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 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Magical Realism, LGBTQ, Fantasy, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Romance, Mystery / Crime Fiction, French Literature, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction, Classical Period


Publication year 2019

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Indigenous, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Society: Community, Relationships: Family

Tags Inspirational, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Race / Racism, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Mental Illness, Biography


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction

Fruit of the Drunken Tree is the debut novel of Colombian-American author Ingrid Rojas Contreras, known for her essays and short stories which have been published in The New York Times Magazine, The LA Times Review of Books, Guernica, and others. The novel’s autobiographically-inspired plot takes place in the author’s hometown of Bogotá, and it traces the friendship of the young Chula Santiago with her family’s guerrilla-entangled maid, Petrona Sanchez. Petrona is coerced into abetting... Read Fruit of the Drunken Tree Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Relationships, Gender / Feminism


Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: The Past

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Arts / Culture, Poverty, History: World

Susan Vreeland, author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue, (Penguin Books, 2000) was an internationally known author of art-related historical fiction who, after a long and notable literary career, died in 2017. A New York Times bestseller, the novel was originally published in 1999 by McMurray and Beck, but subsequent editions were published by Penguin Books. The novel’s popularity gave rise to a 2003 Hallmark Hall of Fame production based on the novel. The painting in... Read Girl In Hyacinth Blue Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Gender / Feminism, Race / Racism, LGBTQ, Realistic Fiction, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Modern Classic Fiction

Bernardine Evaristo’s polyphonic novel of modern Britain and womanhood, Girl, Woman, Other, won the 2019 Booker Prize. Evaristo was the first Black woman to receive this literary prize for books written in the English language. Employing an experimental, poetic form, the novel follows several generations of mainly Black, British women who interrogate the intersections of identity, Human Connectivity and Interdependence, Diaspora in Great Britain, and The Impact of Family Legacy. Girl, Woman, Other is Evaristo’s... Read Girl, Woman, Other Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Place, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Indigenous

Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Midlife, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery

Tags Romance, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Art

Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Gender / Feminism, Arts / Culture, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Action / Adventure


Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Society: Community, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags Fantasy, LGBTQ, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Religion / Spirituality

Half Bad (March 2014) is the debut novel of author Sally Green. It is also the first book in a trilogy of the same name. The book became an instant bestseller because of its similarity to the Harry Potter series. Green followed Half Bad with Half Wild (2015) and Half Lost (2016). The Half Bad trilogy was eventually produced as the Netflix series entitled The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself. It ran for one... Read Half Bad Summary


Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Western, History: World, Biography

Jeannette Walls describes her book Half Broke Horses as a “True-Life Novel,” as it describes the life of her real-life grandmother Lily Casey Smith. The book is told in the first person from the perspective of Lily as she grows up in the harsh desert southwest. While the book is classified as a novel (since Walls was unable to back-up all of the facts about Smith’s life), it reads more like a memoir. Walls begins... Read Half Broke Horses Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags Historical Fiction, History: European, Gender / Feminism, Health / Medicine, Arts / Culture, British Literature, Elizabethan Era, History: World


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Identity: Disability, Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

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


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Relationships: Mothers, Natural World: Place, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Romance, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1990

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Language, Values/Ideas: Literature, Society: Politics & Government, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Magical Realism, Fantasy, Allegory / Fable / Parable, History: Asian, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Indian Literature, Classic Fiction

Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a 1990 book for young adults, written by Salman Rushdie. Haroun is the follow-up to Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses, which was deemed blasphemous by the Ayatollah (a high-ranking Iranian clergyman) at the time, who pronounced a death sentence on the author. As a response to the ayatollah’s decree, Haroun explores themes of free speech, the need for storytelling, and the value of fiction.Plot SummaryThe novel begins with... Read Haroun and the Sea of Stories Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family

Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction


Publication year 2018

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Tags Mental Illness, Gender / Feminism, Biography

Heart Berries is a memoir written in connected, lyrical vignettes by Terese Marie Mailhot. It was published in 2018. The book tells the story of Mailhot’s life as a First Nations woman who moves from Canada to the American Southwest, struggles with bipolar disorder, and comes to terms with her past traumas and tumultuous, sometimes violent marriage. Plot SummaryThe beginning of the book chronicles Mailhot’s love affair with a White man named Casey, who leaves... Read Heart Berries Summary


Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Japanese Literature, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Asian Literature, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Race / Racism, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Magical Realism, Modern Classic Fiction