There’s nothing I love more than getting together with a group of friends and talking about this month’s book club pick. The only problem? Finding a really cool book that we’ll all enjoy but will also give us something to talk about. So here are 14 books in a bunch of different genres that are sure to start a discussion!
Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 – Cho Nam-Joo
Kim Jiyoung is a thirty-something year-old ‘millenial everywoman’ who has recently left her white collar desk job in order to care for her new baby full time just as many Korean women are expected to do. But she soon begins to act in strange ways and as she plunges deeper into her psychosis, her husband sends her to a male psychiatrist.
Jiyoung recounts her entire life to the psychiatrist. A life that is full of struggle and misogyny. A life that is unfortunately far too common.
Bright Young Women – Jessica Knoll
The year is 1978 and the ‘All-American Sex Killer’ has been terrorising women across the Pacific Northwest, but the members of a sorority at Florida State University aren’t thinking about that. Most of them have gone out of the night and when Pamel Schumacher, president of the sorority, is startled awake in the middle of the night, she makes the mistake of deciding to investigate. She finds a horrific scene where her sisters have been maimed and killed. Pamela is quickly thrust into a terrifying mystery that captivates the public interest for decades to come.
On the other side of the country, Tina’s friend has disappeared from a crowded lake in broad daylight and becomes convinced the All-American Sex Killer is to blame. When she hears of the tragedy at the sorority she knows it’s the same killer and travels to Florida to investigate what happened with Pamela.
Midnight is the Darkest Hour – Ashley Winstead
Ruth has always felt like an outsider in her small god-fearing town. Since she was a teenager she has been friends with Everett, a guy that is a real outsider.
The town is haunted by stories of the Low Man, a vampire-like figure that steals people from their beds. A skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysteriously carved symbols in trees.
As Ruth and Evertett grow closer, they begin to unearth the town’s dark secrets.
The Paper Palace – Miranda Cowley Heller
On a perfect summer morning, happily married 50-year-old Elle is staying at The Paper Palace – the place she’s visited every summer of her life. But last night something changed. She snuck out and slept with her oldest friend, Jonas, for the first time while both of their spouses were just minutes away.
Over 24 hours, Elle will reflect on the life she’s built with her husband, Peter, a man she genuinely loves, and the life she might have had with Jonas if a tragic event hadn’t changed her life forever. We follow Elle’s life and see everything leading up to this day and see how she made the decision to do what she did.
The Divorcees – Rowan Beaird
In 1951, Lois Saunders found herself suffocating in a loveless marriage and most places don’t see that as a valid reason for divorce – except for Reno, Nevada.
The Golden Yarrow is one of Reno’s ‘divorce ranches’ where women have to go for a six week residency after being granted a divorce. Lois finds herself living with an array of different women where they spend their days riding horses and their nights flirting with cowboys. But Lois’ world becomes a whole new place when the gorgeous and mysterious Greer arrives. Greer is like no one that Lois has ever met and together they begin to push against the limits that have always restrained them as women.
Idol – Louise O’Neill
Samantha Miller is an influencer that is idolised by her young fans. She strives to tell the truth and have them find their own truth. So just as she’s more famous than she’s ever been, she decides to write an essay detailing her sexual awakening as a teenager with her female best friend, Lisa, and the essay goes viral.
But when Lisa gets in touch years after they last spoke, Sam is confused. Lisa doesn’t remember the night in the same way at all – her memory is a lot darker. But Sam knows what happened, so when it’s Sam’s word against Lisa’s… who gets to tell the truth?
Eileen – Ottessa Moshfegh
Just before Christmas Eileen Dunlop will disappear. This is the story of what happened.
Eileen is 24-years-old, she’s an unassuming yet disturbed woman who lives with her drunken father and works as a kind of secretary at a prison for teenage boys. She spends her dreary days stalking a coworker, shoplifting, and dreaming of escaping to the big city. But one day, a new woman begins working at the prison and Eileen is immediately enchanted and they quickly develop a friendship. But it’s not long before Eileen is drawn into something she never expected.
Minor Detail – Adania Shibli
A year after the Nakba, in 1949, Israeli soldiers captured and abused a young Palestinian woman, killed her and buried her in the sand. Years later, a woman learns of this ‘minor detail’ in history and becomes obsessed with finding out the truth of what happened.
Educated – Tara Westover
Tara Westover grew up in the mountains of Idaho where she and her family prepared for the end of the world. She’s never seen a doctor so everyone was treated at home, even for serious injuries, they received no formal education and they were completely isolated from society.
But Tara began educating herself and by 17 years old she’d started attending high school before making her way to Brigham Young University. This is her story.
Tender is the Flesh – Agustina Bazterrica
When all animal meat becomes poisonous, humans begin eating ‘special’ human meat.
Marcos works at the local processing plant where he slaughters humans. His wife has left him and he’s trying to not think too hard about where he works. But one day he’s given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. He’s aware that personal contact is illegal but he soon begins treating her like a human.
The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides
One evening, Alicia shoots her husband five times in the face, then never speaks again. Criminal psychotherapist, Theo Faber, has waited a long time to work with Alicia and is determined to unravel the mystery of why she did it.
I’m Glad My Mom Died – Jennette McCurdy
Jennette McCurdy, of iClarly and Sam & Cat fame, details her life as a child actor. It was her mother’s dream for her to be an actor and she got her first audition at just 6 years old. She discusses the restricted diets she was put on, how she was thrust into fame after being cast on iCarly, the problems that occurred on the set of Sam & Cat, and finally to her quitting acting and starting therapy.
Yellowface – R.F. Kuang
June Hayward and Athena Liu met at university and they expected to become literary darlings together… but while everyone is amazed with Athena’s writing, no one cares about the one book June published.
So, when June watches as Athena dies in a freak accident, she makes the split-second decision to steal the manuscript that Athena has just finished and publish it as her own.
It’s an experimental novel about the contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I, and June decides to have it published under a new name – Juniper Song. She uses an ambiguous ethnic author photo and the book becomes more popular than anything she’s ever written.
But then someone begins threatening her… they know her secret and she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
Mad Honey – Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan
After her husband revealed a darker side, Olivia and her son, Asher, ended up back in her hometown where she took over her dad’s beekeeping business.
Lily is also familiar with fresh starts – she moved to a new town with her mother in hopes of a new life. And, for a while that’s exactly what she gets. Lily ends up falling for Asher, Olivia’s son, and she feels happy for the first time.
And then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is sure her son is innocent … but she would also be lying if she said she never saw her ex-husband’s temper in him, and as the case unfolds Olivia realises there are secrets her son has hidden from her.
