I need to save this list!!! I am currently working on my 2025 Reading Goals so this list is great food for thought. Thanks for sharing.
Patrick Bringley’s book All the Beauty in the World was a lovely read. As for The Women - I am definitely an outlier. It was a DNF for me - an important topic but found the story so cliche and too simplistic for a complicated time. It was my first Hannah book so maybe she isn’t the author for me. Can’t wait to look up some of the others.
Hi Nick,
Thanks for managing my post into the best location. The club reads a book every month except July when we take a bit of a summer break. So the August book is often a longer one. This time we will likely be tackling Huck and James in August.
Interesting thought that you envision a Huck and James bundle. I love it! I’ve heard many people saying they think the two should be taught together in schools.
I read Huck immediately before reading James and I’m so glad I did. It made for a richer reading experience to recognize the points where James intersected Huck while still telling a very different story.
I read someone describe Bringley’s book as “gentle.” I think that is what I loved about it - the quiet simplicity and self-awareness intertwined with art.
Wow, what a varied list! Love seeing George Eliot on there . . . but as far as the more contemporary titles, I really enjoyed Rita Bullwinkel’s Headshot—I can imagine there would be a lot of scope for discussion with that one, since it’s structured sort of like a series of character studies and also just has a lot to say about gender, class, and much more. I do not like boxing, but I surprised myself by really getting into this novel, so kudos to the author!
My club read and liked The Women, I am in the process of compiling the list for '25. I’ve got Tell Me Everything, The God of the Woods and I’ve paired Huck Finn and James as well. thanks for sharing these suggestions. Since I choose the books alone, this is very helpful.
We have ours chosen until June of 2025 - we choose the list in May of each year. The books are from June this year until May next year - we all submit titles, assign the titles numbers, and pull numbers from a hat. We still have quite a few titles left.
A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles - July 2024
THE SPECTACULAR by Fiona Davis - August 2024
CLARK & DIVISION by Naomi Hirahara - September 2024
THE BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS by Lisa Wingate - October 2024
THE DAY THE WORLD CAME TO TOWN by Jim Defied - November 2024
THE MAIDENS by Alex Michaelides - December 2024
THE DUTCH HOUSE by Ann Patchet - January 2025
LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus - February 2025
YOU’LL NEVER KNOW DEAR by Hallie Ephron - March 2025
PARK AVENUE SUMMER by Renee Rosen - April 2025
THE ROARING DAYS OF ZORA LILY Noelle Salazar - May 2025
THE BACK CHANNEL by William Burns - Nonfiction - June 2025
Our book club selects its books in May for our cycle which runs July-June. For the first 6 months of 2025, we’re reading:
• There Is Nothing For You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century by Fiona Hill
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
• How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney
• Table for Two by Amor Towles
• Tinkers by Paul Harding
• The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty
We select our books in October. For the coming year:
Cannery Row, John Steinbeck West with Giraffes, Lynda Rutledge The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, Robert Dugoni All Passion Spent, Vita Sackville West This Must be the Place, Maggie O’Farrell
*Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder,*Kerryn Mayne Unorthodox, Deborah Feldman The Nature of Fragile Things, Susan Meitner The Briar Club, Kate Quinn Hang the Moon, Jeannette Walls Once there were Wolves, Charlotte McConaghy
Our ground rules: All members may suggest books. They must have already read the book as not every good read makes for good discussion. 400 pages or fewer, some leeway allowed. At our planning meeting, we “sell” our suggestions. Each member is given the list of possibilities along with blurbs and reviews from professional reviewers. Each member gets 10 votes to spend as they wish. Votes tallied and we’re set!
