The most recommended book club books

Who picked these books? Meet our 1,503 experts.

1,503 authors created a book list connected to book club, and here are their favorite book club books.
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Book cover of Light Perpetual

Martin Nathan Author Of A Place of Safety

From my list on people in dangerous systems of belief.

Why am I passionate about this?

My family was divided by religion, leaving me skeptical about belief systems. After a background in science, I studied philosophy and became intrigued by Heidegger's ā€˜pitiless atheism.ā€™ The power of his thought but his personal failings have long been an issue for academics. I have since been fascinated partly by powerful personalities but more by the struggle of their followers as they suspend critical thinking and make huge sacrifices to offer their support. This struggle and difficulty of turning back, particularly as the systems begin to collapse, are a feature of many of the works of fiction that intrigue me most, particularly in the books I have chosen.

Martin's book list on people in dangerous systems of belief

Martin Nathan Why did Martin love this book?

The book offers a powerful evocation through snapshots of lives in South London through recent post-war history. Something that emerges almost without you noticing is how much they were all affected by the political and economic changes of the eighties and early nineties. There is no political polemic here, but even those who prosper from these changes suffer from them, possibly more than the others. 

It presents recent history in which a way of life was changed forever without us realizing it, and we are still living with the consequences.

By Francis Spufford,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Light Perpetual as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Named a Best Book of the Year by TheNew York Times, NPR, Slate, Lit Hub, Fresh Air, and more

From the critically acclaimed and awardā€‘winning author of Golden Hill, an ā€œextraordinaryā€¦symphonicā€¦casually stunningā€ (The Wall Street Journal) novel tracing the infinite possibilities of five lives in the bustling neighborhoods of 20th-century London.

Lunchtime on a Saturday, 1944: the Woolworths on Bexford High Street in South London receives a delivery of aluminum saucepans. A crowd gathers to see the first new metal in agesā€”after all, everythingā€™s been melted down for the war effort. An instant later, the crowd is gone; incinerated. Amongā€¦


Book cover of A Legacy of Spies

Rob Goss Author Of Japan Traveler's Companion: Japan's Most Famous Sights From Okinawa to Hokkaido

From Rob's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Rob's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Rob Goss Why did Rob love this book?

By John le CarrƩ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked A Legacy of Spies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The undisputed master returns with his first Smiley novel in more than twenty-five years--a #1 New York Times bestseller and ideal holiday gift.

Peter Guillam, staunch colleague and disciple of George Smiley of the British Secret Service, otherwise known as the Circus, is living out his old age on the family farmstead on the south coast of Brittany when a letter from his old Service summons him to London. The reason? His Cold War past has come back to claim him. Intelligence operations that were once the toast of secret London, and involved such charactersā€¦


Book cover of The Silent Patient

Jerold J. Kreisman Author Of Necessary Lives

From Jerold's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Jerold's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Jerold J. Kreisman Why did Jerold love this book?

suspenseful look at psychological approach to a resistant patient

By Alex Michaelides,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked The Silent Patient as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**

"An unforgettableā€•and Hollywood-boundā€•new thriller... A mix of Hitchcockian suspense, Agatha Christie plotting, and Greek tragedy."
ā€•Entertainment Weekly

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a womanā€™s act of violence against her husbandā€•and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.

Alicia Berensonā€™s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of Londonā€™s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him fiveā€¦


Book cover of The Starfish Sisters

Lori Handeland Author Of Suddenly that Summer

From Lori's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Nana Reader

Lori's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Lori Handeland Why did Lori love this book?

I have been a Barbara Oā€™Neal fan through her Barbara Samuel and Ruth Wind years. Barbara can turn a phrase like no one else. She creates exquisite pictures with words, which you see through her characterā€™s eyes. Her female characters speak to me. They are me.

I both savor her books and speed through them because I canā€™t stop reading. This book, in particular, drew me with the beautifully drawn relationship between on-again, off-again lifelong friends, as well as the one between a grandmother and granddaughter.

I have to admit I love books about actors/actresses (also writers, rock stars, and road trips).  

By Barbara O'Neal,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Starfish Sisters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids comes an emotional novel about two women facing the betrayals, heartbreaks, and refuge of true friendship.

Phoebe and Suze used to be closer than sisters. Growing up in a quiet and wildly beautiful coastal town in Oregon, they shared everything. Until the secrets they couldn't share threatened their bond and complicated their lives.

