Anyone who’s in a book club knows the challenge of choosing what to read: Ideally, something that isn’t too long, too esoteric or too dense, a book with enough of a plot to generate good discussion and maybe some controversy thrown in for good measure. Still, nailing the formula can be difficult.
“People often ask what makes a good book club pick. You want a well-rounded book that has equal parts story, character, setting and literary merit. A hook or way in for every type of reader,” says Lynn Lobash, Head of Reader Services at the New York Public Library.
“It should be accessible, not something you need a Ph.D. in English Literature to discuss. And remember that one of the joys of reading is reflecting on self. A book can be a vehicle to look at your own motivations and reactions, and book clubs often become a sort of group therapy. Memoirs and psychological fiction are great picks.”
Here are some of Lobash’s recommendations for book club picks — and remember that an NYPL library card can be used at all 92 locations.
NEW OR UPCOMING HARDCOVER RELEASES
“Hollywood’s Eve: Eve Babitz And The Secret History Of L.A.” by Lili Anolik (nonfiction, Scribner)
This book looks at Eve Babitz, who catapulted to LA It Girl status when Time published a picture of her, nude, playing chess with artist Marcel Duchamp. At 30, she was discovered as a writer by Joan Didion and went on to produce seven books. Now in her mid-70s, her writing is getting a much-deserved second look.
Why it’s a good pick: “Hollywood gossip meets literary merit, sure to satisfy both the social and cerebral side of every good book group,” Lobash says.
“You Know You Want This: Cat Person and Other Stories” by Kristen Roupenian (short stories, Gallery/Scout Press)
From the author of the New Yorker’s viral short story “Cat Person” comes a collection of short stories that are by turns dark, bizarre, shocking and guaranteed to start a lively conversation.
Why it’s a good pick: “If this collection has even one more story that generates as much conversation as her New Yorker story, you are in for a lively evening.”
“Black Leopard, Red Wolf” by Marlon James (fiction, Riverhead Books)
In this first novel of a new trilogy from the author of “A Brief History of Seven Killings,” Tracker has been hired to find a boy who disappeared three years ago. As Tracker joins a search party, they are set upon by assorted creatures intent on harming them. A fun combination of African history, mythology and wild imagination.
Why it’s a good pick: “The world-building in this is supposed to be amazing. I am imagining ‘Game of Thrones’ meets ‘Black Panther,’ and people love talking about those two.”
“Lost Children Archive” by Valeria Luiselli (fiction, Knopf)
A family sets out on a summer road trip from New York to Arizona just as the immigration crisis is heating up. Told through different points of view.
Why it’s a good pick: “This author has such a singular imagination and style, everything she produces merits discussion. Here she takes on immigration, a timely topic.”
“Gingerbread” by Helen Oyeyemi (fiction, Riverhead Books)
Perdita Lee and her mother Harriet are far from average, with their strange, gold-painted apartment and the mysterious gingerbread recipe they share. There’s also the shadowy childhood friend Gretel Kercheval, who has somehow been involved with everything bad that’s happened to Harriet since they met.
Why it’s a good pick: “Like her work before, this novel promises many layers to peel.”
“The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead (fiction, Doubleday)
In this much-anticipated follow-up to the award-winning best-seller “The Underground Railroad,” Elwood Curtis is about to enroll in a local black college when an innocent mistake lands him in a juvenile reformatory known as The Nickel Academy.
Why it’s a good pick: “The story of what happens at this school will reverberate well past its walls.”
NEW PAPERBACK RELEASES
“The Power” by Naomi Alderman (fiction, Little, Brown)
In this dystopian book, teenage girls have an astonishing power: the ability to cause immense pain to men by administering electrical shocks with their hands.
Why it’s a good pick: “Speculative novels are so fun to discuss. What if women held all the power?”
“The Flight Attendant” by Chris Bohjalian (fiction, Doubleday)
When flight attendant Cassandra Bowen wakes up hungover in a Dubai hotel room, she’s horrified to find the man next to her is not just dead — he’s clearly been murdered. Terrified of calling the police, Bowen leaves the hotel room and heads back to Paris, setting in motion a series of lies that leave her wondering: Could she have done it?
Why it’s a good pick: “A thriller involving missing memories is so much fun and the ending on this one will surprise you.”
“Hillbilly Elegy” by JD Vance (memoir, Harper Paperbacks)
A runaway bestseller since its publication in 2016, this memoir of growing up poor in a chaotic family was cited by many outlets as a crucial book to understanding Trump’s 2016 presidential victory.
Why it’s a good pick: “An eye-opening book that will make for an outraged discussion.”
“The Wife Between Us” by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (fiction, Griffin)
A domestic suspense novel with many twists and turns. Is it the narrative of a jealous ex wife-obsessed with the younger woman about to marry her former husband — or is something else going on?
Why it’s a good pick: “These psychological, multiple-perspective, unreliable narrators bring out both the armchair detective and psychologist in us all. No one is who they seem and you will ask each other at what point you figured it all out.”
“Asymmetry” by Lisa Halliday (fiction, Simon & Schuster)
Told in three sections, the first, “Folly,” explores a relationship between a young woman and a much older, famous author. “Madness” introduces the reader to Amar, an Iraqi-American man detained in Heathrow on the way to visit his brother. These experiences overlap in the third section.
Why it’s a good pick: “It will be just as fun to talk about the way this novel is constructed as the storyline.”
“Manhattan Beach” by Jennifer Egan (fiction, Scribner)
A portrait of Manhattan during the Depression and World War II, this was the 2018 “One Book, One New York” pick. The novel introduces readers to Anna Kerrigan, a 12-year-old accompanying her father Eddie to the home of mobster Dexter Styles. Flash forward several years; Eddie has mysteriously disappeared, Anna is 19 and working at the Brooklyn Naval Yard when she runs into Styles in a nightclub.
Why it’s a good pick: “You could hold a series of discussions with a novel this rich. It’s got it all: great historical local setting, and it’s a family saga that reads like a noir thriller.”
