October is National Reading Group Month! I LOVE book clubs; meeting together with a group of people to chat about a book is one of my most favorite things to do. The more polarizing the book, the better, as I always feel those titles have the most engaging discussions. I want to be arguing about the decisions made by the main character well into the evening! Whether you've been part of a book club that's been meeting religiously for years, you've been following along with a celebrity book club, or are thinking about starting your own book club, this list of titles centering the book club experience will be perfect to read (and discuss) during the month of October!
It's a classic for a reason: Reading Lolita in Tehran tells the true story of Azar Nafisi, a teacher who brought together 7 of her most dedicated female students to secretly read forbidden Western novels while living in Iran. The group, a blend of women with different backgrounds and religious beliefs, met to discuss titles like Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, and, of course, Lolita. Though the group was initially shy, discussing the novels led the group to discussing their own experiences, providing a glimpse into the world of women's lives during a revolutionary period in Iran. This is a book that will stick with you for a while.
A historical novel set in 1960s Virginia, The Book Club for Troublesome Women tells the story of 4 women who get together to start a neighborhood book club as a ruse to meet the mysterious Charlotte, who has just moved to town from NYC. The women are all dealing with their own troubles and are not even sure if they like one another that much, but they continue meeting and begin to bond with one another while reading Betty Freidan's The Feminine Mystique. It's an homage to the power of female friendship and the unique type of strength you can only get after talking with friends.
The Toni Morrison Book Club is the group memoir of four friends who use Toni Morrison's work as a jumping off point for conversations about racism in the United States. The book is a collection of essays. Each writer contributed two essays about how their lives relate to one of four Morrison works: Beloved, The Bluest Eye, A Mercy, and Song of Solomon. It's small, under 215 pages, but jam-packed with exquisite writing that will lead to many fruitful conversations in your own book club (and maybe encourage you to read all of Toni Morrison's work!).
There are so many cozy books out there about the book club experience. It's a cozy concept! Of course, horror writer Grady Hendrix, turns the cozy book club novel on its head with his The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. It's the 1990s, and Patricia's only break from her lonely life as a housewife in Charleston is her neighborhood true-crime book club. When a new man moves into town and children suddenly start to go missing, Patricia and her book club start to wonder if the new man is actually a vampire. It's a little bit funny, a whole lotta spooky, but definitely one of the most fun reads you'll encounter all year.
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