What uuuuuuup, book lovers! Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met and well-read.
Summer is just about over, pero like….how?? It feels like it was all of twelve days long. I’m not quite ready to give up the longer days, the warm nights, reading in the sunshine with a cold drink in hand. Let’s soak it all up while we still can, shall we? Let’s talk club things and end-of-summer reads!
This newsletter is sponsored by Sold On a Monday by Kristina McMorris.
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The scrawled sign, peddling young siblings on a farmhouse porch, captures the desperation sweeping the country in 1931. It’s an era of breadlines, bank runs, and impossible choices.
For struggling reporter Ellis Reed, the gut-wrenching scene evokes memories of his family’s dark past. He snaps a photograph of the children, not meant for publication. But when it leads to his big break, the consequences are more devastating than he ever imagined.
Inspired by an actual newspaper photograph that stunned the nation, Sold on a Monday explores the tale within the frame and behind the lens.
Alright folks, this is your last chance to win 16 of the books mentioned on Recommended! You know & love the podcast, so whatcha waiting for? Enter here before August 31st.
August is for Romance – I somehow missed that August is Romance Awareness Month! One of our Rioters put together a round-up of new romance books that I had to give a quick nod to. There are but two days left in the month, so you could try and give Liberty a run for her money and finish these books by then (haahahaha, look at me making a funny). Or you could just accept that you don’t technically need a special month to read & enjoy romance. You’re welcome.
- Book Club Bonus: First, a fun tip: get weird! Gather your book club tribe, find the romance section of your favorite bookstore and make your next selection *purely* off the basis of the cover’s steaminess OR the title’s creativity. On a more thoughtful note, read outside of your comfort zone. I’m a romance novice myself but have noticed that I lean towards the Regency variety; if you’re in my same boat, go for a contemporary version for your club pick. Already into contemporary? Throw it back and get historical with thy steam.
Badass Chicks & Comic Strips – I’ve got all of the muppet arms, fist pumps and mariachi music for this list of comics by women dropping this fall. Jessica Jones, Catwoman and Shuri, y’all. Do I really need to say anything more?
- Book Club Bonus: Problem! I have never known anyone who’s read a comic or graphic novel in their book club! While I super hope I’m in the minority here, my spidey senses are telling me that not enough book clubs do this. So next time, pick a comic! And would you look at that: a link to tons of related content. Boop!
Book by Book, State by State – You probably don’t have to think too hard to name books set in places like LA, New York, or Chicago, but what about cities in the rest of our giant land mass? Enter this awesome list of books set in every last one of our 50 states.
- Book Club Bonus: Listen. I will rarely pass up an opportunity to work more travel into my life and I’m about to try to work it into yours too! How fun would it be to take book club on the road??? If you and your friends already have a trip planned, read a book set in your destination in the weeks/months leading up to the trip and then chat about it once you’re there. If road tripping is your thing, map out the length of your drive and pick an audiobook that lines up with your drive time.
- Related: This round up of end-of summer audiobooks for any last-minute travels.
- Related, Part Dos: Whaaaaat? A giveaway of end-of-summer audiobooks!
THUG Life – A new trailer for The Hate U Give dropped last week! I love everything about this project thus far and cannot wait to see it!
- Book Club Bonus: The Hate U Give has been challenged a couple of times in the last year; it was banned by a school district in Katy, TX and ruffled the feathers of some South Carolina police officers when the title popped up on a local high school’s reading list. With the the film release looming nearer and nearer, yes: definitely read the book and take a movie field trip with your book club besties. But also, consider contacting local schools to donate copies of books like The Hate U Give to classrooms in need, maybe even donating your copy when you’re done with it. Screw the haters and the hate they give.
When You Literally Can’t Even – There are books that you think you’ll enjoy and then just loathe, or mildly dislike, or ones that you just sort of feel meh about and that never quite hook you. Ever wondered which books are most popular on the DNF (Did Not Finish) list? Us too. Here’s a list of the most commonly DNFed titles according to Goodreads.
- Book Club Bonus: In case you need a reminder: you don’t have to finish a book you don’t like! There are soooo many books out there and not enough time to read them (nope, sure doesn’t give me any anxiety, none at all AAAAAH) and life is too short to get bogged down in one that just isn’t working for you. Be a good book clubber and let your pals know if you just don’t feel like continuing as a courtesy. You can still participate in the chat portion, or you might even find that the other club folk feel the same way!
Stay bad & bookish, my friends. Hasta luego!
Vanessa
More Resources:
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page