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 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags History: U.S., Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World

Killers of the Flower Moon is a 2017 nonfiction book by American journalist David Grann that tells the story of the so-called 1920s Reign of Terror, a period during which numerous Osage Nation members were killed in Oklahoma for their oil wealth—murders that for the most part went unsolved. The book details these killings and investigates who was responsible.The Osage Nation, like many Indigenous tribes of North America, had been pushed west by white colonists... Read Killers of the Flower Moon Summary


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Relationships: Mothers, Identity: Femininity

Tags Asian Literature, Social Justice, Gender / Feminism


Publication year 1986

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Society: Politics & Government, Natural World: Place, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Western, History: World


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Information Age, Race / Racism, Class, Black Lives Matter, American Literature, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind (2020) is a work of apocalyptic fiction that examines the relationship between race and class during an unspecified disaster that cuts off all communication, forcing two families together. The book uses omniscient narration and interpersonal conflict to heighten the fear of disconnection in the Information Age, treating the apocalypse as an event that happens on a human scale. Published to great acclaim, it has been longlisted for the National... Read Leave the World Behind Summary


Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Relationships: Family

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Psychology, Psychology, Health / Medicine

Lisa Genova’s second novel, Left Neglected (2011), is the fictional story of Sarah Nickerson, a high-powered executive whose life changes forever when she is in a serious car accident. Genova is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels, each dealing with a different neurological condition. She graduated from Bates College with a degree in biopsychology and from Harvard University with a doctorate in neuroscience, a background that influences her writing. Other works by... Read Left Neglected Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality

Tags LGBTQ, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Humor

Written by Andrew Sean Greer and published in 2017, Less is a satirical comedy novel. It portrays the journey of Arthur Less, who after a difficult breakup plots a round-the-world trip to better understand himself. It won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.Plot SummaryApproaching 50, Arthur Less sits in a hotel lobby waiting to be picked up for a literary event. He is a writer and will be interviewing another writer, albeit a sci-fi author... Read Less Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags Historical Fiction, Humor, Gender / Feminism, Romance, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World


Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction

The book begins with a prologue that describes a tightrope walker crossing between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. It is set in 1974, long before the towers were destroyed on 9/11.  In the first chapter, the scene shifts to Dublin, Ireland. There, two brothers, John Andrew Corrigan, called Corrigan, and Ciaran, live with their mother. Their father abandoned the family years ago. After their mother’s death, Corrigan begins studying for the priesthood. He eventually drops... Read Let the Great World Spin Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: The Past

Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Historical Fiction, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, History: U.S., Diversity, African American Literature, Gender / Feminism, History: World


Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags Philosophy, Business / Economics, Futurism, Science / Nature, Technology, Technology, Philosophy


Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Society: War

Tags Historical Fiction, Fantasy, WWII / World War II, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Military / War, History: World

Life After Life is a work of adult historical fiction written by acclaimed British author Kate Atkinson and published in 2013. Atkinson’s debut novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the Whitbread Book of the Year prize and her subsequent novels have all been international bestsellers, including the mystery series featuring Jackson Brodie, which has been adapted to a BBC show. Other works by this author include Case Histories, A God in Ruins, and... Read Life After Life Summary


Publication year 2005

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Children's Literature, History: European, WWII / World War II, Military / War, History: World, Biography

Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project is a work of creative nonfiction written by Jack Mayer and originally published in 2010. The book tells two overlapping stories. One is about Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who helped save 2,500 Jewish children in Warsaw from the Nazis during World War II. The other is about three high school girls—Liz Cambers, Megan Stewart, and Sabrina Coons. In 1999, the girls, with the help of... Read Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Summary


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness

Tags Historical Fiction, WWII / World War II, Military / War, History: World

Lilac Girls is a historical fiction novel by Martha Hall Kelly. Published in 2016, Kelly’s debut novel is inspired by the true story of New York City activist and socialite Caroline Ferriday. Kelly was also inspired by the true story of the Ravensbrück Rabbits, a group of Polish women who were victims of torturous medical experiments during the Second World War. The novel explores the themes of hope, sacrifice, and forgiveness in the face of... Read Lilac Girls Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Aging

Tags Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk is a 2017 picaresque novel by Kathleen Rooney. The narrative is loosely based on the life of the American writer Margaret Fishback, reputed to be the highest-paid advertising woman in the world in the 1930s, who published well-received poems and short stories from that time until the 1960s. The reflective novel unfolds in the span of a single night—New Year's Eve 1984—and follows 85-year-old Lillian Boxfish as she takes a... Read Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Society: War, Relationships: Fathers, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Grief / Death, American Civil War, Religion / Spirituality, History: U.S., Race / Racism, American Literature, History: World

The novel Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, published by Random House in 2017, offers a portrait of an American legend in mourning, surrounded by a poignant but funny cast of 166 characters. It is Saunders’s debut novel, though he has been a notable author of short story collections for decades. The novel won the prestigious Man Booker Prize and was a New York Times best seller.Set in 1862, Lincoln in the Bardo is... Read Lincoln in the Bardo Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Mental Health, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Crime / Legal, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Globalization

Tags Historical Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Little Bee, a 2010 novel by Chris Cleave, follows a teenage Nigerian refugee as her life intertwines with Sarah Summers, Andrew O’Rourke, and Charlie O’Rourke. Cleave imagines a singular scene on a beach in Nigeria that unites Little Bee to the O’Rourke-Summers family. As both Little Bee and Sarah slowly tell and retell their stories of that event and those before and after it, their voices slowly unite. Bridging across countries and blending into a... Read Little Bee Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Family

Tags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Little Fires Everywhere is a New York Times bestselling novel by Celeste Ng published in 2017. In the town of Shaker Heights, Ohio, Elena Richardson rents her family’s property on Winslow Road to Mia and Pearl Warren, a mother and daughter duo who inspire her sense of charity. Mia is an artist, and her lack of rootedness and intense focus on her art unnerve Mrs. Richardson, who lives an orderly life. Their lives become further... Read Little Fires Everywhere Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Community, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Fear

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction