Over the years we've read books we've loved, books we've liked,and books that, as individuals, were in a genre we probably wouldn't have explored. And there's the odd one or two we discovered after reading, that we wouldn't recommend. The only 'rule' we have, is once a book is voted on and ok'd by the group (majority rules), we all have to read it.
By stepping outside of our comfort zone, we can grow as readers and overall humans. We've all discovered authors, styles, and genres we wouldn't have encountered without this group.
How do we choose a book? It varies. In the beginning we'd each come to the meeting with a list of our recommendations and by a vote would choose our read for the next month. Our group is fluid; there are a couple of core members who've never missed a book or meeting, and others who join us as their schedules allow. Majority rules. Once a book is selected we each order it through our favorite method(Amazon, library, audio, etc). That worked okay for a while but in the last couple of years, we've adopted a different strategy, due in part to the Manchester Public Library.
One of the services the library offers is to collect books for the various book clubs in town. We give them a list of our books, the months we'll be reading them, and they order the books in the quantities we need. Books are transferred from other libraries around the state, show up at Mary Cheney Library, and through librarian magic, are placed on the 'Book Club' shelf - with enough time for us to get and read the book before our next club meeting. (If you're not familiar with the myriad of services the library offers, visit their website - or better yet, visit the library. You'll be amazed at how many things, in addition to books, the library offers)
With such an incredible service, this year we came armed to our first book meeting of our year (In September) with a list of read suggestions. We voted on books for the whole year and gave the library our list. It's a fabulous service and one that is very much appreciated! So, what have we read?
In the order of reading, here's our list ....
A Man Called Ove Fredrick Backman
Vox Christina Dalcher
Educated Tara Westover
Nine Perfect Strangers Liane Moriarty
Elinor Oliphant is Doing Fine
An American Marriage Tayari Jones
Where the Crawdad's Sing
The Shell Seekers Rosamund Pilcher
The GoldFinch Donna Tartt
Magpie Murders Anthony Horowitz
Little Fires Everywhere Celeste Ng
Defending Jacob William Landay
All the Light We Cannot See
The Storied Life of A.J. Fickry
Clock Dance Ann Taylor
Spark of Light Judy Picolt
Rosie Project Graeme Simpson
The Reading Group Elizabeth Noble
Before We Were Yours Lisa Wingate
American Dirt Jeanine Cummins
No! I don't want to join a book club
The Talented Miss Farwell Emily Gray Tedrowe
The man she married Cathy Lamb
We met 1st time in person in a year
The People We Meet on Vacation Emily Henry
The Reading List Sara Nisha Allums
The Midnight Library Matt Haig
Flyaway Kathleen Jennings
An Inbisible Thread Laura Schroff
Orphan Train Christine Baker Kline
The Girl Who Lived Christopher Greyson
2023 Reads
The Other Black Girl Zakiya Dalila Harris
The Yellow House Sarah M Broom
Lilac Girls Martha Hall Kelly
The House of Mirth Edith Wharton
The Girls They Write Songs About Carlene Bauer
We Were Liars E Lockharte
History of Wild Places Shea Ernshaw
Bee Keeper of Alepo Kristie Lefter
A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier
All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr
The Woman Who Smashed Codes Jason Fagone
The Mountains Sing Nguyen Phan Que Hai
Killers of the Flower Moon David Grann
Sun Flower and the Secret Fan
The Book of Lost Friends Lisa Wingate
The Girl with the Louding Voice Abi Dare