Book Club News: February Issue | |
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Hello,
This month, we invite you to explore our recently opened discussion of Lynda Rutledge's coming-of-age story Mockingbird Summer, which paints a detailed and memorable picture of two young friends growing up in a 1960s community on the verge of change.
We also share an enticing collection of read-alikes for fans of the hit novel Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, a look at our Contemporary category with its many reading guides for book clubs, and upcoming discussions in February and March.
With best wishes,
The BookBrowse Team
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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" to avoid spoilers.
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Mockingbird Summer
by Lynda Rutledge
From the Jacket
This is the last summer of thirteen-year-old Corky Corcoran's childhood, and her family hires a Haitian housekeeper who brings her daughter, America, along with her. Corky is quick to befriend America and eager to share her favorite new "grown-up" novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Set on the eve of massive cultural shifts, Mockingbird Summer explores the impact of great books, the burden of potential, and the power of friendship with humor, poignancy, and exhilarating hope.
From the Discussion
"Overall, I loved the book. It was an opportunity to time travel and visit another part of the country in the comfort of my own home. It made clear to me how much things have changed. I could see a simpler life in that time, but fewer opportunities." —janhubbard
"I really enjoyed the book, especially the references To Kill a Mockingbird... Corky's father's drugstore was so vividly described that I was sure it was one that I had frequented in my much younger days." —lar
"I loved this book. It was a coming of age book in a tumultuous time. It was well written and the character development was outstanding. I highly recommend this book to anyone." —terriej
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Books Similar to Lessons in Chemistry | |
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Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus has been a big hit. This 2022 debut, following chemist Elizabeth Zott in the 1960s as she finds herself hosting a TV cooking show, has sold more than six million copies worldwide and has been translated into 42 languages. Praised for its wry, infectious humor and feminist voice, the novel is the recipient of a Goodreads Choice Award, was voted a BookBrowse Best Book of the Year by our subscribers and remains a popular book club pick beloved by readers. It's even been adapted into a TV series starring Brie Larson.
But if you've already read it and loved it, where do you go from here? What are some books like Lessons in Chemistry, with a similar atmosphere or story? Below, we share our read-alikes for Garmus's novel, which we think would be perfect for you if you're a fan. We hope you enjoy them!
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The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel
A winsome sister duo is at the heart of this unusual and timely story; the book prioritizes the points of view of teenagers Eve and Vera, who are 15 and 12 when the book opens and 17 and 14 by the end. One year before, the girls' evolutionary anthropologist father, Sal, died in a car accident. Their mother, Jane, is a graduate student in paleobiology, and as a single mother has to try that much harder to be taken seriously in her field. The sisters' banter is a highlight of the novel: "'I feel like deranged Girl Scouts,' Eve said. 'What patch will we earn today?' 'The Extinct Animal Resuscitation Patch?' Vera suggested." Ironically, this fabulist-leaning novel is best when it is most realist, documenting struggles with bereavement, sexism and parenting teenagers.
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Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
Mrs. Everything spans six decades of an American family. We meet the Kaufman sisters Josette "Jo" and Elizabeth "Bethie" in 1951 Detroit. The girls grow up during an era where civil rights and women's roles will be challenged and transformed. Their mom Sarah, however, is not liberated. She's intolerant of any behavior that doesn't conform with tradition; she has difficulty making ends meet, especially after her husband dies unexpectedly. As Jo and Bethie come of age, the sisters struggle to form healthy bonds, find their own voices, and move beyond a strict upbringing. Book groups: gather those vintage gelatin dessert recipes and hunker down for astonishing discussions. This novel holds power to crack through decades of silence, family secrets, and hidden aspects of self. ... continued
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In our Contemporary category, you can find nearly 1,700 recommended books, both fiction and non-fiction, featuring current settings and themes relevant to today's world. Almost 700 of these are available with reading guides to enhance your next book club discussion.
This is one of more than a hundred themed categories you can explore on BookBrowse to find the perfect read for your book club or yourself. Members can access all categories and filter to narrow their browsing, while non-members have limited access.
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BookBrowse provides reading guides for 1,800+ recommended books to help lay the groundwork for interesting and invigorating discussions with your book club.
Members can browse guides by theme, setting and time period (our Contemporary category above is just one example), but anyone can search by author, title and genre or check out our featured guides of the week.
Take a look to find your next book club pick today!
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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 more than 200 past discussions.
We've recently begun discussing Lynda Rutledge's Mockingbird Summer. Later this month, we feature Costanza Casati's Clytemnestra, and Parini Shroff's The Bandit Queens will open in March.
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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! | |
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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