When I say I’m a lover of book clubs, I’m not kidding. I belong to six of them. That’s right, six.
Each is different in terms of frequency and focus, but they all have one thing in common: our most riveting conversations come from books that aren’t necessarily everybody’s favorites.
When books push us or make us feel uncomfortable—or they bring us to tears or cause us to snort with laughter—we show up for book club eager to talk. The brainy, heartfelt, and often vulnerable discussions that unfold feel nothing short of wondrous.
If you want to infuse new life into your own book club, give one of the following titles a try. Happy reading.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Who knew we loved Westerns?
Nobody in my book club had ever considered reading this Pulitzer Prize-winning epic, published in 1985 and later made into a miniseries. We doubted we would enjoy a novel about a cattle drive across the frontier, but we were wrong. The un-put-downable story of Gus McCrae, Woodrow Call and the Hat Creek Cattle Company has it all: lust, murder, loyalty and greed, set against the inimitable backdrop of the Old West.
Another option: Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Our brains are scrambled
Burke has created an exceedingly unlikeable main character in Natalie Heller Mills, a “tradwife” social media influencer with lots of kids and a luxe ranch in the mountains. Everything is lovely for Natalie — think soft cashmere sweaters and perfect pot roasts — until she wakes up one morning and it’s 1850. Bye-bye electricity, bye-bye appliances. What is Burke trying to say about feminism, marriage and religion? My book club didn’t have all the answers, but our discussion was rousing.
Another option: Tradwife by Michelle Brandon
How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days by Kari Leibowitz, PhD
Scientific + soothing = a perfect combo
In this surprisingly delightful book, Leibowitz writes about how surviving winter — or any tough time — is about creating rituals and avoiding limiting beliefs. Everyone in my book club (even the winter haters) appreciated her comforting, research-based approach to getting fresh air, seeking wonder and dressing in the right clothes so you’re ready for anything.
Another option: Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
Life, and Death, and Giants by Ron Rindo
We still don’t understand how this quiet story packs such a huge punch
This big-hearted and unabashedly Midwestern novel centers on a young Amish giant who plays college football and becomes a professional wrestler. Words are putty in hands of Rindo, who offers up characters, sentences and worldbuilding that caused my book club to weep copiously when Gabriel Fisher’s story — replete with gorgeous snippets of poetry from Emily Dickinson — came to an end.
Another option: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
I Thought You Said This Would Work by Ann Garvin
Dogs! Best friends! Road trips!
Garvin’s funny-yet-oh-so-touching novel centers on two former best friends, Samantha and Holly, who both adore Katie. Katie’s in the hospital battling cancer, and she makes a special request that sends Samantha and Holly on a cross-country road trip, driving a stolen VW camper with a diabetic pup in the backseat. This story got my book club thinking about second chances, forgiveness, and the sacrifices we make for the people we love.
Another option: The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
Men We Reaped: A Memoir by Jesmyn Ward
We are shattered
In the span of five years, Ward lost five men, including her brother, because of drugs, suicide and drunk driving. She writes unflinchingly about these tragic deaths while examining the racism, economic hardship and generational trauma that contributed to them. Although Ward left her childhood home in rural Mississippi for higher education and a tremendously successful career (including winning two National Book Awards for fiction), her grief endures. It felt palpable to everyone in my book club.
Another option: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Into the Blue by Emma Brodie
What in the world did we just read?
This doorstopper of a novel from Brodie is sexy, unexpected and mind boggling. My book club was obsessed with main characters AJ Graves and Noah Drew, who meet as teenagers in their small Massachusetts town. They fall in love with improv, the theater and each other. Over the course of many years, their lives intersect in astonishing ways. We’re still trying to process the whole thing (including — ahem — the spiciness).
Another option: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Alice Wong
We believe this should be required reading for every human
According to the last census, one in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Whether visible or hidden, most disabilities are underrepresented in popular culture and the media, which made this anthology feel urgent and important to my book club. Nearly forty writers shared their pieces (essays, eulogies, manifestos, testimonies to Congress) with Wong, who passed away in 2025. The finished product is an intimate, affecting look at the disabled experience.
Another option: The Wisdom of Your Body: Finding Healing, Wholeness, and Connection through Embodied Living by Hillary L. McBride, PhD
