I host a regular book club and I’m hoping to bring some new books in that will sharpen our worldview. What books do you recommend?
At our sibling company, Banned Books Book Club, we regularly feature books worth your time. Here are some of our community’s favorites based on some popular book club choices.
If you liked (the controversial) American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins…
Try: Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez
Pérez takes the facts of the 1937 New London school explosion—the worst school disaster in American history—as a backdrop for a riveting novel about segregation, love, family, and the forces that destroy people. Read More >
If you liked Educated by Tara Westover…
Try: In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
This is Machado’s engrossing and wildly innovative account of a relationship gone bad, and a bold dissection of the mechanisms and cultural representations of psychological abuse. Tracing the full arc of a harrowing relationship with a charismatic but volatile woman, Machado struggles to make sense of how what happened to her shaped the person she was becoming. Read More >
If you liked Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone…
Try: Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro
Xochitl is destined to wander the desert alone, speaking her troubled village’s stories into its arid winds. Her only companions are the blessed stars above and enigmatic lines of poetry magically strewn across dusty dunes. Her one desire: to share her heart with a kindred spirit. One night, Xo’s wish is granted. But when the two set out on a magical journey across the desert, they find their hearts could be a match… if only they can survive the nightmare-like terrors that arise when the sun goes down. Read More >