Are you in charge of picking a book for book club and have NO idea what to choose? Or do you wish you were in a book club? I’m here to help with a list of the books that have sparked the most discussion on my site, the ones for when you want a quick and fun read, and the good ones from TikTok. Need The Best Books to Read for Book Club in 2023? Check out my picks!
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Best Books to Read for Book Club
Unless your book club is ALWAYS on the same page (haha) about the types of books you read, it can be really hard to please everyone.
In my experience, most book clubs have a few serious people. They want to read long books, or classics, or really literary books.
And then in every book club, there are the busy people, or those who want to read to relax. They often don’t have the time or mental energy to read the books that the serious people want.
There are the book club members who are okay buying the books. And there are the book club members who really don’t want any more clutter and prefer to use the library.
How to please the serious readers and the read-to-relax readers? Pick a book that is fast-paced but well-written. That has a plot that moves along but also interesting characters and interesting issues to discuss. YES, there are books like that. But I’ve also divided this list into categories.
Best Fun and Easy Reads for Book Club
In this category, I’ll put books that are fast-paced and/or feel good. Also, they can’t be too long.
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz (2021; 320 pages)
For a group of book lovers, this could make a really fun choice. A writing professor finds out that one of his former students (who told the professor he had come up with the best plot ever) died. Because the professor is struggling to revitalize his floundering career, he decides to steal the student’s unpublished manuscript and publish it under his own name. Everything is fine, until he starts getting anonymous notes from someone who knows what he did. The book alternates between his plight, and trying to untangle the truth behind the story he stole.
PROS: really twisty and lots to discuss, a fun book-related theme, should be available at the library
CONS: It’s not a totally breezy read and has a bit of a Story Within a Story format. My Spoiler Discussion Post on The Plot will help you figure that out. Also, this book has a bit of a darker tone, so if your club likes it light and breezy, this one might not be the best fit.
CHOOSE THIS IF your book club likes twisty thrillers.
Best TikTok Approved Reads for Book Club
COMING SOON!
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017; 389 pages)
Best Unique Choices for Book Club
COMING SOON!
If your group is open to thrillers, I have a post on what the New York Times, Kirkus Reviews, Barnes and Noble (and I) consider the best thrillers of 2022. Many of these will be available at the library!
If you’re the kind of person who likes to prepare for the discussion and review the plot of the book, then you’ll want to check out my list of Spoiler Discussion Posts. These posts cover many recent celebrity book club books and bestsellers. I run down the plot, the characters, and the questions I had after finishing. And then my lovely commenters have even more great insights and questions.
COMING SOON – a list of great book club books that I’ve read from 2020-2023!