I just started a new book club a couple months ago, and our books have been so great that I thought I’d share our selections here. Read along with us! (This post earns commission on links.)
April: People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. An ancient manuscripts conservator is called to Sarajevo shortly after the war to evaluate the Sarajevo Haggadah manuscript that was discovered there. Each specimin she finds in the folio–a butterfly wing, a white hair–takes the reader on a different narrative to show how it came to be in the book.
May: The All of It by Jeannette Haien. When a rural Irish woman’s husband dies, she confesses “the all of it” (or, her life story) to their priest–revealing shocking truth about her relationship and slowly stripping the protective layers of his priesthood from him as well. This book was discovered in an free bin at a beachside bookshop by Ann Patchett, and she keeps stacks of it at the checkout at her Nashville bookstore Parnassus.
June: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. Set in India across many decades, this tells the story of a family haunted by their relationship to water–but it’s so much more than that. It’s very long (maybe, 700ish pages) but it’s a real page-turner.
July: Book Swap! We’ll each bring a wrapped book and swap them, white elephant style.
August: How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key. A humorist takes a look at his troubled marriage, with tons of heart and comedy.
September: The Promise by Damon Galgut. A modern family saga about an unmet promise, by South African author Damon Galgut. A Booker Prize winner.
October: Foster by Claire Keegan. The story of a young girl sent to live with foster parents in Ireland who begins to blossom there until a secret is revealed.
November: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. A modern interpretation of David Copperfield, Dickens’ classic about institutionalized poverty, but set in the mountains of Appalachia. A Pulitzer Prize winner.
December: Book Swap again!
Spilled Milk 