Welcome back to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met and well-read. Let’s dive in.
This newsletter is sponsored by All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg.
Who is Andrea Bern? When her dippy therapist asks the question, Andrea knows the right things to say: she’s a designer, a friend, a daughter, a sister. But it’s what she leaves unsaid—she’s alone, a drinker, a former artist, a shrieker in bed, captain of the sinking ship that is her flesh—that feels the most true. Everyone around her seems to have a different idea of what it means to be an adult, though. But when Andrea’s niece finally arrives, born with a heartbreaking ailment, the Bern family is forced to reexamine what really matters. Will this drive them together or tear them apart? Told in gut-wrenchingly honest, mordantly comic vignettes, All Grown Up is a breathtaking display of Jami Attenberg’s powers as a storyteller and a whip-smart examination of one woman’s life, lived entirely on her own terms.
For Read Harder-ers: Essay anthology suggestions! Strong cosign for The Fire This Time, which is amazing and full of discussion fodder.
A prompt for a meeting: What was the first book to change your life? I can see this being not only a great discussion and an opportunity for everyone, even the habitual wallflowers, to share, but also a great way to build up your list of future reads.
For listener-readers: Here are Laura’s picks for perfect audiobooks. Listen and discuss!
It’s Women’s History month! And the NY Times has some book suggestions for you for women shaping literature today. (So less history and more contemporary, but work with me here.) As they acknowledge, this is just the tip of the iceberg, but it’s a good start!
Related: the Women’s Prize for Fiction (a.k.a the Bailey’s Prize, a.k.a. the Orange Prize) has released its 2018 longlist. Naomi Alderman’s The Power won last year, which was a win for genre fiction.
Reading the rainbow: The Mary Sue picked LGBTQ releases from February that are worth looking at. Several of them on my TBR, especially The Prince and the Dressmaker.
Have your cake and eat it too: Pick a romance novel and a dessert for your next group discussion, courtesy of these pairings from B&N! I cannot resist a good food theme.
And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations (including the occasional book club question!) you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.
Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn
More Resources:
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page