light on the Missing Murdered Indigenous Women Girls Two Spirit movement. It’s a female-centric story in which the main female characters come together to solve a crime that would otherwise be neglected and unsolved. The author identifies some of the issues the tribal nation faces but also showcases their power of community, support, and resilience. Suggested by Rummanah.
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Water Always Wins: Thriving in An Age of Drought and Deluge
2022 by Gies, EricaGet this itemIt can be refreshing (no pun intended) to read an optimistic overview of humanity’s relationship with water. Exploring innovative urban design, recharged aquifers, and nature’s own hydrologic engineers (beavers) as well as south Indian temple cisterns and Andean amunas, Erica Gies makes a convincing case that we already have the knowledge to avoid a zero-sum future, if we choose to use it. Suggested by Amy G.
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Taste: My Life Through Food
2021 by Tucci, StanleyGet this itemStanley Tucci strikes the perfect balance between personal memoir and food writing in this book. Heartfelt, informative, and humorous, this is a great choice for anyone who loves food or celebrity memoirs. Audiobook highly recommended! Suggested by Paul.
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Anita De Monte Laughs Last
2024 by Gonzalez, XochitlGet this itemFirst-generation Ivy League student Raquel discovers the remarkable work of forgotten artist Anita de Monte, whose tangled relationships before her suspicious death eerily echo Raquel's own. A rich and complex story of art, power, identity, the systems that force marginalized people into small boxes, and the resistance to overcome limitations and to take up space. Suggested by Rummanah.
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Bright Young Women
2023 by Knoll, JessicaGet this itemFollowing a shocking crime at a sorority house, two women pursue a serial killer in this fictionalized story about real events. In contrast to media that typically features the killer, this story features the stories of the women affected by his crimes. This is a great pick for fans of suspense, thrillers, and true crime with a feminist perspective. Suggested by Brenna.
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The Iliad
2023 by HomerGet this itemEmily Wilson’s new translation of Homer’s Iliad is a great starting point for discussion about translation of the antique to the modern--and whether we liked it when we had to read the Iliad for school. Suggested by Amy G.
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How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water
2022 by Cruz, AngieGet this itemA short but powerful novel about Cara, who has lost her job in the Great Recession of 2008. Structured as a series of interviews between Cara and her job counselor, she relates the story of her life: immigrating from the Dominican Republic, working in a factory, and her estranged relationship with her son. Suggested by Brenna.
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Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World
2023 by Grabar, HenryGet this itemParking may sound like a dry topic to discuss, but Henry Grabar makes it anything but, with real-world examples of how we use our public spaces, parking garage scandals, and the year Chicago sold its downtown parking space. This may just change the way you think about parking. Suggested by Amy G.
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After the Miracle: The Political Crusades of Helen Keller
2023 by Wallace, MaxGet this itemWill you please tell us what idea you had of goodness and beauty when you were six years old? That was Helen Keller, mocking the kind of insipid questions she was asked throughout her long life. The 20th Century’s most famous Deafblind woman had an irreverent spirit and a passion for radical causes (and the FBI file that went with it) that coexisted uneasily with the nonthreatening secular sainthood the world projected onto her. Suggested by Andrew.
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The Authenticity Project
2020 by Pooley, ClareGet this itemThis feel-good story about human connections is not afraid to visit deep, hard-hitting issues. The cast is full of likeable characters and you may find yourself wishing that you are a part of their fun, supportive, and unlikely friend group. Suggested by Paul.
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River East, River West
2024 by Lescure, Aube ReyGet this itemThis engrossing debut interrogates what it means to struggle with the consequences of ambition and the difficult search for belonging. It spins a different perspective on both the traditional immigrant and coming-of-age novel. Suggested by Rummanah.
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