Now, decades later, Suze, a famous actress desperate for safe haven following a brutal attack, is back in town. Phoebe, a successful illustrator and fabric designer, has discovered keeping a secret means she can't letā€¦


Book cover of Danny Boy

Diane Chandler Author Of The Road to Donetsk

From Diane's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Creative writing tutor Open-minded reader Helicopter mum Always looking for the laugh

Diane's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Diane Chandler Why did Diane love this book?

Danny Boy made me laugh out loud and also shed the odd tear. Such is the skill of the author. Set in 1960s London, itā€™s a coming-of-age story about a boy in his late teens who grapples with life and love over one hot summer.

Danny is a loveable character who washes his mumā€™s hair for her. He is also one of the lads but is now painfully aware of the girls on the estate where he lives.

Every character is skillfully drawn, physically and emotionally, with the flick of a pen. Both the writing and observations are highly original. A smile for the reader - be it poignant or comical - is to be found on every page.

By Barry Walsh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Danny Boy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Danny Boy is 'gloriously nostalgic' My Weekly Books of 2023 choice 'A terrific, edge-of-the-seat story ... whose ending had me in the right kind of tears' Maggie Gee 'As evocative as Graham Green's iconic Brighton Rock ***** Amazon reviewer 'Fantastic storytelling' ***** Amazon reviewer 'Gripping story - engaging, entertaining and moving. A terrific read' ***** Amazon reviewer

Danny Byrne has grown up on a sprawling council estate in Pimlico. He knows every stone of it, and until now, his life has followed the same pattern as all his friends.

Danny is heading for A-levels and then university. Dodds is followingā€¦


Book cover of Terra Nova: A Novel

Carol Newman Cronin Author Of Ferry to Cooperation Island

From Carol's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Sailor Olympian Editor New Englander Rum drinker

Carol's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Carol Newman Cronin Why did Carol love this book?

I felt cold while reading Terra Nova, even though I was inside a warm house and under a blanket. Thatā€™s how strong the writing and imagery are in this novel, which is set in the early 1800s and narrated by three people: two Antarctic explorers locked in a race to plant a British flag at the pole and the woman back in London who loves them both.

Sheā€™s a photographer, and her decision to capture the bodies of Londonā€™s hunger strikers will have lifelong ramifications for all three of them. 

By Henriette Lazaridis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Terra Nova as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A haunting story of love, art, and betrayal, set against the heart-pounding backdrop of Antarctic exploration-from the Boston Globe-bestselling author of The Clover House.

The year is 1910, and two Antarctic explorers, Watts and Heywoud, are racing to the South Pole. Back in London, Viola, a photo-journalist, harbors love for them both. In Terra Nova, Henriette Lazaridis seamlessly ushers the reader back and forth between the austere, forbidding, yet intoxicating polar landscape of Antarctica to the bustle of early twentieth century London.

Though anxious for both men, Viola has little time to pine. She is photographing hunger strikers in theā€¦


Book cover of Best of Friends

Maggie Humm Author Of Radical Woman: Gwen John & Rodin

From Maggie's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Woolfian Gym devotee World-traveller

Maggie's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Maggie Humm Why did Maggie love this book?

This is the perfect book group read because there is so much to discuss (and like)!

In 1988 Karachi two fourteen-year-old schoolgirls Zahra and Maryam share teenage kicks, secrets, and a love of George Michael. When Pakistanā€™s dictator is assassinated, the girlsā€™ idyllic world falls apart in one dreadful, frightening evening.

Now in contemporary London the two are highly successful women, still enjoying their friendship until one day the past erupts.

I loved the novelā€™s many levels: political intrigue, the brilliantly evoked worlds of Pakistan and London, the significance of womenā€™s friendship. I would love to have women friends like Zahra and Maryam.

By Kamila Shamsie,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Best of Friends as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

_______________ ** SHORTLISTED FOR THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS 2023 ** CHOSEN AS A BEST BOOK OF 2022 BY THE GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, DAILY MAIL, FINANCIAL TIMES AND IRISH TIMES ** 'A profound novel about friendship. I loved it to pieces' - Madeline Miller 'A shining tour de force' - Ali Smith, Guardian Summer Reading 'An intimate study of the ties that bind us' - Stylist _______________ A dazzling new novel of friendship, identity and the unknowability of other people - from the international bestselling author of Home Fire, winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction Sometimes it was as though theā€¦


Book cover of Light Perpetual
Book cover of A Legacy of Spies
Book cover of The Little Shop of Found Things

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