We did it! The votes are in & the SOC Sistas have selected the books we’ll be reading this year. I’m excited about what I think is a pretty good mix of old & new.
Take a look for yourself, and feel free to read along with us.
May 2018: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
June 2018: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
July 2018: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
August 2018: Stoner by John Williams
September 2018: Cane River by Lolita Lademer
October 2018: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
November 2018: Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance
December 2018: Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
January 2019: The Book Thief by Markus Zysak
February 2019: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
March 2019: Sing …

There is a rash of World War II literature. In our last book club annual selection long list, there were enough books that had we wanted to dedicate a whole year to WWII, we could have. Also, occasionally, I’m asked to recommend a good WWII book, so I thought it might be a fun list to compile – all the WWII books I’ve read (or at least that I can remember!) These are in somewhat backwards order beginning with most recent. And just because I’m that kind of person, you’re …

Amor Towles wrote Rules of Civility and A Gentleman in Moscow – two of my favorite books from last year. When I learned that he was speaking in my state, I was thrilled. I was even more excited when I figured out that while it was on the other side of the state in Newnan, Georgia, it did happen to coincide with when I would be traveling back home from being in Columbus, Georgia for work.
It is obvious the fates were conspiring on my behalf.
He was a delight. And …

For the last several years, my book club has followed the same procedure for selecting its books for a whole year. Last year, when our picks were made, we realized we were missing out on discussing some really good books by leaving behind the books that were not selected. (That’s what happens when you take a month to research books you plan to pitch!)
So this year we’re doing something different. Instead of making new book pitches, we took the the books from our 2017 and 2018 Long Lists that weren’t …

A few years back, my book club put together its collective Top 100. I remember in that exercise, that I had a hard time selecting just a top 10. Since then, I’ve wondered what my top 100 would be. I recently sat down to figure it out, and it was much harder than I thought. I ended up removing all non-fiction, and perhaps one day I’ll put out a top non-fiction reads. I left a few in that are technically non-fiction, but they read enough like a novel that I …

I bought The Fact of a Body after hearing about it on the Literary Disco podcast*. My plan had been to give it my dad for Christmas. Once it arrived, I became so intrigued, I ended up keeping it for myself.
I’ll start by saying that many researchers who write non-fiction are not great writers. That is not the case with Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich. I was immediately drawn in and found myself wanting to underline creative imagery or interesting turn of phrase again and again. When has that ever happened reading non-fiction?
Subtitled …

It seems everyone wants to be in a book club. And I get it – they are fun. They also don’t run themselves, which is why I think I’m seeing more and more people wanting tips on how to organize a book club successfully.
I’ve been in my book club for ten years, and the group existed for several years before I joined. Through the years, we’ve figured some things out that I believe have added to its sustainability. Here are five tips that have helped make our group successful.

Members matter: …

I realize this post is two days late, but since I’m still seeing some residual “Best of 2017” on TV, I decided I’d go ahead with it. Plus, since I’ve already reviewed all my favorite books from this year, it will be quite the easy post to write. Mind you, these are the best books I read in 2017 – not the best books I read published in 2017.
Best Book of 2017 – Rules of Civility
Read my post for more comprehensive thoughts, but I picked this one over the other …

‘Tis the season for everyone’s “best books” list. Here’s a round-up of the more popular (and maybe some lesser known) lists.
If I’ve missed one, leave it in the comments, and I’ll add it. Disclaimer: When a source creates multiple lists, I will always default to fiction / literary fiction for these lists.
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Bloomberg
Bookriot
Elle
goodreads
The Guardian
GQ
Harper’s Bazzar
Huffington Post
Indigo
Kirkus
NPR
The New York Times
Washington Post
Popsugar
Publishers Weekly
Time
Town and Country
Vulture
Did I miss a list? Let me know if the comments! ⇓

Twelve pages from the end of Rules of Civility, Amor Towels, in the voice of Tinker Grey, describes Manhattan as “so improbable, so wonderful, so obviously full of promise – that you wanted to approach it for the rest of your life without ever quite arriving.“
This is precisely how I felt while reading Towels’ 2011 debut novel. In fact, after my first sitting, I took to Twitter to try and describe how I already felt:

This will likely be the best book I read in 2017.  I adored A Gentleman in Moscow, and people …