Book Club News: July Issue |
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Greetings!
This month, we recommend six discussable novels set in various parts of the world and share top tips from some of the book clubs we've interviewed over the past year or so.
Also, we cover three books that we're currently discussing in our book club forum that focus on fascinating stories of women in history: Tracey Enerson Wood's novel The War Nurse is narrated by a fictionalized version of World War I nurse Julia Stimson, Anne Gardiner Perkins' Yale Needs Women is a nonfiction account of Yale's first female students, and Christina Baker Kline's historical novel The Exiles features two English women and an Aboriginal girl in 19th-century Australia.
Very best,
Davina, BookBrowse Publisher
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6 Novels to Take Your Book Group Across the Globe |
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No matter where we are in the world, books offer us a way of traveling to locations different from our own. Below, we bring you a list of relatively recent novels available in paperback that can help your book club explore and contemplate locales all over the globe, from remote wilderness to bustling cities.
Half of the books feature journeys by water or by air, while the others dive deep into the intricate details of specific places. Two of them, The Paris Hours and The Devil and the Dark Water, will even allow your group to travel through time to bygone eras, in the City of Light and on the high seas respectively...
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Discussions are open to all to view and participate, so if you've read a book, click on "discuss."
If you have not, we suggest you go to "about the book."
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The War Nurse
by Tracey Enerson Wood
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From the Jacket
Superintendent of Nurses Julia Stimson must recruit sixty-five nurses to relieve the battle-worn British, months before American troops are ready to be deployed. She knows that the young nurses serving near the front lines will face a challenging situation, but nothing could have prepared her for the chaos that awaits when they arrive at British Base Hospital 12 in Rouen, France.
From the Discussion
"The War Nurse presents a fascinating story about Julia Stimson, a very accomplished woman. I knew nothing about Stimson. I enjoyed reading the historical fiction, and I felt compelled to look up more info about her." - djcminor
"An engaging, informative fictionalized historical account of Julia, one of the nurses who played such an under-reported role during World War I. I think the novel was well-executed and well-researched with many characters interrelating naturally with one another, which made it even more enjoyable - a 5-star read." - carriem
"A novel about relationships, family, friends, and the choices one makes. The War Nurse is one of the best novels I’ve read this year." - jayne25
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Sourcebooks. Historical Fiction. 304 pages. Published July 6, 2021 |
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Yale Needs Women
by Anne Gardiner Perkins
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From the Jacket
In the summer of 1969, from big cities to small towns, young women across the country sent in applications to Yale University for the first time. The Ivy League institution dedicated to graduating "one thousand male leaders" each year had finally decided to open its doors to the nation's top female students.
From the Discussion
"I loved the book because it is set in 1969, and I was 19 years old then. Even though I was not a feminist at that time, the struggles that the women faced are well documented in this story. These women were pioneers in the area of equality... It was uplifting to read about the battle." - corinne
"I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I was afraid it would be somewhat dry, but it was fascinating from start to finish. Excellently written non-fiction!" - kimk
"I was not at all expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did and read it straight through in about two days... Women may have been admitted into Yale in 1969, but women were NOT REALLY a part of Yale... as I look around me 50 some years later, I realize that there is just as much work to be done today as there was then. Yale STILL needs women!" - acstrine
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Sourcebooks. History. 400 pages. Paperback published July 6, 2021 |
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Last year, BookBrowse's book club discussed The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline. It received many positive comments, so we're revisiting it now that the book is released in paperback. |
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The Exiles
by Christina Baker Kline
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From the Jacket
The author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Orphan Train returns with an ambitious, emotionally resonant historical novel that captures the hardship, oppression, opportunity and hope of a trio of women's lives - two English convicts and an orphaned Aboriginal girl - in nineteenth-century Australia.
From the Discussion
"I loved the character development and the historical accounts. I had no real understanding of Australia starting out as a penal colony and how poorly convicts were treated at that time. I read the book in just a few days... I didn't think another novel could surpass Orphan Train but this book surely did." - Patricia Marie
"I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and once again, marvel at Christina Baker Kline's ability to tell such a good story while incorporating a lot of history." - rebeccar
"I loved this book. It was a total surprise... At heart, I am a history buff but knew nothing about the history of the convicts' removal to Australia, except that they were sent there. I think that this is why I could not put the book down. I wanted to know more and more... As in all good novels, there is a story and there are peripheral stories. I recommend the whole package!" - sherryk
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The discussion of The Exiles took place last winter, so the forum is closed for new posts at this time, but you can read the almost 400 comments on 27 topics, or explore more about the book, via the links below.
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Custom House. Historical Fiction. 400 pages. Paperback published July 6, 2021 |
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Current & Upcoming Book Club Discussions |
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Discussions are open to all, so please join us! If you would like to receive a message when a particular discussion opens, you can sign up for a one-time notification. You can also find inspiration for your book club among our almost 200 past discussions. |
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Successful Book Clubs Share Their Top Tips |
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Are you in a book club?
If so, you may be interested to know that tucked away in BookBrowse's book club section are 14 years' worth of interviews with a wide range of book groups.
Each one has something to inspire, and they are full of interesting and useful information – such as the books that the groups have most enjoyed discussing (and the ones they didn't) and plenty of ideas that you can borrow to freshen up your own group...
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BookBrowse offers a cornucopia of resources for book clubs including recommended books by genre, time period, setting and a wide range of themes; advice on starting and running a book club and much more! |
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Usually published once a month, Book Club News is one of BookBrowse's four free newsletters. We also publish BookBrowse Highlights every Thursday, Publishing This Week every Sunday; and Librarian News monthly.
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Toll Free: 1-800-745-5306 (US & Canada)
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