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This month, we highlight books from the Indian subcontinent (which consists of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.) Reading something set in another part of the world can be both informative and fun, offering you the opportunity to learn new things about unfamiliar places and cultures. And, in the case of these books, you can also feel confident they will be good choices for your book club. We have discussion guides for all but one; and all are also available in paperback, or will be soon.
Watching a movie based on a book you like can be a great way to supplement your reading. The director and the screenwriter, generally, are showing you their interpretation of the book, and while you may not always agree with that interpretation, the film will usually give you something to think (and talk!) about.
This year, Greta Gerwig's beautiful adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women earned four Academy Award nominations, including a (well-deserved) Best Picture nomination. But 2019 also brought several other noteworthy movies based on books that are worth checking out. For a change of pace, consider reading one of the books below with your book club and then screening the film.
2019 was a year of literary sequels: bestselling authors expanding on fictional worlds they created, in some cases decades after the original book was published. Find Me by André Aciman is one such example, published 12 years after Call Me By Your Name. But it's hardly a new phenomenon—here are some of the most noteworthy literary sequels to have hit the shelves, often to the surprise and delight of readers everywhere.
It's a new year--a new decade--are you still using last century's neologisms? Why not spice up your vocabulary with some new words? Or just learn what your kids are actually saying in their tweets and texts!
There are many places to find reader reviews on the web, but it can be a challenge to know which are truly independent.
The reader reviews offered through BookBrowse's First Impressions program are trustworthy because only our members can post them. Members have the opportunity to request books to read months ahead of their publication dates in exchange for their honest opinion. They can request specific titles but the books are assigned by an algorithm. So, while it's conceivable that someone with a personal connection to the book might receive a copy to review, the chances of there being enough people to influence the overall consensus is effectively zero.
It's been a great year for books, and if you haven't had as much time to read as you might have liked, hopefully you can take the opportunity over the holidays to rest, read, and refuel. If you don't already have a stack of unread books on your nightstand waiting for your attention (or even if you do), you'll definitely want to pick up a few of the titles in our Best of Year lineup consisting of the 20 books that were rated highest by BookBrowse subscribers in our annual Best of Year survey. The books are listed in ratings order lower down this page; but first, the four 2019 Award Winners!
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