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 2003

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Society: War, Self Discovery, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Gender / Feminism, History: Middle Eastern, Politics / Government, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), History: World, Biography

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books is a memoir by Iranian American author Azar Nafisi, first released to widespread critical and popular acclaim in 2003. The memoir recalls Nafisi’s experiences living and teaching in Iran after the 1979 revolution that created the Islamic Republic of Iran, until her eventual exile in the United States in 1997. At the center of the memoir is Nafisi’s account of a secret book club she hosted during... Read Reading Lolita in Tehran Summary


Publication year 1938

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Class, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness

Tags British Literature, Romance, Classic Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Drama / Tragedy, Gothic Literature, Modernism, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Historical Fiction

Rebecca, a bestselling novel by famed English writer Daphne du Maurier, was published in 1938, and has never gone out of print. The winner of the National Book Award for favorite novel of 1938, Rebecca has been adapted numerous times, including Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 film version, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and a 1997 television miniseries. It was most recently adapted for a Netflix film in 2020 by the same name. Rebecca... Read Rebecca Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags Realistic Fiction, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Natural World: Environment, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Women's Studies (Nonfiction), British Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction

Remarkable Creatures (2009), a novel by Tracy Chevalier, is historical fiction that explores the unlikely friendship between Mary Anning, a working-class woman with a passion for fossil hunting, and Elizabeth Philpot, an unmarried middle-class woman. The novel is set against the backdrop of the rigid societal conventions of 19th-century England. When Mary uncovers a prehistoric fossil on the cliffs of Lyme Regis, her discovery ignites enthusiasm in the scientific community and threatens her village’s deeply... Read Remarkable Creatures Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Natural World: Animals, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Self Discovery, Life/Time: Aging, Relationships: Mothers

Tags Animals, Grief / Death, Parenting, Relationships, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism


Publication year 2002

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Relationships: Family

Tags Disability, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Biography

Riding the Bus With My Sister: A True Life Journey is the New York Times bestselling author Rachel Simon’s 2002 memoir chronicling her experiences with her intellectually disabled sister, Beth. Over the course of a year, Simon rides the bus with Beth and writes about the journey. She learns to confront her own ignorance about her sister’s condition and forms a close bond with her. The book chronicles Rachel’s emotional and spiritual growth, as Rachel’s... Read Riding The Bus With My Sister Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Historical Fiction, Race / Racism, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Relationships: Marriage

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


Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Grandparents, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Flora/plants, Natural World: Food, Natural World: Place

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Crime / Legal, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy

IntroductionEmma Donoghue’s Room is a 2010 novel about a boy named Jack who lives in a single room with his mother, Ma. Room is a crime thriller novel that explores themes of trauma, innocence, and adaptability through the eyes of five-year-old narrator, Jack. Room has received many awards, including the ALA Alex Award, the Indies Choice Book Award for Fiction, and The New York Times Book Review Best Book of the Year award. Room was... Read Room Summary


Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Historical Fiction, History: World

Published in 2011, Rules of Civility is American author Amor Towles’ acclaimed debut novel. Set at the end of the 1930s during The Great Depression, the narrative follows spunky roommates Katey Kontent and Evelyn Ross as they make their way up the social ladder in New York society. Though much of the narrative takes place at the end of the 1930s, the preface and epilogue are set in 1966 and provide a bookended point of... Read Rules of Civility Summary


Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Race, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Parenting


Publication year 2019

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Natural World: Animals, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Identity: Mental Health

Tags Action / Adventure, Animals, Sports, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Science / Nature, Biography


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Music, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance


Publication year 2006

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Identity: Race

Tags Religion / Spirituality, Inspirational, Biography

Same Kind of Different as Me (2006) is a memoir written by Denver Moore and Ron Hall, with the assistance of Lynn Vincent. Employing a first-person point of view that switches between Moore and Hall in its chapters, the book tells the radically-different life stories of the two men—Moore spent most of his adult years being homeless or in prison, while Hall was a high-end art dealer—and how they were brought together thanks to Hall’s... Read Same Kind Of Different As Me Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery

Tags African Literature, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

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

Sarah’s Key is a novel told from multiple perspectives and points in time. At the outset of the novel, there are two narratives occurring: one in 1942, and the other in 2002. In 1942, Sarah’s family is taken, along with a host of other Jewish families, in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup by the French police. Before they leave their home, Sarah hides her little brother, Michel, in a secret cupboard in the house. She grabs... Read Sarah’s Key Summary


Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: War

Tags Historical Fiction, British Literature, War On Terrorism / Iraq War, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World

Saturday is a novel by Ian McEwan, first published in 2005 by Jonathan Cape. Ian McEwan is an acclaimed British author who has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize numerous times, winning the award for Amsterdam in 1998. In Saturday, McEwan delves into the inner life of a single individual, Henry Perowne, a successful neurosurgeon living in London. The novel takes place over the course of a single day, February 15, 2003, against the... Read Saturday Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Art, Society: Colonialism

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Gender, Identity: Race

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


Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Parenting, Historical Fiction, Indian Literature, Arts / Culture

Secret Daughter (2010) is the debut novel of Canadian-Indian author Shilpi Somaya Gowda. Spanning twenty years, it follows two families who are mysteriously connected by an adopted daughter. A New York Times Bestseller, the novel has been translated into more than thirty languages and has sold more than a million copies. Godwa formed the idea for Secret Daughter while volunteering at an Indian orphanage as an undergraduate. Secret Daughter received much critical praise for its... Read Secret Daughter Summary